When is salat performed

Facing the qiblah , the direction of Mecca, worshippers stand to begin the prayer. While the salat begins with extolling the transcendence of God, it ends with sending royal praises to God, as if worshippers have entered into His presence. The worshipper formally exits from salat by proclaiming peace on both the right and left sides while in the sitting position.

Salat is performed according to the practice of Prophet Muhammad, who, according to tradition, was taught by the angel Gabriel. Though Muslims pray salat five times daily, they may also perform additional types of salat which occur on holidays and other special occasions. Performing Salah five times daily is compulsory for all Muslims past puberty, which is the age of legal responsibility.

It gives us an opportunity to communicate with Allah, remember Him, show our gratitude to Him, with the act of prostration being the moment we are closest to Him.

Salah is a gift for every believer and it is the first thing we are accounted for on the Day of Judgement. All of the rulings here are according to the Hanafi school of Islamic jurisprudence. Salah is to be performed during five set times during each day and night.

You can easily find the correct Salah times for your location by using an app or website. Muslim Hands is an award-winning charity, established in to help those needing emergency relief and tackling the root causes of poverty. Established in , Muslim Hands is an aid agency and NGO helping those affected by poverty, conflict and natural disaster in over 20 countries worldwide.

Explore Muslim Hands. The awrah for men is to cover everything from and including the navel to the knees. Women must cover everything except the hands, feet and face.

There are many free apps which will tell you where the Qiblah is, using the compass on your phone. If you are unable to stand due to illness or infirmity, you can pray sitting down. Begin by making your intention for the Salah, verbally or silently. Salah is defined as the act of offering prayers to Allah SWT. The process of performing salah is complex. Daily salah prayers tend to follow a similar structure, though additional prayers and those that occur during major events like Eid ul-Adha differ more significantly.

It is important to educate oneself on how to perform their prayer correctly to ensure the benefits of salah are acquired and your act of worship is received well by Allah SWT. Performing salah is a process with a specific structure and set of principles which must be followed. To begin with, there are five separate daily prayers which must be performed; they are as follows:. These are the obligatory prayers only; there are many other prayers that Muslims can perform voluntarily for their own benefit.

If the weight is on one foot, there is no harm in it. And when he wishes to go a little backward or forward, or to move his body a little towards right or left, he should not recite anything at that time. Issue There is no harm in the movement of hands and fingers at the time of reciting Hamd, although the recommended precaution is that it should be avoided.

Issue If at the time of reciting Hamd ,Surah orTasbihat, somebody moves so much involuntarily that the body is no more steady, the recommended precaution is that after his body resumes steadiness, he should recite again, all that he has recited while his body moved. Issue If a person becomes unable to stand while offering prayers, he should sit down, and if he is unable to sit, he should lie down. However, until his body becomes steady, he should not utter any of the obligatory Zikr.

Issue As long as a person is able to offer prayers standing, he should not sit down. For example, if the body of a person shakes, or moves when he stands, or he is obliged to lean on something, or to incline his body a bit, he should continue to offer prayers standing in whatever manner he can.

But, if he cannot stand at all, he should sit upright, and offer prayers in that position. And if he cannot sit at all, he should lie, as stated in the rules of Qibla, on his right side. If he cannot lie on that side, he should lie on his left side, but as an obligatory precaution, he should not lie on the left side as long as it is possible for him to lie on the right side.

When it is not possible to lie on either side, then he should lie on his back, with his feet facing Qibla. Issue If a person is offering prayers in a sitting position, and if after reciting Hamd and Surah, he is able to stand up and perform Ruku, he should first stand, and then perform Ruku.

But, if he cannot do so, he should perform Ruku while sitting. Issue If a person, who is offering prayers in a lying position, can sit during the prayers, he should offer, those parts of the prayers while sitting. Also, if he can manage to stand, he should offer those parts of the prayers while standing. But, as long as his body is not still, he should not utter any of the obligatory Zikr.

Issue If a person offering prayers in a sitting position becomes capable, during prayers, to stand up, he should offer that part of the prayers which he can, while standing. But as long as his body is not still, he should not utter any of the obligatory Zikr. Issue If a person who can stand, fears that owing to standing, he will become ill, or will be harmed, he can offer prayers in a sitting position and if he fears sitting, he can offer the prayers in a lying posture.

If he prayed at the prime time, and then became capable of standing at the end of the time, he should pray again. But if he was totally despaired that he would be able to pray standing, and after praying in the prime time, he later found himself capable of standing, it will not be obligatory on him to repeat the prayers. Issue It is Mustahab for the person offering prayers to stand erect, slacken down his shoulders, place his hands on his thighs, join his fingers together, look at the place of Sajdah, place the weight of his body equally on two feet, stand in humility, keep both his feet in line.

Men offering prayers should keep a distance of three open fingers, or a span between his feet, and women should keep the feet together. Issue If the time left for Salat is little, or if a person has to helplessly abandon the Surah because of fear that a thief, a beast, or anything else, may do him harm, or if he has an important work, he should not recite the other Surah.

In fact, there are situations when he should avoid it, like when the Salat time at his disposal is limited, or when in fear. Issue If a person intentionally recites Surah before Hamd, his prayer is void, and if he does it by mistake, and realises this while reciting it, he should abandon the Surah and recite Hamd first, and then the Surah. Issue If a person forgets to recite Hamd and Surah, or either of them and realises after reaching the Ruku, his prayers are in order.

Issue If a person realises before bowing for Ruku, that he has not recited Hamd and Surah, he should recite them, and if he realises that he has not recited the Surah, he should recite the Surah only.

But, if he realises that he has not recited Hamd only, he should recite Hamd first and then recite the Surah again. Moreover, if he bends but before reaching the Ruku realises that he has not recited Hamd and Surah, or only Surah, or only Hamd, he should stand up and act according to the foregoing rules.

And if he does so, as a precaution, his Salat will be void, and he will have to pray again. But if he does not go to Sajdah immediately, and continues to pray, it will be in order, though he will have committed a sin for not going to Sajdah immediately. But if he realises this after reciting the verse of Sajdah, he should act as guided in the above rule i. Issue If during Salat a man listens to the verses making Sajdah obligatory, his prayer are in order, and on the basis of precaution, he should make a sign of Sajdah, and should also offer Sajdah after the prayers.

Issue It is not necessary to recite a Surah after Hamd in Mustahab prayers, even if that prayers may have become obligatory due to Nazr. But, as for some Mustahab prayers like wahshat prayers, in which a particular Surah is recommended, if a person wishes to act according to the rules, he should recite the prescribed Surah. But as a precaution, he should not abandon it after having reached half, and it is not permissible to resort to another Surah.

But, if a na-Mahram hears her voice, she should, on the basis of precaution, recite them silently, especially if allowing him to listen is haraam. But, if, he does so owing to forgetfulness, or not knowing the rule, his prayer is in order. And if he realises that he is doing a mistake while reciting the Surah al-Hamd and the other Surah, it is not necessary to recite again what he has recited not following the rule. Issue If a person raises his voice unusually high while reciting Surah al-Hamd and Surah, as if he were shouting, his prayer will be void.

And if he cannot do that, he should add some Tasbeeh to it. But if someone cannot recite Surah al-Hamd at all, then there is no necessary replacement for it.

The recommended precaution for him is to join Salat al-Jamaat. And if the time does not permit, he should act as guided in the above rule, and his prayers will be valid. But wherever possible, such a person should join Salat al-Jamaat to relieve himself of the responsibility. Issue If a person has learnt a word which he believes to be correct, and recites it that way in prayers, but comes to know later that he has been reciting it incorrectly, it is not necessary for him to offer the prayers again.

But in Salat , its validity does not depend upon following these rules, so if one does not strictly follow them, his Salat will not be void. Nor should one render it without waqf and join. You should continue with no waiting. But if he realises this during or after the Ruku, his prayer is in order. However, if the recitation which came on his tongue was the one to which he was habituated, then he should complete it and his prayers will be valid.

That is, one should say, Astaghfirullaha Rabbi wa Atubu Illayhi, or one should say, Allahummaghfir li. And before bowing for Ruku, while he is uttering Istighfar or has finished it, if he doubts whether he has read al-Hamd or Tasbihat or not, he should read either of them. Similarly, he should ignore the doubt if it occurs while bowing for Ruku. Issue If a person doubts whether he has pronounced a verse or a word correctly, like, whether he has uttered Qul Huwallahu Ahad correctly or not, he may ignore his doubt.

However, if he repeats that verse or word correctly as a precautionary measure, there is no harm in it. And if he doubts often he may repeat as many times. However, if it becomes an obsession, and he still goes on reading it again, as a recommended precaution, he should pray all over again. It is Mustahab also to recite Surah al-Hamd and other Surah distinctly, with a pause at the end of every verse i.

Similarly, it is Mustahab to pause a little after reciting the Surah, then say Takbir, before going to Ruku or reciting Qunut. This act is called Ruku. Issue Bending should be with the niyyat of Ruku. If a person bends for some other purpose e. He will have to stand up and bend again for Ruku, and in so doing, he will not have added any Rukn, nor will his prayers be void.

Issue If a person has abnormally long hands, so that if he bends a little they reach his knees, or if his knees are lower than usual, so that he has to bend himself lower to make his hands reach his knees, he should follow the normal bowing by the others. Issue A person who performs Ruku in the sitting position, should bow down till his face is parallel to his knees. And it is better that he should bow down till his face reaches near the place of Sajdah.

But actually, uttering any Zikr to this extent is sufficient. However, if Salat time is short, or if one is under any pressure, it will be sufficient to say Subhanallah once. Issue The Zikr of Ruku should be uttered in succession, and in correct Arabic, and it is Mustahab that it should be uttered 3, 5 or 7 times or more than that. And as a precaution, one should not have any movement when reciting the obligatory Zikr. Issue If at the time of uttering the obligatory Zikr of Ruku, he loses steadiness because of uncontrollable vigorous movement, it will be better that after his body resumes steadiness he repeats the Zikr.

However, if the movement is so negligible that steadiness is not lost, or if he just moves his fingers, there is no harm in it. Issue If a person intentionally recites the Zikr of Ruku before he has properly bowed down, and before his body becomes still, his prayers will be void. If he raises his head by mistake, and if he has not completely ceased to be in Ruku and he recollects that he has not completed the Zikr of Ruku, he should make himself steady and recite the Zikr.

And if he recollects after he has arisen totally from Ruku, his prayers are in order. Issue If a person cannot remain steady during Ruku owing to some disease etc, his prayers are in order. But he should complete the obligatory part of Zikr, as explained, before totally rising from Ruku. And if he cannot perform Ruku even after he has leaned, he should bow down to the maximum extent he can, so that it could be customarily recognised as a Ruku.

And if he cannot bend at all, he should make a sign for Ruku with his head. Issue If a person supposed to make a sign with his head for Ruku is unable to do so, he should close his eyes with the niyyat of Ruku, and then recite Zikr. And for rising from Ruku, he should open his eyes. And if he is unable to do even that, he should, as a precaution, make a niyyat of Ruku in his mind, and then make a sign of Ruku with his hands and recite Zikr.

Issue If a person cannot perform Ruku while standing, but can bend for it while sitting, he should offer prayers standing and should make a sign with his head for Ruku. And the recommended precaution is that he should offer another prayers in which he would sit down at the time of Ruku, and bow down for it.

Issue After the completion of the Zikr of Ruku, one should stand straight, and proceed to Sajdah after the body has become steady.

If one goes to Sajdah intentionally before standing erect, or before the body is steady, the prayers are void. It will not be proper for him to go into Ruku in a bent position. But, if he remembers this in the second Sajdah, his prayers are void. Issue It is Mustahab that before going into Ruku, a person should say Takbir while he is standing erect, and in Ruku, he should push his knees back, keep his back flat, stretch forth his neck, keep it in line with his back, look between his two feet, say Salawat before or after Zikr.

Issue It is Mustahab for women that while performing Ruku, they should keep their hands higher than their knees, and should not push back their knees. While performing Sajdahs during prayers, it is obligatory that both the palms and the knees, and both the big toes are placed on the ground.

Issue If a person omits or adds one Sajdah intentionally, his prayers become void. And if he omits or adds one Sajdah forgetfully, the rules regarding it will be explained later. But, if he places his forehead on the earth, but forgets to keep other parts of his body on the ground, or forgets to utter the Zikr, his Sajdah is in order. And he should utter these words in succession and in correct Arabic.

Actually, as an obligatory precaution, uttering any Zikr to this extent is sufficient. Issue If a person intentionally utters the Zikr of Sajdah before his forehead reaches the ground, and his body becomes steady, or if he raises his head from Sajdah intentionally before the Zikr is completed, his prayers are void.

Issue If after raising his head from Sajdah, a person realises that he has done so before the completion of the Zikr of Sajdah, his prayers are in order. But if he lifts the limbs, other than the forehead, when he is not reciting anything, and then places them back again, there will be no harm, unless that movement renders his body unsteady, in which case, Salat will be void.

Issue If a person raises his forehead from the ground by mistake, before the completion of the Zikr of Sajdah, he should not place it on the ground again, he should treat it as one Sajdah.

However, if he raises other parts of the body from the ground by mistake, he should place them back on the ground and utter the Zikr. Issue After the Zikr of the first Sajdah is completed, one should sit till the body is steady, and then perform Sajdah again.

As a matter of obligatory precaution, the place of his forehead should not be more than four joined fingers lower or higher than the place where he stands. And if the height does not change the appearance of the Sajdah, and his attention is drawn to it after completing the obligatory Zikr, he should raise his head and may complete the prayers.

But if his attention is drawn to it before the obligatory Zikr, he should gradually push or move his forehead to a lower level, and recite the obligatory Zikr. And if that is not possible, he should recite the obligatory Zikr and complete his prayer. It would not be necessary for him to repeat the prayers. If the mohr sajdagah is so dirty that the forehead does not reach the mohr itself, the Sajdah is void. But if only the colour of mohr has changed, there is no harm.

Issue In Sajdah a person offering prayers should place his two palms on the ground. In a state of helplessness, there will be no harm in placing the back of the hands on the ground, and if even this is not possible, he should, on the basis of precaution, place the wrists of hands on the ground. And if he cannot do even this, he should place any part of the body up to his elbow on the ground, and if even that is not possible it is sufficient to place the arms on the ground.

If he places the outer or the inner parts of the toes, it will be proper. But if he places, instead other smaller toes on the ground, or the outer part of his feet, or if his big toe does not rest on the ground due to very long nails, his Salat will be void. And if a person does not follow this rule due to ignorance or carelessness, he has to pray again.

Issue If a part of the big toe is cut off, one should place the remaining part of it on the ground, and if nothing of it has remained or what has remained is too short, he should, on the basis of precaution, place the other toes on the ground, but if he has no toes at all, he should place on the ground whatever part of the foot has remained.

And if it becomes necessary to dig a hole, or a pit so that the part with the sore or the wound stays there, while the healthy part is on the ground, he should do so. As an obligatory precaution, he should perform Sajdah with his chin, and it that is not possible, with one of the two sides of the forehead.

When it is not possible to perform Sajdah with the face in any way, he should perform Sajdah by sign. But his palms, his knees, and toes should be on the ground as usual.

And if he cannot make a sign even with his eyes he should, on the basis of obligatory precaution, make a sign for Sajdah with his hands etc. And if he cannot control his head, and it reaches the place of Sajdah again involuntarily, both of them will be reckoned as one Sajdah, and if he has not uttered the Zikr, as a recommended precaution, he will do so with the niyyat of Qurbat.

But if he finds that he can perform Sajdah on a mat, or any other allowed objects, without any impediment, then he should not perform Sajdah on a carpet or things like it. Issue If a person performs Sajdah on a mattress filled with feathers, or any other similar thing, his Sajdah will be void if his body cannot remain steady. Issue If a person is obliged to offer prayers on a muddy ground, and if no hardship will be caused to him if his body and dress become soiled with mud, he should perform Sajdah and tashahhud as usual.

If it is going to prove extremely hard for him, he should make a sign for Sajdah with his head while he is standing, and recite tashahhud in the standing position. His prayers will be in order. It is not permissible to perform Sajdah on things which are used as food or dress e. And in the situation of helplessness, asphalt and tar will have preference over other non-allowable things.

Otherwise, there is no objection. Issue It is in order to perform Sajdah on things which grow from the earth, and serve as fodder for animals e. Similarly, Sajdah on raw fruits is not allowed. Issue It is allowed to perform Sajdah on limestone and gypsum, but the recommended precaution is that Sajdah should not be optionally performed on baked gypsum, lime, brick and baked earthenware etc. But if it is made from silk etc. Issue Turbatul Husayn is the best thing for performing Sajdah.

After it, there are earth, stone and grass, in order of priority. However, in such a situation, the recommended precaution is that as long as it is possible to perform Sajdah on his dress he should not do Sajdah on any other thing. Issue If the mohr sticks to the forehead in the first Sajdah, it should be removed from the forehead for the second Sajdah.

But if he becomes aware of it before reciting the obligatory Zikr, he should gradually slide or move his head onto an allowed object, and recite the Zikr. But if that is not possible, he should recite the obligatory Zikr and continue with his Salat. His prayers in both cases will be valid. Issue It is haraam to perform Sajdah for anyone other than Almighty Allah. Some people place their foreheads on earth before the graves of the holy Imams.

If this is done to thank Allah, there is no harm in it, but otherwise it is haraam. A person who prays standing, will do so after having stood up from Ruku, and a person who prays sitting will do so after having sat properly. Give me and the members of my family sustenance with Your grace. Undoubtedly You possess the greatest grace. And women should place their elbows and stomachs on the ground, and should join their limbs with one another.

It is also Makrooh to blow off the dust from the place of Sajdah, and if, by so doing, one utters anything intentionally, the prayers will be, as a precaution, void. Besides these, there are other Makrooh acts, which are given in detailed books. If one hears the verse without any expectation, in an involuntary situation, the Sajdah is not obligatory, though it is better to perform it. Issue If a person hears a verse of Sajdah, while he is in Sajdah other than that of Salat , or recites it himself, he should raise his head from that Sajdah, and perform another one.

But if he hears from a gramophone or a tape recorder, Sajdah will not be obligatory. Similarly, the Sajdah will not be Wajib if he listens to a taped recitation from radio. But if there is a person reciting from the radio station, and he recites the verse of Sajdah, it will be obligatory to perform Sajdah.

Moreover, the conditions for dress in Salat do not apply to the performance of these obligatory Sajdah. Issue When a person performs the obligatory Sajdah upon hearing the relevant verse, it will be sufficient even if he does not recite any Zikr. And it will be sufficient if one recited the tashahhud this way: Ash hadu an la ilaha illal lahu was ash hadu anna Muhammadan Sallal lahu Alayhi Wa Aalihi Abduhu Wa rasuluh.

It is also necessary to recite tashahhud while offering Witr in Salat al-Shab prayers. Issue The words of tashahhud should be recited in correct Arabic, and in usual succession. He will then continue with his prayers. After the prayers, it is a recommended precaution that he should perform two Sajda al-Sahv for the additional standing.

But if he remembers this in Ruku or thereafter, he should complete the prayers and after the salam of prayers, should, as a recommended precaution, perform the qadha of tashahhud. He should perform two sajdatus sahv for the forgotten tashahhud.

Issue It is Mustahab for women to keep their thighs close to each other when reciting tashahhud. But if he recites this Salam, then as per obligatory precaution, he must follow it up with saying: Assalamu Alaykum. Issue If a person forgets the salam of prayers, and remembers when the form of Salat has not be disrupted, nor has he performed any act, which if done intentionally or forgetfully, invalidates the prayers e.

Tartib Sequence Issue If a person intentionally changes the sequence of the prayers, for example, if he recites the other surah before reciting Surah al-Hamd, or performs the two Sajdah before Ruku, his prayers are void. Issue If a person forgets a rukn, and performs an act after it which is not a rukn, like, if he recites tashahhud without performing the two Sajdah, he should perform the rukn and should recite again the part which he performed erroneously, earlier than the rukn.

Issue If a person forgets a thing which is not a rukn, and performs a rukn which comes after it, like, if he forgets Surah al-Hamd and begins performing Ruku, his prayers is in order. Issue If a person forgets an act which is not a rukn, and performs the next act which too, is not a rukn, like, if he forgets Surah al-Hamd and recites the other Surah, he should perform what he has forgotten, and then recite again the thing which he mistakenly recited earlier. Issue If a person performs the first Sajdah thinking that it is the second one, or performs the second one under the impression that it is the first Sajdah, his prayer is in order; his first Sajdah will be treated as the first one, and his second Sajdah will be treated as the second one.

Muwalat Maintenance of Succession Issue A person should maintain continuity during prayers, that is he should perform various acts of prayers, like, Ruku, two Sajdah and tashahhud, in continuous succession, and he should recite the Zikr etc. If he allows an undue interval between different acts, till it becomes difficult to visualise that he is praying, his prayers will be void. Issue If a person in Salat forgetfully allows a gap between letters, or words, and if the gap is not big enough so that the form of the prayers is disrupted, he should repeat those letters or words in the usual manner, provided that he has not proceeded to the ensuing rukn.

And he will repeat those lines which were read in continuation. But if he has already got into the ensuing rukn, then his prayers are in order. Issue It is also Mustahab that while reciting qunut, a person keeps his hands in front of his face, turning the palms facing the sky, and keeping both, the hands and the fingers, close together. It is Mustahab to look at the palms in qunut. Issue It is Mustahab that qunut is recited loudly. However, if a person is offering prayers in congregation, and if the Imam can hear his voice, it will not be Mustahab for him to recite qunut loudly.

Issue If a person does not recite qunut intentionally, there is no qadha for it. And if he forgets it, and remembers before reaching Ruku, it is Mustahab that he should stand up and recite it. And if he remembers while performing Ruku, it is Mustahab that he should perform its qadha after Ruku. And if he remembers it while performing Sajdah, it is Mustahab that he should perform its qadha after Salam.

Translation of Prayers I. The Compassionate — One Whose blessings are extensive and unlimited. The Merciful — One Whose blessings are inherent and eternal. Arrahmanir Rahim The Compassionate, the Merciful.