صَلَاةٍ prayer in Arabic
صَلَاةٍ is how you say “prayer” in Arabic.
Root ص ل و ṣ-l-w. noun (verbal noun / quasi-maṣdar of Form II). ṣalāh.
Arabic
English
The audio uses AI voices.
Meaning of prayer in Arabic
- the ritual, divinely-appointed prayer the formal act of worship performed at fixed times, e.g. the five daily prayers
- supplication, petition prayer in the general sense of asking or petitioning
- blessing, commendation used of God's or an angel's act toward someone, e.g. bestowing blessing/forgiveness on the Prophet
Example sentence
وأوسطها صلوات الملائكة على العبد لِيُخْرجه الله مِنَ الظُّلُمَاتِ إِلَى النور،
The middle stage involves the angels’ prayers for the servant to be brought out from darkness to light by God.
صَلَوَاتُ prayers of
salawat means 'prayers, blessings' (plural); the '-u' ending marks the predicate, heading an 'of…' phrase with the next word.
The English is machine-translated.

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How it is used
Ṣalāh is the standard term for the formal, prescribed act of Muslim worship, and appears in the Qur'an (e.g. 9:104) for prayer/supplication more broadly. The related verb underlies the common invocation ṣallā llāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallam, said after mentioning the Prophet.
Words from the same root
- صَلَوْتُهُ I struck, or hit, that part of the back (the ṣalā)
- صلّى to pray, supplicate; also said of a horse that comes in just behind the leader in a race
- أَصْلَتْ said of a mare or she-camel: her haunches relaxed, being near to giving birth
- صَلًا the middle of the back, or the part on either side of the tail
- مُصَلًّى a place of prayer
- مُصَلٍّ one who prays; also, in racing, the horse placed second
- مُصْلِيَةٌ a mare or she-camel near to giving birth
More example sentences
وَكَذَلِكَ مَا شرع للْمُسلمين فِي صلَاتهم وأذانهم وحجهم وأعيادهم من ذكر الله تَعَالَى
And likewise, what has been prescribed for the Muslims in their prayers, call to prayer, pilgrimage, and festivals in remembering Allah, the Exalted.
صَلَاتِهِمْ their prayers
'their prayer' — 'salat' with 'their' attached, genitive after 'fi'. The '-hum' is 'their', and it makes the noun definite, so 'in their prayer'.
وَكَذَلِكَ مَا شرع للْمُسلمين فِي صلَاتهم وأذانهم وحجهم وأعيادهم من ذكر الله تَعَالَى إِنَّمَا هُوَ بِالْجُمْلَةِ التَّامَّة كَقَوْل الْمُؤَذّن
Likewise, what has been legislated for Muslims in their prayers, calls to prayer, pilgrimage, and festivals, as a remembrance of Allah the Almighty, is indeed in complete sentences like the statement of the caller:
صَلَاتِهِمْ their prayers
'their prayer' — 'salat' with 'their' attached, genitive after 'fi'. The '-hum' makes it definite: 'in their prayer'.
الأعمال تُجسّد صلاةٌ بإخلاص تصبح ثقيلةً هادئة،
Deeds take form: a sincere prayer becomes heavy and calm,
صَلَاةٌ a prayer
'a prayer', nominative — a fresh example in apposition, indefinite.
امْلأ يومك بحقائق صغيرةٍ متينة نِيّةٍ مصحَّحة، صلاةٍ على وقتها، كلمةِ عدل، عفوٍ عند القدرة
Fill your day with small, sturdy truths—a corrected intention, a prayer on time, a word of justice, forgiveness when able—
صَلَاةٍ a prayer
'a prayer', genitive — the second example; indefinite.
وهو الذي كان النبي ﷺ يفعله في كل صلاة،
And it is what the Prophet ﷺ would do in every prayer,
صَلَاةٍ prayer
Genitive owner of 'every' — 'a prayer'; indefinite; 'in every prayer'.
يجب مع الذكر عند مالك وأحمد، فإذا تركه عمداً بطلت صلاته،
It is obligatory with remembrance according to Malik and Ahmad; if he deliberately omits it, his prayer is invalidated.
صَلاَتُهُ his prayer
'his prayer' — 'salat' plus 'his', nominative as the delayed subject of 'became void'; feminine, hence the verb's -at.
فمذهب مالك من ترك من ذلك ثلاثاً عمداً أعاد الصلاة،
According to Malik, anyone who deliberately omits three of these must repeat the prayer.
الصَّلَاةَ the prayer
'the prayer', accusative object of 'repeated'.
فإذا تركه عمداً بطلت صلاته،
Then if he deliberately omits it, his prayer is invalidated,
صَلَاتُهُ his prayer
'his prayer' — 'salat' plus 'his', nominative as the delayed subject of 'became void'; feminine, hence the verb's -at.
فمذهب مالك من ترك من ذلك ثلاثاً عمداً أعاد الصلاة،
According to Malik's school of thought, whoever intentionally omits three of these must repeat the prayer,
الصَّلَاةَ the prayer
'the prayer', accusative object of 'repeated'.
مَا علمت أَن أحدا سمع بِالْجنَّةِ وَالنَّار تَأتي عَلَيْهِ سَاعَة لَا يُطِيع الله فِيهَا بذكرا وَصَلَاة أَو قراة أَو إِحْسَان
I have not known anyone who has heard of Paradise and Hell to have an hour pass without obeying God through remembrance, prayer, reading, or charity.
وَصَلَاةٍ and prayer
A second means joined by 'and', still genitive under the unrepeated 'by'. 'Some prayer', indefinite, continues the list of acts through which the hour is filled with obedience.
فمتى قَدَرَ على الماء قَبْلَ الدخول في الصلاة بَطَلَ تيممُه
If one can access water before starting the prayer, their Tayammum is void.
الصَّلَاةِ the prayer
'the prayer,' in the -i form after 'into.' Entering it is the dividing line: water found before this point voids the tayammum, as the result now states.
وإذا رآه في أثناء صلاةٍ لا تُغني عن القضاء كصلاةِ حاضرٍ، بطلت على الأصح
If one sees water during a prayer that does not exempt from making it up, like the prayer of a resident, the prayer is invalid according to the more correct opinion.
صَلَاةٍ a prayer
'a prayer,' indefinite (the '-in'), owned in 'the midst of a prayer.' Left general for now; the relative clause next restricts it to a particular sort — one that does not excuse a make-up.
وإذا رآه في أثناء صلاةٍ لا تُغني عن القضاء كصلاةِ حاضرٍ، بطلت على الأصح
If one sees water during a prayer that does not exempt from making it up, like the prayer of a resident, the prayer is invalid according to the more correct opinion.
كَصَلَاةِ like the prayer of
The 'ka-' gives an example — 'such as the prayer of...'. The noun heads an 'of' pair with 'a resident': the settled person's prayer is the model of one needing a make-up.
فلا يجمعُ بين صلاتينِ مفروضتينِ بتيممٍ واحدٍ، ويجوز أن يُضمَّ إلى الفريضةِ نوافلُ معها
Two obligatory prayers cannot be combined with a single dry ablution, but it is permissible to add optional prayers to it.
صَلَاتَيْنِ two prayers
The dual ending '-ayn' folds 'exactly two' into the noun — 'two prayers' — the -ayn being the form after a preposition. No separate word for 'two'; the count rides inside the word.
أمّا صلاةُ الجنازةِ فحكمُها في الجمعِ أقربُ إلى النوافلِ،
As for the funeral prayer, its ruling regarding combining is closer to optional prayers.
صَلَاةُ prayer
'prayer,' the fronted topic, heading an 'of' pair with 'the funeral.' Two nouns side by side — 'prayer of the funeral' — with no separate word for 'of'; the comment comes after the 'fa-'.
ومن نسي صلاةً من الخمسِ ولم يدرِ عينَها، لزِمَه الإتيانُ بجميعِ الخمسِ،
If someone forgets one of the five prayers and does not know which, they must perform all five.
صَلَاةً a prayer
'a prayer,' in the -a form as object of 'forgot,' indefinite — some one prayer, unspecified. Which of the five it was, he cannot tell, as the next clause says.
Common questions
- How do you say "prayer" in Arabic?
- Ṣalāh (صَلَاة).
- What does the root of ṣalāh literally mean?
- Its root ص-ل-و is tied to ṣalā, the haunch or lower back near the tail; the sense 'prayer' comes through the verb ṣallā, meaning to pray or supplicate.
Related words
Definitions summarised from Lane's Arabic-English Lexicon (E. W. Lane, 1863–1893).