Prayer Arabic (Salah & Du'a)

Understand every word you say in prayer

Lessons in this course (6)

Al-Fatihah, word by word — Al-Fatihah is recited in every rakah — at least seventeen times daily in the obligatory prayers alone. Its vocabulary is small: about 25 distinct words, most re…
What you say in ruku and sujood — Subhana comes from a root meaning to swim or pass swiftly — in worship it declares Allah utterly beyond every flaw or limit, "clearing away" whatever does not b…
The tashahhud, word by word — At-tahiyyatu lillahi was-salawatu wat-tayyibat: the greetings, the prayers, and the pure words — all belong to Allah. Tahiyyat were the salutations Arabs offere…
From takbir to taslim: every phrase you say — Allahu akbar — Allah is GREATER. Not "great": the comparative is the point, and its object is deliberately open. Greater than whatever was occupying you when yo…
The opening supplication and seeking refuge — A widely reported opening: سُبْحَانَكَ اللَّهُمَّ وَبِحَمْدِكَ، وَتَبَارَكَ اسْمُكَ، وَتَعَالَى جَدُّكَ، وَلَا إِلَهَ غَيْرُكَ — "Glory be to You, O Allah, and …
Khushuʿ: keeping attention in prayer — Khushuʿ is the heart's stillness and humility before Allah, showing in the body as calm. The Quran opens the description of successful believers with it: those …