Allahu Akbar Meaning in English, Hindi & Urdu

Allahu Akbar means "Allah is the Greatest", in Urdu and Hindi, "Allah sab se bada hai." It is the first thing you say in every namaz, the first words of every adhan, and the phrase that fills the air on Eid morning.

It is only two words. But the second word, akbar, has a special shape, and understanding it changes how the phrase sounds.

Allahu Akbar word by word

"In the book" is the word's number in 600 Words of the Quran and how many times it appears in the whole Quran.

Arabic has a plain word for "big, great": kabīr (word #251, 40 times in the Quran). Akbar is the form used to compare: greater, greatest. So Allāhu akbar can be heard as "Allah is the Greatest" and also as "Allah is greater", greater than anything you could put next to Him.

That second reading is worth sitting with. When you raise your hands and say Allāhu akbar at the start of namaz, you are saying: whatever I was just busy with (my phone, my work, my worries), Allah is greater than that. It is a door you walk through, leaving the rest outside.

"Greater" in the Quran

The word akbar appears 24 times in the Quran. Two examples show how it is used:

This verse is about namaz itself: it begins "establish worship. Lo! worship preserveth from lewdness and iniquity", and then says the remembrance of Allah is akbar, greater, more important.

Here the verse first describes the gardens of Paradise, and then says Allah's pleasure is akbar, greater than all of it.

The root k-b-r: three words, one lesson

Arabic words grow from roots, usually three letters. k-b-r carries the idea of "big, great". In our 600-word list, three words come from it:

Look at the third word. Istakbara carries the sense of "considering oneself great", and in the Quran it describes arrogance. Put the three together and you get a small lesson: greatness belongs to Allah; claiming it for yourself is arrogance. Every takbir is a reminder of both.

Urdu speakers already use this root: kabeer, the name Akbar, takbeer, and takabbur (arrogance).

Kabīr is also one of Allah's names in the Quran:

For more on how Arabic roots work, see Arabic root words in the Quran.

The Quran commands takbir

Saying Allāhu akbar is called takbir, "declaring greatness". The Quran uses the verb directly:

• "Thy Lord magnify" (74:3), in Arabic وَرَبَّكَ فَكَبِّرْ, one of the earliest instructions to the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ.
• "And magnify Him with all magnificence" (17:111).
• "…that ye should magnify Allah for having guided you": said in 2:185 after the command to complete the fast of Ramadan, and in almost the same words in 22:37 about the animals of sacrifice. Many Muslims connect these two verses with the takbirs of the two Eids.

Where Muslims say Allahu Akbar

In namaz. The prayer begins with Allāhu akbar (the opening takbir, often called takbir-e-tahrima), and the takbir is said again when moving between positions: going into ruku, going into sajdah, rising from sajdah. The exact details of hand-raising and which movements have a takbir differ a little between schools; follow what you were taught. For every step of the prayer with meaning, see namaz ka tarjuma.

In the adhan and iqamah. Both begin with Allāhu akbar, repeated, before anything else is said. Five times a day, the call to prayer starts by reminding the whole neighbourhood who is greatest.

On Eid. The takbirs of the Eid days, and the extra takbirs in the Eid prayer itself.

After namaz. Many people include Allāhu akbar in their tasbih after prayer, along with SubhanAllah and Alhamdulillah. See SubhanAllah meaning and Alhamdulillah meaning.

In everyday life. When slaughtering an animal (with Bismillah), on seeing something amazing, on hearing good news, or when you feel small in front of a problem and need to remember something bigger.

Allahu Akbar meaning in Hindi and Urdu

• Urdu / Hindi: Allah sab se bada hai: Allah is the greatest of all.
• Word by word: Allah = Allah; akbar = sab se bada, zyada bada (greater, greatest).
• Takbir = Allah ki badaai bayaan karna, declaring Allah's greatness. Junagarhi's Urdu for 74:3 says exactly this: "aur apne Rabb hi ki badaaiyaan bayaan kar."

Try this in your next namaz

At the opening takbir, before your hands come down, think of one thing that is on your mind right now, and tell yourself: Allah is greater than this. Then begin. At each takbir between positions, let the words be a small reset: not "next step", but "Allah is greater".

If you would like to recognise more of the words you say in prayer, ruku and sajda tasbeeh meaning is a good next read. And Allah, akbar, kabīr, rabb, ṣalāh are all among the words taught in 600 Words of the Quran: 30 short lessons, each word with a real verse and its meaning in English and Roman Urdu.