How to performsalah

Salah consists of niyyah (intention), the opening takbir, qiyam (standing), qirāʾah (reciting al-Fātihah and another surah), rukuʿ (bowing), two sujoods (prostrations) and a final sitting with the tashahhud. In a two-rakah fard prayer this cycle is repeated twice; after the final sitting, the prayer ends by turning the head right and then left in tasleem.

The easiest way for beginners is to learn how to perform wudu, find the qiblah, and start with the two-rakah Fajr prayer. The two-rakah structure is the foundation of every prayer; once you have mastered it, three-rakah and four-rakah prayers become straightforward.

According to the Hanafi school: Fajr 2 sunnah + 2 fard; Dhuhr 4 sunnah + 4 fard + 2 sunnah; Asr 4 sunnah + 4 fard; Maghrib 3 fard + 2 sunnah; Isha 4 sunnah + 4 fard + 2 sunnah + 3 wājib witr. Praying the fard is the core obligation; the sunnahs bring additional reward.

No. Being in a state of wudu is one of the external conditions of salah. A prayer started without wudu — or in which wudu was broken — is invalid; wudu must be renewed and the prayer started again.

The portions taken from the Quran (al-Fātihah and other surahs) are recited in Arabic. The niyyah is made in the heart; verbalising it is optional and may be expressed in your own language. The tasbīḥs (e.g., Subḥāna Rabbiya-l-ʿaẓīm) are also said in Arabic.

The pillars and supplications are the same; only certain postures differ. At the opening takbir, men raise their hands to ear level, women to shoulder level. Men fold their hands below the navel, women on the chest. In rukuʿ and sujood, women adopt a slightly more drawn-in posture than men. Details are explained in Diyanet's İlmihal (catechism).

Yes. Prayers that could not be performed on time due to a valid excuse or forgetfulness are made up as qaḍāʾ. The number of qaḍāʾ prayers performed equals the number of missed fard prayers; each one is made with a separate intention (e.g., "the qaḍāʾ of my missed Fajr prayer"). The Hatırla İslam app includes a dedicated qaḍāʾ tracking section.

Karāhah times are short windows during which prayer is disliked. There are three: from sunrise until the sun has risen about a spear's length above the horizon; the brief moment of istiwāʾ just before Dhuhr enters; and from the time the sun starts to yellow at the horizon until it sets. Voluntary and qaḍāʾ prayers are not performed in these windows, although a still-unprayed Asr fard of that day may be prayed during the sunset karāhah.

Jumuʿah is fard on sane, post-pubertal, healthy, free, resident male Muslims. It is not obligatory on women, children, travellers or those with valid excuses, although those who wish may attend. Jumuʿah is performed as a 2-rakah congregational prayer at Dhuhr time.

The salah guide in Hatırla İslam walks you through each of the five daily prayers step by step on screen. You can follow which supplication begins each rakah and which pillar comes next — a great basic learning tool for beginners.

Common in-prayer sunnahs include raising the hands at the opening takbir, reciting Subḥānaka, saying the Taʿawwudh-Basmala, saying "Āmīn" after al-Fātihah, repeating the rukuʿ and sujood tasbīḥs three times, reciting the Ṣallī-Bārik in the final sitting, and giving tasleem first to the right and then to the left. Leaving these out does not invalidate the prayer but makes it less complete.

Sajdat as-sahw (the prostration of forgetfulness) is two prostrations performed to make up for forgetful mistakes during salah — for example, accidentally adding a sujood, falling silent for too long during recitation, or omitting a wājib act (such as forgetting al-Fātihah). In the final sitting after the tashahhud, give tasleem to the right side, perform two sujoods, then complete the rest of the prayer.

No, these natural reflexes do not break the prayer. It is recommended to suppress yawning as much as possible and to mute a sneeze. However, deliberate laughter, speaking (in Arabic or any other language), eating or drinking, or turning 90° away from the qiblah all break the prayer. Unintentional small movements (e.g., scratching an itch) are permissible.

Congregational prayer begins as soon as at least one person stands behind the imam. The congregation follows the imam (iqtidāʾ): when the imam takes takbir, they take takbir; when he bows, they bow; when he gives tasleem, they give tasleem. They never move before the imam, nor at exactly the same instant — they trail him by roughly half a pillar. Praying in congregation carries 27 times the reward of praying alone (Bukhari).

Someone who joins after part of the prayer has passed is called a masbūq. They follow the imam from the moment they join; once the imam gives tasleem, they stand up and complete the missed rakahs alone. In the first missed rakah, al-Fātihah plus a surah are recited (even if it would have been the second rakah of the congregation). The masbūq sits with the imam for the final sitting and recites the tashahhud, but does not give tasleem with him; they only do so after completing their own remaining rakahs.

A traveller (musāfir) is someone who moves at least 90 km from their resident location and intends to stay there fewer than 15 days. A traveller shortens the four-rakah fard prayers (Dhuhr, Asr, Isha) to two — this shortening is qasr. Fajr (2 rakahs) and Maghrib (3 rakahs) remain unchanged. The sunnahs are optional; one may choose to perform them or drop them to continue the journey.

Those who cannot stand may pray sitting; those who cannot sit may pray lying down. While lying, the face is turned toward the qiblah; rukuʿ and sujood are indicated by slight forward inclinations of the head (sujood deeper than rukuʿ). Those who cannot use water perform tayammum. Even those who cannot move at all perform the actions with the intention and a slight nod (īmāʾ). Salah is never abandoned; it is performed to the extent one is able.

In the tashahhud, the index finger of the right hand is raised at the word "lā" in "Ashhadu an lā ilāha illa-llāh" and lowered at "illa-llāh." It is a symbol of tawhid (the oneness of Allah). The Hanafi school considers raising it a sunnah; in the Shafi'i, Maliki and Hanbali schools the index finger is raised and held up until the end of the tashahhud.

Yes. Speaking during salah, intentionally or otherwise (any sound of two or more letters), breaks the prayer; it must be repeated. Inner dhikr or duʿāʾ that produces no audible sound does not break it. Even saying "Alḥamdulillāh" after a sneeze during salah breaks it; in that case the prayer is started over rather than completed.

If any of the inner fards (opening takbir, qiyam, qirāʾah, rukuʿ, sujood, final sitting) is missed, the prayer is invalid and must be repeated from the beginning; sajdat as-sahw does not compensate for it. Sajdat as-sahw only covers mistakes in the wājib acts. Take care to perform all the fards in full; if in doubt, simply repeat the prayer.

Fajr must be prayed between imsak and sunrise. If the window is running out, it is permissible to keep the prayer short — recite al-Fātihah plus a brief surah (e.g., al-Ikhlāṣ, al-Kawthar) — to finish before sunrise. The Fajr window ends the moment the sun fully rises; reaching the end of the prayer before that is the goal. If you do not make it, the prayer becomes qaḍāʾ and is performed later in the day.