Description of the Prayer

Description of the Prayer:

Whenever you stand for prayer, then face the Qiblah, raise your hands up to the level of your shoulders, making the palms face the Qiblah saying: Allaah Akbar i.e. Allaah is the Greatest.”

Then place the right hand over the left.

Then say the opening invocation saying:

“Subhaanaka Allaahumma wa bi hamdika, wa tabaaraka ismuka, wa ta’aala jadduka wa laa ilaaha ghayruka (Glory and praise be to You, O Allaah; blessed be Your name, exalted be Your Majesty, and there is no god but You).”

 or

Allaahumma baa’id bayni wa bayna khataayaaya kama baa’adta bayna al-mashriqi wa’l-maghrib. Allaahumma naqqini min khataayaaya kama yunaqqa al-thawb al-abyad min al-danas. Allaahumma ighsilni min khataayaaya bi’l-thalji wa’l-maa’i wa’l-barad (O Allaah, put a great distance between me and my sins, as great as the distance You have made between the East and the West. O Allaah, cleanse me of sin as a white garment is cleansed from filth. O Allaah, wash away my sins with snow and water and hail).”

Then say: A’oodhu Billaahi min Ash-shaytaan il-rajeem (I seek refuge with Allaah from the accursed Satan) and “Bismillaahi’r-Rahmaani’r-Raheem” (In the Name of Allaah, then Most Gracious, the Most Merciful).

Then recite Al-Faatihah, following it with saying “Ameen (Amen)”.

Then recite of the Quran as much as may be easy for you.

It is recommended to make the recitation of the first Rak‘ah longer than that of the second every prayer.

Then raise your hand in the same way you do while saying the opening Takbeer of prayer, saying Allaah Akbar. Then bow putting your hands on your knees firmly, parting between your fingers, and stretching your back, making your head aligned with your back, neither raising nor lowering it, and say: Subahaana Rabbiy Al-Azeem (i.e. Glory be to my Lord, the Most Great), once or more. Glorfying the Lord and then raise your head saying: Sami’a Allaahu liman hamidah (Allaah hears those who praise Him”, raising both your hands in the same way you do upon bowing.

After that, stand up straight saying, (following Tasmee‘),“Rabbanaa wa lakal hamd hamdan katheeran tayyiban mubaarakan fih Mil’ al-samawaati wa mil’ al-ard wa mil’ ma shi’ta min shay’in ba’d " (Our Lord, praise is Yours, abundant, good and blessed praise (A praise that) fills the heavens and the earth and what lies between them, and whatever else You please. (You Allaah).

Then say Takbeer without raising your hands this time, then prostrate. In prostration, settle your forehead, nose, hands, knees, and the bottom of your toes on the ground (or the place of prayer), making your fingers and toes face the Qiblah. Then lean on the palms of your hands during prostration, keeping your upper arms apart from your sides, your abdomen apart from your thighs and your thighs apart from your legs, saying: “Subhaana Rabbiy Al-‘la (i.e. “Glory be to my Lord, the Most High”)” once or more. Then supplicate Allaah The Almighty of whatever you wants and make your prostration like your bowing in duration.

Then raise your head saying Takbeer, placing your left foot on its side and sitting on it, keeping the right foot as it was since prostration, making the bottom of its toes faces the Qiblah. Then place your hands on your thighs saying: Allaahum-maghfir lee, warhamnee, wa ‘aafinee, wahdinee, warzuqnee (O Allaah forgive me, have mercy on me, protect me, guide me and provide for me).

Make your sitting like your prostration in duration. Then say Takbeer and prostrates, doing in the second prostration the same as you did in the first.

After that, raise you head saying Takbeer, and then stand upright after resting on the bottom of your toes and leaning on ground. You can sit to rest if you need so.

When you stand upright, start reciting Al-Faatihah, performing the second Rak‘ah in the same way you did in the first.

At the end of the second Rak‘ah, sit for the First Tashahhud, placing your left foot on its side and sitting on it just as you do while sitting between the two prostrations. Then place your right hand on your right thigh and your left hand on your left thigh. In some other times, you can put you right hand on the edge of your right knee and your left hand on your left knee. Place the thumb of your right hand on your middle finger making them like a ring, holding your pinkie and ring finger, leaving the index finger extended forward as if pointing, and recite the First Tashahhud:   

Attahiyyaatu lillaahi wassalawaatu, wattayyibaatu, assalaamu ‘alayka ’ayyuhan-Nabiyyu wa rahmatullaahi wa barakaatuhu, assalaamu ‘alaynaa wa ‘alaa ‘ibaadillaahis-saaliheen. ’Ash-hadu ’an laa ’ilaaha ‘illallaahu wa ‘ash-hadu ‘anna Muhammadan ‘abduhu wa Rasooluhu (All greetings of humility are for Allaah, and all prayers and goodness. Peace be upon you, O Prophet, and the mercy of Allaah and His blessings. Peace be upon us and upon the righteous slaves of Allaah. I bear witness that there is none worthy of worship but Allaah, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His slave and His Messenger.)

After this, stand upright and say Takbeer. If you stand upright, then raise your hands up to the level of the shoulders, performing both the third and the fourth Rak‘ah and make them shorter than the first two ones and only recite Al-Faatihah in them.

Then sit for the Final Tashahhud, placing your left foot on its side and sitting on it, keeping the right foot as it was since prostration (i.e. resting on the bottom of its toes while the heelis up), or putting his left calf under his right one, keeping his right foot vertical, erecting you right leg and facing the Qiblah with their toes, and sitting on the ground (or the place of prayer) instead.

Then recite the Final Tashahhud, which is the same as the first with the following addition:

Allaahumma salli ‘alaa Muhammadin wa ‘alaa ’aali Muhammadin, kamaa sallayta ‘alaa ’Ibraaheema wa ‘alaa ‘aali ’Ibraaheema, ’innaka Hameedun Majeed. Allaahumma baarik ‘alaa Muhammadin wa ‘alaa ’aali Muhammadin, kamaa baarakta ‘alaa ’Ibraaheema wa‘alaa ’aali ‘Ibraaheema, ’innaka Hameedun Majeed (O Allaah, bestow Your favor on Muhammad and on the family of Muhammad as You have bestowed Your favor on Ibrahim and on the family of Ibrahim, You are Praiseworthy, Most Glorious. O Allaah, bless Muhammad and the family of Muhammad as You have blessed Ibrahim and the family of Ibrahim, You are Praiseworthy, Most Glorious).

Following the Final Tashahhud, seek refuge with Allaah The Almighty from the torture of the Hellfire, from the torture in the grave, from the trail of life and death, and from the evil of the trail of the Maseeh Ad-Dajjaal (Antichrist). You may then invoke Allaah The Almighty with whatever invocations you like.

Finally, close prayer with Tasleem, turning your head to the right saying, As-Salaamu ‘alaykum wa rahmat-Allah (peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah), then turning to the left saying the same.