Introduction
What salah is, when to pray, and how the five daily prayers fit together.
Salah (الصلاة) is the second pillar of Islam, a structured act of worship performed five times every day. It is a direct connection between you and Allah, requiring no intermediary, and is the first deed a person will be questioned about on the Day of Judgement.
The Prophet ﷺ said:
“The first of his deeds for which a servant of Allah will be held accountable on the Day of Resurrection is his prayer. If it is good, he will have succeeded; and if it is defective, he will have failed.”
Reported by al-Tirmidhi and al-Nasa’i
The five daily prayers
Each prayer has a window of time during which it must be performed. These times shift slightly every day, calculated from the sun’s position.
| Prayer | Arabic | When | Fard rak’at |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fajr | الفجر | True dawn → sunrise | 2 |
| Dhuhr | الظهر | Sun’s decline → an object’s shadow equals its length | 4 |
| Asr | العصر | End of Dhuhr → sunset | 4 |
| Maghrib | المغرب | Just after sunset → red twilight disappears | 3 |
| Isha | العشاء | After red twilight → midnight (or true dawn) | 4 |
Prayer times are calculated from the sun, not the clock. Use a reliable prayer-times app (Athan, Muslim Pro, IslamicFinder, or similar) for your specific location and date.
Jahr and sirr, loud and silent recitation
Some prayers are recited aloud ( Jahr ), others silently ( Sirr ). This applies only to the recitation of Al-Fatiha and the surah that follows it, all the other words (tasbih, dhikr, du’as) are said quietly throughout regardless of the prayer.
Aloud (jahr):
- Fajr (both rak’at)
- Maghrib (first 2 rak’at)
- Isha (first 2 rak’at)
Silently (sirr):
- Dhuhr (all rak’at)
- Asr (all rak’at)
- Maghrib (3rd rak’ah)
- Isha (3rd and 4th rak’at)
When you pray alone, the jahr prayers are still recited aloud, though you can lower your voice somewhat compared to leading in congregation. When following an imam in congregation, you remain silent throughout, the imam’s recitation suffices for the jahr portions.
The shape of every prayer
Every prayer is built from the same components, repeated as rak’at . The number of rak’at differs per prayer (see the table above), but the components are the same:
- Qiyam , standing, hands placed above the navel (below the chest)
- Recitation, Al-Fatiha, then (in the first two rak’at) another surah
- Ruku , bowing, hands on knees
- I’tidal , standing back up from ruku
- Sujood , prostration (twice per rak’ah, with a brief sitting between)
- Tashahhud , sitting and reciting the testimony, in the second rak’ah and at the end of the prayer
- Tasleem , turning the head right then left, ending the prayer
Fingers throughout the prayer
A small but consistent detail: at every position of the salah — standing, sujood, sitting between sujoods, tashahhud, tasleem — your fingers stay together. The only exception is ruku: there, the fingers are spread, gripping the knees firmly. From the moment ruku ends and you straighten back up, the fingers return to being together for the rest of the prayer.
Takbir accompanies the movement
Every transition in the prayer is marked with “Allahu Akbar.” The takbir is said while you are moving into the next position, not before it. You do not stop, say the takbir, then move — the saying and the motion happen together. The only takbir that has its own still moment is the very first one (takbir al-ihram), which is said standing, before any other movement, to enter the prayer.