How to pray salah
Every Muslim prays five times a day. It is simpler than it looks, and you do not have to get it perfect on day one. This is the complete walkthrough: wudu, the exact words and positions, and how many rak'ahs each prayer has. Every line in Arabic, transliteration, and English. Take it one page at a time.
1. Before you pray
Six things have to be in place before the salah counts:
- Wudu: you are in a state of ritual purity
A quick wash of hands, mouth, face, arms, head and feet. Keeps its validity until you break it.
- Clean clothes covering the awrah
The minimum covering for men in prayer is from the navel to the knees. For women the minimum is everything except face and hands. Any clean clothing that meets this is fine.
- Clean prayer space
A bed, a rug, a patch of grass, anywhere free of impurity. A prayer mat is a convenience, not a requirement.
- Facing the qibla (the Ka'bah in Makkah)
Use a compass or the direction indicator in Barakah. If you can't tell, do your best, the intention is what counts.
- The prayer's time has entered
Each of the five prayers has a window. Check live times for your city from the home page.
- Intention (niyyah) in your heart
You don't need to speak it. Simply intending 'I'm praying Dhuhr now' is enough.
2. How to make wudu (ablution)
Wudu washes the parts that most often pick up dirt during the day. It takes about a minute. You keep your wudu as long as you don't use the bathroom, pass gas, fall asleep, or bleed heavily. If any of those happen, redo it before your next salah.
Open the full step-by-step wudu guide- 1Wash both hands up to the wrists (3 times)
Start with the right hand, then the left. Work between the fingers.
- 2Rinse the mouth (3 times)
Scoop water with the right hand and rinse thoroughly.
- 3Sniff water into the nose and blow it out (3 times)
A gentle sniff, just enough to reach the inside of the nose.
- 4Wash the face (3 times)
From hairline to jaw, ear to ear. Make sure no patch is dry.
- 5Wash the arms up to and including the elbows (3 times)
Right arm first, then left. Over the elbow is fine.
- 6Wipe the head (once)
Wet your palms and wipe from the front of the head to the back, once. The obligatory (fard) part is a single pass. Returning from back to front is the full Sunnah version.
- 7Wipe the ears (once)
Insert the index fingers into the ear canals and pass the thumbs behind the ears.
- 8Wash the feet up to and including the ankles (3 times)
Right foot first, then left. Work between the toes.
The Prophet ﷺ said whoever says this after wudu, the eight gates of Paradise are opened for them. Sahih Muslim 234.
3. The full two-rak'ah walkthrough
Every salah is built from repeating rak'ahs, one complete cycle of standing, bowing, and two prostrations. Learn two rak'ahs and you know every prayer; the rest is just repeating the pattern.
Stand facing the qibla and make the opening takbir
Raise your hands to your earlobes or shoulders, palms facing forward, and say Allahu Akbar. This is Takbiratul Ihram, the moment the prayer begins and worldly talk is locked out until you finish. The Prophet ﷺ taught men and women the same way, saying 'pray as you have seen me pray' (Bukhari 631).
Place your hands and say the opening supplication
Place your right hand over your left, on the chest. This is the practice narrated from Wa'il ibn Hujr (Sahih Ibn Khuzaymah, Sahih Ibn Hibban) and is what Shafi'i, Maliki, and Hanbali scholars teach for both men and women. Hanafi scholars place the hands just below the navel for men. Look at the spot where you will prostrate, then recite the opening du'a (thana) quietly.
Seek refuge, say the Basmalah
Before reciting al-Fatihah in the first rak'ah, seek refuge from Shaytan and say Bismillah quietly.
Recite Surat al-Fatihah
The Opening chapter of the Qur'an is recited in every rak'ah. At the end, say 'Ameen' quietly.
Recite a short surah or verses
In the first two rak'ahs, recite a surah (or a portion of one) after al-Fatihah. A good starter is al-Ikhlas, three short verses.
Say the takbir and go into ruku (bowing)
Say Allahu Akbar as you bend forward. Keep your back flat and parallel to the ground, hands on your knees, fingers spread. Recite the tasbih three times.
Rise from ruku to standing, I'tidal
Straighten up from the bow, hands at your sides. As you rise, say the first line below; once standing, say the second.
Say the takbir and go into sujud (prostration)
Say Allahu Akbar and move down to prostration. Seven parts touch the ground: forehead, nose, both palms, both knees, and the tips of both feet. Recite the tasbih three times.
Sit between the two sujuds (jalsa)
Say Allahu Akbar as you rise. Sit with your left foot folded under and your right foot standing on its toes. Hands rest on your thighs. A short dua is recommended.
Second sujud, then stand for rak'ah 2
Say Allahu Akbar and prostrate again, reciting Subhana Rabbiyal A'la three times. Then rise (Allahu Akbar) to standing for the second rak'ah. Repeat: Fatihah + a short surah + ruku + i'tidal + two sujuds with a jalsa between. Note: the second surah after Fatihah is only in rak'ahs 1 and 2. In rak'ahs 3 and 4 (for Dhuhr, Asr, Maghrib, Isha) you recite al-Fatihah only.
Sit for tashahhud after the second sujud of rak'ah 2
After the second prostration of the second rak'ah, sit in the same jalsa posture. Raise your index finger on your right hand when you say 'illa-llah' as a pointer to tawhid. For a 2-rak'ah prayer (Fajr, Jumu'ah, sunnah, etc.) this is the final sitting. For a 3 or 4-rak'ah prayer (Dhuhr, Asr, Maghrib, Isha), recite only the tashahhud below, then say Allahu Akbar and stand back up for rak'ah 3. Do not recite the salawat or make salam here.
Send salawat on the Prophet ﷺ
Immediately after tashahhud, send prayers upon the Prophet ﷺ. This is the durood recited in every prayer.
Make a final du'a of your own
Before the salam, the Prophet ﷺ taught us to ask for protection. This one is a protected slot, any dua you make after the final tashahhud is strongly encouraged to be accepted.
Taslim, end the prayer
Turn your head to the right so your right cheek is visible to someone behind you. Then turn to the left the same way. That ends the prayer.
4. Rak'ahs for each of the five prayers
Fardare the obligatory rak'ahs you must pray. Sunnah are the ones the Prophet ﷺ prayed regularly, strongly recommended. Start with the fard and add the sunnah as you grow.
| Prayer | Sunnah before | Fard | Sunnah after | Witr |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Fajr الفجر | 2 | 2 | - | - |
Dhuhr الظهر | 2+2 | 4 | 2 | - |
Asr العصر | - | 4 | - | - |
Maghrib المغرب | - | 3 | 2 | - |
Isha العشاء | - | 4 | 2 | 3 |
If you only pray the fard rak'ahs, that's the obligation complete. Total fard each day: 17 rak'ahs. The sunnah are bonus weight the Prophet ﷺ never missed.
5. Common mistakes & tips
- Focus on the Fard first, add Sunnah as you grow
Fard (obligatory) is what makes the prayer count. A valid prayer with only the fard rak'ahs fulfils the obligation. The sunnah rak'ahs are extra weight the Prophet ﷺ prayed regularly. If you are new, lock in all five fards first before worrying about the sunnahs.
- You don't have to understand the Arabic to pray
The prayer is valid in Arabic from day one. Learn the translations over time, many new Muslims pray with a transliteration card on the mat for the first weeks.
- For prayers with 3 or 4 rak'ahs, don't recite a second surah after rak'ah 2
The third and fourth rak'ahs have only al-Fatihah (no second surah). Everything else stays the same.
- For 3 and 4-rak'ah prayers, the middle tashahhud is short
After the second sujud of rak'ah 2 in Dhuhr, Asr, Maghrib, and Isha, sit briefly, recite only the tashahhud (the witnessing), then say Allahu Akbar and stand for rak'ah 3. Do not recite the salawat or make salam here, that happens only in the final sitting.
- Men and women pray the same way
The Prophet ﷺ said 'pray as you have seen me pray' (Bukhari 631) and did not teach gendered postures. Some madhabs describe small variations for women, but these are secondary positions, not the Sunnah itself.
- Missed a fard? Pray it as qada as soon as you remember
The Prophet ﷺ said: 'Whoever forgets a prayer, let him pray it as soon as he remembers, there is no expiation for it except that.' Sahih Muslim 684.
- Never rush
Tranquillity (khushu') in every position is a pillar of salah. Stay in each posture long enough to feel it, the Prophet ﷺ once told a man to re-pray because he prayed too quickly.
6. FAQs new Muslims ask
I can't read Arabic yet. Can I pray in English?+
Salah is recited in Arabic by scholarly consensus. Use a transliteration card and repeat the lines phonetically, you don't need to fully understand Arabic to pray a valid salah. Understanding comes quickly once you're praying daily.
What do I do if I miss part of the prayer behind an imam?+
When the imam says salam, stand and complete the rak'ahs you missed on your own. You pray those rak'ahs as though they are the start of your prayer.
What if I'm not sure which rak'ah I'm in?+
Build on certainty. If you're unsure whether you just prayed rak'ah 2 or rak'ah 3, assume the lower number, complete the extra rak'ah, and perform two sujud as-sahw (prostrations of forgetfulness) before the final salam.
Do women and men pray differently?+
The Prophet ﷺ said 'pray as you have seen me pray' (Bukhari 631) and did not teach gendered postures. Some later madhabs describe small variations (for example a more compact posture in sujud), but these are secondary madhab positions, not the Sunnah itself. The primary practice is the same for everyone.
Can I pray sitting if I'm injured or very ill?+
Yes. The rule is: pray standing if you can, sitting if you can't, and lying down if you can't sit. Allah does not burden a soul beyond its capacity (Qur'an 2:286).
How many prayers must I make up if I just became Muslim?+
When you said shahadah, everything before it was wiped clean. You start from your first salah forward, no making-up of prayers from before Islam.
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This guide anchors on the Quran and authenticated Sunnah: what the Prophet ﷺ taught all of us when he said "pray as you have seen me pray" (Bukhari 631). Where madhabs differ on smaller details, we note both positions. If you are studying with a local teacher, follow the wording they teach. The essentials are the same.