Isha, The Night Prayer

The night prayer. 4 fard rak’at, first two aloud, last two silent. Followed by witr (the night’s odd-numbered prayer) before sleeping.

At a glance

The walkthrough below is for praying alone (munfarid). If you are praying behind an imam, see The Three Modes of Praying for the recitation and timing differences, most importantly, you do not recite a surah after Fatiha, and you move only after the imam has reached each next position.

Before you begin

1. You have valid wudu
2. You are facing the qibla
3. Your awrah is properly covered, and your sleeves are down (not rolled up)
4. The Isha time has entered (the red twilight has disappeared)
5. Form the intention in your heart: I am about to pray Isha fard, 4 rak’at. Do not speak it.

Rak’ah 1 (aloud)

1. Takbir al-ihram, the opening takbir

Raise your hands to the level of your ears (or shoulders), palms facing the qibla, this is the first of the four places of raful yadayn. Say aloud:

This is the moment you enter the prayer. From this point until tasleem you cannot speak about worldly things, eat, drink, or turn away.

After saying it, place your right hand over your left (the right palm over the back of the left hand, the wrist, or the forearm, or grasping the wrist, all from the Sunnah).

Lower your gaze to the spot where your forehead will rest in sujood, and keep it there throughout the prayer (except when raising the index finger in tashahhud).

2. The opening du’a (du’a al-istiftah)

Quietly to yourself, recite one of the authentic opening du’as. A short, well-known one:

3. Ta’awudh and basmalah (silently)

Then silently:

The basmalah is recited silently even in an aloud prayer like Isha.

4. Recite Al-Fatiha (aloud)

After “wa la d-dallin,” say “Aameen” aloud.

5. Recite a short surah (aloud)

Reciting a surah after Al-Fatiha in the first two rak’at is a strong sunnah (highly emphasized). Pick any surah you have memorized. Good choices when starting out: Al-Ikhlas, Al-Kafirun, An-Nas, Al-Falaq.

6. Takbir for ruku, raful yadayn

Raise your hands again to ear/shoulder level (the second of the four places of raful yadayn) and say “Allahu Akbar” as you bow into ruku.

7. In ruku, tasbih

Place your hands flat on your knees, fingers spread, gripping. Keep your back flat and level, your head in line with your back. Say at least three times (more is better):

8. Rise from ruku, raful yadayn

Straighten up. Raise your hands again (the third of the four places of raful yadayn) and say aloud:

Standing fully, say:

You may extend this praise with more of the authentic wording the Prophet ﷺ taught:

Hand position while standing here: Imam Ahmad permitted both, you may release your hands at your sides (sadl / irsal), or refold them above your navel (qabd). Either is from the Sunnah and either is valid.

Stand still long enough to be at rest before going down to sujood (tuma’ninah).

9. Takbir for sujood, knees first

Saying “Allahu Akbar” as you go down (no raful yadayn here), descend into sujood. Place your knees on the ground first, then your hands, then your forehead and nose.

10. In sujood, seven body parts touch the ground

Seven body parts must touch the ground: forehead (with the nose), both palms, both knees, and both feet (toes bent under, pointing toward the qibla). Your fingers are together, pointing to the qibla; your elbows lifted off the ground. Say at least three times (more is better):

You may also add wa bihamdih, “and by His praise,” after each.

11. Sit between the two sujood (julus), iftirash

Saying “Allahu Akbar” as you come up, sit between the two sujood in iftirash: left foot laid flat (sit on it), right foot upright with toes to the qibla, both hands resting palms-down on the thighs.

If iftirash is difficult for you, use iq’a instead: sit on both heels with both feet upright and both toes pointing toward the qibla. Reported in Sahih Muslim from Ibn Abbas, fully permissible whenever sitting on the left foot is uncomfortable.

While sitting, say (repeating it is better):

12. Second sujood

Saying “Allahu Akbar” as you descend, return to sujood, same as the first. Say “Subhana rabbiya l-a’la” at least three times.

That completes rak’ah 1.

Rak’ah 2 (aloud)

Say “Allahu Akbar” as you rise to a standing position. Place your hands as before.

1. Basmalah silently → Al-Fatiha aloud → Aameen aloud

In the second rak’ah you skip the opening du’a and the ta’awudh. Go straight from standing into the silent basmalah, then Al-Fatiha aloud, then “Aameen” aloud.

2. A short surah aloud

A different surah from the first rak’ah, if you can.

3. Takbir, raise hands, ruku → tasbih → rise

Same as rak’ah 1: raful yadayn into ruku, “Subhana rabbiya l-‘azim” three times, then raful yadayn again on rising with “Sami’allahu liman hamidah” aloud, then standing with “Rabbana wa laka l-hamd” (optionally extended), hands at your sides or refolded above the navel.

4. Sujood twice (with iftirash between)

Same as rak’ah 1. Knees first, “Subhana rabbiya l-a’la” three times each. Sit between in iftirash with hands on the thighs, “Rabbi-ghfir li.”

After the second sujood of rak’ah 2, you do NOT stand up. You stay seated for the first tashahhud.

First tashahhud (after rak’ah 2), Iftirash

Sit in iftirash, left foot laid flat under you, right foot upright with toes pointed toward the qibla. Both hands rest on your thighs, palms down.

With your right hand, form the tashahhud shape: thumb touches the middle finger (forming a circle), ring finger and little finger closed into the palm, index finger extended straight forward and pointing toward the qibla. Your index finger points throughout the entire tashahhud (it is not moved up and down). The left hand rests flat on the left thigh. Look at your pointed finger.

Recite only the first part, At-Tahiyyat:

Stop after “wa rasuluh.” Do not recite the salawat here, that is reserved for the final tashahhud.

Rising for rak’ah 3, raful yadayn (the 4th place)

Say “Allahu Akbar” and stand up. Raise your hands as you rise, this is the fourth and final place of raful yadayn in the prayer (per the hadith of Ibn Umar in Bukhari).

Once standing, place your right hand over your left as before.

Rak’ah 3 (silent, sirr)

The last two rak’at are silent, unlike the first two:

1. Basmalah silently → Al-Fatiha silently → Aameen silently
2. No surah after Fatiha, only Fatiha is recited in rak’at 3 and 4
3. Takbir + raful yadayn → ruku → “Subhana rabbiya l-‘azim” three times
4. Rise with “Sami’allahu liman hamidah” (this remains audible even in the silent rak’ah, since it is dhikr, not Qur’an recitation), then standing “Rabbana wa laka l-hamd” quietly
5. Takbir → sujood (knees first) → “Subhana rabbiya l-a’la” three times → sit in iftirash with “Rabbi-ghfir li” → second sujood

Rak’ah 4 (silent, sirr)

Same as rak’ah 3: Fatiha silently only → ruku → rise → sujood, iftirash sitting, second sujood.

After the second sujood of rak’ah 4, sit up, but you do not stand. You stay seated for the final tashahhud, in tawarruk.

Final tashahhud (after rak’ah 4), TAWARRUK

This sitting is different from the first tashahhud.

In Isha (and in any fard prayer with more than 2 rak’at), the final tashahhud uses tawarruk, not iftirash.

Sit in tawarruk:

• The left foot extends out and across, passing under the right leg
• You sit on the left side of your buttocks directly on the floor, not on the foot
• The right foot remains upright, toes bent under, pointing toward the qibla
• Hands rest on the thighs as before, with the right hand in the tashahhud shape, index pointing throughout. Look at the pointed finger.

If tawarruk is difficult for your hips, knees, or back, you may sit in iq’a instead, both heels under, both toes pointing to the qibla.

Now recite all three parts in full, testimony, salawat, and the du’a before tasleem.

Part 1, At-Tahiyyat

Part 2, Salawat on the Prophet ﷺ

Part 3, Du’a before tasleem

You may add other authentic du’as before the tasleem.

Tasleem, ending the prayer

Turn your head to the right so your cheek is visible from behind, and say aloud:

Then turn to the left in the same way and say it again.

The prayer is complete.

Sunnah rawatib, 2 rak’at after Isha

The 2 rak’at after Isha are part of the emphasized 12 daily rawatib. Pray them quickly after the fard, before any other voluntary prayers.

Witr after Isha

After Isha and its 2 rak’at rawatib, the Prophet ﷺ would pray witr, the voluntary prayer that ends the night with an odd number of rak’at. The simplest form is to pray 2 rak’at, then 1 rak’ah on its own, but it can be a single rak’ah by itself, or any number of pairs followed by a final odd rak’ah.

“Make witr the last prayer of your night.”

Bukhari, Muslim

For the full how-to, the variations, when to pray it, and the qunoot du’a, see the dedicated Witr page.

After the prayer

Stay seated briefly and recite the post-salah adhkar. See What to say after salah.

If you are praying with an imam

The walkthrough above is for praying alone. If you are following an imam, see The Three Modes of Praying. And if you arrive after the imam has already begun, see Joining the prayer late. The key points:

• Listen to the imam in rak’at 1 & 2 (aloud); recite your own Fatiha silently during pauses; do not recite a surah after
• All takbirs, “Sami’allahu liman hamidah,” “Rabbana wa lakal hamd”, all quietly to yourself
• Move only after the imam has reached each next position
• Say “Aameen” with the imam, aloud, in rak’at 1 & 2