How do I pray, step by step?

Before you begin

The prayer is not valid until certain conditions are met, and these come before the takbir. Shaykh Khalid al-Mushayqi' lists them: the intention; removing impurity by wudu or, for a major impurity, ghusl; removing filth from the body, clothing and place of prayer; covering the 'awrah with something that does not describe the skin; the entry of the prayer's time; and facing the qiblah — except for one praying while travelling on a mount or in a car, who prays in whatever direction he faces.

Ibn 'Uthaymin adds that if no water is available, or using it would harm you, you make tayammum instead.

The steps, in order

Shaykh Khalid al-Mushayqi' sets out the Prophet's ﷺ prayer from the takbir to the taslim in sequence. The order matters: the prayer is built from these parts, and putting one before another deliberately invalidates it.

1. Face the qiblah with the intention in your heart. You intend the specific prayer you are performing. You do not say the intention out loud — the majority hold that verbalising it is not prescribed, and the Malikis count it as disliked. If you are an imam or praying alone, place something as a sutrah (a barrier) in front of you; a follower is covered by the imam's barrier.
2. Say "Allahu akbar" to enter the prayer. This is the takbirat al-ihram. Raise your hands level with your shoulders or your earlobes, palms facing the qiblah, fingers pointing upward. Keep your gaze on the place of prostration.
3. Place your right hand over your left — over the hand, wrist and forearm. The Hanbali text describes placing them on the chest.
4. Recite the opening supplication (istiftah). This is a sunnah, not an obligation.
5. Seek refuge in Allah, then recite al-Fatihah, ending it with "Amin", then recite whatever you can of the Qur'an.
6. If you are following an imam: in a silent prayer, or a loud one where you cannot hear the imam, you recite as the imam and the one praying alone recite. In a loud prayer where you can hear the imam, you stay silent and listen — because the imam's recitation counts as the recitation of those behind him.
7. Bow (ruku'), saying "Allahu akbar" and raising your hands as at the opening takbir. Make your head level with your back, place your hands on your knees with fingers spread, be still, and say "Subhana Rabbi al-'Azim" three times.
8. Rise from the bow, saying "Sami'a Allahu liman hamidah" if you are imam or praying alone, raising your hands as before. Then, once standing upright, everyone says "Rabbana wa laka al-hamd". You may then place your hands on your chest or let them hang.
9. Prostrate (sujud), saying "Allahu akbar". Prostrate on the seven limbs: forehead and nose, both hands, both knees, and the toes of both feet. Bring the heels together, point the toes and fingers toward the qiblah, keep the fingers of the hands together, hold the upper arms away from the sides, the belly away from the thighs, and the thighs away from the calves. Do not spread the forearms flat on the ground. Say "Subhana Rabbi al-A'la" three times.
10. Rise from prostration, saying "Allahu akbar", and sit by laying the left foot flat and sitting on it, with the right foot upright and its toes facing the qiblah. Place your hands on your thighs and knees and say "Rabbi ighfir li".
11. Prostrate a second time, exactly as the first.
12. Stand for the second rak'ah, saying "Allahu akbar", and pray it as the first — except that you do not recite the opening supplication.
13. After the second prostration of the second rak'ah, sit as between the two prostrations, but here you close all the fingers of the right hand except the index finger, which you point and move while supplicating — or you close the little and ring fingers, make a ring with the thumb and middle finger, and point and move the index finger. Then recite the tashahhud and supplicate.
14. If the prayer has three or four rak'ahs, recite the tashahhud, then rise saying "Allahu akbar" and raising your hands as at the opening takbir, and recite al-Fatihah.
15. Complete the prayer as described, except that in the final sitting you sit in tawarruk: place the left foot under the right calf and sit on the ground.
16. Give the two salams: to your right, "Al-salamu 'alaykum wa rahmatu Allah", and the same to your left.
17. After the salam, supplicate with what has been narrated.

What is obligatory and what is recommended

The scholars distinguish three levels, and the distinction is practical: missing an obligation (in the Hanbali reckoning) is repaired by the prostration of forgetfulness, while missing a pillar invalidates the rak'ah itself.

The words you say

The opening takbir is fixed. The Hanbalis and Malikis hold that nothing but "Allahu akbar" is acceptable — not "Allahu al-Akbar", not "Allahu al-'Azim". Imam al-Shafi'i agreed that it must come from the word akbar, so "Allahu al-Akbar" would count for him. Imam Abu Hanifah held that any words of pure glorification of Allah would open the prayer, such as "Allahu al-Kabir" or "Allahu ajall". The preferred position is that only the specific wording is valid, because the Prophet ﷺ said:

"Pray as you have seen me pray."— Sahih al-Bukhari, from Malik ibn al-Huwayrith

For the opening supplication, Shaykh Ibn Baz gives the shortest form and the most authentic:

"Glory be to You, O Allah, and praise; blessed is Your name, exalted is Your majesty, and there is no god but You."— Jami' at-Tirmidhi 243, from 'A'ishah رضي الله عنها

He notes this is the shortest of the supplications narrated, that it is pure tawhid and easy for everyone, and that it is a sunnah, not an obligation — if you begin reciting immediately after the takbir, your prayer is valid, though the supplication is better, in following the Prophet ﷺ.

If you join the prayer late

If you arrive and the imam is bowing, Shaykh Ibn Baz explains that you should say two takbirs: the first standing, which is the takbirat al-ihram — and this is obligatory by the agreement of all — and the second as you bend for the bow. The second is obligatory according to some scholars, including Imam Ahmad and a group of the early and later generations, and a sunnah according to the majority. If time is too tight and you omit the second, the rak'ah still counts for you in the soundest view of the scholars — but doing both is safer and takes you out of the disagreement.

Key takeaways

• The prayer runs from the takbir to the taslim, and its parts must be performed in order, with stillness in every posture.
• The takbirat al-ihram is a pillar: no prayer begins without the words "Allahu akbar", and the intention stays in the heart.
• Al-Fatihah is a pillar in every rak'ah, and a follower stays silent when he can hear the imam's recitation.
• The opening supplication, seeking refuge, and reciting after al-Fatihah are sunnahs — leaving them does not invalidate the prayer.
• The takbirs of transition are obligatory in the Hanbali school and a sunnah for the majority; either way, do not leave them off deliberately.

Further reading

• Sharh Zad al-Mustaqni' — Shaykh Muhammad ibn Muhammad al-Mukhtar al-Shanqiti
• Fiqh al-'Ibadat 'ala al-Madhhab al-Maliki — Durriyah al-'Aytah
• Fiqh al-'Ibadat 'ala al-Madhhab al-Shafi'i — Durriyah al-'Aytah

And Allah knows best.