The Ritual Prayer

The Conditions of the Prayer:

1- Ritual purity of the body as was previously mentioned in the manner of ablution.

2- Ritual purity of the clothing.

3- Ritual purity of location.

4- Covering of the private parts. The man’s private parts are what is from his navel until the bottom of his knees. For the woman, it is the whole body except the face and hands.

5- Facing the qibla.

The Requirements of the Prayer:

1- Intention;

2- The opening declaration of Allāhu Akbar (at-takbīr);

3- The standing during the recitation

4- The recitation of al-Fātiha (Q. 1) and another chapter (šūrat) after it;

5- The bowings;

6- Stillness after doing so until every joint is fully settled;

7- The prostrations;

8- Sitting between every two prostrations;

9- The last testimony of faith (at-tashahhud);

10- The final salutations (at-taslīm) to the right and left intending to greet the two angels.

The Sunnahs of the Prayer:

The seeking of refuge from Satan (at-ta’ūdh) as well as the two orientation supplications before the opening declaration;

The recitation of Al-Fātiha and the other chapter in the first two units of every prayer and the recitation of Al-Fātiha only in the third and fourth units of the prayers with three and four units respectively;

The glorification of Allah (at-tasbīh) during the bowings;

The glorification of Allah during the prostrations;

The declaration of Allah’s praise when coming up from the bowing;

The middle testimony of faith;

The standing supplication (al-qunūt) during the Dawn Prayer (al-fajr) and the Odd Prayer (al-witr).

The Invalidators of the Prayer:

The neglecting of any of the aforementioned conditions and requirements.

Abundant actions such as eating, drinking, and so forth.

The utterance of speech in the prayer that is not from the Qur’ān or from the remembrances of the prayer.