How to pray salah step by step: a guide for new Muslims

What salah is, and why it matters

Salah is the ritual prayer: the second pillar of Islam after the shahada, and the first act of worship the Prophet ﷺ taught people after they believed. When he sent Mu'adh ibn Jabal to Yemen, he told him to call people first to the testimony of faith, and then, once they accepted it, to teach them that Allah had made five prayers obligatory every day and night (Sahih al-Bukhari 1395). It is not a performance for anyone watching; it is a conversation, five times a day, with the One who made you. Allah said to Musa (Moses), when He called to him in the sacred valley:

The Prophet ﷺ asked his companions whether any dirt would remain on a man who had a river at his door and bathed in it five times a day. None, they said. That, he told them, is the likeness of the five prayers: through them Allah wipes away sins (Sahih al-Bukhari 528, Sahih Muslim 667). You are not being tested on your Arabic. You are stepping into the river.

The five daily prayers and their rak'ahs

A rak'ah is one unit of the prayer: standing, bowing, rising and two prostrations. Each of the five prayers is a fixed number of these units, and together they make seventeen obligatory (fard) rak'ahs a day. The times are tied to the sun, which is why they move a little every day and differ from city to city.

The Prophet ﷺ set out the window of each prayer, from its start to its end (Sahih Muslim 612), and the Quran describes the prayer as a duty at fixed times:

You do not need to calculate any of this. Look up your city on our prayer times page, or let the app remind you. Scholars differ slightly on when Asr begins (the Hanafi school places it later), and calculation methods vary for Fajr and Isha, so a mosque timetable may not match an app to the minute.

Beyond the fard, the Prophet ﷺ said that whoever prays twelve voluntary rak'ahs in a day and night will have a house built for them in Paradise (Sahih Muslim 728): two before Fajr, four before Dhuhr, two after it, two after Maghrib and two after Isha (Jami' at-Tirmidhi 415, graded sahih). Witr at night is necessary (wajib) in the Hanafi school and a strongly recommended sunnah in the others. As a new Muslim, make the seventeen fard rak'ahs steady first. The rest will come.

Before you pray: the conditions

A few things need to be in place first. None is complicated, and soon you will barely notice them.

1. Purity, with wudu

The Prophet ﷺ said that no prayer is accepted without purification (Sahih Muslim 224). For the daily prayers that means wudu, the small ablution: washing the hands, mouth, nose, face and arms, wiping the head and ears, and washing the feet. It takes about two minutes and lasts until something breaks it, such as using the toilet, passing wind or deep sleep. Our step-by-step wudu guide covers it in full, with the du'a to say at the end.

After marital intimacy, and after a period or postnatal bleeding has ended, the larger wash, ghusl (a full shower with the intention of purification), is needed before praying. If you have just embraced Islam, scholars recommend (and some require) a ghusl as your first act, and our guide on taking the shahada explains why.

2. A clean body, clean clothes and a clean place

Your body, clothes and prayer spot should be free of impurities such as urine or blood. The Prophet ﷺ said that the earth was made a place of prayer for him (Sahih al-Bukhari 335), so a prayer mat is a convenience, not a requirement; a clean towel or patch of floor works just as well.

3. Covering the awrah

The awrah is the part of the body that must be covered in prayer. For a man, most scholars define it as from the navel to the knees, and the Prophet ﷺ also told men not to pray with their shoulders bare when they have the cloth to cover them (Sahih al-Bukhari 359). For a woman, most scholars define it as the whole body except the face and hands, with the hair covered (Sunan Abi Dawud 641, graded sahih); the Hanafi school also does not count the feet. Ordinary clothes are fine, as long as they are loose and thick enough not to show the body beneath.

4. Facing the qibla

Muslims everywhere pray towards the Ka'bah in Makkah, the qibla.

What surprises many new Muslims: the qibla follows the shortest path over the curve of the earth, not a line on a flat map. From New York it points north-east, at about 58 degrees, though a flat map makes Makkah look due east. From London it is about 119 degrees, south-east.

Use our qibla finder or the compass in the app, then note a landmark in your room. If you made a sincere effort and later learn you were slightly off, your prayer stands.

5. The time has entered

A prayer prayed before its time starts does not count, so check the start time, especially for Fajr and Maghrib, which are easy to misjudge by eye.

6. The intention

The Prophet ﷺ said that actions are judged by their intentions (Sahih al-Bukhari 1). The intention (niyyah) is simply knowing in your heart which prayer you are about to pray: this is Dhuhr. You do not need to say it aloud or recite a formula.

What makes the prayer valid

A man once prayed in the mosque and greeted the Prophet ﷺ, who told him to go back and pray, for he had not prayed. After the third time, the man asked to be taught. The Prophet ﷺ told him to make wudu properly, face the qibla, say the takbir, recite what he could of the Quran, then bow until he was at rest in the bow, rise until he stood straight, prostrate until he was at rest, sit until he was at rest, and do the same throughout his prayer (Sahih al-Bukhari 757 and 6251, Sahih Muslim 397).

Notice the phrase that keeps returning: until you are at rest. Stillness in each position, called tuma'ninah, is part of the prayer itself. A slow prayer with few words is better than a fast one with many.

How to pray two rak'ahs, step by step

Here is one complete two-rak'ah prayer, the shape of Fajr and of most voluntary prayers. Every other prayer is the same pattern with more rak'ahs. The figures face right, towards the qibla.

Step 1: Stand and say the opening takbir

Stand facing the qibla, eyes lowered to the place where your forehead will rest. Raise your hands with the palms facing forward, level with your shoulders (Sahih al-Bukhari 735) or up to your ears (Sahih Muslim 391); both are from the Sunnah. As you raise them, say:

This is takbirat al-ihram, the takbir of sanctity: from now until the salam, you do not talk, eat or look around.

Step 2: Place your hands and say the opening du'a

Lower your hands and place the right hand over the left (Sahih Muslim 401). Where the hands rest is a known difference: some scholars teach on the chest, the Shafi'i school just below the chest, the Hanafi and Hanbali schools below the navel, and the well-known practice of the Maliki school is to let the arms rest at the sides. Each has scholarship behind it; follow the way you are taught.

Then quietly say an opening du'a, a sunnah of the first rak'ah only. A short one many people learn first:

The Prophet ﷺ used other openings too, such as the one asking Allah to put as much distance between you and your sins as between the east and the west (Sahih al-Bukhari 744).

Step 3: Seek refuge and say the Basmalah

Before reciting, seek Allah's protection from Satan, as the Quran instructs:

The schools differ on the Basmalah: the Shafi'i school counts it as the first verse of Al-Fatiha and recites it with the surah, the Hanafi and Hanbali schools say it quietly before the surah, and the Maliki school does not recite it in the obligatory prayers. Most new Muslims are taught to say it quietly.

Step 4: Recite Al-Fatiha

Al-Fatiha, the Opening, is the heart of every rak'ah: the Prophet ﷺ said there is no prayer for the one who does not recite it (Sahih al-Bukhari 756, Sahih Muslim 394). It is the first thing to memorise.

At the end, say Amin:

The Prophet ﷺ said that whoever's Amin coincides with the Amin of the angels will have their past sins forgiven (Sahih al-Bukhari 780). In the prayers recited aloud, the Shafi'i and Hanbali schools say Amin aloud and the Hanafi and Maliki schools say it quietly. You will hear both.

Step 5: Recite a short surah

In the first two rak'ahs, recite something more from the Quran after Al-Fatiha: a short surah or a few verses. It is a sunnah in most schools (the Hanafi school counts it as necessary). The shortest surahs, Al-Kawthar (108), Al-Asr (103) and Al-Ikhlas (112), are where most people begin. Here is Al-Ikhlas:

Step 6: Bow (ruku)

Say Allahu Akbar and bow from the hips. Place your hands on your knees with your fingers spread, keep your arms straight, and make your back flat, with your head level with it, neither drooping nor raised. Stay there until you are still, and say three times, or more:

Step 7: Rise and stand upright (i'tidal)

Rise to standing, saying the first phrase as you come up and the second once you are upright and still.

When you pray behind an imam, he says the first line aloud, and the Prophet ﷺ told the people behind him to answer with the second (Sahih al-Bukhari 796).

Step 8: Prostrate (sujud)

Say Allahu Akbar and go down into prostration. Seven parts of the body rest on the ground: the forehead together with the nose, both palms, both knees, and the toes of both feet (Sahih al-Bukhari 812, Sahih Muslim 490). Place your palms flat on the ground, level with your shoulders or your ears. Lift your elbows off the floor and away from your sides (Sahih Muslim 494); the Prophet ﷺ told us not to lay our forearms flat on the ground (Sahih al-Bukhari 822). Keep your toes bent so their tips face the qibla (Sahih al-Bukhari 828).

Most schools teach putting the knees down before the hands; the Maliki school teaches the hands first. Either way, go down gently.

Say it three times or more. The Prophet ﷺ said that a servant is nearest to his Lord while prostrating, so make plenty of du'a there (Sahih Muslim 482).

Step 9: Sit between the two prostrations

Say Allahu Akbar and sit up: the posture most often taught is sitting on your left foot laid flat, right foot upright with its toes bent towards the qibla, hands on your thighs. Sit until you are still, and say:

Step 10: The second prostration

Say Allahu Akbar and prostrate again exactly as before, saying Subhana Rabbiya-l-A'la three times. That completes your first rak'ah.

Step 11: Stand for the second rak'ah

Say Allahu Akbar and rise. The second rak'ah is the same as the first, without the opening takbir and opening du'a.

Step 12: Sit for the tashahhud

After the second prostration of the second rak'ah, stay seated for the tashahhud, the testimony. Rest your hands on your thighs and raise your right index finger to point during the testimony (Sahih Muslim 580); the schools differ on exactly when to raise it and whether to move it, so follow your teacher. The Prophet ﷺ taught this to Ibn Mas'ud with his hand held between his own, the way he would teach a surah of the Quran (Sahih al-Bukhari 6265).

Step 13: Send blessings on the Prophet ﷺ

In the final sitting, after the tashahhud, recite the salawat, the blessings on the Prophet ﷺ that he taught his companions:

Step 14: A du'a before you finish

The Prophet ﷺ told us that after the final tashahhud we should seek refuge in Allah from four things (Sahih Muslim 588). After this, you may ask Allah for anything good.

Step 15: End with the salam

Turn your head to the right and say the greeting of peace, then turn to the left and say it again. The Prophet ﷺ turned so far that the people behind him could see the whiteness of his cheek (Sahih Muslim 582).

Your prayer is complete. Staying seated for a few moments of remembrance afterwards is a good habit to grow into.

Prayers of three and four rak'ahs

Dhuhr, Asr and Isha have four rak'ahs and Maghrib has three. They follow the same pattern, with three changes:

1. The middle sitting is short. After the second rak'ah, sit and recite the tashahhud only, up to 'abduhu wa rasuluh. Then say Allahu Akbar and stand for the third rak'ah. Many scholars also raise the hands here, as Ibn 'Umar reported (Sahih al-Bukhari 739).
2. Al-Fatiha only after the second rak'ah. In the third and fourth rak'ahs, recite Al-Fatiha without a second surah (Sahih al-Bukhari 776).
3. The final sitting comes at the end. After the last rak'ah, sit for the full tashahhud, the salawat and the du'a, then end with the salam. In this last sitting of a three or four rak'ah prayer, the Sunnah also describes a sitting called tawarruk: your seat rests on the floor, the left foot is brought forward under the right leg, and the right foot stays upright (Sahih al-Bukhari 828). The schools differ on which sittings use it, and the Hanafi school keeps the same sitting as in the middle, so either is sound.

Which parts are aloud, and which are silent

In some prayers the recitation of Al-Fatiha and the surah is aloud; in others it is quiet. The Prophet's companions knew he recited in Dhuhr and Asr from the movement of his beard (Sahih al-Bukhari 746), and they heard him recite in Maghrib and Isha.

The opening du'a, the words of ruku and sujud, the tashahhud and the salawat are always quiet; an imam says the takbirs, Sami'a-llahu li-man hamidah and the salam aloud so everyone can follow. Praying alone, you may recite the aloud prayers aloud or quietly; the schools differ on which is better, and both are valid. “Silent” still means moving your lips and tongue, not only thinking the words.

Common mistakes, and gentle fixes

• Rushing. The most common mistake of all. Hudhayfah saw a man who did not complete his bowing and prostrations and told him he had not truly prayed (Sahih al-Bukhari 791). Pause until you are still in every position.
• Lifting the nose or feet in sujud. All seven parts touch the ground. Check your toes especially.
• Forearms flat on the floor in sujud. Hands down, elbows up.
• Looking up or around. The Prophet ﷺ warned people against raising their eyes to the sky in prayer (Sahih al-Bukhari 750). Keep your gaze on the place of prostration.
• Moving ahead of the imam. In congregation, follow just after the imam, never before him (Sahih al-Bukhari 691).
• Clothes that ride up. A short top can expose the lower back in ruku and sujud. Check it once on your mat.
• Waiting until you are “ready”. You will never feel ready. Pray with what you know today; the next section explains how.
• Endless doubt. If you are unsure whether you prayed three rak'ahs or four, go with the number you are sure of, three, complete the prayer, and do the two prostrations of forgetfulness (Sahih Muslim 571).

If you forget something: sujud as-sahw

Forgetting in prayer happened to the Prophet ﷺ himself. He said: “I am only human; I forget as you forget, so when I forget, remind me” (Sahih al-Bukhari 401). Once he stood up after two rak'ahs of Dhuhr without sitting for the first tashahhud, carried on, and made two prostrations before the salam to make up for it (Sahih al-Bukhari 829, Sahih Muslim 570).

So if you leave out one of the necessary parts that is not a pillar, such as the first tashahhud, add a rak'ah by mistake, or are unsure how many you have prayed, finish your prayer and make two extra prostrations, with a short sitting between, saying the same words as in any sujud. The schools differ on the details: the Hanafi school does them after one salam to the right and then repeats the tashahhud, the Shafi'i school before the salam, and the Maliki and Hanbali schools before or after depending on the mistake. If you miss a pillar itself, such as a whole ruku or a sujud, that rak'ah is not complete, so it needs to be made up as well; ask a teacher you trust to walk you through it once.

Still learning the Arabic? Start where you are

This is the part that worries new Muslims most, so read it slowly.

The Prophet ﷺ said: “When I command you to do something, do as much of it as you are able” (Sahih al-Bukhari 7288). When he taught the man who prayed badly, he told him that if he knew some of the Quran he should recite it, and if not, he should praise Allah, say Allahu Akbar and say la ilaha illa-llah (Jami' at-Tirmidhi 302, Sunan Abi Dawud 861, graded sahih by al-Albani). So scholars teach that someone who has not yet learned Al-Fatiha keeps praying, saying what remembrance they can in its place while they learn, such as:

This is a bridge, not a place to stay: learning Al-Fatiha is an obligation and your first project. And the struggle itself is rewarded. The Prophet ﷺ said that the one who recites the Quran with difficulty, stumbling over it, has a double reward (Sahih Muslim 798, Sahih al-Bukhari 4937).

A learning order that works

1. Days 1 to 3: Allahu Akbar, Subhana Rabbiya-l-Adheem, Subhana Rabbiya-l-A'la and as-salamu 'alaykum wa rahmatu-llah. With these and the praises above, you can pray every movement.
2. Week 1 to 2: Al-Fatiha, one verse a day. Listen, repeat, then say it in prayer.
3. Week 2 to 3: Sami'a-llahu li-man hamidah, Rabbana wa laka-l-hamd, Rabbi-ghfir li, and Al-Ikhlas.
4. Week 3 to 5: The tashahhud, then the salawat.
5. After that: an opening du'a, the du'a before the salam, and more short surahs.

Two questions come up early. Reading from a card or phone during the prayer: the Hanafi school holds that it breaks the prayer, while other scholars allow it, especially in voluntary prayers, so the safest path is to say what you have memorised and practise with the card between prayers. Du'a in your own language: some scholars allow a short personal du'a in your language in sujud, while others hold that everything inside the prayer should be in Arabic. After the salam there is no difference: ask Allah for anything, in any language. And pray in congregation when you can; you follow the imam and hear the recitation, and the Prophet ﷺ said a prayer in congregation is twenty-seven times better than praying alone (Sahih al-Bukhari 645).

Praying at work, at school and while travelling

At work or school. Dhuhr and Asr usually fall in working hours, and each takes five to ten minutes. Any clean, quiet corner will do, such as an empty meeting room; keep a small mat or a clean scarf in your bag. Many employers and universities will make room if you ask simply and early, and each prayer's window is usually long enough to pick a moment that suits your day.

Travelling. When you are on a journey, the four-rak'ah prayers (Dhuhr, Asr and Isha) are shortened to two (Quran 4:101; Sahih al-Bukhari 1081). Fajr and Maghrib stay as they are; Aisha said the prayer was first prescribed as two rak'ahs, and the travel prayer stayed that way (Sahih al-Bukhari 350). On a journey the Prophet ﷺ also combined Maghrib and Isha when he was in a hurry (Sahih al-Bukhari 1106), and most scholars allow joining Dhuhr with Asr and Maghrib with Isha while travelling; the Hanafi school allows combining only at Arafah and Muzdalifah during Hajj. What counts as travel is defined slightly differently by the schools, with many using a distance of roughly 80 kilometres.

On a plane, train or bus. The Prophet ﷺ prayed voluntary prayers on his mount facing wherever it went, and dismounted to pray the obligatory prayers facing the qibla (Sahih al-Bukhari 1099). If you cannot stand or prostrate for an obligatory prayer on board, pray as you are able: he said to pray standing, and if you cannot, then sitting, and if you cannot, then lying on your side (Sahih al-Bukhari 1117). The same rule covers anyone who is ill or injured.

Your printable salah checklist

Print this, keep it beside your mat, and tick each line as you learn it. It has every step of the rak'ah, the words for each position in Arabic, transliteration and English, the full tashahhud and salawat, and the five prayers at a glance.

Common questions

Keep learning with Barakah Life

The Barakah Life prayer guide walks you through every prayer, from Fajr to witr, Jumu'ah and the funeral prayer. In the app, its guided mode takes you through each position one step at a time and plays every line aloud, so you can loop a phrase and slow it down until it sits on your tongue. It also has prayer times for your city with gentle reminders, a qibla compass, and a salah tracker. If you are new to Islam, the 30-day new Muslim path takes you from the shahada to a steady prayer life, one day at a time. Download Barakah Life, free on iPhone and Android.

Your first prayer will not be perfect, and it does not need to be. Stand, say Allahu Akbar, and bring what you have. The One you are standing before already knows the rest.