صَلَّى (ṣallā) means to pray. It is a defective Form II verb from the root ص ل و (ṣ-l-w): صَلَّى (ṣallā) in the past, يُصَلِّي (yuṣallī) in the present and صَلِّ (ṣalli) as a command. The tables below give its full conjugation in all 13 persons, active and passive, vowelled, with its participles and verbal noun.
Every form of ṣallā on this page comes from the engine behind our Arabic verb conjugator and was checked against Wiktionary's conjugation table for صَلَّى, which is also the source of its verbal noun.
Ṣallā at a glance
| Root | ص ل و (ṣ-l-w), starting with the letter ṣād |
| Form | Form II, pattern فَعَّلَ (faʿʿala) |
| Verb type | defective |
| Past, he | صَلَّى (ṣallā) |
| Present, he | يُصَلِّي (yuṣallī) |
| Command, you (one man) | صَلِّ (ṣalli) |
| Active participle | مُصَلٍّ (muṣallin) |
| Passive participle | مُصَلًّى (muṣallan) |
| Verbal noun (maṣdar) | صَلَاة (ṣalāh) |
Past tense of ṣallā
The past tense (al-māḍī) of ṣallā ends in a vowel in the he-form, صَلَّى (ṣallā). The weak last letter decides the rest: صَلَّيْتُ (ṣallaytu) for I, صَلَّتْ (ṣallat) for she, صَلَّوْا (ṣallaw) for they.
| Person | Arabic | Transliteration |
|---|---|---|
| I · أنا anā | صَلَّيْتُ | ṣallaytu |
| we · نحن naḥnu | صَلَّيْنَا | ṣallaynā |
| you m.sg. · أنت anta | صَلَّيْتَ | ṣallayta |
| you f.sg. · أنت anti | صَلَّيْتِ | ṣallayti |
| you dual · أنتما antumā | صَلَّيْتُمَا | ṣallaytumā |
| you m.pl. · أنتم antum | صَلَّيْتُمْ | ṣallaytum |
| you f.pl. · أنتن antunna | صَلَّيْتُنَّ | ṣallaytunna |
| he · هو huwa | صَلَّى | ṣallā |
| she · هي hiya | صَلَّتْ | ṣallat |
| they two m. · هما humā | صَلَّيَا | ṣallayā |
| they two f. · هما humā | صَلَّتَا | ṣallatā |
| they m.pl. · هم hum | صَلَّوْا | ṣallaw |
| they f.pl. · هن hunna | صَلَّيْنَ | ṣallayna |
Present tense of ṣallā
The present tense (al-muḍāriʿ) of ṣallā ends in a long vowel in the he-form, يُصَلِّي (yuṣallī). Before the plural ending the weak letter disappears: يُصَلُّونَ (yuṣallūna).
| Person | Arabic | Transliteration |
|---|---|---|
| I · أنا anā | أُصَلِّي | uṣallī |
| we · نحن naḥnu | نُصَلِّي | nuṣallī |
| you m.sg. · أنت anta | تُصَلِّي | tuṣallī |
| you f.sg. · أنت anti | تُصَلِّينَ | tuṣallīna |
| you dual · أنتما antumā | تُصَلِّيَانِ | tuṣalliyāni |
| you m.pl. · أنتم antum | تُصَلُّونَ | tuṣallūna |
| you f.pl. · أنتن antunna | تُصَلِّينَ | tuṣallīna |
| he · هو huwa | يُصَلِّي | yuṣallī |
| she · هي hiya | تُصَلِّي | tuṣallī |
| they two m. · هما humā | يُصَلِّيَانِ | yuṣalliyāni |
| they two f. · هما humā | تُصَلِّيَانِ | tuṣalliyāni |
| they m.pl. · هم hum | يُصَلُّونَ | yuṣallūna |
| they f.pl. · هن hunna | يُصَلِّينَ | yuṣallīna |
Subjunctive and jussive of ṣallā
After لن (lan, will not) the he-form of ṣallā is يُصَلِّيَ (yuṣalliya); after لم (lam, did not) its final long vowel shortens: يُصَلِّ (yuṣalli).
| Person | Subjunctive | Jussive |
|---|---|---|
| I · أنا anā | أُصَلِّيَ (uṣalliya) | أُصَلِّ (uṣalli) |
| we · نحن naḥnu | نُصَلِّيَ (nuṣalliya) | نُصَلِّ (nuṣalli) |
| you m.sg. · أنت anta | تُصَلِّيَ (tuṣalliya) | تُصَلِّ (tuṣalli) |
| you f.sg. · أنت anti | تُصَلِّي (tuṣallī) | تُصَلِّي (tuṣallī) |
| you dual · أنتما antumā | تُصَلِّيَا (tuṣalliyā) | تُصَلِّيَا (tuṣalliyā) |
| you m.pl. · أنتم antum | تُصَلُّوا (tuṣallū) | تُصَلُّوا (tuṣallū) |
| you f.pl. · أنتن antunna | تُصَلِّينَ (tuṣallīna) | تُصَلِّينَ (tuṣallīna) |
| he · هو huwa | يُصَلِّيَ (yuṣalliya) | يُصَلِّ (yuṣalli) |
| she · هي hiya | تُصَلِّيَ (tuṣalliya) | تُصَلِّ (tuṣalli) |
| they two m. · هما humā | يُصَلِّيَا (yuṣalliyā) | يُصَلِّيَا (yuṣalliyā) |
| they two f. · هما humā | تُصَلِّيَا (tuṣalliyā) | تُصَلِّيَا (tuṣalliyā) |
| they m.pl. · هم hum | يُصَلُّوا (yuṣallū) | يُصَلُّوا (yuṣallū) |
| they f.pl. · هن hunna | يُصَلِّينَ (yuṣallīna) | يُصَلِّينَ (yuṣallīna) |
Imperative of ṣallā
A Form II command is the jussive تُصَلِّ (tuṣalli) without its prefix. The stem already starts with a vowelled letter, so no alif is added: صَلِّ (ṣalli), صَلِّي (ṣallī), صَلُّوا (ṣallū).
| Person | Arabic | Transliteration |
|---|---|---|
| you m.sg. · أنت anta | صَلِّ | ṣalli |
| you f.sg. · أنت anti | صَلِّي | ṣallī |
| you dual · أنتما antumā | صَلِّيَا | ṣalliyā |
| you m.pl. · أنتم antum | صَلُّوا | ṣallū |
| you f.pl. · أنتن antunna | صَلِّينَ | ṣallīna |
Passive of ṣallā
The passive past of ṣallā ends in -iya (صُلِّيَ (ṣulliya)) and the passive present in -ā (يُصَلَّى (yuṣallā)).
| Person | Past passive | Present passive |
|---|---|---|
| I · أنا anā | صُلِّيتُ (ṣullītu) | أُصَلَّى (uṣallā) |
| we · نحن naḥnu | صُلِّينَا (ṣullīnā) | نُصَلَّى (nuṣallā) |
| you m.sg. · أنت anta | صُلِّيتَ (ṣullīta) | تُصَلَّى (tuṣallā) |
| you f.sg. · أنت anti | صُلِّيتِ (ṣullīti) | تُصَلَّيْنَ (tuṣallayna) |
| you dual · أنتما antumā | صُلِّيتُمَا (ṣullītumā) | تُصَلَّيَانِ (tuṣallayāni) |
| you m.pl. · أنتم antum | صُلِّيتُمْ (ṣullītum) | تُصَلَّوْنَ (tuṣallawna) |
| you f.pl. · أنتن antunna | صُلِّيتُنَّ (ṣullītunna) | تُصَلَّيْنَ (tuṣallayna) |
| he · هو huwa | صُلِّيَ (ṣulliya) | يُصَلَّى (yuṣallā) |
| she · هي hiya | صُلِّيَتْ (ṣulliyat) | تُصَلَّى (tuṣallā) |
| they two m. · هما humā | صُلِّيَا (ṣulliyā) | يُصَلَّيَانِ (yuṣallayāni) |
| they two f. · هما humā | صُلِّيَتَا (ṣulliyatā) | تُصَلَّيَانِ (tuṣallayāni) |
| they m.pl. · هم hum | صُلُّوا (ṣullū) | يُصَلَّوْنَ (yuṣallawna) |
| they f.pl. · هن hunna | صُلِّينَ (ṣullīna) | يُصَلَّيْنَ (yuṣallayna) |
Participles and verbal noun of ṣallā
The active participle ends in -in: مُصَلٍّ (muṣallin). The passive participle ends in -an: مُصَلًّى (muṣallan). Form II usually builds its verbal noun on the pattern tafʿīl, but the noun Arabic uses for ṣallā is صَلَاة (ṣalāh). The Arabic grammar books we recommend cover the patterns and their exceptions.
Why ṣallā conjugates this way
The last root letter of صَلَّى (ṣallā) is و (w), which makes it a defective verb. Form II spells it as a final -ā in the past (صَلَّى (ṣallā)) and as -ī in the present (يُصَلِّي (yuṣallī)). Before a consonant ending it comes back as a consonant or a long vowel (صَلَّيْتُ (ṣallaytu)), and before the plural -ū it disappears (صَلَّوْا (ṣallaw)).
Form II doubles the middle root letter (faʿʿala) and is often causative or intensive. Its present starts with yu- and has i before the last root letter: يُصَلِّي (yuṣallī). ʿAllama (to teach) and fakkara (to think) are built on the same Form II pattern.
Ṣallā in sentences
صلى زيري.
Ziri prayed.
The verb: صَلَّى (ṣallā), past, he. Source: Tatoeba sentence 11613126 by dididodo (CC BY 2.0 FR), unvowelled as published.
بإمكانك أن تصلي هنا.
You can pray here.
The verb: تُصَلِّيَ (tuṣalliya), subjunctive, you (m.sg.). Source: Tatoeba sentence 11984662 by dididodo (CC BY 2.0 FR), unvowelled as published.
Frequently asked questions
What is the present tense of ṣallā?
The present tense of صَلَّى (ṣallā) is يُصَلِّي (yuṣallī) for he, أُصَلِّي (uṣallī) for I and تُصَلِّي (tuṣallī) for you (one man). The weak last letter turns into a long vowel at the end of the word.
What is the maṣdar (verbal noun) of ṣallā?
صَلَاة (ṣalāh), from Wiktionary, rather than the regular Form II pattern tafʿīl. The active participle is مُصَلٍّ (muṣallin), and the passive participle مُصَلًّى (muṣallan).
Is ṣallā a regular verb?
It is regular for a defective verb: its last root letter turns into a vowel at the end of the word (صَلَّى (ṣallā), يُصَلِّي (yuṣallī)) and returns before a consonant ending (صَلَّيْتُ (ṣallaytu)).