Raka'ah

Prescribed movements and words followed by Muslims during salat (worship).

After turning to God in mind (niyyah) and ritual cleansing (wudu), the worshipper will stand quietly (qiyam) while reciting the first verses of the Koran (or Quran or Qur'an). The second part of the rak'ah involves bowing low (ruku) with hands on knees, as if waiting for God's orders. The third movement (sujud) is to prostrate oneself on the ground, with forehead and nose on the floor and elbows raised, in a posture of submission to God. The fourth movement is to sit (julus) with the feet folded under the body. The prayers end as the worshippers turn to the left and right saying, ‘Peace be upon you, and God's blessing’. This action reminds Muslims of the importance of others around them, both in the mosque and in the rest of the world.

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The word rakaʿah (Arabic: ركعة‎, pl. ركعات rakaʿāt) refers to one unit of Islamic prayer, or Salah. Each daily prayer is made up of a different number of raka'at:

• Fajr — The dawn prayer: 2 raka'at
• Dhuhr — The noon prayer: 4 raka'at
• Asr — The afternoon prayer: 4 raka'at
• Maghrib — The sunset prayer: 3 raka'at
• Isha'a — The night prayer: 4 raka'at

The Friday prayer consists of 2 raka'at and is prayed in place of the Dhuhr prayer on Friday.

What constitutes a Raka'at

• Takbir
• Supplications / Iftitah¹
• Recitation of Sura Fatiha
• Recitation of another sura
• Ruk'u (Bowing)
• Straightening up from Ruk'u
• Sajdah (The prostration)
• Rising from Sajdah
• The second Sajdah
• Tashahhud ²
• Salam (The salutation) ³

¹ Only performed in the first raka'ah of the prayer.
² Only first half of it is performed in the second raka'ah in a 3/4-Raka'ah prayer like Al-zuhr(4) or Al Maghreb(3), whereas all of it is performed in the final (last) raka'ah in any standard n-Raka'ah prayer (Salah).
³ Only performed in the final raka'ah of the prayer.