Lesson 6
Prayer and Ṣalāh
الصلاة
The five daily prayers provide the framework of a Muslim's day. This unit's Arabic vocabulary will feel immediately familiar you already hear it five times a day.
Prayer Vocabulary
ArabicTransliterationMeaning
صَلَاةṣalāhprayer
وُضُوءwuḍūʾritual purification
مَسْجِدmasjidmosque
أَذَانadhāncall to prayer
رَكْعَةrakʿaunit of prayer
قِبْلَةqibladirection of prayer (Mecca)
The Adhān
اللهُ أَكْبَر أَشْهَدُ أَنْ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّه حَيَّ عَلَى الصَّلَاة
Allāhu akbar Ashhadu an lā ilāha illā llāh Ḥayya ʿalā ṣ-ṣalāh
Allah is the Greatest I bear witness there is no god but Allah Come to prayer.
صَلَّيْتُ الْفَجْرَ فِي الْمَسْجِدِ الْيَوْم
Ṣallaytū l-fajra fī l-masjidi l-yawm
I prayed Fajr in the mosque today.
- Five prayers: الْفَجْر، الظُّهْر، الْعَصْر، الْمَغْرِب، الْعِشَاء memorise these as your first Arabic proper nouns.
- اللهُ أَكْبَر: Subject (اللَّه) + predicate (أَكْبَر) a complete nominal sentence meaning "Allah is greater/greatest."
- حَيَّ: An imperative meaning "come" or "hasten" a Form II derived verb.
- Islamic motivation: Students who pray five times daily already have 17+ repetitions of Arabic phrases every day this course builds the grammar around what you already hear.