The companions of the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) were the keenest of people to follow his Sunnah and teach it to the people. In this hadith, Abu Umamah ibn Sahl ibn Hunayf narrates that when Mu‘awiyah ibn Abi Sufyan (may Allah be pleased with him) was on the minbar, he used to repeat what the mu’adhdhin said. When he heard the words, Ashhaduan la ilahailla Allah (I bear witness that there is no god worthy of worship except Allah), he would say: So do I. In other words: I also bear witness that there is no god worthy of worship except Allah. He said the same (“So do I”) when he heard the words, AshhaduannaMuhammadanRasulullah (I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah). Then he turned to face the people, and said, when the mu’adhdhin finished giving the call, that he had heard the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) saying what he had said. Thus he explained that his action was following the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him). Concerning the virtue of repeating the words of the adhan, there is a report narrated by Abu Dawud from ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Amr (may Allah be pleased with him): A man said: O Messenger of Allah, the mu’adhdhins are surpassing us (in reward). The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “Say what they say, then when you have finished, ask and you will be given.” According to a report narrated by Muslim from ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him), whoever says that sincerely from the heart will enter Paradise. The one who hears the adhan should say what the mu’adhdhin says, except – as is proven in a report narrated by Muslim – when the mu’adhdhin says Hayya ‘ala al-salah, hayya ‘ala al-falah (come to prayer, come to prosperity), he should say: La hawlawa la quwwataillaBillah (There is no power and no strength except with Allah). This hadith indicates that people may learn and that the imam may teach when he is on the minbar. It indicates that it is prescribed to repeat the words of the adhan after the mu’adhdhin. It indicates that the khatib may repeat after the mu’adhdhin whilst he is on the minbar. It indicates that the one who is responding to the adhan may say So do I, and similar phrases. It indicates that it is permissible to speak before starting the khutbah, and that the imam may sit down before starting the khutbah..