How to pray Salah for beginners: the five prayers, step by step

The five daily prayers

Salah is the most important pillar of Islam after the two testimonies. Five prayers are obligatory each day on every adult Muslim of sound mind; anything extra is voluntary. (A woman does not pray during her period or post-natal bleeding.)

• Fajr, the dawn prayer: two Rak'ahs. Its time begins at true dawn and ends at sunrise.
• Dhuhr, the midday prayer: four Rak'ahs. It begins when the sun passes its highest point and lasts until an object's shadow equals its length.
• Asr, the afternoon prayer: four Rak'ahs. It begins when the shadow equals the object's length and ends at sunset; pray it early.
• Maghrib, just after sunset: three Rak'ahs. It lasts until the red glow has left the sky; pray it early.
• Isha, the night prayer: four Rak'ahs. It begins when the red glow has gone and lasts until the middle of the night.

A prayer prayed before its time does not count, and delaying one past its time is a sin. You do not work the times out from the sky: your local masjid publishes a timetable, and the course recommends you use it. Write down today's five times and set a reminder for each.

What you need before you pray

The course lists nine conditions for the prayer. For a beginner they come down to this:

• Wudu. The short wash of the face, arms, head and feet. If a full wash (Ghusl) is due, do that first. The steps are in How to make Wudu step by step.
• The time has begun. Check the timetable.
• Covering. Clothing you cannot see the skin through. For a man, from the navel to the knee, and better with something over the shoulders too. For a woman, the whole body except the face and hands.
• Cleanliness. No impurity on your body, your clothes or the place you pray. A clean floor or a mat is enough.
• Facing the Qiblah, the direction of the Sacred Mosque in Makkah. From the UK it is roughly south-east. Ask Muslims who know, follow your local masjid, or use a reliable compass or app carefully. A slight turn to the left or right does not matter, and if you did your best and later find you were wrong, your prayers count.
• Intention. In your heart, you resolve to pray this particular prayer. You do not say it aloud.

You do not need a prayer mat, a hat or special clothes. A clean corner of a room, facing the right way, is enough.

The shape of one Rak'ah

A Rak'ah is one unit of prayer. Every prayer is a number of them, prayed one after another. In outline, one Rak'ah goes like this:

1. 1Stand facing the Qiblah, feet slightly apart, eyes on the place you will prostrate.
2. 2Say “Allahu akbar” (Allah is the Greatest), raising your hands to shoulder level. The prayer has now begun. Place your right hand over your left on your chest.
3. 3Recite al-Fatihah, the opening chapter of the Qur'an, then say “Amin”. In the first two Rak'ahs, add a short chapter after it; the course uses al-Ikhlas while you learn.
4. 4Bow (Ruku'), saying “Allahu akbar” as you go down: hands on your knees, back straight. Say “Subhana Rabbiyal-'Adhim” (Glory be to my Lord, the Magnificent).
5. 5Rise and stand straight, saying “Sami'allahu liman hamidah” and then “Rabbana wa lakal-hamd”.
6. 6Prostrate (Sujud), saying “Allahu akbar”: forehead and nose, both hands, both knees and the toes of both feet on the ground. Say “Subhana Rabbiyal-A'la” (Glory be to my Lord, the Most High).
7. 7Sit up between the two prostrations, saying “Allahu akbar”, then “Rabbighfir li” (My Lord, forgive me).
8. 8Prostrate again exactly as before. Then say “Allahu akbar” and stand for the next Rak'ah, which is prayed the same way from al-Fatihah onwards.

The one thing beginners most often miss: be still in each position, at least long enough to say its words. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) told a man who rushed his prayer to pray it again.

The course breaks the whole prayer into eighteen steps across three video lessons, and marks which are pillars (never dropped), which are obligatory, and which are Sunnah. The steps above are the outline only.

How the Rak'ahs fit together, and the sitting

After the second Rak'ah of every prayer you sit and recite the Tashahhud, a short set of words of greeting and testimony. In Fajr that sitting is the last one: you add the blessings on the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and a short Du'a, then end the prayer by turning your head to the right and saying “As-salamu 'alaykum wa rahmatullah”, and the same to the left. In Maghrib you stand after the first Tashahhud for a third Rak'ah, then sit for the final Tashahhud and the Salam; in Dhuhr, Asr and Isha, for a third and a fourth.

Fajr, and the first two Rak'ahs of Maghrib and Isha, are recited aloud; the rest quietly.

How long does it take to learn?

Less time than you think. The course's first level, which takes you from the Shahadah to praying all five prayers, is twelve lessons and about an hour and three quarters of video. Its own instruction at the end of the third prayer lesson is: today, pray two voluntary Rak'ahs, then Maghrib and Isha, using the card; by the end of the week, pray all five prayers alone, on time, from start to finish.

You do not need every word by heart to do that. Two pieces are required in Level 1, al-Fatihah and the Tashahhud; the rest are mostly one line each, given in English letters with their meanings, and learned a few lines at a time while you already pray from the card. You record yourself and a teacher replies with kind help. Mistakes, congregation and Friday prayer come in Level 2.

If you miss a prayer

If you sleep through a prayer or forget it, pray it as soon as you remember; if you missed several, pray them in order. Never let a prayer pass its time on purpose. If you became Muslim as an adult, you never make up prayers from before Islam: they were not owed.

Two worries most beginners have

• “I am praying at work or at university.” Pray every prayer within its time, wherever you are. You do not have to pray at the very start of the time; you can wait for your break, as long as you pray before the time ends. Any clean place, facing the Qiblah, will do.
• “Whispers come and I lose my place or doubt my Wudu.” Seek refuge in Allah from Satan and carry on. Do not repeat a prayer or a Wudu because of whispers; treat it as done.