Standing (qiyam) and intention
Face the qiblah, make your intention in the heart and begin. The intention is not spoken aloud in the majority position.
AQLC / Prayer
Salah centre
How to pray, step by step, with the conditions and pillars, what invalidates a prayer, the sunnah prayers, and a tracker for your own record.
Step by step
Performing salah
Nine stages from the intention to the closing salam.
Before you begin
The five conditions
- 01Prayer times (awqat) — each prayer has a window. Praying outside it invalidates the prayer.
- 02Purity (taharah) — wudu, or ghusl where required, and a clean place and clothing.
- 03Covering (satr) — the body must be covered according to the ruling for your gender.
- 04Facing the qiblah — toward the Ka'bah, within the limits of your ability.
- 05Intention (niyyah) — present in the heart at the start.
Then verify with a teacher.
A written guide teaches the order. A teacher corrects your sound and your posture. AQLC runs a live Qur'an clinic weekly where you can recite and be corrected in person.
A written guide teaches the order. A teacher corrects your sound and your posture. AQLC runs a live Qur'an clinic weekly where you can recite and be corrected in person.
Purification
Wudu, ghusl, tayammum
Wudu is the ordinary preparation: hands, mouth, nose, face, arms to the elbows, head, ears, and feet to the ankles — performed in order, in one sitting.
Ghusl is required after major impurity. Tayammum is the substitute with clean earth when water is unavailable or harmful.
A general guide.
Both men and women perform salah the same way in substance; the differences are in covering and a few positions. Women's specific questions are handled in the Sisters section.
Both men and women perform salah the same way in substance; the differences are in covering and a few positions. Women's specific questions are handled in the Sisters section.
The stages
From the intention to the salam
Each stage is a pillar or an obligation the prayer depends on.
Takbirat al-ihram
Raise the hands and say "Allahu akbar". This is the moment the prayer begins and ordinary speech becomes impermissible.
Recitation
Al-Fatihah, then a portion of the Qur'an where the prayer calls for it.
Ruku' — bowing
Bow with a flat back, hands on the knees, saying "Subhana Rabbiyal-'Adhim".
Standing after ruku'
Rise and say "Sami'a Allahu liman hamidah"; then "Rabbana wa lakal-hamd".
Sujud — prostration
Seven parts of the body touch the ground: forehead with nose, both palms, both knees, the toes. Say "Subhana Rabbiyal-A'la".
Sitting between the two prostrations
Sit briefly and ask forgiveness; then prostrate again.
The tashahhud
After every second rak'ah, sit and recite the tashahhud.
Salawat and closing
Send blessings on the Prophet ﷺ, then close with the taslim to the right and left: "As-salamu 'alaykum wa rahmatullah".
What invalidates the prayer
Keep it sound
- 01Deliberate speech or any sound that forms words
- 02Eating or drinking, even a small amount
- 03Breaking wudu, for example passing wind or urine
- 04Deliberate turning of the chest away from the qiblah
- 05Excessive movement of the limbs unrelated to the prayer
- 06Uncovering the satr deliberately
- 07Missing a condition or pillar without valid excuse
Your tracker
Salah record
Mark each prayer as you complete it. The record is stored in this browser and never uploaded.
0Prayers logged
5Per day
35Per week
Beyond the five
Sunnah, traveller and janazah
Sunnah & nafl
The prayers around the five
Sunnah mu'akkadah and nafl prayers carry great reward. The twelve rak'at known as the sunan al-rawatib are the most consistently practised: two before Fajr, four before Dhuhr and two after, two after Maghrib, and two after Isha.
The traveller shortens the four-rak'ah prayers to two and may combine Dhuhr with Asr and Maghrib with Isha.
Janazah
The funeral prayer
Offered standing, without bowing or prostration, in four takbirs with the prescribed supplications between them. It is a communal obligation — if some of the community performs it, the obligation is met for all.
Further reading