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Arabic of worship
Everything you say in the prayer, in order.
اَللّٰهُ أَكْبَرُ
Allah is the greatest
Source · Prayer
Said with raised hands to enter the prayer (takbīrat al-iḥrām) and again at every change of position. أَكْبَرُ is the elative pattern أَفْعَلُ ('greater/greatest'); it is a diptote, so it never takes tanwīn.
سُبْحَانَكَ اللّٰهُمَّ وَبِحَمْدِكَ، وَتَبَارَكَ اسْمُكَ، وَتَعَالَى جَدُّكَ، وَلَا إِلٰهَ غَيْرُكَ
Glory be to You, O Allah, and with Your praise; blessed is Your name, exalted is Your majesty, and there is no god other than You
Source · Abū Dāwūd 775; at-Tirmidhī 243
Recited silently after the opening takbīr, before the istiʿādha. اَللّٰهُمَّ is the vocative 'O Allah': the مّ at the end replaces the particle يَا.
أَعُوذُ بِاللّٰهِ مِنَ الشَّيْطَانِ الرَّجِيمِ
I seek refuge in Allah from the accursed devil
Source · Prayer (Quran 16:98)
Said silently before al-Fātiḥa in the first rakʿa. مِنَ takes a fatha before the article so that two sukūns do not meet; اَلشَّيْطَانِ shows a sun letter: the ل is written but not pronounced and ش carries the shadda.
بِسْمِ اللّٰهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ
In the name of Allah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful
Source · Quran 1:1
Recited before al-Fātiḥa and before every surah except at-Tawba. اِسْم drops its alif after بِ in this fixed phrase only; اَلرَّحْمٰن (intensive فَعْلَان) and اَلرَّحِيم (فَعِيل) are two adjectives of the same root رحم.
بِسْمِ اللّٰهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ اَلْحَمْدُ لِلّٰهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ اَلرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ مَالِكِ يَوْمِ الدِّينِ إِيَّاكَ نَعْبُدُ وَإِيَّاكَ نَسْتَعِينُ اِهْدِنَا الصِّرَاطَ الْمُسْتَقِيمَ صِرَاطَ الَّذِينَ أَنْعَمْتَ عَلَيْهِمْ غَيْرِ الْمَغْضُوبِ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلَا الضَّالِّينَ
In the name of Allah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful. All praise belongs to Allah, Lord of the worlds, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful, Master of the Day of Judgement. You alone we worship and You alone we ask for help. Guide us to the straight path: the path of those You have favoured, not of those who earned anger, nor of those who went astray.
Source · Quran 1:1–7
Recited in every rakʿa; the prayer is invalid without it. اَلْحَمْدُ: definite article before a moon letter (the ل is pronounced), while اَلرَّحْمٰنِ، اَلدِّينِ، اَلصِّرَاطَ، اَلضَّالِّينَ all show sun letters; إِيَّاكَ is the detached object pronoun placed first for exclusivity: 'You alone'.
سُبْحَانَ رَبِّيَ الْعَظِيمِ
Glory be to my Lord, the Magnificent
Source · Muslim 772; Abū Dāwūd 871
Said three times while bowing. رَبِّيَ is رَبّ + ي 'my'; the ي takes a fatha because the next word starts with hamzat al-waṣl. سُبْحَانَ is a verbal noun fixed in the accusative ('I declare the glory of').
سَمِعَ اللّٰهُ لِمَنْ حَمِدَهُ
Allah hears the one who praises Him
Source · al-Bukhārī 789; Muslim 392
Said while rising from the bow. The perfect سَمِعَ expresses certainty or a wish ('Allah has heard / may Allah hear'); لِمَنْ is لِ + مَنْ 'for whoever', and ـهُ at the end of حَمِدَهُ is the object pronoun 'Him'.
رَبَّنَا وَلَكَ الْحَمْدُ
Our Lord, and to You belongs all praise
Source · al-Bukhārī 789; Muslim 392
Said once standing upright after rukūʿ. رَبَّنَا is a vocative with يَا omitted, accusative because it is annexed to نَا 'our'; لَكَ الْحَمْدُ puts the predicate first: 'to You (alone) belongs the praise'.
سُبْحَانَ رَبِّيَ الْأَعْلَى
Glory be to my Lord, the Most High
Source · Muslim 772; Abū Dāwūd 871
Said three times in prostration. اَلْأَعْلَى is the elative أَفْعَل of عَلِيّ 'high' and ends in alif maqṣūra; the article before a hamza keeps its ل with sukūn (moon letter).
رَبِّ اغْفِرْ لِي، وَارْحَمْنِي، وَاهْدِنِي، وَاجْبُرْنِي، وَعَافِنِي، وَارْزُقْنِي، وَارْفَعْنِي
My Lord, forgive me, have mercy on me, guide me, mend me, grant me well-being, provide for me and raise me
Source · Abū Dāwūd 850; at-Tirmidhī 284; Ibn Mājah 898
Said while sitting between the two prostrations. رَبِّ stands for رَبِّي with the ي of 'my' dropped in the vocative; each verb is an imperative whose hamzat al-waṣl is skipped in pronunciation after وَ, and ـنِي is the object 'me'.
اَلتَّحِيَّاتُ لِلّٰهِ وَالصَّلَوَاتُ وَالطَّيِّبَاتُ، اَلسَّلَامُ عَلَيْكَ أَيُّهَا النَّبِيُّ وَرَحْمَةُ اللّٰهِ وَبَرَكَاتُهُ، اَلسَّلَامُ عَلَيْنَا وَعَلَى عِبَادِ اللّٰهِ الصَّالِحِينَ، أَشْهَدُ أَنْ لَا إِلٰهَ إِلَّا اللّٰهُ وَأَشْهَدُ أَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا عَبْدُهُ وَرَسُولُهُ
All greetings are for Allah, and all prayers and good words. Peace be upon you, O Prophet, and the mercy of Allah and His blessings. Peace be upon us and upon the righteous servants of Allah. I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and messenger.
Source · al-Bukhārī 831; Muslim 402
Recited sitting after every second rakʿa and at the end of the prayer, with the index finger raised at the shahāda. The sound feminine plurals اَلتَّحِيَّاتُ، اَلصَّلَوَاتُ، اَلطَّيِّبَاتُ end in ـَاتُ in the nominative; مُحَمَّدًا is accusative because it is the noun of أَنَّ.
اَللّٰهُمَّ صَلِّ عَلَى مُحَمَّدٍ وَعَلَى آلِ مُحَمَّدٍ، كَمَا صَلَّيْتَ عَلَى إِبْرَاهِيمَ وَعَلَى آلِ إِبْرَاهِيمَ، إِنَّكَ حَمِيدٌ مَجِيدٌ، اَللّٰهُمَّ بَارِكْ عَلَى مُحَمَّدٍ وَعَلَى آلِ مُحَمَّدٍ، كَمَا بَارَكْتَ عَلَى إِبْرَاهِيمَ وَعَلَى آلِ إِبْرَاهِيمَ، إِنَّكَ حَمِيدٌ مَجِيدٌ
O Allah, send blessings upon Muhammad and the family of Muhammad, as You sent blessings upon Abraham and the family of Abraham; You are Praiseworthy, Glorious. O Allah, bless Muhammad and the family of Muhammad, as You blessed Abraham and the family of Abraham; You are Praiseworthy, Glorious.
Source · al-Bukhārī 3370; Muslim 406
Recited after the tashahhud in the final sitting. إِبْرَاهِيمَ is a foreign proper noun and therefore a diptote: after عَلَى it takes fatha instead of kasra; صَلِّ and بَارِكْ are imperatives of the form II verb صَلَّى and the form III verb بَارَكَ.
اَللّٰهُمَّ إِنِّي أَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنْ عَذَابِ جَهَنَّمَ، وَمِنْ عَذَابِ الْقَبْرِ، وَمِنْ فِتْنَةِ الْمَحْيَا وَالْمَمَاتِ، وَمِنْ شَرِّ فِتْنَةِ الْمَسِيحِ الدَّجَّالِ
O Allah, I seek refuge in You from the punishment of Hell, from the punishment of the grave, from the trial of life and death, and from the evil of the trial of the False Messiah
Source · Muslim 588
Said after the ṣalāt ʿalā n-nabī and before the taslīm. جَهَنَّمَ is a diptote (fatha instead of kasra after عَذَابِ, no tanwīn); اَلْمَحْيَا and اَلْمَمَات are nouns of the مَفْعَل pattern, 'life' and 'death'.
اَلسَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُمْ وَرَحْمَةُ اللّٰهِ
Peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah
Source · Muslim 582; Abū Dāwūd 996
Said turning the head to the right and then to the left to end the prayer. عَلَيْكُمْ is عَلَى + كُمْ: the final alif maqṣūra of عَلَى becomes ي before a pronoun suffix; رَحْمَةُ اللّٰهِ is an iḍāfa (construct), so اللّٰهِ is genitive.
أَشْهَدُ أَنْ لَا إِلٰهَ إِلَّا اللّٰهُ، أَشْهَدُ أَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا رَسُولُ اللّٰهِ
I bear witness that there is no god but Allah; I bear witness that Muhammad is the messenger of Allah
Source · al-Bukhārī 603; Muslim 379
The adhān opens with اَللّٰهُ أَكْبَرُ four times, then each testimony twice; the listener repeats every phrase. Note the two particles: أَنْ (light) is followed by a sentence, أَنَّ (heavy) by a noun in the accusative, مُحَمَّدًا.
حَيَّ عَلَى الصَّلَاةِ، حَيَّ عَلَى الْفَلَاحِ
Come to prayer, come to success
Source · al-Bukhārī 603; Muslim 379
Each call is made twice; the listener replies لَا حَوْلَ وَلَا قُوَّةَ إِلَّا بِاللّٰهِ instead of repeating. حَيَّ is a 'verb-noun' (اِسْم فِعْل) meaning 'hurry to'; اَلْفَلَاح shares its root with فَلَّاح 'farmer', the one who splits open the soil.
اَلصَّلَاةُ خَيْرٌ مِنَ النَّوْمِ
Prayer is better than sleep
Source · Abū Dāwūd 500; an-Nasāʾī 647
Added twice after ḥayya ʿalā l-falāḥ in the fajr adhān only. خَيْرٌ مِنْ is the comparative 'better than': خَيْر works as an elative without the أَفْعَل pattern, and مِنْ marks the thing compared.
قَدْ قَامَتِ الصَّلَاةُ
The prayer has been established
Source · al-Bukhārī 605; Muslim 378
Said twice in the iqāma after ḥayya ʿalā l-falāḥ; the iqāma otherwise repeats the adhān with each phrase once. قَدْ + perfect marks a completed action, and the تْ of قَامَتْ takes a kasra to link to the following article.
لَا حَوْلَ وَلَا قُوَّةَ إِلَّا بِاللّٰهِ
There is no power and no strength except through Allah
Source · al-Bukhārī 613; Muslim 385
Said in reply to ḥayya ʿalā ṣ-ṣalāh and ḥayya ʿalā l-falāḥ; the Prophet called it 'a treasure from the treasures of Paradise' (al-Bukhārī 6384). Both nouns follow لَا of absolute negation and so end in a single fatha with no tanwīn.
اَللّٰهُمَّ رَبَّ هٰذِهِ الدَّعْوَةِ التَّامَّةِ، وَالصَّلَاةِ الْقَائِمَةِ، آتِ مُحَمَّدًا الْوَسِيلَةَ وَالْفَضِيلَةَ، وَابْعَثْهُ مَقَامًا مَحْمُودًا الَّذِي وَعَدْتَهُ
O Allah, Lord of this perfect call and of the prayer about to be established, grant Muhammad the station of nearness and the eminence, and raise him to the praised station You have promised him
Source · al-Bukhārī 614
Said after the adhān, following ṣalāt upon the Prophet; whoever says it earns his intercession. آتِ is the imperative of آتَى (form IV of أتي, 'to give'): only two letters of the root remain, and the madda آ stands for hamza plus long ā.