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# Prayer, Step by Step: The Words, the Movements and a Rakʿah Counter
- URL: https://www.mohammadsiddiqui.com/deen/prayer-step-by-step/
- Published: 2026-11-11T04:17:13.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-11T04:17:12.000Z
- Description: Follow any of the five prayers position by position on your phone: what to do, what to say in Arabic with transliteration and meaning, how many rakʿahs are left, the hadith behind each step, and where the four schools pray it differently.
- Author: Sarge Siddiqui
- Tags: Deen, Worship, Interactive Tools

New to the Qur'an? Start with [The Qur'an: What It Is, How It Came Down, and How It Was Kept](https://www.mohammadsiddiqui.com/deen/the-quran/), then read [Muhammad ﷺ: A Life](https://www.mohammadsiddiqui.com/deen/prophet-muhammad/). All articles: [Deen: Start Here](https://www.mohammadsiddiqui.com/deen/deen/).

Deen · Interactive · الصَّلَاة

Pick a prayer and follow it position by position: what to do, what to say in Arabic with the transliteration and meaning, and how many rakʿahs are left. Every step shows the hadith it comes from, and where the four schools pray it differently, the page says so.

## 

BackNext

Start this prayer again

## Before you start

### Wuḍūʾ

Wash the face, the arms to the elbows, wipe the head, and wash the feet to the ankles. The Qur'an sets these four out in 5:6. The Prophet ﷺ also rinsed the mouth and nose and washed each part three times, and taught that “prayer is not accepted without purification” .

### Facing the qibla and the time

Face the Kaʿbah in Makkah 2:144. Each prayer has its time 4:103: the [Muslim Daily Toolkit](https://www.mohammadsiddiqui.com/deen/muslim-daily-toolkit/) works out both for where you are.

### The intention

Know which prayer you are about to pray. “Actions are only by intentions” . Scholars The intention is in the heart; most scholars hold that saying it aloud is not required, and many say it was not the Prophet's ﷺ practice.

## All the words, in order

## Where the four schools differ

All four agree on the pillars above. These are the common differences in how they are done. Each has hadith behind it; follow your teacher or your school.

| Question | Ḥanafī | Mālikī | Shāfiʿī | Ḥanbalī |
| -------- | ------ | ------ | ------- | ------- |

For the evidence on each side and how strong it is, see [The Four Schools Compared](https://www.mohammadsiddiqui.com/deen/four-schools-compared/).

## If you lose count or make a mistake

### Not sure if it was three or four?

Sunna Build on what you are sure of (the lower number), finish the prayer, then make two extra prostrations before the salām . The two prostrations are called *sujūd al-sahw*, the prostrations of forgetfulness.

### Forgot the middle sitting?

Sunna The Prophet ﷺ once stood up after two rakʿahs of Dhuhr without sitting for the tashahhud. He carried on and made the two prostrations before the salām .

### Still learning the words?

Scholars A new Muslim who has not yet learned the Fātiḥah says what he or she can of remembrance of Allah and keeps learning. A man asked the Prophet ﷺ for something to say in its place and was taught *subḥāna llāh, al-ḥamdu lillāh, lā ilāha illā llāh, Allāhu akbar, lā ḥawla wa lā quwwata illā billāh* .

Sources 

Qur'an: Dr Mustafa Khattab, *The Clear Quran*, via quran.com. Hadith: checked on sunnah.com with the grading shown there. English of the du'ā' in hadith is my own rendering of the Arabic.

Research, not a fatwa. Learn the prayer with a teacher you trust; this page is for following along.

**Spotted a mistake, or know a better source?** I check and correct these pages when readers point things out. Please email [mohammad.siddiqui@icloud.com](mailto:mohammad.siddiqui@icloud.com?subject=Correction%3A%20Prayer%2C%20Step%20by%20Step%3A%20The%20Words%2C%20the%20Movements%20and%20a%20Rak%CA%BFah%20Counter) with the passage, what you think is wrong, and your source (Qur'an reference, hadith with collection and number, or a book with page).

Related reading

- [Prayer (ṣalāh): How and Why](https://www.mohammadsiddiqui.com/deen/prayer/)
- [The Muslim Daily Toolkit: Prayer Times, Qibla, Adhkār and Zakat](https://www.mohammadsiddiqui.com/deen/muslim-daily-toolkit/)
- [The Four Schools Compared: The Questions, the Evidence and the Imams](https://www.mohammadsiddiqui.com/deen/four-schools-compared/)
- [Deen: Start Here](https://www.mohammadsiddiqui.com/deen/deen/), every article and tool