Salah Guide

Perform Wudu if you have broken it since the last time.

If you are still in Wudu from an earlier prayer, you do not need to repeat it.

Prayer without Wudu is not valid, so this comes first.

Wear clean clothes.

For men, at minimum from the navel to the knees.

For women, the whole body except the face and hands.

Clothing should not be transparent or so tight that it outlines the body.

The spot where you pray must be free of impurity.

A prayer mat is customary but not required. Clean ground is enough.

Pick somewhere you will not be walked in front of if you can.

Turn towards the Kaaba in Mecca.

A compass, a phone app, or the direction the mosque faces will give you this.

If you genuinely cannot work it out, pray towards your best estimate. The effort counts.

Make the intention in your heart to perform Wudu for prayer.

It is not spoken aloud. Deciding to do it, knowing why, is the intention.

Wash both hands up to the wrists, three times.

Work the water between the fingers.

Start with the right.

Take water into the mouth and swill it around, three times.

Use the right hand to bring the water up.

Sniff water into the nose and blow it out, three times.

Sniff in with the right hand, blow out with the left.

Wash the whole face three times.

From the hairline to the chin, and from ear to ear.

If you have a thick beard, run wet fingers through it.

Wash each arm up to and including the elbow, three times.

Right arm first, then the left.

Make sure no part stays dry.

Wipe wet hands over the head once.

Go from the front hairline back, then return to the front.

This is a wipe, not a wash. No pouring.

Wipe the inside of each ear with the index fingers and the back with the thumbs, once.

Done with the same water as the head, no fresh water needed.

Wash each foot up to and including the ankle, three times.

Right foot first, then the left.

Run a finger between the toes.

Wudu is now complete.

The Imam intends to lead the prayer.

Each follower intends to pray this prayer behind this Imam.

Without that intention on both sides it is not a congregation, just people praying near each other.

The Imam stands alone at the front, centred.

Followers form straight rows directly behind, shoulder to shoulder, filling each row before starting the next.

With only one follower, he stands to the Imam's right, level with him.

The Imam says 'Allahu Akbar' aloud for every change of position.

The followers say it quietly to themselves.

The Takbir is the signal, which is why only one voice carries it.

Fajr, Maghrib and Isha: the Imam recites Al-Fatiha and a second Surah aloud in the first two Rakats.

Dhuhr and Asr: the Imam recites silently throughout.

Followers listen when the recitation is aloud.

The Imam says 'Sami'allahu liman hamidah' aloud as he rises.

The followers answer with 'Rabbanaa wa lakal-hamd' quietly.

This is the one moment where the two sides say different words. It is a call and a response.

Never move before the Imam. Move after he has started, not with him.

If you arrive late, join immediately in whatever position he is in and make up the missed Rakats after he gives Salam.

If the Imam makes a mistake in recitation, a follower behind him may prompt him.

Rise back up to a standing position.

While rising, say 'Sami'allahu liman hamidah'.

Once standing, say 'Rabbanaa wa lakal-hamd'.

Pause for a moment, standing straight (calmness is mandatory).

Say 'Allahu Akbar' and sit on your legs.

Recite: 'Rabbighfir lee, Rabbighfir lee' (My Lord, forgive me, my Lord, forgive me).

This is a pause for mercy before another bow.

Sit on your left foot (lay it flat) and keep your right foot upright with toes facing Qiblah (this is called Iftirash).

Place your hands on your thighs/knees.

Keep your back straight. Pause for a moment (calmness is wajib).

Do not rush; this sitting is a separate pillar of Salah.

Say 'Allahu Akbar' and go down for the second Sujud.

Perform exactly as the first Sujud.

Ensure 7 bones are touching the ground again.

Recite 'Subhaana rabbiyal-a'laa' 3 times.

This ends the Rakat. What happens next is in the section below.

These are the Fard (obligatory) counts:

Fajr: 2

Dhuhr: 4

Asr: 4

Maghrib: 3

Isha: 4

Sunnah and Nafl Rakats are prayed separately, before or after the Fard, and are not counted in the numbers above. Witr is its own prayer after Isha.

Say 'Allahu Akbar' as you push up from the second Sujud.

Come up to standing and fold your hands as you did at the start.

Do not repeat the opening supplication (Sana) or 'A'oodhu billahi'. Those are said once, at the very beginning of the prayer.

Say Bismillah and go straight into Al-Fatiha.

Rakat 1 and Rakat 2: Al-Fatiha, then a second passage of the Quran.

Rakat 3 and Rakat 4: Al-Fatiha only. No second passage.

Al-Fatiha is the one thing recited in every single Rakat, without exception.

The bowing, prostrating and sitting are identical in every Rakat. Only the recitation changes.

This applies to Maghrib and to every four-Rakat prayer. Fajr skips it, because Fajr ends at Rakat 2.

After the second Sujud of Rakat 2, sit as you sit between prostrations.

Recite At-Tahiyyat, and nothing more.

Do not recite the Durood here. That belongs to the final sitting.

Say 'Allahu Akbar', stand up, and begin Rakat 3.

This is the sitting after the second Sujud of your last Rakat.

Recite At-Tahiyyat.

Then the Durood Ibrahimi.

Then your supplications before Salam.

Then give the Salam, right and then left, and the prayer is finished.

Many follow the Prophet's ﷺ practice of sitting differently here, slipping the left foot out to the right and resting the hips on the floor. That posture is called Tawarruk. Schools differ on when it applies, so follow what you are taught locally.

The next sections cover this sitting in order.

Excess: you added a part unintentionally (an extra Ruku, an extra Sujud, an extra Rakat).

Deficiency: you skipped a mandatory part unintentionally.

Doubt: you are unsure how many Rakats you have prayed.

It covers unintentional slips only. Skipping a pillar on purpose breaks the prayer and it must be repeated.

1. Continue the prayer to the final sitting as normal.

2. After Tashahhud and Durood, perform two extra prostrations, saying 'Allahu Akbar' going into each and rising from each.

3. These go either before or after the final Salam, depending on the case and the school you follow.

4. Then give the Salam and the prayer is complete.

Speaking intentionally, even a single word, even briefly.

Any amount, however small, including swallowing something already in the mouth.

Moving three times consecutively, or any movement that would make an onlooker think you had stopped praying.

Laughing out loud. A silent smile does not break the prayer.

Passing wind, or anything else that invalidates your state of purity.

Turning your chest significantly away from the direction of prayer. Glancing with the eyes does not break it.

If the parts of the body that must be covered are exposed for a noticeable duration.

Intentionally skipping a mandatory part such as Ruku or Sujud. Unintentional slips are handled by Sujud as-Sahw instead.

Rakat: One unit of prayer: standing, bowing, and two prostrations.

Fard: Obligatory. Leaving it out invalidates the prayer.

Wajib: Mandatory, one step below Fard.

Sunnah: The way of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ. Rewarded, not obligatory.

Nafl: Optional, voluntary prayer.

Niyyah: The intention, made in the heart, not spoken aloud.

Sujud as-Sahw: The two prostrations that repair an unintentional mistake.

Qiyam: The standing position.

Ruku: The bowing position.

Sujud: The prostration.

Jalsa: The short sitting between the two prostrations.

Iftirash: Sitting on a flat left foot with the right foot upright. Used between prostrations and in the first Tashahhud.

Tawarruk: Sitting with the left foot slipped out to the right and the hips on the floor. Used in the final sitting of longer prayers.

Wudu: The ritual washing done before prayer.

Qiblah: The direction of the Kaaba in Mecca.

Awrah: The parts of the body that must stay covered.

Adhan: The public call to prayer.

Iqamah: The second, shorter call given immediately before the prayer starts.

Takbir: Saying 'Allahu Akbar'. The opening one is the Takbirat al-Ihram.

Tashahhud: The testimony of faith recited while sitting.

Durood: The blessings sent on the Prophet ﷺ during the sitting.

Salam: The final salutation, given right then left, that ends the prayer.

Jama'ah: Congregational prayer.

Imam: The one who leads the prayer.

Ma'mum: One who follows the Imam.