What to say in each part of the prayer

You have learned the pieces: Surah Al-Fatiha, what to say in ruku and sujud, and the tashahhud. Now it is time to put them together. This lesson walks through a prayer of two units (rak'ahs), like the Fajr prayer, from beginning to end, so you know what to say at each moment.

A quick reminder: one rak'ah is a round of standing, bowing (ruku), and two prostrations (sujud). Almost every move from one position to the next begins with Allahu Akbar (Allah is the Greatest). The Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, said the takbir when he stood, bowed, went down, and rose, throughout the whole prayer (Bukhari and Muslim).

He also taught a man who was rushing his prayer to slow down: to bow until he was at ease, rise until he stood straight, prostrate until he was at ease, and sit until he was at ease (Bukhari and Muslim). So there is no hurry. Let each position settle before you move on.

Before you begin

Make wudu and face the qibla (the direction of the Kaaba in Makkah). Then make your intention (niyyah): decide in your heart which prayer you are about to pray. The Prophet said, "Actions are only by intentions" (Bukhari and Muslim). Scholars agree that the intention lives in the heart, so you do not need to say it out loud.

Walk through a two-unit prayer

Phrases you meet for the first time

You already know Al-Fatiha, the words of ruku and sujud, and the tashahhud. These are the new ones.

When you pray behind an imam, you follow him. When he says Allahu Akbar, you say it after him, and when he says Sami'allahu liman hamidah, you answer Rabbana wa lakal-hamd (Bukhari).

Prayers of three or four units

Maghrib has three units; Dhuhr, Asr, and Isha have four. After the second unit, you sit for the first tashahhud, then say Allahu Akbar and stand up for the rest. In the third and fourth units, you recite Al-Fatiha only, without a second surah (Bukhari and Muslim). The final sitting, with the tashahhud, the salawat, and the taslim, comes at the end of the last unit.

Small differences are normal

You will notice Muslims doing some details differently. Most scholars teach placing the right hand over the left while standing, but they differ on where (on the chest or lower), and some Maliki communities pray with their arms at their sides. People also differ in how high they raise their hands and exactly how they sit. These are details of the Sunnah, not pillars of the prayer, so they do not make anyone's prayer invalid, and it is completely fine to follow the way of your local masjid.

You now have a full map of the prayer. In the next lesson, you will look at what these words mean, so that each one reaches your heart as well as your tongue.