The Adhan as a Bilingual Soundscape

Multimodal and Multilingual Dimensions of the Islamic Call to Prayer

Abstract

This study analyzes the Adhan, the Islamic call to prayer, as both a multimodal discourse and a bilingual soundscape. Multimodal discourse analysis (Kress & van Leeuwen, 2011) is employed in conjunction with a phenomenological reading of maqāmāt (melodic modes) to analyze performances from five sites: Al-Haram Al-Makki, Al-Haram Al-Nabawi, Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa, Al-Azhar Mosque, and Hagia Sophia. These sites are examined across the interrelated modes of sound, space, and time. Despite the fact that the Adhan is articulated exclusively in Arabic, the majority of its listeners are non-Arabic speakers. Consequently, repeated ritual exposure fosters functional receptive liturgical bilingualism, thereby enhancing the recognition of formulaic expressions (e.g., Allāhu akbar, ḥayya ʿala ṣ-ṣalāh). The findings indicate that melodic highlighting, particularly melisma at cadences, spatial amplification, such as minarets and loudspeaker networks, and temporal repetition, including five daily calls and Ramadan/Jumuʿah intensifications, collectively embed Arabic within the diverse multilingual ecologies of the Global South. Local stylistic variation, such as the distinction between Makki and Madani contours, or the practices observed in Cairo and Istanbul, does not alter the established text. However, it does influence the uptake of bilingualism, shaping how Arabic phrases are perceived, remembered, and transmitted. Brief civic performances in non-Arabic-dominant settings foreground symbolic bilingualism, whereas daily ritual recitation sustains an authentic, lived repertoire. When evaluated in conjunction with visual linguistic-landscape studies, in which Arabic (or Jawi) is frequently symbolic in signage, the Adhan exemplifies the capacity of sonic ritual to perpetuate Arabic as a lingua sacra. This phenomenon intersects with local languages, identities, and power dynamics in Muslim-majority and minority contexts.