In the Islamic world, there is a widespread saying that the Qur’an was “revealed in Makka, recited in Cairo and written in Istanbul”. It is possible, and even necessary, to alter this verdict regarding the adhan (call to prayer): “The adhan was born in Medina and recited in Istanbul”.
Indeed, due to the ihtilâf-ı metâli (differences in time zones), there is not a single moment throughout world where the name of Allah is not mentioned and Prophet Muhammad is not being declared as the Messenger of Allah with the recitation of the adhan. Although it may appear presumptuous, it would certainly not be wrong to say that, with exceptions, this invariable feature of Islam, the adhan, which is called continuously at the four corners of the world twenty-four hours a day, is recited in Istanbul alone with a tone and style that captivates the habitants of both the heavens and the earth.
In the same way that Cairo is referred to as an ancient Islamic “city of a thousand minarets”, Istanbul is certainly also a city that is of equal importance, not only with its number of mosques and minarets, but also in particular in terms of architecture. In addition, when considering the muezzins’ enchanting recitation of the adhan, testifying to the unity of Allah and the prophethood of His messenger to the inhabitants of the heavens and the earth, Istanbul emerges as the most prominent centre of Islamic civilization.
Mehmet Akif Ersoy revealed this notion in the following lines, which make up part the Turkish national anthem, in the simplest manner:
These adhans, their testimony, is the foundation of the religion,
and they should echo forever in my country.
In addition to indicating how the melody of the adhan, which echoes throughout the skies of Istanbul, caresses the strings of the heart, the poem by Tevfik Fikret entitled “The Morning Adhan” is one of the leading poems revealing the extent to which the adhan of Istanbul is an inseparable element of the city. Yahya Kemal’s “Districts without the Adhan” in Beloved Istanbul and A. Hamdi Tanpinar’s “Istanbul” in the Five Cities are poems that also highlight this reality.
When Münir Nurettin Selçuk woke up to the sound of the morning adhan, recited by Hafız Fahri, muezzin of the Beylerbeyi Mosque, after completing his composition for Yahya Kemal’s poem “From Another Hill”, he was writing about Istanbul in music. His addition of the melody of the adhan of Istanbul to the lullaby in the introduction of the piece is musical evidence of how important the Istanbul adhan is to the spiritual atmosphere of the city.
It is possible that the reason why in Turkish culture the adhan is referred to as the “chants of the nightingales of Allah and His messenger” is due to an assimilation of these echoing sounds.
Indeed, in a verse, Mehmet Akif Ersoy refers to the adhan as the gülbang-i İlâhî (chants of Allah), and that with it the name of Allah and His unity is spread all over, thus allowing tranquility to be achieved.
Bakarsın bir de gülbang-i İlâhî’den dolup gerdûn,
O tenhayî-i sevdâvî olur Allah ile meskûn!
You look and see that the heavens are filled with the divine sound
All over begins to be filled with the name of God.
In a different way, Yahya Kemal describes the adhan recited from the thousands of minarets as the rûh-ı revân-ı Muhammedî (the spirit of Muhammad).
Gök nûra gark olur, nice yüz bin minâreden
Şehbâl açınca rûh-ı revân-ı Muhammedî.
The sky is totally lit by hundreds of thousands of minarets
When the spirit of Muhammad opens the wings
One of the main practices in Islamic culture that is closely associated with the adhan and which originated from the traditions of the Prophet is the recitation of the adhan in the ear of a newborn child.
A verse from the poem by Necip Fazıl Kısakürek entitled Ezan goes beyond this cultural practice; this is an artistic description that defines life as the span of time between two adhans:
With death the same melody penetrating from the sala:
The adhan recited in my ear on the day of my birth.
The adhan recited inside the mosque after performing the sunna prayers on Fridays, the ikama recited before the obligatory prayers (fard), the sala recited for Friday prayers, funerals, holy celebrations and eid, and the prayers praising Allah recited from the minarets during Ramadan are all classified as practices that fall under the adhan. In Istanbul, all of these separate practices have gained their own unique form as a continuation of the Turkish adhan culture, and have together become a field of art that is a subject of aesthetic examination in terms of melody.
We may discuss three different periods regarding the adhan in Istanbul. In the first period, Istanbul gained a richness in the recitation of the adhan, a form of recitation for which the city was celebrated, as the voices of the muezzins were duly described as the “chants of Muhammad.” Over time these muezzins demonstrated a development of their art and Istanbul became the main location for spreading this art into the Islamic world. In the early days of the Republic, after a happy and prosperous period lasting nearly five centuries, an unfortunate and unfavorable step was taken. The adhan was banned in its original Arabic form and replaced by the recitation of the call to prayer in Turkish. This was continued for almost twenty years. In addition, this city of adhans was in fact the first place where this new practice was imposed by the state, a city that witnessed the early stages of this sad period which was to last for almost twenty years. The third period spans over half a century - Istanbul was the first city in Turkey where this error was rectified; this situation, happily continues today.
In view of this trajectory, regarding the topic of the adhan, with the exception of the years when the traditional practices were interrupted, Istanbul, a city that hosted the main period spanning from the conquest to the present, the efforts to ban the adhan in Arabic and the conditions during this term of sorrow can all be reviewed under two headings.
The Adhan of Istanbul
As is widely known, the style and form of the adhan unique to Istanbul was introduced by the muezzins who served in the sultans’ palaces and in the palatial mansions of statesmen, high officials and the wealthy. Each of them was great composers, musically knowledgeable and formally educated singers of classical music. In addition to the appointment of the muezzin, an extremely important institution in the organization of the Ottoman palace took place when, after the creation of the position of head muezzin, the duties of the muezzins were defined in a by-law during the reign of Bayezid II (1481-1512).
Talented young men with pleasant voices who were enrolled in the Enderun (imperial school) for this service were given musical training. Eventually, the potential muezzins from among these men were selected and educated further in this field, and the most talented of them was appointed as one of the sultan’s muezzins. One of the sultan’s muezzins from the officials of the Enderun Has Oda (privy chambers) would be appointed as the chief muezzin of the imperial mosque; he would perform the duties of muezzin at the mosques where the sultans performed the Friday and ‘eid prayers. We see from records that there was a group of muezzins referred to as muezzin-i hassa; these men had charming voices and were knowledgeable and talented in music. There were fifteen members in this group in the sixteenth century, and this figure reached thirty by the second half of the eighteenth century.
Generally, the muezzins who were to serve in the mosques built by the sultan or members of the sultan’s family were selected from among this group. In addition, it was also stated in waqf (foundation) records that priority be given to muezzins who had pleasant voices, musical knowledge and were able to perform well. Indeed, the Süleymaniye waqfiyya (foundation deeds) conveys to us that “Twenty-four individuals who have been educated in music, experts in musical sciences, knowledgeable in su’ab-ı makamat (the various musical modes) and tecri-i terrenümat (instrumental interludes), and who have pleasant voices have been selected as muezzins…” In the waqfiyya of the Yeni Mosque, it is stated that “Those who were experts in fenn-i makamat (i.e. were familiar with the different modes), observant of ilm-i mikat (prayer times), and who had favorable, charming voices be selected as muezzins for the five daily prayers and to recite the adhan alternately in a loud voice from the minarets…” These records indicate that advanced knowledge of music was a necessity for the muezzins.
There were famous composers in Istanbul who were promoted to head muezzin in the palace during the Ottoman period. Şakir Agha, Hammamizade Ismail Dede, Hacı Haşim Bey and Rıfat Bey are just a few of these famous nineteenth-century musicians.
Among the trained muezzins and head muezzins in the first half of the twentieth century who had both musical skill and pleasant voices were individuals who virtually acted as a university faculty in their field. Among these talented individuals, we should mention in particular Hafız Şevket and Hafız Kemal, the muezzins of Süleymaniye Mosque, Hafız Süleyman, the muezzin of Yeni Valide Mosque in Üsküdar, Hafız Kerim (Akşahin), the muezzin of Beyazıt Mosque, and Aksaraylı Hafız Cemal Efendi, who was the muezzin of Aksaray Valide Mosque.
The Adhan Recited in Turkish
Sufficient information regarding this topic, an important phase in the recent history of Turkey and the religious-cultural history of Istanbul, may be obtained by addressing points regarding the birth and enforcement of this idea, its implementation, reactions which emerged to it within society, the state’s influence and enforcement in maintaining this implementation and the abolishment of this practice.
In the years following the Second Meşrutiyet, after the pan-Turkic movement and the trend of simplifying the Ottoman Turkish language based on this movement emerged, this idea was presumably first introduced by Ziya Gökalp, during a period when certain ideas were presented regarding changing the language of worship to Turkish. Contrary to the poem entitled “Adhan”1, written in 1908, a period which conveyed Ottoman ideals, Gökalp wrote verses of a poem entitled “Vatan” (Motherland) in his book Yeni Hayat in 1918; here Gökalp wrote:
A country where a Turkish call to prayer is recited in its mosques,
And peasants understand the meaning of the prayer…
A country where the Turkish Qur’an is recited in its schools,
And everybody knows the commands of the Lord…
O Turk! That is your motherland!
Gökalp repeated these views in his book, published at a later date Türkçülüğün Esasları2 (The Fundamentals of Turkism).
It is clear that Gökalp adopted the idea that the language during worship should be changed into Turkish with great passion, and that this concept was in fact enforced during the Republican era. On the basis that this idea also corresponded with Atatürk’s ideas, the first major step in making it a reality was the reform project prepared in 1928 by Ismail Hakkı (Baltacıoğlu), professor of the Darülfünun (Istanbul University) to be commissioned before an assembly of professors at the theology faculty. However, in the third clause of this report, which did not materialize at this stage (this report was reported in the media as “Reforms Prepared by the Faculty of Theology”3), it is stated that “Worship should be conducted in Turkish. The verses of the Qur’an, prayers and sermons should also be included and recited in Turkish.” As can be understood from statements made by interested parties, when this report was conveyed to the media before being commissioned by Baltacıoğulu, who had initially prepared the report, it was met with severe criticism from the people. It is interesting that publications both in favor and against the report prevented the report from being released before it was presented for debate; according to some sources this was done by Atatürk personally.4 Apparently, the reason for this delay was due to the opinion that the conditions for acceptance of the report were not yet suitable. In the wake of these developments, after Atatürk personally consented to the subject and participated in the discussion at Dolmabahçe Palace following investigations he had conducted firsthand, the recitation of the adhan in Turkish was implemented in 1932. According to records by Osman Nuri Engin, a cultural historian who witnessed this era: “The main topics Atatürk placed emphasis upon were the takbir, adhan, iqama, sala and the khutba being changed into Turkish; he also concentrated on the prayers being conducted in Turkish.”5
In addition, developments regarding the topic, according to those who witnessed and remember this era in detail, and in particular remember names such as Sadettin Kaynak and Ali Rıza Sağman as those who contributed to the translation of the adhan and the iqama,6 can be summarized as follows: Upon the command of Atatürk and under the supervision of both Reşit Galip, who was later appointed as the minister of education, and Hasan Cemil Çembil, nine reputed hafız were assigned to carry out this duty before Ramadan (December 1931) in the chamber of the Türk Tarihi Tetkik Cemiyeti (Society for the Study of Turkish History) in Dolmabahçe Palace. This committee, comprised of Beşiktaşlı Rıza, Hafız Kemal (Gürses), the muezzin of Süleymaniye Mosque, Hafız Sadettin (Kaynak), Hafız Burhan (Sesyılmaz), Hafız Fahri, Hafız Nuri, Hafız Yaşar (Okur), Hafız Zeki and Sultanselimli Hafız Ali Rıza (Sağman) began to work on the project. The takbir, adhan and iqama were translated into Turkish. In the meantime, any matters of doubt were presented to Atatürk personally, and the final decision was made according to his preferences. In fact, although each of the hafız working on this project translated the takbir as “Allah büyüktür” (God is great), the word Allah was replaced with Tanrı because Atatürk preferred Ali Rıza Sağman’s interpretation; thus the translation “Tanrı uludur” was approved. Another point which proved to be significant in terms of the city of Istanbul was the phrase Hayya ala’l-falāḥ or “Hasten to salvation” being translated as Haydi kurtuluşa. When doubts were raised about the word kurtuluş, as this was the name given to the Tatavla district where mainly Greek residents lived, on approval of Atatürk the direct translation was replaced by the words Haydi felâha.7
Music retained its special place in the recitation of the adhan after its translation into Turkish. So that the melody of the Turkish adhan could be composed in different maqams (modes), new notes and methods of recitation were researched by Ihsan Bey, a professor at the Istanbul Conservatory, with the help of musicians. However, despite all these efforts, when it became evident that it would be impossible to teach this new method of reciting the adhan before the start of Ramadan (January 10, 1932), temporary permission was given to recite the adhan in its original form. On the order of Atatürk, when all the preparations were complete, the takbir and iqama were recited in Turkish on February 3, 1932, a night coinciding with Laylat al-Qadr (The Night of Power) at the Mawlid ceremony in Hagia Sofia Mosque. The live radio broadcast of the event was the first step both practically and officially. According to reports in the newspapers, Hafız Rıfat Bey recited the Turkish adhan for the first time from the minaret of Fatih Mosque.
It was ensured that the Diyanet İşleri Riyaseti (Precidency of Religious Affairs), whose opinion was not sought throughout this entire process, did not object to this practice during this six-month period (July 18, 1932). Following the first Dil Kurultayı (Turkish Language Congress) on September 26, 1932, the following version of the Turkish adhan was sent by the Evkaf Umum Müdürlüğü (Directorate General of Foundations) both to the waqf directorates in the provinces and to the officials of the mosques (muezzins and imams) so that preparations could be made for the adhan to be recited in Turkish: “Allah is greatest (Tanrı uludur) (4 times); I bear witness that there is no God but Allah (Şüphesiz bilirim ve bildiririm Tanrıdan başka yoktur tapacak) (2 times); I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah (Şüphesiz bilirim ve bildiririm Tanrının elçisidir Muhammed), 2 times; Hasten to prayer (Haydi namaza), 2 times; Hasten to salvation (Haydi felaha), 2 times; Prayer is better than sleep (Namaz uykudan hayırlıdır), 2 times before the morning prayer only; Allah is greatest (Tanrı uludur), 2 times;There is no God but Allah (Tanrıdan başka yoktur tapacak), 1 time.”
After the Turkish translation of the adhan was circulated, the adhan was recited in Turkish in all residential areas that were accessible to the police and gendarme forces, and these law enforcement officers monitored that this new practice was implemented.
Although the population opposed this practice, it is known that the government continued it forcefully through both legal and policing measures. In addition to the memories of those who experienced this change, there are reports of witnesses which allow us to describe the passive resistance of the muezzins and general public who opposed the new implementations. For example, the adhan was commonly recited in Turkish by children and insane members of the public, or the Turkish adhan was first recited in a loud voice and then repeated in its original form in a softer voice by civilians.
In addition, because this new practice was not based on any legal provision, those who disobeyed these orders were intimidated mostly by policing measures and occasionally with administrative measures. There were various reports in newspapers of that period stating that in an attempt to maintain this practice and penalize those who opposed it, police or gendarme would stand at the doors of the mosques and minarets at prayer times, and those who disobeyed the order would be immediately arrested.8
The people’s first major reaction to the recitation of the adhan in Turkish emerged on February 1, 1933 in Bursa. When a civilian named Topal Halil recited the adhan in its original form at the Ulu Mosque, civil police waiting at the door of the minaret assaulted him and then attempted to take him to the police station. In reaction, the people marched first on the Evkaf Müdürlüğü (Directorate of Foundations), protesting against the state intervention, and then onto the governor’s office. When the governor appealed for assistance from the military headquarters, the military commander, who was accompanying Atatürk in Izmir at the time, was informed of this. Learning about the incident, Atatürk interrupted his visit and travelled to Bursa. In a statement to the Anadolu Agency, he declared that “the uneducated reactionaries will not escape the grasp of Republican justice, and importance has been given to emphasizing that in particular any kind of religious provocation will never be tolerated” and that “the actual problem is not about religion but is about language.”9 Furthermore, Atatürk dealt personally with the issue and gave the necessary instructions to officials. In the meantime, the mufti, attorney general and magistrate of Bursa were dismissed from their posts. After a court case in the Çorum Criminal Court, which lasted for a year, nineteen people who had been involved in the incident were sentenced to long prison sentences or deportation10
On receiving a letter from the Dâhiliye Vekâleti (Ministry of Interior), on February 3, 1933, the Diyanet İşleri Riyaseti, which had been excluded from the topic until that time, distributed a memorandum to all the muftis and religious officials, ordering the adhan and iqama to be recited in Turkish; the memorandum stated that those who did not comply would be punished in a “harsh and severe manner.”11 In a letter sent to the mufti offices on March 6, 1933, it was ordered that because “in a period in which the adhan is recited generally in Turkish, the recitation of salat al-salam (supplication of greetings) in Arabic would be inharmonious and would not be compliable with the maksad-ı milliye (national objectives) pursued by the government,” one of the three sala and takbir texts sent with the statement in Turkish was to be selected and recited.
There was a muezzin on every balcony of the minarets on that day.
Yaşar Tunagür, who was also deputy for the President of Religious Affairs, described the day when the ban on the recitation of the adhan in its original form was lifted in the following words:
This was the period when the adhan was recited in Turkish. I would generally perform the Friday prayers at Sultanahmet Mosque. Friday prayers there were led by the famous Hafız Sadettin Kaynak. The hafız who translated the adhan into Turkish…
It was Friday, and I was on my way to Sultanahmet Mosque for prayer. But there was an unusually large crowd in the courtyard of the mosque, and they were clearly excited. I advanced out of curiosity towards the courtyard of the mosque with my friend. There were more people outside the mosque than there were inside. They had clearly received some kind of news. We went inside.
In the courtyard we noticed that nobody was entering the mosque, but everyone was looking up towards the minaret. Suddenly, from each of the balconies of the minarets the adhan was called out in Arabic: “Allahu Akbar! Allahu Akbar!” The imam of the mosque, Saadettin Kaynak, had placed a muezzin on each of the minarets balconies and instructed them to recite the adhan in sequence. Unaware of the situation, those inside the mosque immediately rushed outside. The courtyard of the mosque was so crowded, as everyone was looking up towards the sky, listening to the call to prayer in Arabic. Fourteen muezzins on the fourteen balconies of the six minarets… As one adhan ended another began, and it lasted for almost half an hour. The other mosques in Istanbul followed the lead, and the sounds of the adhan that we had yearned to hear for so long were echoing from all of the minarets of Istanbul into the heavens…For a moment I thought I was dreaming, but this was not a dream, it was real. The adhan was being called from the minarets in Arabic.”
(Mustafa Armağan, Türkçe Ezan ve Menderes, Istanbul: Timaş Yayınları, 2010, p. 146.)
Atatürk abandoned the project of having the Qur’an recited in Turkish and prayers conducted in the Turkish language not only because he could not achieve the results he had anticipated, but also because this caused great unrest in the society. However, he still continued the practice of the adhan being called in Turkish. Due to this policy, after the death of Atatürk in 1938, İsmet İnönü, leader of the CHP (Republican People’s Party), continued this implementation in a more stringent manner.
The Adhan Restored to its Original Form
The ban was finally lifted after the 1950 elections due to pressure from the media and intense studies and debates on the matter in Parliament. Ahmet Gürkan, Member of Parliament for Tokat initiated the process of submitting a legislative proposal to the Grand National Assembly of Turkey to have the relevant clause removed from the Criminal Code on May 31, 1950. Subsequently, legislative proposals were submitted on June 2nd by the Member of Parliament for Kayseri, Ismail Berkok, and thirteen colleagues; this was submitted on June 14, 1950 to the government of Prime Minister Adnan Menderes. In the justifications of these legislative proposals, it was emphasized that the clause added to the Criminal Code was contrary to the freedom of thought and religion: “It is impossible for such a ban that causes groundless disturbance to Turkish Muslims to exist in a state that is governed by democracy. The elimination of this clause will certainly give the Muslim Turks a sense of peace and ease of conscience.”12
This change was officially announced to all the mufti offices by a circular dated June 23, 1950, issue number 6715, bearing the signature of Ahmet Hamdi Akseki, minister of religious affairs. The observation included in this historical text read to the effect: “Because this particular wording is a condition of the principle and correctness of the adhan, the adhan recited in another language, even if translated correctly, bears no stature. The rulings which compel the change of the adhan and iqama, which is entirely a topic of religious worship, from its original form into another language, and the lifting of the ban of reciting the adhan and iqama in the language of religion by the TBMM (The Grand National Assembly of Turkey) has brought immense relief and contentment to the people.” This was significant because it refers to both the Diyanet Teşkilatı (Precidency of Religious Affairs) and the opposition of the people to the change in the language of the adhan.
With the lift of this ban, the successive adhans echoing from the minarets and the sala pronounced in their original language during the month of Ramadan were welcomed with great joy by the people. Animals were sacrificed and the press reported that people were gathering around the mosques to listen to the adhan and kneeling down and kissing the ground with tears of joy.
So the adhan was recited in its original form at last, and under the instruction of Sadettin Kaynak, a member of the committee that initially had made preparations for the adhan to be recited in Turkish, who was also imam of Sultanahmet Mosque when the ban was lifted, the adhan was recited by two muezzins in sequence. As can be seen from reports of those who witnessed this event, as was the case in Istanbul, people of all ages gathered outside the large mosques where the adhan was being recited throughout the country and embraced one another in tears. They rejoiced at experiencing this event, and accompanying the takbirs of the adhan they sacrificed animals and generally welcomed the event with an atmosphere of celebration and excitement.
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FOOTNOTES
1 Fevziye Abdullah Tansel, Ziya Gökalp Külliyatı –I: Şiirler ve Halk Masalları, Ankara: Türk Tarih Kurumu, 1989, pp. XVII-XIX.
2 Ankara: Matbuat ve İstihbarat Matbaası, 1339.
3 Vakit, no. 3753, June 20, 1928.
4 For further information see Osman Nuri Ergin, Türkiye Maarif Tarihi, Istanbul: Osmanbey Matbaası, 1943, vol. 5, pp. 1938-1967.
5 Ergin, Türkiye Maarif Tarihi, vol. 5, p. 1939.
6 Ergin, Türkiye Maarif Tarihi, vol. 5, pp. 1939-1943 and 1947-1957.
7 Cemal Granda, Atatürk’ün Uşağı İdim, Istanbul: Hürriyet Yayınları, 1973, pp. 259-260.
8 For an example, see: Sebîlürreşâd, no. 82, pp. 105-106.
9 Cumhuriyet, February 7, 1933.
10 Utkan Kocatürk, Atatürk ve Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Tarihi 1918-1938, Ankara: Türk Tarih Kurumu, 1983, p. 546.
11 For the text, see: Sadık Albayrak, Türkiye’de Din Kavgası, Istanbul: İleri Sanat Matbaası, 1973, p. 262.
12 The justification, dated June 15, 1950, regarding the change in Clause 526 of the Turkish Criminal Code submitted to the TBMM Parliamentary Office issue: 3/1/9, 2/6,7.
