How many times is Salah (Prayer) mentioned in the Quran?
83 times, counting every form of صَلَاة. Here is every word from its root, where it appears most, and the verses that explain it.
times in the Quran
in 37 surahs
Salah is the prayer, the second pillar of Islam. In the Quran the word is almost always joined to a command: not just “pray”, but “establish the prayer” (aqimus-salah), to keep it upright and on time.
Every form of the root ص ل و
| Word | Meaning | Times |
|---|---|---|
| صَلاة | prayer (salah, and its plural salawat) | 83 |
| صَلَّى | to pray; also to send blessings | 12 |
| مُصَلّي | those who pray | 3 |
| مُصَلًّى | a place of prayer | 1 |
Counted in the Quranic Arabic Corpus morphology: each word is counted once, in every form built from the lemma (singular, dual, plural, with attached letters such as “and” or “the”). Other counting rules give slightly different numbers.
Where it appears most
| Surah | Words from this root |
|---|---|
| 2. Al-Baqarah | 12 |
| 4. An-Nisa | 11 |
| 9. At-Tawbah | 9 |
| 5. Al-Ma'idah | 6 |
| 24. An-Nur | 5 |
Key verses about salah (prayer)
وَٱسْتَعِينُوا۟ بِٱلصَّبْرِ وَٱلصَّلَوٰةِ ۚ وَإِنَّهَا لَكَبِيرَةٌ إِلَّا عَلَى ٱلْخَـٰشِعِينَ
Seek help in patience and prayer; and truly it is hard save for the humble-minded,
ٱتْلُ مَآ أُوحِىَ إِلَيْكَ مِنَ ٱلْكِتَـٰبِ وَأَقِمِ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ ۖ إِنَّ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ تَنْهَىٰ عَنِ ٱلْفَحْشَآءِ وَٱلْمُنكَرِ ۗ وَلَذِكْرُ ٱللَّهِ أَكْبَرُ ۗ وَٱللَّهُ يَعْلَمُ مَا تَصْنَعُونَ
Recite that which hath been inspired in thee of the Scripture, and establish worship. Lo! worship preserveth from lewdness and iniquity, but verily remembrance of Allah is more important. And Allah knoweth what ye do.
حَـٰفِظُوا۟ عَلَى ٱلصَّلَوَٰتِ وَٱلصَّلَوٰةِ ٱلْوُسْطَىٰ وَقُومُوا۟ لِلَّهِ قَـٰنِتِينَ
Be guardians of your prayers, and of the midmost prayer, and stand up with devotion to Allah.
إِنَّنِىٓ أَنَا ٱللَّهُ لَآ إِلَـٰهَ إِلَّآ أَنَا۠ فَٱعْبُدْنِى وَأَقِمِ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ لِذِكْرِىٓ
Lo! I, even I, am Allah, There is no Allah save Me. So serve Me and establish worship for My remembrance.
فَإِذَا قَضَيْتُمُ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ فَٱذْكُرُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ قِيَـٰمًا وَقُعُودًا وَعَلَىٰ جُنُوبِكُمْ ۚ فَإِذَا ٱطْمَأْنَنتُمْ فَأَقِيمُوا۟ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ ۚ إِنَّ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ كَانَتْ عَلَى ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ كِتَـٰبًا مَّوْقُوتًا
When ye have performed the act of worship, remember Allah, standing, sitting and reclining. And when ye are in safety, observe proper worship. Worship at fixed times hath been enjoined on the believers.
English: Marmaduke Pickthall (public domain). Arabic: Uthmani script, via quran.com.
What these verses teach
The Quran gives the prayer a purpose as well as a time: it “preserveth from lewdness and iniquity” (29:45), it is to be kept at its fixed times (4:103), and it is for the remembrance of Allah (20:14). The middle prayer is singled out to be guarded (2:238).
Prayer times today · Tasbih after prayer
More Quran word counts
Frequently asked questions
How many times is salah mentioned in the Quran?
Salah (صَلَاة) appears 83 times in the Quran, counting every form of the word. Words from its root, ص ل و, appear 99 times in all.
Which surah mentions salah the most?
Al-Baqarah (Surah 2), with 12 words from the root ص ل و.
Why do other websites give different numbers?
Counts depend on the rule used: whether plurals and verb forms are included, and whether the whole root is counted or one word. We count words as written in the Hafs text, using the Quranic Arabic Corpus, and print the rule on the page.