مصلا

Persian

مصلای امام خمینی تهران ― mosallâ-ye emâm-e xomeyni-ye tehrân ― Imam Khomeini Mosalla, Tehran

Alternative forms

• مصلى (mosallâ)

Etymology

Borrowed from Arabic مُصَلًّى (muṣallan).

Pronunciation

• (Classical Persian) IPA^(key): [mu.sal.ˈlɑː]

 

• (Dari, formal) IPA^(key): [mʊ.säl.lɑ́ː]

• (Dari, formal) IPA^(key): [mʊ.säl.lɑ́ː]
  • (Kabuli) IPA^(key): [mʊ.säl.lɑ́ː]
  • (Hazaragi) IPA^(key): [mu.säl.lɔ́ː]

• (Iran, formal) IPA^(key): [mo.sæl.lɒ́ː]

• (Tajik, formal) IPA^(key): [mu.säl.lɔ́]

Readings
Classical reading?	musallā
Dari reading?	musallā
Iranian reading?	mosallâ
Tajik reading?	musallo

Noun

مصلا • (mosallâ) (Islam)

1. musalla; place for public prayer, especially a field outside the building of the mosque
   • c. 1390, Hafez, “Ghazal 3”, in دیوان حافظ [The Divan of Hafez]‎^[1]:

     بده ساقی میِ باقی که در جنت نخواهی یافت
     کنار آب رکن‌آباد و گلگشت مصلا را

     bidih sāqī may-yi bāqī ki dar jannat na-xwāhī yāft
     kanār-i āb-i rukn-ābād u gulgašt-i musallā rā

     Wine-pourer, give the rest of the wine! For you will not find in paradise
     The bank of the waters of Ruknābād, nor the rose-path of the musallā.

     (Classical Persian romanization)

2. prayer rug

   Synonym: سجاده (sajjâde)

   • early 1200s, Farīd ud-Dīn ʿAṭṭār, “Ghazal 706”, in دیوان عطار‎^[2]:

     از تائبی سر تافته صد توبه برهم بافته
     چون بوی زلفش یافته می بر مصلا ریخته

     az tā'ibī sar tāfta sad tawba bar-ham bāfta
     čūn bōy-i zulf-aš yāfta may bar musallā rēxta

     The head turned away from piety, a hundred repentances entangled,
     When the scent of her locks was found, wine poured on the prayer rug.

     (Classical Persian romanization)

   • c. 1580, Vahshī Bāfqī, “Ghazal 225”, in گزیده اشعار [Selected Poems]‎^[3]:

     زاهد چه کشی اینهمه بر دوش مصلا
     بردار سبوی من و رندانه نگه دار

     zāhid či kašī īnhama bar dōš⁠ musallā
     bardār sabō-yi man u rindāna nigah dār

     Ascetic, why haul a prayer rug on your shoulders all this time?
     Pick up my wine pitcher and look around like a villain!

     (Classical Persian transliteration)

Further reading

• Hayyim, Sulayman (1934) “مصلا”, in New Persian–English dictionary, Teheran: Librairie-imprimerie Béroukhim
• Dehkhoda, Ali-Akbar (1931–) “مصلا”, in Dehkhoda Dictionary Institute, editors, Dehkhoda Dictionary (in Persian), Tehran: University of Tehran Press