Adhaan | Salaat | Wudhu | Ghusl | Tayammum

Bismillah al-Rahman al-Raheem

The Fajr prayer

The Fajr prayer is 2 Rak’at, and it must be performed between Fajr and the Sunrise. Depending on the geography of your location, Fajr is about one-and-a-half to two hours before Sunrise.

The Dhuhr prayer

The Dhuhr prayer is 4 Rak’at, and this must be performed between Dhuhr Adhaan {midday, or noontime} and sunset.

The Asr prayer

The Asr prayer is 4 Rak’at, and this must be performed after the Dhuhr prayer.

The Maghrib prayer

The Maghrib prayer is 3 Rak’at, and this must be performed between Maghrib time, which is about 20 minutes after Sunset, and midnight, save the time required to perform the ‘Esha prayer. Midnight is the mid point between the time of Maghrib (Adhaan of Maghrib) and the time of Fajr (Adhaan of Fajr).

The ‘Esha prayer

The ‘Esha prayer is 4 Rak’at, and this is performed after performing the Maghrib prayers.

It is desirable to say the Adhaan at the specific times of Adhaan, which are the times of Fajr, Dhuhr, and Maghrib. It is also very desirable to say the Eqaamah before the start of each of the five prayers.

Adhaan

Transliteration for the Arabic	Translation
Allah-o Akbar (repeated 4 times)	Allah is greater than anything else.
Ash-had-o An-laa illah-a il-la-llah (repeated 2 times)	I bear witness that there is no god but Allah.
Ash-had-o An-na Muhammadan Rasulollah (repeated 2 times)	I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.
Ash-had-o An-na Ali-yan Wali-yullah (repeated 2 times)	I bear witness that Ali is the disciple of Allah.
Hay-ya alas-Salaat(repeated 2 times)	Hurry towards prayers!
Hay-ya alal-Falaah(repeated 2 times)	Hurry towards prosperity!
Hay-ya ala-Khayr-el-Amal(repeated 2 times)	Hurry towards the best of deeds!
Allah-o Akbar(repeated 2 times)	Allah is greater than anything else.
La-illah-a il-la-llah (repeated 2 times)	There is no god but Allah.

Eqaamah

Transliteration for the Arabic	Translation
Allah-o Akbar (repeated 2 times)*	Allah is greater than anything else.
Ash-had-o An la illah-a il-la-llah (repeated 2 times)	I bear witness that there is no god but Allah.
Ash-had-o An-na Muhammadan Rasulollah (repeated 2 times)	I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.
Ash-had-o An-na Ali-yan Wali-yullah (repeated 2 times)	I bear witness that Ali is the disciple of Allah.
Hay-ya ala-Salaat (repeated 2 times)	Hurry towards prayers!
Hay-ya ala-Falaah (repeated 2 times)	Hurry towards prosperity!
Hay-ya ala-Khayr-ol-Amal (repeated 2 times)	Hurry towards the best of deeds!
Qad Qaamat-es-Salaat (repeated 2 times)*	The prayer is being established!
Allah-o Akbar (repeated 2 times)	Allah is greater than anything else.
La-illah-a il-la-llah (repeated 1 time)*	There is no god but Allah.

Having said the Eqaamah, you MUST make the Neyyah, which is the Intention to perform the prayer. In the intention, you specify what prayer you are going to perform, for example you say, “I intend to perform the two-Rak’ah Fajr prayer, seeking nearness to Allah Almighty.” Of course you do not need to say these words verbally, it is sufficient for you to make the intention mentally.

Having made your intention clear, you immediately say the Takbirat-ol-Ehraam, which is Allah-o Akbar, and at the same time reaching your hands to your ears with the palms of your hands facing away from you, and then back to the normal resting position. This signals the start of the prayer.

Performing Neyyah and Takbirat-ol-Ehraam

Salaat:

Now you begin the first Rak’ah of the prayer.

In the first Rak’at of any of the prayers, you should recite the Surah al-Hamd, along with any other Surah such as Surah Tawheed (Unity, #112). For all Surahs recited in the prayers, you MUST begin each and every Surah with Bismillah al-Rahmaan al-Raheem.

After finishing reciting the Surah Tawheed, you say Allah-o Akbar, and then should do Ruku’ (bowing), and then perform 2 Sajdah (prostration).

Reciting Surah al-Hamd and another Surah

In the Ruku’, when you are stationary in the Ruku’ position, you say:

Subhaan Allah,

Subhaan Allah.

Performing Roku’

Then you stand in an upright position and say Allah-o Akbar. [Remember that each time you say Allah-o Akbar, you raise your hands close to your ears, with the palms of your hands facing away from you.]

Standing upright after performing Roku’, and just before Sujud.

After saying Allah-o Akbar, you should perform prostration and do TWO Sajdah. In the Sajdah position, seven points of the body come in contact with the ground. These are the forehead, the palms of the two hands, the two knees, and the two big toes. One Sajdah is performed each time you prostrate by putting your forehead on the earth. During the Sujud, your forehead being on the earth and all your body stationary, you should say:

Subhaan-Allah,

Subhaan-Allah.

Performing Sujud

When you finish saying this, you should sit up. Once in the sitting position, you say

Allah-o Akbar,

followed by Astaghfir-ullah Rab-bi wa Atoobo Ilayh,

followed by Allah-o Akbar.

Sitting upright after performing the first Sajdah.

Then you head for prostration again to perform the second Sajdah. In the second Sajdah you say the same thing as in the first.

Subhaan-Allah,

Subhaan-Allah.

It is worth noting that it is very desirable to say the following greeting for the prophet Muhammad after the above Tasbeeh in all Roku’ and Sujud:

Allahum-ma Sal-li ala Muhammad wa aale Muhammad wa ‘Ajjel Farajahum.

which means: “O Lord! Send your blessing upon Muhammad and the Progeny of Muhammad, and hasten their relief and freedom from grief.” (Relief and freedom from grief refers to the reappearance of Imam al-Mahdi peace be upon him.)

Performing the second Sajdah

When you finish saying this, you should raise your head and sit up. Once in the sitting position and stationary, you say Allah-o Akbar.

Sitting upright after the second Sajdah.

Then you stand up for the second Rak’ah.

In the second Rak’at, just like in the first, you must recite Surah al-Hamd and another Surah of your choice.

[Remember that the Surah that you recite after Surah of al-Hamd should be recited completely, and it is NOT sufficient to recite a Surah partially.

Reciting the Surah of al-Hamd and another Surah, say al-Tawheed, in the second Rak’ah.

After finishing reciting the second Surah, you say Allah-o Akbar, and before doing the Ruku’, you may do Qunut. In the Qunut you raise your hands to the level of your face and read any supplication, the shortest of which is:

Allahum-ma Sal-li ala Muhammad wa aale Muhammad wa ‘Ajjel Farajahum.

Qunut

After the Qunut you say Allah-o Akbar, and then should do Ruku’ (bowing), and then perform 2 Sajdah (prostration), just as in the first Rak’ah.

For all the prayers, in the second Rak’at, after the second Sajdah, you should sit up and say the Tashah-hud. The Tashah-hud is as follows:

AL-HAMDU LILLAH,

ASH-HADU AN LA-ILAHA ILLA-LLAH, WAHDAHO LA SHAREEKA LAH,

WA-ASH-HADU ANNA MUHAMMADUN ABDUHU WA-RASOOLOH

ALLAHUM-MA SAL-LI ALA MUHAMMAD WA AALE MUHAMMAD.

{Meaning:

I testify that there is no god but Allah,

And I testify that Muhammad is His Servant and Messenger.

O Lord! Send your blessing upon Muhammad and the Progeny of Muhammad.}

Declaring the Tashah-hud.

In the Fajr prayer, which is only two Rak’at, after the Tashah-hud, the Salaam must be said.

The Salaam is as follows:

AS-SALAAMO ALAYKA AYUHAN-NABEYYU WA RAHMATULLAH WA BARAKATUH,

AS-SALAAMO ALAYNA WA ‘ALA EBADILLAH AS-SALEHEEN,

AS-SALAAMO ALAYKUM WA RAHMATULLAH WA BARAKATUH.

(Meaning:

O Prophet! Peace be upon you, and the Mercy and Blessing of Allah,

Peace be upon us and the pious Servants of Allah,

Peace be upon you, and the Mercy and Blessing of Allah)

After the Salaam, the prayer is finished by saying:

Allah-o Akbar

For other than the Fajr prayer, you need to perform another one or two Rak’ah.

In the case of the Maghrib prayer, which is 3 Rak’ah, after saying the Tashah-hud, you should not continue to say the Salaam, but rather you should start the third Rak’at by standing up and recite the following four-Tasbeeh:

Subhaan-Allah,

Wal-Hamdu-lil-lah,

Wa-la-ilaha-il-lal-laah,

Wal-laho-Abkar.

The above four-Tasbeeh must be repeated 3 times in the third Rak’ah.

This is then followed by one Ruku’ and two Sajdah as in the first Rak’ah. After the second Sajdah, you should sit up and say the Tashah-hud, and the Salaam as were given above.

[The Tashah-hud is as follows:

AL-HAMDU LILLAH,

ASH-HADU AN LA-ILAHA ILLA-LLAH, WAHDAHO LA SHAREEKA LAH,

WA-ASH-HADU ANNA MUHAMMADUN ABDUHU WA-RASOOLOH,

ALLAHUM-MA SAL-LI ALA MUHAMMAD WA AALE MUHAMMAD.

The Salaam is as follows:

AS-SALAAMO ALAYKA AYUHAN-NABEYYU WA RAHMATULLAH WA BARAKATUH,

AS-SALAAMO ALAYNA WA ‘ALA EBADILLAH AS-SALEHEEN,

AS-SALAAMO ALAYKUM WA RAHMATULLAH WA BARAKATUH.

After the Salaam, the prayer is finished; say:

Allah-o Akbar

In the case of a 4 Rak’ah prayer such as the ‘Esha, Dhuhr, and ‘Asr, a fourth Rak’ah exactly similar to the third one – as given above for the Maghrib prayer – must be performed. After you perform the second Sajdah of the third Rak’ah, you sit up and say Allah-o Akbar, and then you should stand up and say the Tasbeeh:

Subhaan-Allah,

Wal-Hamdu-lil-lah,

Wa-la-ilaha-il-lal-laah,

Wal-laho-Abkar.

As you know from before, the above Tasbeeh must be repeated 3 times in both third and the fourth Rak’ah.

Having finished saying the Tasbeeh, you then bow to do Ruku’, then stand upright again, say Allah-o Akbar, and then you go down to perform two Sajdah. When perform the two Sajdah of this fourth Rak’ah, you sit up to say the Tashah-hud and Salaam, and the four Rak’ah prayer is finished by saying:

Allah-o Akbar,

Allah-o Akbar.

After each of the prayers there are a number of optional follow-on supplications, but I shall not mention them here as it is important for you to concentrate on the prayers first. However, there is one thing that is highly recommended and very desirable to be performed after each of the prayers. It is known as the Tasbeeh of Fatima al-Zahra. This Tasbeeh consists of saying:

Allah-o Akbar (34 times),

Al-Hamdu-lil-llah (33 times),

Subhaan-Allah (33 times).

After this you can ask Allah Almighty for forgiveness and whatever requests and needs you might have.

{Tasbeeh of Fatima al-Zahra was taught to lady Fatima al-Zahra peace be upon her by her father the holy prophet Muhammad peace be upon him who received this Tasbeeh through archangel Gabriel from Allah Almighty. On the significance of the Tasbeeh of Fatima al-Zahra, Imam Sadiq alayhis-salam said, “If there was anything more significant and precious than this Tasbeeh, the prophet Muhammad would have taught it to his beloved daughter. i.e. there is nothing more significant than this Tasbeeh.}

Summary

A brief breakdown of the structure of the daily obligatory prayers is given below in brief:

A prayer may be of two, three or four Rak’ah.

· You make the intention (Neyyah) and then the Takbirat-el-Ehraam, which marks the start of the prayers,

· In the first Rak’ah, recite the Surah of al-Hamd and another Surah, say, Tawheed, followed by Roku’ and then by 2 Sajdah, and then stand up,

· In the second Rak’ah, recite the Surah of al-Hamd and another Surah, say, Tawheed, followed by Qunut, and then followed by Roku’ and then by 2 Sajdah. After the second Sajdah you perform the Tashah-hud. If this prayer is a 2 Rak’ah prayer, you then perform the Salaam, and finish the prayers. If not, then after the Tashah-hud you stand up to perform the third Rak’ah,

· In the third Rak’ah, recite the four-Tasbeeh, repeating it 3 times, followed by Roku’ and then by 2 Sajdah. If this is a 3-Rak’ah prayer, i.e. for Maghrib, then after the second Sajdah you must declare the Tashah-hud and Salaam, thus finishing the prayers. If the prayer is not a 3-Rak’ah one, then after the second Sajdah stand up to perform the final Rak’ah.

· In the fourth and final Rak’ah, recite the four-Tasbeeh, repeating it 3 times, just like the third Rak‘ah, followed by Roku’ and then by 2 Sajdah. After the second Sajdah you must declare the Tashah-hud and Salaam, thus finishing a four-Rak‘ah prayer.

Important Notes

All Surah must be recited starting by Bismillah al-Rahmaan al-Raheem. Failure to recite the Bismillah would render the entire prayer void.
Hands must NOT be crossed in front of the body.
All Sujud (prostration) must be carried out on earth, stone, any plant by-products (like wood or paper) or plants that are not edible. Performing Sujud on anything else would render the prayer void. In Sujud the forehead should come to rest on the place of Sajdah, which is earth, stone, etc. It is desirable and recommended that one obtains a clay stone for Sujud that is made from the earth of the land of Karbala, where Imam Husayn peace be upon him was killed and buried.
All and every kind of prayers must be performed by the individual in the direction of Makkah. During the prayers, one may not talk to others if present in the vicinity, and may not turn his or her face to any direction other than that of Makkah.
Most important of all, no prayer is valid, unless one has performed the ritual washing of Wudhu or Ablution. The procedure for performing the Wudhu is given below.
There is also the Special complete wash of the body from head to toe that becomes obligatory on certain occasions. This special wash is known as Ghusl. There are different circumstances when a Ghusl becomes obligatory. Two of them are mentioned here. A Ghusl is required whenever a husband and wife engage in sexual activity. This Ghusl is known as Ghusl Janabah, and both the man and the woman must perform this Ghusl before they can perform any of their obligatory duties such prayers, fasting or even touching or reading the holy Qur’an. This Ghusl is also obligatory for both the man and woman when they engage in penetrative sexual intercourse even in the absence of ejaculation / seminal discharge or orgasm. This Ghusl is also obligatory for a man when seminal discharge occurs while sleeping, or as a result of masturbation, although masturbation is Haram is strictly prohibited. The other Ghusl only concerns women, and that a woman is required to perform this Ghusl whenever the bleeding due to her monthly menstruation period stops. She must perform the Ghusl before she can perform any of her obligatory duties. The procedure for performing the Ghusl is given below. You can use the same procedure for both kinds of the obligatory Ghusl; the only difference would be the intention you make at the outset when you perform the Ghusl. The obligatory Ghusl replaces the requirement for Wudhu, and therefore when you perform this Ghusl when it is needed, you do not need to perform Wudhu for such acts of worship as prayers, etc. However the opposite is not acceptable, i.e. performing the Wudhu is not sufficient and does not replace the Ghusl.
Under emergency circumstances when say, water is not available, or water is harmful, or if time is extremely short to perform the Ghusl, then one may perform Tayam-mum instead of either Wudhu or Ghusl. The procedure for performing the Tayam-mum is given below.

Wudhu

The process of Wudhu is to wash your face, twice, then with your left hand pour water, twice, on your right forearm starting from the top of your elbow. Then do the same for your left arm, i.e. with your right hand pour water, twice, on your left forearm starting from the top of your elbow. Having finished this, with the same wetness you have of your hand, wipe the scalp of your head with your right hand only, then go on to wipe the top of your right foot with the right hand and the same for the left one, i.e. wipe the top of your left foot with your left hand. These processes are illustrated in sequence below:

Washing of the face: Pour water on your face starting from your forehead. Let the water run down your face, and beginning from the top of your forehead with your right hand thoroughly wipe your face to ensure that water reaches all parts of your face. Repeat this twice.
Washing of the right arm. Obtain a handful of water, from the water tap, with your left hand and pour it over the elbow of the right forearm. Let the water run down your arm, and beginning from the top of the elbow of your forearm wipe your forearm with your left hand so that your forearm is thoroughly rubbed and wet. Note the direction of washing: left hand moves over the right forearm from just above the elbow to the end of the fingertips, but not in the opposite direction. Repeat this twice.
Similarly goes for washing the left forearm. Obtain a handful of water, from the water tap, with your right hand and pour it over the elbow of the left forearm. Rub and wipe your left forearm with your right hand beginning from the top of the left elbow in the downward direction. Note the direction of washing: right hand moves over the left forearm from just above the elbow to the end of the fingertips. Repeat this twice.
Wiping the head with the right hand. At this stage you do not obtain any more water. Just wipe your head with the wetness of your right hand. The length of the stroke can be as short as two centimetres. Note the starting and the ending of the wipe: starting from the back of the top of the head as shown, wipe your hand in the forward direction to the front. Your hand should reach your forehead.
Wiping the right foot with the right hand. Immediately after wiping the head, with the same wetness you have on the right hand reach for your right foot and wipe it, beginning from the tips of the toes back to the joint (between the foot and the leg).
Wiping the left foot with the left hand. Having finished wiping the right foot, you then proceed to wipe your left foot, but this time with the left hand, beginning from the tips of the toes back to the joint (between the foot and the leg).

Ghusl

The Ghusl MUST be performed before performing any of the obligatory religious duties such as the daily prayers [salat / namaz], or before the imsak (that is just before the beginning of Fajr) during the holy month of Ramadahn, or even for touching the Qur’an. Ablution does not replace Ghusl al- Janabah nor is it sufficient.

If the man and woman do not do that, none of their acts of worship etc. would be valid. For example their obligatory daily prayers (namaz), fasting, etc. are void if they had not done the Ghusl after having sex. And if they had performed namaz or did fasting or any other act of worship without having done the Ghusl prior to those acts then all those acts of worship are invalid and must repeat all of them.

Similarly, if they have not done the Ghusl, then they are not allowed to touch the Qur'an etc.

In doing the Ghusl sequentially, one must make the niyyah or intention of doing Ghusl Janabah, and then rinse the head and neck first, then to rinse the right-hand side of the body including the right hand/arm and leg, and finally to rinse the left-hand side of the body including the left hand/arm and leg.

You could do the Ghusl by total emersion of the body in bath, pool, etc. by making the niyyah / intention first.

Depending on the circumstances for which the Ghusl is required, the Ghusl could be optional not obligatory, like Friday Ghusl. But Ghusls such as Ghusl Janabah is OBLIGATORY, and must be done when required, in order to be able to perform other obligatory duties such as the daily prayers, fasting, etc.

Process of performing Ghusl

The process of performing the Ghusl is as follows.

Once you have thoroughly washed and cleaned your body from anything unclean using, say, soap etc. you must make the intention - niyyah - of performing the Ghusl as an obligatory duty seeking nearness to Allah Almighty.

The Ghusl may be performed in two ways;

by completely submersing the body in water [Irtimasi],
or by pouring water on the body part-by-part in sequence [Tartibi].

For each type of Ghusl you make the appropriate niyyah (whether submersing or sequential).

The process for each type is as follows:

Irtimasi/Submersing Ghusl: by making the niyyah and completely submersing your body in water, or
Tartibi/Sequential Ghusl: washing your body part-by-part in sequence using, for example the shower or any suitable utensil; i.e.

A. intend to pour water on the head (which includes the face and ears) and neck and then do it,

B. intend to pour water over the right half of your body - that is the right hand, leg, torso, navel, and the private parts, and then do it,

C. the same as B above but for the left half of the body.

Ghusl Janabah is OBLIGATORY for both the husband and wife when they engage in penetrative sex, whether or not ejaculation of semen occurs, but not for other cases, such as touching, kissing and so on between them. Ghusl Janabah must also be performed by men after ejaculation of semen not involving sex, i.e. when seminal discharge occurs while sleeping. .

Only Ghusl Janabah replaces Wudhu - the obligatory ablution required for performing the prayer.

Needless to say a woman also needs to perform a similar obligatory Ghusl (with appropriate intention) once the bleeding of her monthly menstruation period has stopped, before she can resume her prayer, and other duties. Failure to perform the Ghusl would render her subsequent obligatory duties void.

Tayam-mum

In Tayam-mum instead of water you use earth or soil. The soil should be unspoiled and therefore ‘clean’. The soil can be taken from anywhere; from the beach or from the garden, where it has not been spoiled by cats and dogs, say. The soil is usually kept in a bag to be used for the purpose of Tayam-mum. The thick dust that gathers on undisturbed surfaces can also be used for Tayam-mum.

BEFORE you start making the Tayam-mum, you must make the intention as what it is for, i.e. whether it is for Wudhu or Ghusl, and for which kind.

The process for Tayam-mum is given below:

Spread out the soil such that it covers an area sufficient to accommodate both of your hands. Hit the palms of both of your hands on the soil.
Wipe your hands on your face by placing the bottom of your palms at the top of your forehead and gently wiping your hand palms down to your cheeks, such that the wipe ends with your fingertips leaving your face.
Then go on to wipe the back of your right hand with the left. In doing so you should rest the bottom side of your left hand on the topside of your right wrist, and then wipe your left hand down to the fingertips of the right hand. Do the same for the other hand, i.e. wipe the back of your left hand with the right hand in the same fashion.
Hit the soil once again, this time only perform the wiping of the hands only,
i.e. wipe the back of your right hand with the left. Do the same for the other hand, i.e. wipe the back of your left hand with the right hand.