Written by: Imran Ayub Lahori✦ The Description of Salah (Prayer)
Prayer is not valid in the Shariah without intention (niyyah).
Before learning about the manner of Salah, it is important to remember the narration reported by Hazrat Mālik bin Ḥuwayrith رضي الله عنه, in which the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
صلوا كما رأيتموني أصلی
[Bukhārī: 6008, Kitāb al-Adab: Bāb Raḥmat al-Nās wa al-Bahāʾim; Muslim: 391; Abū Dāwūd: 589; Tirmidhī: 205; Nasāʾī: 2/77; Ibn Mājah: 979]
“Pray as you have seen me praying.”
❖ Brief Method of Performing Salah
The method of prayer which is authentically and continuously transmitted (tawātur) from the Prophet ﷺ and the Ummah is as follows:
① One should perform wudu (ablution).
② Cover the ‘awrah (private parts) appropriately.
③ Stand facing the Qiblah.
④ Make intention (niyyah) purely for the sake of Allah ﷻ in the heart.
⑤ Raise both hands up to the shoulders or earlobes and say الله أكبر.
⑥ Place the right hand over the left on the chest.
⑦ Keep the eyes focused on the place of prostration.
⑧ Recite thanaa, then أعوذ بالله and بسم الله, followed by Sūrat al-Fātiḥah, and then recite an additional Sūrah.
❖ Rukūʿ (Bowing)
➤ Say الله أكبر while raising the hands and go into rukūʿ.
➤ Keep the back straight, and place hands on the knees with the arms extended.
➤ The head should be level with the back, not higher or lower.
➤ Recite the prescribed tasbīḥāt of rukūʿ.
➤ Say سمع الله لمن حمده, raise the hands again, and stand up straight, then say ربنا ولك الحمد, standing with calmness.
❖ Sujūd (Prostration)
➤ Say الله أكبر and go into sujūd by placing the hands first, then the knees.
➤ In sujūd, seven body parts must touch the ground:
✔ Both hands
✔ Both feet
✔ Both knees
✔ The face (forehead and nose)
➤ Keep the elbows raised, and thighs apart from the sides.
➤ After the tasbīḥāt of sujūd, say الله أكبر and sit on the left foot while keeping the right foot upright, with toes facing the Qiblah.
➤ Sit with tranquility, recite رب اغفر لي or another appropriate supplication.
❖ Transition and Completion of Rakʿahs
➤ Say الله أكبر, perform the second sujūd, then say الله أكبر and briefly sit for jalsah al-istirāḥah (resting posture).
➤ Rise for the second rakʿah by pressing on the hands.
➤ The second rakʿah is performed in the same manner.
➤ After the second sujūd of the second rakʿah, sit for tashahhud as done between the two sujūd, and recite at-taḥiyyāt.
❖ Final Rakʿahs and Tashahhud
➤ In the third and fourth rakʿahs, it is not necessary to recite any Sūrah other than Sūrat al-Fātiḥah.
➤ In the final tashahhud, sit in a manner that your backside rests on the ground, with the left foot emerging from under the right side.
➤ Recite Durood Ibrāhīmī and other prescribed supplications.
➤ Continue to point with the index finger of the right hand throughout the tashahhud.
➤ Conclude the prayer by saying salām on both sides.
➤ Note: Saying salām only to the right side is sufficient to complete the prayer.
