Ways to say it
| Arabic | Romanization (Wiktionary) | IPA |
|---|---|---|
| صلعم | ṣ.l.ʕ.m. | /sˤal.ʕam/ |
| ﷺ | ||
| صَلَّى اَللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّم | ṣallā llāhu ʕalayhi wa-sallam |
What does it mean word for word?
The full phrase صَلَّى اَللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّم breaks down literally to 'prayed/blessed Allah upon him and [granted] peace'.
Which one should you use?
While 'pbuh' is an English abbreviation, the Arabic equivalent is often written out in full (صَلَّى اَللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّم) or represented by the single ligature (ﷺ) rather than a string of initial letters.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
صَلَّى اَللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّم is a formal way to say PBUH in Arabic. The Unicode character ﷺ is a single typographic ligature used in written Arabic to represent the full honorific phrase 'peace be upon him' for the Prophet Muhammad. In contrast, the acronym-like form صلعم is a highly condensed, non-standard abbreviation used in casual digital text, which some traditionalists may find disrespectful compared to the full phrase.
How do you pronounce it?
The romanization for صلعم is ṣ.l.ʕ.m. The IPA is /sˤal.ʕam/ and it consists of 2 syllables.
Did you know?
- In traditional calligraphy, the phrase صَلَّى اَللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّم is often woven into intricate geometric patterns or circles to reflect the eternal nature of the prayer.
- While ﷺ is used for the Prophet Muhammad, Arabic uses different specific honorifics for other prophets, such as عليه السلام which translates to 'peace be upon him' but lacks the 'blessing' part of the phrase.
- When writing the full honorific صَلَّى اَللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّم, many calligraphers and typographers use a smaller font size than the surrounding text. This visual reduction is a way to demonstrate humility and respect toward the subject.
Example sentences for Arabic are not verified yet.
Example conversation
Layla and Omar are discussing a religious lesson.
- ليلى Laylaهل قرأتِ حديث النبي صلعم اليوم؟hal qara'ti hadith al-nabi salla-allahu-alayhi-wa-sallam al-yawm?Did you read the hadith of the Prophet, pbuh, today?
- عمر Omarنعم يا ليلى، كان حديثاً مؤثراً جداً.na'am ya layla, kana hadithan mu'athiran jiddan.Yes, Layla, it was a very touching hadith.
- ليلى Laylaما أكثر الدروس التي تعلمتها منه؟ma akthar al-durus allati ta'allamta minhu?What are the most lessons you learned from it?
- عمر Omarتعلمت قيمة الرحمة من النبي صلعم.ta'allamtu qimat al-rahma min al-nabi salla-allahu-alayhi-wa-sallam.I learned the value of mercy from the Prophet, pbuh.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “pbuh” translations and entries صلعم, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
