Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam (ﷺ) Meaning
ﷺ: said after the Prophet’s name. Here is its meaning, the Arabic and where it comes from.
صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ
- Transliteration
- Ṣalla-llāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam
- Meaning
- May Allah honour him and grant him peace
- Say it
- SAL-lal-laa-hu a-LAY-hi wa SAL-lam
Quick answer
Sallallahu alayhi wasallam (صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ), written ﷺ, means “may Allah honour him and grant him peace”. Muslims say or write it after the name of the Prophet Muhammad. It answers the command in Quran 33:56 to send blessings and peace on him, and the Prophet ﷺ said whoever sends blessings on him once, Allah sends blessings on them ten times (Sahih Muslim 408).
The symbol ﷺ is a single Arabic character that stands for sallallahu alayhi wasallam. It means “may Allah honour him and grant him peace”. Muslims say it after the name of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ.
What do ﷺ, SAW and PBUH mean?
- ﷺ is a single Arabic character for the whole phrase.
- SAW / SAWS abbreviate ṣalla-llāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam.
- PBUH is the English “peace be upon him”.
How to type ﷺ
ﷺ is one character in Unicode, U+FDFA. The easiest way is to copy it from here: ﷺ
- Phone: copy it once and save it as a keyboard text shortcut (for example, typing “saw” turns into ﷺ).
- Microsoft Word on Windows: type
FDFA, then press Alt+X. - Mac: add the Unicode Hex Input keyboard, then hold Option and type
FDFA.
Some fonts show it very small or very wide. If it looks odd, you can write the phrase in full instead.
In the Quran
“Indeed Allah and His angels send blessings upon the Prophet. O you who believe, send blessings upon him and greet him with peace” (Quran 33:56).
Its reward
The Prophet ﷺ said: whoever sends blessings on me once, Allah sends blessings on him ten times (Sahih Muslim 408).
ﷺ, alayhis salam and radiyallahu anhu
- ﷺ (sallallahu alayhi wasallam) is used for the Prophet Muhammad.
- Alayhis salam (peace be upon him) is used for the other prophets and the angels, such as Musa and Jibril.
- Radiyallahu anhu (may Allah be pleased with him) is used for the Companions.
Quran and hadith references link to quran.com and sunnah.com, where you can read the full text. Reviewed 29 October 2026. Spotted a mistake? Let us know.
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Frequently asked questions
What does ﷺ mean?
ﷺ stands for “sallallahu alayhi wasallam”: may Allah honour him and grant him peace.
What is the ﷺ symbol called and how do I type it?
It is an Arabic ligature: the whole phrase written as one character, Unicode U+FDFA. You can copy it from this page (ﷺ), or type the phrase or “SAW” instead.
What is the difference between SAW and PBUH?
They mean the same thing. SAW abbreviates the Arabic phrase; PBUH is “peace be upon him” in English.
Can I write SAW or PBUH instead of ﷺ?
Many scholars recommend writing the phrase in full, or the ﷺ symbol, rather than a short abbreviation, so that the blessing is actually said.
Do you say ﷺ for other prophets?
For other prophets, Muslims usually say “alayhis salam” (peace be upon him). ﷺ is mostly used for Prophet Muhammad.