Salah (Prayer) – Understanding the Rakʿahs
Step-by-Step Salah: Section 3.4
Each of the five daily prayers is made up of a fixed number of rakʿahs (units of prayer). A rakʿah includes standing, reciting, bowing, prostrating, and sitting, each with its own words and movements.
Understanding how many rakʿahs to perform and how they are structured is essential to offering salah correctly.
Number of Rakʿahs per Daily Prayer
| Prayer Name | Total Rakʿahs | Structure |
|---|---|---|
| Fajr | 2 | 1st rakʿah → 2nd rakʿah → Full Tashahhud → Taslim |
| Dhuhr | 4 | 1st → 2nd → Tashahhud → 3rd → 4th → Full Tashahhud → Taslim |
| ʿAsr | 4 | 1st → 2nd → Tashahhud → 3rd → 4th → Full Tashahhud → Taslim |
| Maghrib | 3 | 1st → 2nd → Tashahhud → 3rd → Full Tashahhud → Taslim |
| ʿIshaʾ | 4 | 1st → 2nd → Tashahhud → 3rd → 4th → Full Tashahhud → Taslim |
Structure of a Rakʿah
Each rakʿah consists of:
- Qiyam (Standing) – Recite Surah al-Fatihah, followed by another short surah or a few verses (in the first two rakʿahs only)
- Rukuʿ (Bowing) – “Subhaana Rabbiyal-Adheem”
- Standing after Rukuʿ – “Sami-Allahu liman hamidah”, “Rabbana laka al-hamd”
- Sujud (Prostration) – “Subhaana Rabbiyal-Aʿla”
- Jalsah (Sitting between Sujuds) – “Rabbi ighfir li”
- Second Sujud – “Subhaana Rabbiyal-Aʿla”
- Stand for the Next Rakʿah – Or sit for Tashahhud if it’s the second or final rakʿah
After two rakʿahs, sit for Tashahhud. For prayers with more than two rakʿahs, stand again to complete the remaining units. At the end of the final rakʿah, sit for the full Tashahhud, recite the Salawat, and then end the prayer with the Taslim.