الصَّلاةُ خَيْرٌ مِن الْنَّوْمِ: Why is the prayer better than sleep?

In many cultures and religions, language holds great importance, especially in expressing spirituality. The Arabic phrase الصَّلاةُ خَيْرٌ مِن الْنَّوْمِ (as-salatu khayrun min an-nawm) means “prayer is better than sleep”.

This saying is called by the muezzin during the Fajr (الْفَجْر) prayer in Sunni Islam and has a unique grammatical structure. The word خَيْرٌ, meaning “good,” implies a comparative meaning of “better.” In this article, we will look at the details of this expression, its grammar, and examples that show its significance in both language and faith.

The word خَيْرٌ – translated as better – produces an interesting grammatical construction. We do not use the regular اِسْم التَّفْضِيل here, following the pattern: أَفْعَل – which would denote a comparative or superlative meaning.

So, why do we translate the word with a comparative meaning?

The word خَيْرٌ is usually translated as good, which is correct. However, it also has another meaning – the meaning of a اِسْم تَفْضِيل.

The word خَيْر has the same meaning as أَحْسَن – better.

Let us take a closer look at some examples:

What is the DNA of the word خَيْر?

The word for better was originally أَخْيَر – but it was changed into خَيْر.

This happened a long time ago, as in the Qur’an, خَيْر is already used in the meaning of better.

The word comes from the root خ – ي – ر. The corresponding I-verb is خارَ.

Watch out for the correct plural:

There are other words which follow the same logic as خَيْرٌ, for example, the word شَرٌّ (bad or evil), but it is less common.

Watch out: If you use خَيْرٌ or شَرٌّ in a إِضافة-construction, they have the meaning of the superlative.

• In Arabic, you don’t use the definite article, although it has a definite meaning in English.
•  As it is a إِضافة-construction, the word خَيْر doesn’t get nunation.

The special line of the morning prayer call in other languages:

• Hindi: नमाज़ नींद से बेहतर है (namaz neend se behtar hai)
• Deutsch: Das Gebet ist besser als der Schlaf