Is it Sunnah to call the adhan to find someone missing in the jungle, at the beach, or by a river?

What is authentically established is that the adhan drives Satan away: the Prophet (peace be upon him) said that when the adhan is pronounced, Satan takes to his heels. Related to this, Sahih Muslim records that Abu Salih, the father of Suhail, told his son that if he heard an unseen voice calling him in an empty place he should pronounce the adhan — and he supported it by quoting the Prophet's words about Satan fleeing from it. It is worth noticing exactly how much of that is Prophetic: the raised (marfu) portion is only that Satan flees at the adhan. The instruction to give the adhan on hearing an unseen caller is Abu Salih's own counsel, not a command from the Prophet, even though it is preserved in a sahih collection. Using the adhan specifically as a method to locate a missing person is therefore not an established Sunnah for that purpose. Calling it is not sinful in itself — it is a call to prayer and a remembrance of Allah, and there is no harm in a Muslim making dhikr while searching. What is not permitted is to treat it as a technique that compels the jinn, to attach a guarantee to it, or to let it stand in place of a real search. Islam requires taking the means: notify the authorities, organise the search, and take every practical step, while seeking help through patience and prayer and relying on Allah alongside those efforts, not instead of them. Present this as what it is — hope and remembrance — and never as a substitute for the people and equipment that actually find someone.

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