How To Do Salah | Real Facts and System of Prayer

Prayer is a Muslim's Mairaj, or communication with Allah. Prayer purifies and cleans your mind five times a day, and serves to bring peace to your life. Prayer is a man's way of thanking Allah, and reminds him that Allah is watching over his life, giving him the courage to face even the toughest of times. This article explains how the Islamic prayer, Salah, is performed according to one of the five major Islamic schools of jurisprudence, the Hanafi School. Other schools differ in many small details - which from their point of view, are very important.

Daily Salah

It is obligatory to perform the following five prayers during day and night:

Dawn prayers (Fajr) - 2 Rak'ats.
Midday (Zuhr) - each one consisting of 4 Rak'ats.
Afternoon prayers ('Asr) - each one consisting of 4 Rak'ats.
Dusk prayers (Maghrib) - 3 Rak'ats
Night prayers ('Isha) - 4 Rak'ats.

Issue : While travelling, a traveller should reduce the prayers of 4 Rak'ats to 2 Rak'ats. The conditions under which the Rak'ats are reduced will be mentioned later.

15 Steps of Salah

Prepare for Salah. ...
Stand to face the Qibla. ...
Make the intention to pray. ...
Perform the Takbiratul Ihram. ...
Perform Qiyam. ...
Stand up straight, with your hands folded. ...
Recite Surah Al-Fatihah Al-Fatihah. ...
Recite a short portion of the Qur'an, a 'surah' as Muslims call it.
Perform the Ruk'u...
Rise up...
Perform the prostration...
Rise to a sitting position, saying Allahu Akbar...
Prostrate again, saying Allahu Akbar
Rise up to proceed to the next raka'at, saying Allahu Akbar
If you are performing more than two raka'ats, do not say the Durud or the Salaam, but rise after saying the Tasyahhud and Salawat and proceed to the next raka'at.