How to Pray

Level: Beginner 17 lessons in 5 modules Free, no account needed For: New Muslims and anyone learning or relearning the prayer

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1. Module 1: Why we pray

   What Salah is and the place it holds in a Muslim’s life.

   1. 1What Is Salah?An introduction to Salah, the Islamic ritual prayer and second Pillar of Islam.
   2. 2Importance of SalahWhy Salah matters in Islam: its Qur’anic basis and the structure it gives to daily life.

2. Module 2: Before you pray

   The conditions of prayer, facing the qiblah, and clothing and cleanliness.

   1. 3Conditions of SalahThe conditions that must be met before Salah is valid: purification, clothing, awrah, Qiblah, timing and intention.
   2. 4Facing the QiblahWhat the qiblah is, why Muslims face the Ka'bah in prayer, and how to find the direction.
   3. 5Clothing and Cleanliness for PrayerWhat clothing and cleanliness conditions apply to valid salah, and what's needed to start praying from day one.

3. Module 3: Purification

   Why purification matters, how to make wudu, what breaks it, and when ghusl or tayammum is needed.

   1. 6Why Purification Matters in IslamWhy purification (taharah) matters in Islam, its link to prayer, and an overview of wudu, ghusl and tayammum.
   2. 7How to Make WuduA step-by-step guide to performing Wudu, with an interactive checklist.
   3. 8What Breaks WuduWhat invalidates Wudu — the generally agreed matters, and the points of genuine scholarly difference.
   4. 9Ghusl — Full Ritual PurificationA step-by-step guide to Ghusl, the full-body ritual purification required after major ritual impurity.
   5. 10Tayammum — Dry PurificationA guide to Tayammum, the dry-earth purification that stands in for Wudu or Ghusl when water cannot be used.

4. Module 4: When to pray

   The five daily prayers, how prayer times are set, and the call to prayer.

   1. 11Five Daily PrayersThe five daily prayers, their general times and their obligatory rak’ah counts.
   2. 12Prayer TimesHow the five daily prayer time windows are determined by the position of the sun.
   3. 13The Adhan and IqamahWhat the adhan and iqamah are, their structure, and how to recognise them as the call to prayer.

5. Module 5: Praying

   The prayer step by step, what to recite, common mistakes, and what to do if you forget part of the prayer.

   1. 14How to Pray — Step by StepThe full sequence of a single rak’ah of Salah, position by position.
   2. 15What to Recite in SalahWhat is recited in Salah, starting with Al-Fatihah, recited in every rak’ah.
   3. 16Common Salah MistakesCommon mistakes in Salah, and answers to frequently asked questions about praying correctly.
   4. 17Sujud as-Sahw — The Prostration of ForgetfulnessWhat sujud as-sahw is, when it is made, and where scholars differ on whether it comes before or after the salam.

   Practise this module: Salah Lab