What it means
نماز (namâz) is the daily Islamic ritual prayer, performed five times a day at fixed hours. Pure Persian, A2 vocabulary, sacred register. The Persian word distinguishes the ritual from عبادت (ebâdat, “worship”) in general.
How to use it
- نماز خواندن (namâz khândan) “to perform the prayer (literally to read namâz)”
- نماز صبح (namâz-e sobh) “morning prayer”
- وقت نماز (vaqt-e namâz) “prayer time”
Common pairings
- نمازخوان (namâz-khân) “one who prays the daily prayers”
- نماز جمعه (namâz-e jom’e) “Friday congregational prayer”
- قبله (qeble) “the direction of prayer (toward Mecca)”
- وضو (vozu) “ablution before prayer”
- اذان (azân) “call to prayer”
Religious context
From Middle Persian namāč (“worship, bowing”), of Indo-Iranian origin, same root as Sanskrit namas (“to bow”). The Persian word predates Islam and was adopted to describe the Islamic ritual, replacing the Arabic صلاة (salât). Iran’s pre-Islamic Zoroastrian community already had a daily prayer practice; the Persian word continued. The five daily prayers are: صبح (sobh), ظهر (zohr), عصر (asr), مغرب (maghreb), and عشا (eshâ).
References
ZabanYar is a Persian app built for heritage learners, the people who can speak a little but want to read, write, and really get it. Free early access at launch.
Join the waitlist →