Salah Translation in English: What Each Line Means

A salah translation in English shows you how short and repeated the prayer is. You praise Allah, ask Him to guide you, glorify Him while bowing and in prostration, ask Him to forgive you, then send peace. Below is each fixed line in the order you say it, with the Arabic, a plain meaning and its source.

Al-Fatiha is recited at least 17 times a day, once in every rak'ah of the five fard prayers. Many adults have said it since childhood and still follow only a few of its words. If that is you, start with the whole prayer on one table, then take it line by line.

What does the whole salah mean in English?

The fixed lines of salah in English come down to 14, from the first Allahu akbar to the last salam, plus any surah you recite after al-Fatiha. The table puts them in order. Each row is one authentic wording, and for some lines, such as the opening du'a and the tashahhud, other authentic wordings exist too. This page explains meaning, not rulings: which parts are obligatory and which are Sunnah is set out in IslamQA's obligatory parts and Sunnah acts of prayer.

What does Allahu akbar mean?

Allahu akbar means "Allah is the Greatest", and it opens the prayer. Akbar comes from the root ك ب ر, the root of "big" and "great". You say it again each time you move: going down to bow, going down to prostrate, rising from prostration. Abu Hurayra (may Allah be pleased with him) described the Prophet ﷺ saying takbir at each of these moves, through the whole prayer (al-Bukhari 789).

What do you say before al-Fatiha?

Three short lines come before "al-hamdu lillah": an opening du'a, seeking refuge in Allah, and the basmalah. One authentic opening du'a is the one the Prophet ﷺ said after the first takbir of his night prayer (Abu Dawud 775, graded sahih by al-Albani).

Then you seek refuge in Allah from Satan: a'udhu billahi minash-shaytanir-rajim, "I seek refuge in Allah from Satan, the expelled." The words come from the ayah that tells us to do this before reciting. Last comes the basmalah, "In the name of Allah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful", which is the first ayah of al-Fatiha in the Hafs numbering used on quran.com.

What does Surah al-Fatiha mean, word by word?

Surah al-Fatiha means, in short: all praise belongs to Allah, You alone we worship and ask for help, so guide us to the straight path. Here it is whole, with the Saheeh International translation. Why it is called the greatest surah is in our article on the virtues of Surah al-Fatiha.

Al-Fatiha is also a conversation. In a hadith qudsi, Allah says He has divided the prayer between Himself and His servant: when you say "All praise is for Allah, Lord of the worlds", He says "My servant has praised Me", and He answers each ayah after it (Muslim 395). At the end you say amin, which means "O Allah, answer" (IslamQA). The Prophet ﷺ told those behind the imam to say amin when he says it, and the narrator Ibn Shihab adds that the Prophet ﷺ used to say it himself (al-Bukhari 780).

What do you say in ruku and what does it mean?

In ruku you say subhana rabbiyal-'adhim: "Glory be to my Lord, the Most Great." Hudhayfa (may Allah be pleased with him) heard the Prophet ﷺ say it while bowing in a long night prayer (Muslim 772). Notice the word "my". In al-Fatiha you said "we worship"; bowing, you speak for yourself.

What does sami'allahu liman hamidah mean?

Sami'allahu liman hamidah means "Allah hears the one who praises Him", and you say it as you rise from bowing. Standing straight, you answer: rabbana lakal-hamd, "Our Lord, to You belongs the praise" (al-Bukhari 789). Some narrations add wa ("and") or Allahumma ("O Allah") to the answer.

What do you say in sujood?

In sujood you say subhana rabbiyal-a'la: "Glory be to my Lord, the Most High" (Muslim 772). It is the ruku line with one word changed. Bowing, you call Him the Most Great. With your forehead on the ground, as low as you go, you call Him the Most High.

Between the two prostrations you sit up and ask: rabbighfir li, "My Lord, forgive me." Hudhayfa reports the Prophet ﷺ saying it twice in that sitting (Abu Dawud 874, graded sahih by al-Albani).

What does the tashahhud mean in English?

The tashahhud means, in short: all greetings are for Allah, peace be on the Prophet ﷺ and on every righteous servant, and I bear witness that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger. You say it sitting, after two rak'ahs and in the last sitting. Ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) learned this wording from the Prophet ﷺ, who said that "peace be on us and on the righteous servants of Allah" reaches every righteous servant in the heavens and the earth (al-Bukhari 831, also in Muslim 402).

What does the prayer on the Prophet ﷺ mean?

The prayer on the Prophet ﷺ asks Allah to send His salah and His blessings on Muhammad and his family, as He did on Ibrahim and his family. The Companions asked how to say it, and the Prophet ﷺ taught them these words (al-Bukhari 3370, also in Muslim 406).

What does the salam at the end of salah mean?

The salam at the end, as-salamu 'alaykum wa rahmatullah (السَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُمْ وَرَحْمَةُ اللَّهِ), means "Peace be upon you, and the mercy of Allah." The Prophet ﷺ said it turning to his right and to his left (Abu Dawud 996, graded sahih by al-Albani). It is the taslim named in the hadith of Ali above: takbir opens the prayer, taslim closes it.

Why can you say your salah but not follow it?

Many of us learned salah as sounds, copied from a parent or a class as children. That got the words right. But nobody came back years later to give you the meaning, one line at a time, so the sounds stayed sounds.

Knowing what each line means gives your mind something true to hold while your mouth says it. For the wider skill of reflecting on what you recite, our guide to understanding the Qur'an as a non-Arab picks up where this page stops.

How do you learn the meaning of your salah one line at a time?

You learn the meaning of your salah by taking one line a day, starting with the lines you repeat most, and holding its meaning in your next prayer. You already know every sound.

A table gives you the meanings. A teacher of your choice can hear you say the words, check your vowels and go through what each line means with you. If you want that, you can find a teacher of your choice and try up to 3 teachers free.