How to perform the Muslim prayer: a step-by-step guide

The obligatory prayers are 2 rakahs for Fajr, 4 for Dhuhr, 4 for Asr, 3 for Maghrib and 4 for Isha. To these are added voluntary (sunnah) prayers: 2 before Fajr, 4 before and 2 after Dhuhr, 2 after Maghrib, then Witr after Isha (often 3 rakahs). See the prayer times for each salah.

Ablutions (wudu) mean washing the hands, rinsing the mouth and nose, washing the face and the arms up to and including the elbows, wiping the head (and the ears) with wet hands, then washing the feet up to the ankles. It all begins with the intention and Bismillah. The schools differ over which acts are obligatory and which recommended, and over order and repetition, but these basic steps are agreed on.

Standing (qiyam), you say Allahu Akbar, recite Al-Fatiha and then another surah. Then comes the bowing (ruku) with Subhana Rabbiyal Adhim, rising with Sami Allahu liman hamidah, Rabbana wa lakal hamd, then two prostrations (sujud) with Subhana Rabbiyal A'la, separated by a sitting position. The guide shows each position with a picture and audio.

After the last prostration, you sit for the tashahhud (At-tahiyyatu lillah…), followed by the prayer upon the Prophet ﷺ (Allahumma salli ala Muhammad…). You end with the salam: turn your head to the right saying As-salamu alaykum wa rahmatullah, then to the left. In prayers of 3 or 4 rakahs, a short tashahhud is also recited after the second rakah.

Most scholars hold that Al-Fatiha and the formulas of the prayer must be said in Arabic, since the salah is an act of worship handed down in that language; a beginner learns gradually and may, in the meantime, recite what they know and make dhikr. Personal supplications outside the prayer may be made in English. The audio on this page helps in learning the correct pronunciation.