Arabic vocabulary
How to say “pray” in Arabic, with pronunciation and real example sentences from OpenArabic texts.
من أوّل من صلى مَعَه
Who was the first to pray with him?
صَلَّى — he prayed. A past-tense doubled (form II) verb 'performed prayer', subject 'he' inside, weak final root. The praying.
From: Abu Bakr: First Champion of Islam →من آخر من صلّى بِهِ
Who was the last to pray with him?
صَلَّى — he prayed. A past-tense doubled (form II) verb 'prayed / led prayer', subject 'he' inside, weak final root. The praying.
From: Abu Bakr: First Champion of Islam →سَمِعْت رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه و سلم يَقُولُ
I heard the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, say:
صَلَّى — peace. This is a past verb beginning the honorific formula, 'may God send blessing', with its subject 'God' coming right after. The fixed phrase as a whole invokes blessings on the Prophet; verb-first, the verb precedes its divine subject.
From: The Lawful, the Forbidden, and the Grey →كُنْت خَلْفَ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه و سلم يَوْمًا،
One day, I was behind the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him),
صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ — peace be upon him. This token holds the honorific 'God bless him': a past verb 'sent blessing', its subject the divine name, and 'upon him'. Arabic packs the whole fixed blessing into a recurring formula after the Prophet's name.
From: Patience and Trust in God →عَنْ النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه و سلم قَالَ
From the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, he said:
صَلَّى — he prayed. The past verb of the honorific, 'sent blessing', its subject 'God' to follow. Part of the fixed blessing on the Prophet.
From: Easing a Believer's Hardship →فمن تذكّرها تيممَ وصلّى
Whoever remembers it should perform a dry ablution and pray.
وَصَلَّى — and pray. 'and prayed,' joined by 'and' as the second part of the result. The two verbs together prescribe the whole response: purify, then pray. The past form here carries the force of an instruction.
From: Purification Without Water →فقال بعضهم فلعلهم الذين صحبوا رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم ،
Some of them said: Perhaps they are those who accompanied the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,
صَلَّى — peace. This opens the blessing said after the Prophet's name. Grammatically it is a past-tense verb ('has blessed') pressed into service as a prayer — Arabic readily uses a past form to voice a wish. Its subject, God, comes right after.
From: Those Who Enter Without Account →فخرج عليهم رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم فقال ما الذي تخوضون فيه؟
Then the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, came out to them and said: 'What are you discussing?'
صَلَّى — peace. The blessing-formula again. At root it is a past verb ('blessed') deployed as a supplication; Arabic often voices a wish with the past form. The next word names who bestows the blessing.
From: Those Who Enter Without Account →قلت نكون عند رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم يذكرنا بالجنة والنار كأنا رأي عين،
I said: 'When we are with the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, he reminds us of Paradise and Hell as if we see them with our own eyes.'
صَلَّى — peace be upon. The blessing-formula. Underneath it is a past verb ('blessed') working as a prayer — Arabic voices the wish with a past form. The next word names who bestows the blessing.
From: Devotion and Daily Life →فإذا خرجنا من عند رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم عافسنا الأزواج والأولاد والضيعات نسينا كثيراً
But when we leave the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, we get involved with our wives, children, and livelihood and forget much.
صَلَّى — peace be upon. The blessing again — a past verb voicing a prayer ('may [God] bless'). Its subject, God, follows. Arabic uses the past form to carry the wish.
From: Devotion and Daily Life →فانطلقت أنا وأبو بكر حتى دخلنا على رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم
So I and Abu Bakr went until we entered upon the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him.
صَلَّى — peace be upon. The blessing-formula — a past verb voicing the prayer 'may [God] bless'. Its subject, God, follows.
From: Devotion and Daily Life →فقلت نافق حنظلة يا رسول الله فقال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم وما ذاك؟
I said: 'Hanzala has become a hypocrite, O Messenger of Allah!' So the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: 'And what is that?'
صَلَّى — peace be upon. The blessing — past verb as the prayer 'may [God] bless'. Its subject, God, follows.
From: Devotion and Daily Life →فقال رسول الله والذي نفسي بيده لو تدومون على ما تكونون عندي وفي الذكر لصافحتكم الملائكة على فرشكم وفي طرقكم، ولكن يا حنظلة ساعة وساعة ثلاث مرات،
The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: 'By Him in Whose Hand my soul is, if you remained in the state that you are with me and in remembrance, the angels would shake hands with you in your beds and on your paths. But, O Hanzala, a time and a time.' He repeated this three times.
صَلَّى — peace be upon. The blessing — past verb as the prayer 'may [God] bless'; its subject, God, follows.
From: Devotion and Daily Life →فقال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم أفلح إن صدق
The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said: 'He will succeed if he is truthful.'
صَلَّى — peace. The blessing — a past verb voicing the prayer 'may [God] bless'; its subject, God, follows.
From: Prayer, Fasting, Charity →قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم
The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said:
صَلَّى — peace. The blessing — a past verb carrying the prayer 'may [God] bless'. Its subject, God, follows.
From: Where Angels Gather →فيبعث الله تعالى عيسى بن مريم صلى الله عليه وسلم ،
Then Allah, the Exalted, will send Jesus, son of Mary, peace be upon him,
صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ — peace be upon him. This is the blessing-formula run together as one phrase, 'may God bless him' — a past verb ('blessed'), its subject 'God', and 'upon him', the whole thing a fixed prayer said after a prophet's name. Read it as a single set salutation, not as separate sentence-parts.
From: The Return of Jesus →كنا مع رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم في سفر،
We were with the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) on a journey.
صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ — (peace be upon him). This is the full fixed blessing said after the Prophet's name, treated here as one boilerplate unit. It asks God's blessing and peace upon him; read it as a frozen devotional formula rather than parsing each piece.
From: A Prophet Warns His People →إذ نادى منادي رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم الصلاة جامعة
When a caller from the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) announced the gathering for prayer.
صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ — (peace be upon him). This is the fixed blessing after the Prophet's name, a boilerplate devotional unit asking God's blessing and peace upon him. Treat it as one frozen formula rather than parsing its parts.
From: A Prophet Warns His People →فاجتمعنا إلى رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم فقال إنه لم يكن نبي قبلي إلا كان حقاً عليه أن يدل أمته على خير ما يعلمه لهم،
We gathered to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), and he said: "There was no prophet before me except that it was his duty to guide his nation to the best of what he knew for them,"
صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ — (peace be upon him). This is the fixed blessing after the Prophet's name, a settled devotional formula asking blessing and peace upon him; read as one frozen unit.
From: A Prophet Warns His People →قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم تضمن الله لمن خرج في سبيله لا يخرجه إلا جهاد في سبيلي،
The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: 'Allah guarantees for the one who goes out in His path, driven solely by striving for My cause,
صَلَّى — peace. This opens the fixed blessing said after the Prophet's name, a set devotional formula asking God's blessing upon him; treat the whole phrase as one frozen unit.
From: Paradise for Those Who Strive →وقد قال النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم
The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said:
صَلَّى ٱللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ — peace and blessings be upon him. A frozen blessing-phrase that always trails the Prophet's mention: 'may God send blessings upon him and grant him peace'. It is a fixed honorific formula, not a sentence to be parsed word by word here.
From: Restraining Anger →وكانت أمه مولاة لأم سلمة؛ زوج النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم،
His mother was a freedwoman of Umm Salama, the wife of the Prophet, peace be upon him.
صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ — peace be upon him. This is the fixed blessing-formula said after the Prophet's mention, a set invocation meaning 'may peace be upon him'. It functions as a unit of reverence appended to his name rather than as ordinary sentence grammar.
From: Raised in the Prophet’s Household →فقال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم ورسول الله يحب معك العافية
So the Messenger of God (peace be upon him) said: And the Messenger of God loves well-being with you.
صَلَّى — blessed. Part of the set blessing said after the Prophet's name. It is a past-tense verb meaning roughly 'has blessed', with God named right after as the one who blesses; together with the next words it forms a fixed honorific formula.
From: Health as a Blessing →قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم من أصبح معافى في بدنه، آمنا في سربه عنده قوت يومه، فكأنما حيزت له الدنيا
The Messenger of God (peace be upon him) said: Whoever wakes up healthy in his body, secure in his dwelling, having his day's provision, it is as if the world was gathered for him.
صَلَّى — blessed. Part of the fixed blessing after the Prophet's name: a past-tense verb meaning roughly 'has blessed', with God named just after as the one who blesses. It opens the set honorific formula.
From: Health as a Blessing →OpenArabic teaches words like صَلَّى through real bilingual reading with native audio and spaced-repetition practice.
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