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Qiyam

World Religion
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

The act of standing in Islamic prayer, especially the upright posture during which Quranic recitation is performed.

Detailed Definition
Qiyam is the standing portion of salat, when the worshipper faces the Kaaba and recites passages from the Quran. It conveys attentiveness, dignity, and willing submission before God, balancing the prayer’s later bows and prostrations. In poetry, qiyam can make the human body resemble a pillar, a reed, or a solitary tree listening beneath the night. The posture gathers vulnerability and strength at once: the speaker stands not in self-sufficiency, but in conscious relation to a vast and unseen command.
Example
Example in poetry:
In Islamic devotional poetry, “qiyam” can refer to standing during prayer; A poet might use qiyam to show reverence through the body, as in “He rose in qiyam while the dawn unfastened the hills”; The term can evoke night prayer, discipline, and wakefulness before God; A poem should distinguish qiyam, standing, from sujud, the prostration that follows in Muslim prayer
Additional Notes
Qiyam is the standing posture in salah, usually following the opening takbir and preceding bowing. It is associated with Quranic recitation, attentiveness, and submission, while related postures include ruku and sujud.
Also Known As
Qiyam al-Layl Tahajjud
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