Investigation of the Safawids' Approach In Adding the Third Testimony into the Adhan

After the departure of the Prophet, a disagreement emerged between the Shiites and the Sunnites regarding the way they should state the Adhan formula. After ascending the throne, the Safawid Shah Isma'il added the two formula of the third testimony ("Ashhadu Anna Aliyyan Walliullāh") and Ḥayya ʿAlā Khayr al-ʿAmal. This article has sought to investigate the Safawids' performance in this regard. The question this article is going to answer is about the reason for Safawid Sultans' emphasis on the third testimony formula. To find the answer to this question, the first hand historical texts and new studies in this regard were studied through an analytical-descriptive method. The goal is to clarify, with the evidences presented in a historical study, that re-addition of the third testimony to Adhan in the Safawid period was not due to commitment to the Prophet's teachings in the age of legislation or the Shiite doctrines in the presence of Ahl al-Bayt. Rather, it was done under the influence of the social conditions and political milieu. The findings of the study suggest that Safawids showed much seriousness for adding the third testimony to Adhan in order to grant religious identity to Iranians in facing the Ottoman Empire, obtain more legitimacy, do religious rivalry with the Ottoman Empire, and facilitate the process of establishment of the Shiite denomination.