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{{short description|Person appointed at a mosque to lead and recite the call to prayer}}
{{About||the 2009 Turkish film|Müezzin|the ice hockey player|Jake Muzzin}}
[[File:Paris,_BnF,_Supplément_Persan_1030_fol._185v-187r_Muhammad_receiving_instructions_for_call_to_prayer_from_Jibril_and_Bilal_calling_to_prayer_from_Kaaba.jpg|thumb|Islamic miniature depicting [[Gabriel|Jibril]] providing instructions on how to perform the call to prayer to Muhammad (golden flame) as well as [[Bilal ibn Rabah]] the first muezzin calling the Muslims to prayer from atop the Kaaba.]]
{{Usul al-fiqh}}
[[File:Hermitage Masjid - The Azan (Call to Prayer).jpg|thumb|A mu'azzin reciting the [[adhan]] indoor.]]
The '''muezzin''' ({{IPAc-en|m|(|j|)|u|ˈ|ɛ|z|ɪ|n}};<ref>{{cite Dictionary.com|muezzin}}</ref> {{langx|ar|مُؤَذِّن|Muʾaḏḏin}}), also spelled '''mu'azzin''', is the person who proclaims the call to the daily prayer ([[Salah|ṣalāt]]) five times a day ([[Fajr prayer]], [[Zuhr prayer]], [[Asr prayer]], [[Maghrib prayer]] and [[Isha prayer]]) at a [[mosque]] from the [[minaret]].<ref name="Modarresi">{{cite book|author=Mohammad Taqi al-Modarresi|author-link=Mohammad Taqi al-Modarresi|title=The Laws of Islam|date=26 March 2016|publisher=Enlight Press|isbn=978-0994240989|url=http://almodarresi.com/en/books/pdf/TheLawsofIslam.pdf|access-date=8 August 2018|ref=Modarresi|language=en|page=470}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Definition of Muezzin|url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/muezzin|access-date=2021-09-13|website=www.merriam-webster.com|language=en}}</ref> The muezzin plays an important role in ensuring an accurate [[salah|prayer schedule]] for the [[Ummah|Muslim community.]]

== Etymology ==
The English word ''muezzin'' is borrowed from {{langx|ar|[[wikt:مؤذن#Arabic|مُؤَذِّن]]}}, {{Transliteration|ar|DIN|''muʾadh·dhin''}} {{IPA|ar|mu.ʔað.ðin|}}, simplified ''mu'azzin'',<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dictionary.com/browse/muezzin|title=muezzin|work=Dictionary.com}}</ref> the [[Arabic verbs#Participle|active participle]] of {{langx|ar|[[wikt:مؤذن#Arabic|أَذَّنَ]]}} "to call". Thus, it means "the calling one".

==Roles and responsibilities==
The professional muezzin is chosen for his good character, voice and skills to serve at the mosque. Muezzins are typically men.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Muhammad Usman |first1=Shakir |title=The Idea of Female Muezzins and Imams in Islam a Challenge to the Pakistani Patriarchal Forces |journal=PJSEL |date=20 July 2021 |volume=7 |pages=9 |access-date=27 June 2023 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/353394215}}</ref> The muezzin is not considered a [[cleric]], as he cleans the toilets and the place where people wash their hands, face and feet when they perform the [[Wudu|Wuḍu']] ([[Arabic]]: ''wuḍū’'' <big>وُضُوء</big>, the "purification" of ablution) before offering the prayer.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Muezzin {{!}} Definition & Facts {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/muezzin |access-date=2023-08-22 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref> When calling to prayer, the muezzin faces the [[qiblah]], the direction of the [[Ka'bah]] in [[Mecca|Makkah]], while reciting the ''[[adhan]]''.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=brOLkfsl8vY A Muazzin calling for prayer in Saudi Arabia]</ref>{{dubious|youtube is not an acceptable source|date=November 2019}}

From the fourteenth century, initially in [[Mamluk Sultanate (Cairo)|Mamluk Egypt]] but then spread into other parts of the Islamic world, major mosques might employ a related officer, the ''[[muwaqqit]]'', who determined the prayer times using mathematical astronomy. Unlike the muezzin, who were typically chosen for their piety and beautiful voice, the qualification of the muwaqqit required special knowledge in astronomy.{{sfn|King|1996|p=286}}{{sfn|Pedersen|1991|p=677}} Historian Sonja Brentjes speculates that the muwaqqit might have evolved from a specialised muezzin,{{sfn|Brentjes|2008|p=139}} and that there might not have been a clear delineation between the two offices.{{sfn|Brentjes|2008|p=141}} Some celebrated muwaqqits, including [[Shams al-Din Abu Abd Allah al-Khalili|Shams al-Din al-Khalili]] and [[ibn al-Shatir]], were known to have once been muezzins, and many individuals held both offices simultaneously.{{sfn|Brentjes|2008|pp=139–140}} Today, with the production of electronic devices and authoritative timetables, a muezzin in a mosque can broadcast the call to prayer by consulting a table or a clock without requiring the specialised skill of a ''muwaqqit''.{{sfn|King|1996|p=322}}

==Call of the muezzin==
The call of the muezzin is considered an art form, reflected in the melodious chanting of the adhan. In [[Turkey]] there is an annual competition to find the country's best muezzin.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/witness/2013/03/20133413812851784.html |title= Muezzin |publisher= Aljazeera |date=13 March 2013 |access-date=21 March 2015}}</ref>

Historically, a muezzin would have recited the call to prayer atop the [[minaret]]s in order to be heard by those around the mosque. 
[[File:Jean-Léon Gerôme, The Muezzin.jpg|thumb|a Mu'azzin reciting the [[Adhan]] on a [[Minaret]] by [[Jean-Léon Gérôme]] (1866).]]
Now, mosques often have Loudspeakers mounted on the top of the minaret and the muezzin will use a microphone, or a recording is played, allowing the call to prayer to be heard at great distances without climbing the minaret.

==Origins==
The institution of the muezzin has existed since the time of [[Muhammad]]. The first muezzin was a former slave [[Bilal ibn Rabah]], one of the most trusted and loyal ''[[sahabah]]'' (companions) of the [[Prophets in Islam|Islamic prophet]] [[Muhammad]]. He was born in [[Mecca]] and is considered the first mu'azzin, chosen by Muhammad himself.<ref name="bbc.co.uk">"[https://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/islam/history/slavery_1.shtml#section_3 Slavery in Islam]." BBC News. BBC, 2009. Web. 2013.</ref><ref>[[Ludwig W. Adamec]] (2009), ''Historical Dictionary of Islam'', p.68. Scarecrow Press. {{ISBN|0810861615}}.</ref><ref name="book">Robinson, David. [https://books.google.com/books?id=jZEL3kdcQggC&q=Bilal Muslim Societies in African History]. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2004. Print.</ref><ref>[[Levtzion, Nehemia]], and Randall Lee Pouwels. [https://books.google.com/books?id=J1Ipt5A9mLMC&q=bilal The History of Islam in Africa]. South Africa: Ohio UP, 2000. Print.</ref>

After minarets became customary at mosques, the office of muezzin in cities was sometimes given to a [[Blindness|blind]] man, who could not see down into the inner courtyards of the citizens' houses and thus could not violate privacy.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Saramago|first=Jose|title=The History of the Siege of Lisbon|publisher=Harcourt Brace|year=1998|pages=20}}</ref>

==Notable muezzins==
* [[Bilal ibn Ribah| Bilal ibn Ribah al-Habashi]]
* [[Rahim Moazzen Zadeh Ardabili]]
* [[Ali Ahmed Mulla]]

==See also==
* [[Salah]], Muslim daily prayer
* [[Adhan]], the Islamic call to prayer, recited by the muezzin
* [[Schulklopfer]], the Jewish equivalent of the muezzin
* [[Loudspeakers in mosques]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Bibliography ==
* {{cite encyclopedia|title=Shams al-Din al-Sakhawi on ''Muwaqqits'', ''Mu'adhdhins'', and the Teachers of Various Astronomical Disciplines in Mamluk Cities in the Fifteenth Century|first=Sonja|last=Brentjes|editor1=Emilia Calvo |editor2=Mercè Comes |editor3=Roser Puig |editor4=Mònica Rius|encyclopedia=A Shared Legacy: Islamic Science East and West|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gd7pl1x387cC&pg=PA129|year=2008|publisher=Edicions Universitat Barcelona|isbn=978-84-475-3285-8}}
* {{cite encyclopedia|title=On the role of the muezzin and the ''muwaqqit'' in medieval Islamic society|first=David A.|last=King|encyclopedia=Tradition, Transmission, Transformation|editor1=E. Jamil Ragep |editor2=Sally P. Ragep|publisher=[[E.J. Brill]]|pages=285–345|date=1996|isbn=90-04-10119-5|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Kl1COWj9ubAC&pg=PA285}}
* {{Encyclopaedia of Islam, New Edition|volume=6|title=Masdjid: The personnel of the mosque|pages=674–677|first=Johannes|last=Pedersen|authorlink=|url=}}

==Further reading==
===Online===
* [https://www.britannica.com/topic/muezzin Muezzin Islamic religious official], in ''Encyclopædia Britannica Online'', by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica, Gloria Lotha, Deepti Mahajan and Amy Tikkanen

==External links==
{{Commons category|Muezzins}}
{{NIE Poster|year=1905}}
*[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/egypt/7944575/Cairo-to-use-computerised-call-to-prayer-after-complaints-over-tuneless-muezzin.html "Cairo to use computerised call to prayer after complaints over tuneless muezzin", 13 Aug 2010]
*[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/turkey/7711402/Muslim-preachers-given-call-to-prayer-singing-lessons.html "Muslim preachers given call-to-prayer singing lessons", 11 May 2010]

{{Islam topics|state=collapsed}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Mu'azzins| ]]
[[Category:Mosques]]
[[Category:Islamic terminology]]