How to Pray Salah for Beginners: Step-by-Step

To pray salah, prepare for prayer, face the qiblah, and complete its units of standing, recitation, bowing and prostration. Finish with the seated recitations and salam. A unit is called a rakah.

This is a practical Sunni outline for someone praying alone. Learn the movements with a qualified teacher when possible; details of recitation, posture and correcting mistakes differ between schools. Learning a two-rakah prayer helps you understand the sequence, but it does not replace the other daily prayers.

Before you pray

Check which prayer is due in your local prayer timetable. These are the normal obligatory counts for a resident, excluding additional sunnah prayers:

Dar al-Ifta's prayer guide describes the daily schedule and prayer sequence. Clock times vary by place and date; follow your local mosque's guidance on timing and calculation differences.

Have valid wudu, and perform ghusl when your situation requires it. Quran 5:6 sets out purification for prayer; our wudu guide explains the washing sequence. Arrange clean, opaque prayer clothing and a clean place. Ask a teacher to show you the required coverage for your circumstances and school.

Use the qibla finder if you need help finding the direction of Makkah. In your heart, intend the particular prayer you are about to perform. The steps below assume you can stand and prostrate. If you cannot stand, Bukhari 1117 describes praying seated, or on your side if even sitting is not possible; get guidance on adapting the other movements to your ability.

Pray two rakahs, step by step

Move calmly and settle in each posture. Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) taught a man to bow, stand, prostrate and sit with stillness in Bukhari 757. Do not rush through the transitions.

1. Begin standing with the opening takbir. Raise your hands and say اللَّهُ أَكْبَر — Allahu akbar — “Allah is greater.” Follow your teacher's guidance on hand placement and the opening supplication.
2. Recite Al-Fatiha, then another passage of Quran. Learn Al-Fatiha in Arabic with a teacher or audio; open chapter 1 in our Quran reader. In the first two rakahs, follow it with a short surah or verses you know. If you cannot yet recite Al-Fatiha, see the beginner guidance below.
3. Bow into ruku. Say Allahu akbar, place your hands on your knees and settle into the bow. Say سُبْحَانَ رَبِّيَ الْعَظِيمِ — Subhana rabbiyal-'azim — “Glory to my Lord, the Magnificent.” A commonly taught practice is to repeat it three times.
4. Stand upright again. As you rise, say سَمِعَ اللَّهُ لِمَنْ حَمِدَهُ — Sami'allahu liman hamidah — “Allah hears whoever praises Him.” Then say رَبَّنَا لَكَ الْحَمْدُ — Rabbana lakal-hamd — “Our Lord, praise belongs to You.” These are instructions for praying alone; the follower's wording has its own guidance.
5. Make the first prostration. Say Allahu akbar and lower yourself into sujud, with forehead and nose, both palms, both knees and toes on the ground as you are able. Say سُبْحَانَ رَبِّيَ الْأَعْلَى — Subhana rabbiyal-a'la — “Glory to my Lord, the Most High,” commonly repeated three times.
6. Sit, then prostrate a second time. Say Allahu akbar as you sit and pause. You can say رَبِّ اغْفِرْ لِي — Rabbighfir li — “My Lord, forgive me.” Say Allahu akbar and repeat the prostration. This completes one rakah.
7. Stand for the second rakah. Repeat the recitation, bowing, standing, two prostrations and sitting between them. After its second prostration, remain seated for the tashahhud below.
8. Complete the final sitting and salam. For a two-rakah prayer, recite the tashahhud and blessings on the Prophet below. Finish by turning right, then left, saying السَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُمْ وَرَحْمَةُ اللَّهِ — As-salamu 'alaykum wa rahmatullah — “Peace and Allah's mercy be upon you.”

The bowing, rising and prostration phrases are recorded in Sahih Muslim 772. The threefold repetitions and between-prostration phrase above follow the teaching sequence in Dar al-Ifta's guide; they are not a claim that every school gives every phrase the same legal classification.

The full tashahhud

This wording is narrated in Bukhari 831:

التَّحِيَّاتُ لِلَّهِ وَالصَّلَوَاتُ وَالطَّيِّبَاتُ، السَّلَامُ عَلَيْكَ أَيُّهَا النَّبِيُّ وَرَحْمَةُ اللَّهِ وَبَرَكَاتُهُ، السَّلَامُ عَلَيْنَا وَعَلَى عِبَادِ اللَّهِ الصَّالِحِينَ، أَشْهَدُ أَنْ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ، وَأَشْهَدُ أَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا عَبْدُهُ وَرَسُولُهُ.

At-tahiyyatu lillahi was-salawatu wat-tayyibat. As-salamu 'alayka ayyuhan-nabiyyu wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh. As-salamu 'alayna wa 'ala 'ibadillahis-salihin. Ashhadu an la ilaha illallah, wa ashhadu anna Muhammadan 'abduhu wa rasuluh.

Meaning: All honors, prayers and good things belong to Allah. Peace, Allah's mercy and His blessings be upon you, O Prophet. Peace be upon us and Allah's righteous servants. I bear witness that only Allah deserves worship and that Muhammad is His servant and messenger.

Blessings on the Prophet in the final sitting

One narrated wording, from Bukhari 3370, is:

اللَّهُمَّ صَلِّ عَلَى مُحَمَّدٍ وَعَلَى آلِ مُحَمَّدٍ، كَمَا صَلَّيْتَ عَلَى إِبْرَاهِيمَ وَعَلَى آلِ إِبْرَاهِيمَ، إِنَّكَ حَمِيدٌ مَجِيدٌ. اللَّهُمَّ بَارِكْ عَلَى مُحَمَّدٍ وَعَلَى آلِ مُحَمَّدٍ، كَمَا بَارَكْتَ عَلَى إِبْرَاهِيمَ وَعَلَى آلِ إِبْرَاهِيمَ، إِنَّكَ حَمِيدٌ مَجِيدٌ.

Allahumma salli 'ala Muhammadin wa 'ala ali Muhammad, kama sallayta 'ala Ibrahima wa 'ala ali Ibrahim, innaka hamidun majid. Allahumma barik 'ala Muhammadin wa 'ala ali Muhammad, kama barakta 'ala Ibrahima wa 'ala ali Ibrahim, innaka hamidun majid.

Meaning: Allah, bestow Your grace on Muhammad and his family as You did on Ibrahim and his family. You are worthy of praise and glory. Bless Muhammad and his family as You blessed Ibrahim and his family. You are worthy of praise and glory.

These English meanings explain the Arabic; they are not instructions to replace the Arabic recitations. Transliteration is a learning aid. Listening and practising with someone who can check your pronunciation will help more than relying on English spelling alone.

Longer prayers and learning with help

For Maghrib, sit for tashahhud after the second rakah, then stand without ending the prayer. Complete the third rakah and the final sitting. For Dhuhr, Asr and Isha, continue to four rakahs, with the final sitting after the fourth. In these obligatory prayers, recite Al-Fatiha in the later rakahs without adding another surah in this teaching sequence. Bukhari 776 describes Al-Fatiha plus another surah in the first two units, and Al-Fatiha alone in the last two of Dhuhr.

Praying behind an imam is different from praying alone. For example, Darul Ifta Birmingham explains the Hanafi position that the follower does not recite Quran behind the imam. Do not apply an unqualified “everyone must recite Al-Fatiha in every situation” rule. Ask the teacher at your mosque how to follow its prayer, including recitation and when to move.

If you are new to Islam and cannot yet recite the Arabic, do not assume you must wait until you have memorized everything. Dar al-Ifta's answer for a new Muslim permits dhikr when someone is genuinely unable to recite Al-Fatiha and gives a temporary shorter seated recitation. Ask a teacher to help you apply that guidance while you learn; it is not permission to abandon learning the prayer's recitations.

Practise the movements outside prayer, learn one passage at a time, and arrange for someone knowledgeable to watch you pray. If you forget a step or lose count, explain exactly what happened: the remedy depends on the omission and school, so there is no single correction for every mistake. Keep your next practical step small—check today's prayer times and prepare for the prayer that is due.

Sources checked on 14 October 2026.