This video shows a clip from a 1973 Turkish film of the life of Hazrat Bilal

This article is more than one year old.
Published on March 8, 2021 at 10:35
Updated on March 9, 2021 at 02:06
2 min read
By Wasi MIRZA, AFP Pakistan

A video has been shared in multiple posts on Facebook alongside claims that it shows real footage Hazrat Bilal, a 7th century companion of the Prophet Muhammad, reciting the Muslim call to prayer. The posts are misleading; the video is in fact a clip of an actor’s portrayal of Bilal in a Turkish film released in 1973.

The video was posted on Facebook here March 23, 2020. The post has been shared over 200,000 times.

The post’s Urdu-language caption translates to English as: “Azan [Muslim call to prayer] of Hazrat Bilal It’ll be some despicable person that doesn’t share this video ”.

Screenshot of misleading video posted on March 23, 2020, taken on March 4, 2021

Bilal, who is also known as Bilal ibn Rabah, was a companion of the Prophet Muhammad and one of the earliest converts to Islam. He died in 640.

The same video was also published alongside similar claims on Facebook here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here.

Some social media users appeared to believe the video was genuine footage of Bilal, posting comments such as “Mashallah [God willing or what God has willed]” and “Look at the beautiful voice Allah gave Hazrat Bilal. When he doesn't give the Azan then the moon doesn't come out. May Allah grant all of us lives like Bilal, amen”.

Screenshot of comments from users, taken on March 4, 2021

The posts, however, are misleading.

A reverse image search found that video shows a clip from a 1973 Turkish film titled “Hazreti Bilal-i Habesi”.

The clip was published in May 2017 on YouTube here by Turkish media outlet Kanal 7. The video is titled “The Last Azan of Bilal-i Habeşi” and links to another video showing the entire film.

Below is a screenshot comparison of the misleading post (L) and the Kanal 7 YouTube video (R):

Screenshot comparing the misleading post (L) and the video from Kanal 7 (R)

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