Prayer is the second of the five pillars of Islam, and muslims perform prayer five times a day, as it is one of the most important parts of a Muslim’s daily life, so all Muslims must perform prayers when they reach puberty, however, all ages, including young children, can perform prayers to get closer to Allah SWT.
If you are a new Muslim or were a Muslim before but want to learn to pray again, Shaikh Saleh Academy provide you with a comprehensive guide on the correct islamic prayer steps, in this article, we rely on the correct steps according to the Quran and the Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad “PBUH” to perform prayer perfectly and build a strong relationship with Allah SWT.
Islamic prayer steps
When it is time to pray, you must follow the following islamic prayer steps to perform the prayer perfectly:
1. Preparing for prayer
You must first prepare for prayer by ensuring that the area in which you are praying, as well as your body and clothes, are clean, so you must perform Wudu before standing up to pray if you have not yet performed Wudu.
If you have performed Wudu for the previous prayer and nothing happened that invalidates the Wudu, you can perform the prayer based on the previous Wudu.
2. Facing the Qiblah
When performing prayer, you must be facing the Qibla for Muslims, which is the Kaaba in Saudi Arabia, and the direction is determined based on where you are in any country in the world.
For example if you are in America, you should head to the southeast.
3. Intention
Start with the correct intention with which you want to pray, which can be with the mind or with the tongue to ensure that you are fully prepared and aware of the prayer you will perform and not inattentive to it.
4. Enter a state of Ihram
When you are ready to begin prayer, raise both hands and say “Allah Akbar,” which means “God is Great” in English. Men raise their hands to their ears while women raise their hands to their shoulders, and after this takbeer, your focus should be on prayer only and not be busy with anything else.
5. Recitation in prayer
Reading the Qur’an forms an essential part of prayer, so we begin first by reading the opening supplication, which is an optional part of the prayer:
- Subhanakal-lahumma Wabihamdika watabarakas-muka wataaaala Jadduka wala ilaha ghayruk. A’auodu billaahi minash-shaytaanir rajeem Bis-millaahir rahmaanir raheem.
After that, we recite Al-Fatihah, which is obligatory in every rak’ah of every prayer:
- Bismillaahir Rahmaanir Raheem. Alhamdulillah Rabbil ‘alameen. Ar-Rahmaanir-Raheem. Maaliki Yawmid-Deen. Iyyaaka na’budu wa lyyaaka nasta’een. Ihdinas-Siraatal-Mustaqeem. Siraatal-ladheena an’amta ‘alaihim Ghayril-maghdoobi ‘alaihim wa lad-daaalleen
After that, we read any other surah from any part of the Quran only in the first two rak’ahs of the obligatory prayer, and in the other two rak’ahs, we recite Surat Al-Fatihah only.
6. Bend down for Ruku
Ruku is a position in which you keep your head and back as aligned as possible and level with the floor and then place your hands on your knees, say “Subhana Rabbiyal adheem” three times and this is translated as “Glory be to my Lord Almighty.”
7. Stand up from Ruku
After getting up, say “Sami’Allahu liman hamidah” and this is translated as “God hears those who praise Him” and raise your arms by your sides, then, say “Rabana Walakal Hamd” which means “Our Lord, praise be to You.”
8. Prostration
Say “Allahu Akbar” and prostrate by placing your head, knees and hands on the ground, make sure your nose and forehead are in contact with the ground while prostrating.
Once you are fully prostrated, say “Subhana Rabbiyal A’laa”, “Glory be to my Lord the Most High” three times, make sure that the forearms are not touching the floor and keep the fingers together.
9. Rise from prostration and sit on the knees
It is one of the essential islamic prayer steps to raise your right foot and place your left foot on the ground, and this position is called the sitting position in prayer. Place the hands on the thighs with the fingers reaching the knees, meanwhile, say “Rabirghfirlee” which means “Lord, forgive me”, then say “Allahu Akbar” and return to prostration again.
10. Reciting the Tashahhud
After getting up from the prostration and sitting down again, we recite the Tashahhud. Say:
- At-tahiyyaatu Lillaahi was-salaawaatu wat-tayyibaat. As-salaamu ‘alayka ayyuhan-Nabiyyu wa rahmatullaahi wa barakaatuhu. As-salaamu ‘alayna wa ‘ala ‘ibaad-illaah-his-saaliheen. Ash-hadu al-aa ilaaha ill-Allaah wa ash-hadu anna Muhammadan ‘abduhu wa rasooluhu.
- Allaahumma salli ‘ala Muhammad, wa ‘ala aali Muhammad, kama sallayta ‘ala Ibraaheem, wa ‘ala aali Ibraaheem, fil aalameen innak hameedun majeed, wa baarik ‘ala Muhammad, wa ‘ala aali Muhammad, kama baarakta ‘ala Ibraaheem, wa ‘ala aali Ibraaheem, fil aalameen innak hameedun majeed.
This Tashahhud means:
- “All compliments, prayers and pure words are due to Allaah. Peace be upon you, O Prophet, and the mercy of Allaah and His blessings. Peace be upon us and upon the righteous slaves of Allaah. I bear witness that there is no god except Allaah and I bear witness that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger”.
- “O Allaah, send prayers upon Muhammad and upon the family of Muhammad, as You sent prayers upon Ibraaheem and the family of Ibraaheem, You are indeed Worthy of Praise, Full of Glory. O Allaah, bless Muhammad and the family of Muhammad as You blessed Ibraaheem and the family of Ibraaheem, You are indeed Worthy of Praise, Full of Glory”.
11. Tasleem
After reciting the Tashahhud and finishing the prayer, turn your head to your right shoulder, then your left, and each time say “As-salamu alaykum wa Rahmatullah” which means “May the peace and mercy of God be upon you.”
Read more: 20 Benefits of Fasting and Prayer
How to learn Islamic prayer steps
There are many methods that can be relied upon to learn islamic prayer steps, and they are as follows:
- Attend the mosque and learn from the imam or sheikh.
- Read educational articles about islamic prayer steps through our website.
- Watch some educational explanations in videos on the Internet.
- Using some specialized applications to learn islamic prayer steps.
- Communicate with a Muslim friend to speed up understanding and learn prayer easily.
7 Common Mistakes to Avoid During Islamic Prayer
There are a group of mistakes that some Muslims make while performing islamic prayer steps, which are as follows
1. Performing Wudu incorrectly
You must learn to perform Wudu correctly to ensure that the prayer is correct and error-free, as Wudu is a basic condition of Islam and is performed by washing the hands, mouth, nose, face, arms, head and feet in a specific order.
2. Moving before the Imam
An Imam is a person who leads people during congregational prayer, so when you pray behind the imam, you must move after him, and you must avoid moving before him.
3. Hurry up in prayer
You must perform the prayer calmly without rushing because you are standing for God SWT, rushing through the prayer is the most common mistake that a large number of Muslims make. It can harm its quality and meaning.
4. Looking around you during prayer
Some Muslims look around while praying and this is a common mistake, and The Messenger, PBUH, ordered us to look at the ground throughout the prayer for the place where we will prostrate and where our head will touch the ground to perform all Islamic prayer steps correctly.
5. Eating food during or before prayer
You should not eat any food during prayer because this makes your prayer invalid, It is also preferable not to eat food immediately before prayer.
6. Walking in front of the person praying
You should not walk directly in front of someone while they are praying, and you can only do this in one case, which is if he puts something in front of him as a kind of barrier, which is *sutrah*.
7. Mistakes during recitation
Common mistakes should be avoided while reading the Qur’an in prayer. Al-Fatihah is one of the pillars of Islam, so one should not mistake it, and keeping errors corrected and reading perfectly keeps one’s prayers correct.
Exploring the History Behind Islamic Prayer Steps
All steps of prayer in Islam are taken from the hadiths of the Prophet Mohammed, PBUH, and All these steps were performed by the Messenger, starting from intention until Tasleem.
Read more: 5 Pillars of Islam
The Power of Islamic Prayer: Steps to Spiritual Enlightenment
Islamic prayer steps have profound purposes, which are as follows:
- Constant communication with Allah “SWT” and strengthening the connection with Him to overcome worldly distractions.
- Meditation and gratitude in quiet moments of prayer to encourage the believer to focus on the positive aspects of life instead of dwelling on the negatives.
- Instilling a positive mentality in the believer and always reminding him of his highest goal in this life, which is entering Paradise.
- Increasing attention and concentration because prayer nourishes the body and mind and enhances alertness and flexibility.
What Are the Correct Islamic prayer steps?
The basic steps of prayer in Islam are as follows:
- Intention
- Facing the Qiblah
- Ihram Takbeer
- Read Al-Fatihah
- Ruku
- Raising up from Ruku
- Prostration
- Sitting between the two prostrations
- Prostration again
- Read the Tashahhud
- Tasleem
How Can I Learn the Proper Islamic Prayer Steps?
You can learn the steps of prayer in Islam in many ways, including asking a Muslim who is committed to praying or speaking to an imam or sheik to find out how to perform prayer perfectly.
Are There Different Variations of Islamic Prayer Steps?
Yes, there are some differences in performing prayer between a number of Islamic sects, and these differences are usually in small details that do not harm the validity of the prayer. For example, the position of the hands after the opening takbeer differs between sects; There are those who place them on the chest as in the Shafi’i madhab, and others below the navel as in the Hanafi madhab, or sending the hands on either side of the body as in the Maliki madhab, or placing the hands above the navel or on the chest as in the Hanbali madhab.
Why is it Important to Follow the Correct Islamic Prayer Steps?
Every Muslim must follow the islamic prayer steps perfectly while performing prayer in order for it to be accepted by God Almighty. Following these islamic prayer steps is to comply with the commands of the Qur’an and Sunnah and draw closer to Allah SWT.
What Should I Do If I Make a Mistake in my Islamic Prayer?
If you make a mistake in the basic islamic prayer steps, you must correct it immediately and repeat it, because without these pillars, the prayer becomes invalid. Then perform the prostration of forgetfulness. However, if the mistake was in some details that are not part of the pillars, you can perform the prostration of forgetfulness, and it is not necessary to repeat it immediately.
