Kids’ picture guide · 02
My prayer picture path.
Ten illustrated stages to recognize the prayer’s calm movement sequence.
Look · read · practice with a grown-up
Follow the calm movement path.
The words explain the picture; they do not remove the detail a child needs.
in order
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01
Step 1
Prepare and stand
Make wuḍūʾ if you need to, face the Qibla, and stand up straight on your prayer mat.
Before you beginMake the intention (niyyah) in your heart for the prayer you are about to pray — for example, “I intend to pray the two rakʿahs of Fajr.” The intention stays in the heart, so there is nothing to say aloud in this step.
Preparation · see wuḍūʾ guide
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02
Step 2
Begin with takbīr
Raise your hands up beside your ears and begin the prayer.
What to sayThe opening takbīr — raising the handsاللَّهُ أَكْبَرُ
Allāhu akbar
“Allah is the Greatest.” Say this as you raise your hands, then place your right hand over your left on your chest.
The opening supplication — duʿāʾ al-istiftāḥسُبْحَانَكَ اللَّهُمَّ وَبِحَمْدِكَ، وَتَبَارَكَ اسْمُكَ، وَتَعَالَىٰ جَدُّكَ، وَلَا إِلَٰهَ غَيْرُكَ
Subḥānaka-llāhumma wa bi-ḥamdik, wa tabāraka-smuk, wa taʿālā jadduk, wa lā ilāha ghayruk
“Glory be to You, O Allah, and all praise. Blessed is Your name, exalted is Your majesty, and there is no god but You.”
Bukhārī 757 · Muslim 392b
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03
Step 3
Recite while standing
Place your hands on your chest and recite the whole of Sūrah al-Fātiḥah.
What to saySeeking refuge — taʿawwudhأَعُوذُ بِاللَّهِ مِنَ الشَّيْطَانِ الرَّجِيمِ
Aʿūdhu billāhi mina-sh-shayṭāni-r-rajīm
“I seek refuge in Allah from Satan, the accursed.”
Sūrah al-Fātiḥah — recited in full in every rakʿahبِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ
الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ
الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ
مَالِكِ يَوْمِ الدِّينِ
إِيَّاكَ نَعْبُدُ وَإِيَّاكَ نَسْتَعِينُ
اهْدِنَا الصِّرَاطَ الْمُسْتَقِيمَ
صِرَاطَ الَّذِينَ أَنْعَمْتَ عَلَيْهِمْ غَيْرِ الْمَغْضُوبِ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلَا الضَّالِّينَBismillāhi-r-raḥmāni-r-raḥīm. Al-ḥamdu lillāhi rabbi-l-ʿālamīn. Ar-raḥmāni-r-raḥīm. Māliki yawmi-d-dīn. Iyyāka naʿbudu wa iyyāka nastaʿīn. Ihdina-ṣ-ṣirāṭa-l-mustaqīm. Ṣirāṭa-lladhīna anʿamta ʿalayhim, ghayri-l-maghḍūbi ʿalayhim wa la-ḍ-ḍāllīn.
“In the name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Especially Merciful. All praise is for Allah, Lord of all the worlds; the Most Merciful, the Especially Merciful; Master of the Day of Judgment. You alone we worship, and You alone we ask for help. Guide us to the straight path — the path of those You have blessed, not of those who earned anger, nor of those who went astray.” After it, say “Āmīn.”
In the first two rakʿahs, after al-Fātiḥah recite another short sūrah or passage — for example Sūrah al-Ikhlāṣ. In the third and fourth rakʿahs, recite al-Fātiḥah only.
Bukhārī 756
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04
Step 4
Bow calmly
Bend down with your back straight and your hands on your knees. Pause calmly.
What to sayIn rukūʿ (bowing) — say it three timesسُبْحَانَ رَبِّيَ الْعَظِيمِ
Subḥāna rabbiya-l-ʿaẓīm (×3)
“Glory to my Lord, the Most Great.” Repeat it at least three times, keeping your back level and still.
Bukhārī 757 · Muslim 772
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05
Step 5
Rise and stand straight
Stand all the way back up again, and pause before the next step.
What to sayAs you rise from rukūʿسَمِعَ اللَّهُ لِمَنْ حَمِدَهُ
Samiʿa-llāhu liman ḥamidah
“Allah hears whoever praises Him.”
Once standing uprightرَبَّنَا وَلَكَ الْحَمْدُ
Rabbanā wa laka-l-ḥamd
“Our Lord, and to You is all praise.”
Bukhārī 796
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06
Step 6
Prostrate calmly
Go down so your forehead, nose, hands, knees and toes touch the ground. Pause calmly.
What to sayIn sujūd (prostration) — say it three timesسُبْحَانَ رَبِّيَ الْأَعْلَىٰ
Subḥāna rabbiya-l-aʿlā (×3)
“Glory to my Lord, the Most High.” Repeat at least three times, with your forehead, nose, palms, knees and toes on the ground.
Bukhārī 757 · Muslim 772
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07
Step 7
Sit calmly
Sit up from the prostration, rest your hands on your knees, and pause.
What to saySitting between the two prostrationsرَبِّ اغْفِرْ لِي، رَبِّ اغْفِرْ لِي
Rabbi-ghfir lī, rabbi-ghfir lī
“My Lord, forgive me; my Lord, forgive me.”
Bukhārī 757
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08
Step 8
Second prostration
Go down into prostration one more time, and pause calmly again.
What to sayThe second prostration — the same words as the firstسُبْحَانَ رَبِّيَ الْأَعْلَىٰ
Subḥāna rabbiya-l-aʿlā (×3)
“Glory to my Lord, the Most High.” Repeat at least three times, exactly as in the first prostration. This completes one rakʿah.
Bukhārī 757 · Muslim 772
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09
Step 9
Continue the prayer
Stand up for the next rakʿah and follow the same calm order again.
Keep going — the same words repeatStand and pray the next rakʿah the same way: al-Fātiḥah (and, in the second rakʿah, a short sūrah), then bow, rise, and prostrate twice — saying the very same words shown in steps 3–8. After every two rakʿahs you sit; in the middle sitting of Maghrib, ʿIshāʾ, Dhuhr, and ʿAṣr, recite the tashahhud (shown in the final step), then stand for the remaining rakʿahs.
Bukhārī 757
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10
Step 10
Final sitting and salām
In the last sitting, say the tashahhud, then turn your head right and left saying salām.
What to sayThe tashahhud — recited in the sittingالتَّحِيَّاتُ لِلَّهِ وَالصَّلَوَاتُ وَالطَّيِّبَاتُ، السَّلَامُ عَلَيْكَ أَيُّهَا النَّبِيُّ وَرَحْمَةُ اللَّهِ وَبَرَكَاتُهُ، السَّلَامُ عَلَيْنَا وَعَلَىٰ عِبَادِ اللَّهِ الصَّالِحِينَ، أَشْهَدُ أَنْ لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ وَأَشْهَدُ أَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا عَبْدُهُ وَرَسُولُهُ
At-taḥiyyātu lillāhi wa-ṣ-ṣalawātu wa-ṭ-ṭayyibāt. As-salāmu ʿalayka ayyuha-n-nabiyyu wa raḥmatu-llāhi wa barakātuh. As-salāmu ʿalaynā wa ʿalā ʿibādi-llāhi-ṣ-ṣāliḥīn. Ashhadu an lā ilāha illa-llāh, wa ashhadu anna Muḥammadan ʿabduhu wa rasūluh.
“All greetings, prayers, and good things are for Allah. Peace be upon you, O Prophet, and the mercy of Allah and His blessings. Peace be upon us and upon the righteous servants of Allah. I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger.”
Blessings on the Prophet ﷺ — ṣalāt Ibrāhīmiyyahاللَّهُمَّ صَلِّ عَلَىٰ مُحَمَّدٍ وَعَلَىٰ آلِ مُحَمَّدٍ، كَمَا صَلَّيْتَ عَلَىٰ إِبْرَاهِيمَ وَعَلَىٰ آلِ إِبْرَاهِيمَ، إِنَّكَ حَمِيدٌ مَجِيدٌ، اللَّهُمَّ بَارِكْ عَلَىٰ مُحَمَّدٍ وَعَلَىٰ آلِ مُحَمَّدٍ، كَمَا بَارَكْتَ عَلَىٰ إِبْرَاهِيمَ وَعَلَىٰ آلِ إِبْرَاهِيمَ، إِنَّكَ حَمِيدٌ مَجِيدٌ
Allāhumma ṣalli ʿalā Muḥammad wa ʿalā āli Muḥammad, kamā ṣallayta ʿalā Ibrāhīma wa ʿalā āli Ibrāhīm, innaka ḥamīdun majīd. Allāhumma bārik ʿalā Muḥammad wa ʿalā āli Muḥammad, kamā bārakta ʿalā Ibrāhīma wa ʿalā āli Ibrāhīm, innaka ḥamīdun majīd.
“O Allah, send Your grace upon Muhammad and the family of Muhammad, as You did upon Ibrāhīm and the family of Ibrāhīm; You are Praiseworthy, Glorious. O Allah, bless Muhammad and the family of Muhammad, as You blessed Ibrāhīm and the family of Ibrāhīm; You are Praiseworthy, Glorious.”
The taslīm — ending the prayerالسَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُمْ وَرَحْمَةُ اللَّهِ
As-salāmu ʿalaykum wa raḥmatu-llāh
“Peace and the mercy of Allah be upon you.” Turn your face to the right as you say it, then repeat it turning to the left. This ends the prayer.
Bukhārī 831 · Muslim 402
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