The five daily prayers are fard on every adult Muslim. The Prophet ﷺ said: "Pray as you have seen me praying." (Bukhari 631). This guide follows the Hanafi school, the common practice in India and Pakistan.
Before salah — 6 conditions (नमाज़ की शर्तें)
1. Purity of the body — wudu, or ghusl when it is required
2. Clean clothes
3. Clean place
4. Covering the satr
5. Facing the qiblah
6. The prayer's time has begun — and the intention (niyyah) in the heart
Inside salah — 6 arkan (नमाज़ के फ़र्ज़)
1. Takbir at-tahrimah (the opening Allahu Akbar)
2. Qiyam — standing
3. Qira'ah — reciting the Qur'an
4. Ruku' — bowing
5. Both sajdahs
6. Qa'dah akhirah — the final sitting for tashahhud
How to pray, step by step
| Step | Position | What to say |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Takbir — raise hands to the ears | اللَّهُ أَكْبَرُ Allahu Akbar (Abu Dawud 61) |
| 2 | Qiyam — fold the hands | Thana: سُبْحَانَكَ اللَّهُمَّ وَبِحَمْدِكَ… (Abu Dawud 775), then A'udhu billah, Bismillah, Surah al-Fatihah and another surah |
| 3 | Ruku' — hands on knees, back straight | سُبْحَانَ رَبِّيَ الْعَظِيمِ Subhana Rabbiyal-'Azim ×3 (Muslim 772) |
| 4 | Qawmah — stand straight | سَمِعَ اللَّهُ لِمَنْ حَمِدَهُ، رَبَّنَا لَكَ الْحَمْدُ (Bukhari 789) |
| 5 | Sajdah — forehead, nose, palms, knees and toes on the ground | سُبْحَانَ رَبِّيَ الْأَعْلَى Subhana Rabbiyal-A'la ×3 (Muslim 772; Bukhari 812) |
| 6 | Jalsah, then the second sajdah | رَبِّ اغْفِرْ لِي Rabbighfir li (Abu Dawud 874) |
| 7 | Qa'dah — after every 2 rak'ahs | Tashahhud: التَّحِيَّاتُ لِلَّهِ… (Bukhari 831, Muslim 402) |
| 8 | Final sitting | Tashahhud, then Durood Ibrahim (Bukhari 3370) and a du'a |
| 9 | Salam — turn right, then left | السَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُمْ وَرَحْمَةُ اللَّهِ (Abu Dawud 996) |
Steps 2–6 make one rak'ah.
Rak'ahs of the five prayers (पाँच नमाज़ों की रकअतें)
| Prayer | Rak'ahs |
|---|---|
| Fajr | 2 sunnah · 2 fard |
| Zuhr | 4 sunnah · 4 fard · 2 sunnah |
| Asr | 4 fard |
| Maghrib | 3 fard · 2 sunnah |
| Isha | 4 fard · 2 sunnah · 3 witr (wajib) |
The 12 sunnah rak'ahs (2 before Fajr, 4 before and 2 after Zuhr, 2 after Maghrib, 2 after Isha) earn a house in Jannah (Muslim 728, Tirmidhi 415).
Learn it with diagrams
Miftah shows every step of namaz with a small posture diagram (takbir, qiyam, ruku', sajdah, jalsah, tashahhud, salam) and the Arabic, transliteration and translation of each du'a — in English, Hindi (हिन्दी), Urdu, Arabic and Indonesian. It also gives accurate namaz times and Azan alerts.
