Hadithcore
Sahih Muslim, 382
sahih

Anas b. Malik reported:

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) used to attack the enemy when it was dawn. He would listen to the Adhan; so if he heard an Adhan, he stopped, otherwise made an attack. Once on hearing a man say: Allah is the Greatest, Allah is the Greatest, the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) remarked: He is following al-Fitra (al-Islam). Then hearing him say: I testify that there is no god but Allah. there is no god but Allah, the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: You have come out of the Fire (of Hell). They looked at him and found that he was a goat herd.

وَحَدَّثَنِي زُهَيْرُ بْنُ حَرْبٍ، حَدَّثَنَا يَحْيَى، - يَعْنِي ابْنَ سَعِيدٍ - عَنْ حَمَّادِ بْنِ سَلَمَةَ، حَدَّثَنَا ثَابِتٌ، عَنْ أَنَسِ بْنِ مَالِكٍ، قَالَ كَانَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم يُغِيرُ إِذَا طَلَعَ الْفَجْرُ وَكَانَ يَسْتَمِعُ الأَذَانَ فَإِنْ سَمِعَ أَذَانًا أَمْسَكَ وَإِلاَّ أَغَارَ فَسَمِعَ رَجُلاً يَقُولُ اللَّهُ أَكْبَرُ اللَّهُ أَكْبَرُ ‏.‏ فَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم ‏"‏ عَلَى الْفِطْرَةِ ‏"‏ ‏.‏ ثُمَّ قَالَ أَشْهَدُ أَنْ لاَ إِلَهَ إِلاَّ اللَّهُ أَشْهَدُ أَنْ لاَ إِلَهَ إِلاَّ اللَّهُ ‏.‏ فَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم ‏"‏ خَرَجْتَ مِنَ النَّارِ ‏"‏ ‏.‏ فَنَظَرُوا فَإِذَا هُوَ رَاعِي مِعْزًى ‏.‏

References2 variants
In-Book Reference
Book 4, Hadith 11
USC-MSA web (English) reference
Book 4, Hadith 745 (deprecated numbering scheme)
Sharh · explanationclick to expand
Allah, out of His wisdom, legislated that people call for the five daily prayers at their times. It is one of the apparent Islamic rites that indicates that the people who live in this place are Muslims and perform prayer, an Islamic pillar. In this hadith, Anas ibn Malek narrated that the Prophet ﷺ did not invade his enemies except after it was dawn. He used to defer invading them till the time of dawn prayer’s call. If he heard it, he would stop, for it was a sign that they were Muslims or had a reconciliation with him to let Muslims of that village perform rites of Islam. If he did not hear it, it would be a sign that they were disbelievers so he decided to invade them. One time, when reaching a village to invade it, he heard a man saying the prayer’s call, “Allah is the greatest, Allah is the greatest.” The Prophet ﷺ said, “(He is) following the human instinct.” Islam is the human instinct and the straight religion on which all babies are born. Then, the caller said twice, “I testify that there is no god but Allah.” He proved Allah’s oneness and negated all types of polytheism that Allah did not deserve. Allah's oneness is the core of Islam that comes over all of its rites. It means that there is no god worthy of worship but Allah. The Prophet ﷺ commented, “You came out of Hell.” i.e. due to this statement of monotheism. When the companions looked at the man, they found him a goat herd that called for prayer in the desert when its time began. It was narrated in Sahih Bukhari that Abu Saeed Al-Khudry said to Abdullah ibn Abderrahman ibn Abi Sa’sa’ah, “I see you are fond of sheep and the desert, so when you want to say the prayer call, raise your voice, for whoever hears the range of the caller’s voice, a human, a Jinn, or anything else, will bear witness to him on the Day of Resurrection.” This hadith shows the legitimacy of saying the prayer call by a person who prays alone..
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