Salat, step by step

1. Intend wudu for God. Wash the face, hairline to chin, top to bottom.
2. Wash the right arm, elbow down to fingertips, using the left hand.
3. Wash the left arm the same way, using the right hand.
4. Without taking new water, wipe the front of the head with the wet right palm.
5. Wipe the top of the right foot with the right hand, toe tips to the ankle joint.
6. Wipe the top of the left foot with the left hand the same way.

Wash each part once (a second wash is allowed, a third is not). Keep the order, do not pause until parts dry, and the head and feet must be dry before wiping.

Then check: body, clothes and prayer spot are clean; you face the qibla; the time has started; men wear no gold. Q440

• Losing wudu, or turning away from the qibla.
• Speaking, eating or drinking on purpose.
• Laughing out loud on purpose. Q503
• Leaving out or doubling a pillar, even by mistake: the intention, the opening takbir, standing, a ruku, or a pair of prostrations. Q518
• Reciting al-Fatiha and the surah silently on purpose in Fajr, Maghrib or Isha (men). Q456
• Something between your forehead and the turbah. Slide the forehead into place; do not lift it. Q489, Q491

Do not say "amin" after al-Fatiha Q501 or add anything to the tashahhud Q499. Do not fold your hands on your body; let them hang.

• The four tasbihat: once is enough, three times is the cautious practice. Q481
• After the second prostration of rak'ah 1, and of rak'ah 3 in a four-rak'ah prayer, sit still for a moment before standing (jalsat al-istiraha). He treats this as an obligatory precaution, so do not skip it on purpose; if you forget it, the prayer still stands. khamenei.ir
• "Bihawlillah" is said while rising, not while still seated. Q484
• "Wa taqabbal shafa'atahu warfa' darajatah" is a recommended addition some say after the salawat of the first tashahhud in a three or four-rak'ah prayer. It is not part of the obligatory wording, so this guide leaves it out.
• Ruku and sujud: the usual phrase once, or "Subhanallah" three times, or another dhikr of the same length. Q485
• The surah after al-Fatiha must be a complete one. Al-Fil goes with Quraysh, and ad-Duha with al-Inshirah. Q467, Q473
• "Ashhadu anna Aliyyan waliyyullah" in the adhan and iqama is a good symbol of the school, but not part of them. It is not said in the tashahhud. Q454, Q499
• Only al-Fatiha, the surah and the tasbihat have a fixed loud or quiet voice. Every other phrase can be either. Q458
• Prostrating on marble, stone or cement is fine. Q487, Q493
• Wiping the face after qunut and closing the eyes are disliked, not invalidating. Q504, Q505
• Qunut can be made in any language. Q486
• Fajr starts at the same true dawn on moonlit nights as on any other. Q353
• Women may recite aloud or quietly, and cover everything but the face, the hands to the wrists and the feet to the ankles. Q435, Q469

Stop and think first. If one side becomes more likely, act on it. If the doubt stays:

• Void, start again: any doubt in a two-rak'ah prayer (Fajr, or a travel prayer), any doubt in Maghrib, and any doubt in a four-rak'ah prayer that involves rak'ah 1 or 2 before both prostrations of rak'ah 2 are finished.
• 2 or 3, after both prostrations: take it as 3, finish, then pray one rak'ah of the precautionary prayer standing.
• 3 or 4, at any point: take it as 4, finish, then one rak'ah standing or two sitting.
• 2 or 4, after both prostrations: take it as 4, finish, then two rak'ahs standing.
• 2, 3 or 4, after both prostrations: take it as 4, finish, then two rak'ahs standing and then two sitting.
• 4 or 5, after both prostrations: take it as 4, finish, then the two prostrations of forgetfulness. If the doubt comes while standing, sit down (it becomes 3 or 4) and act on that.

The precautionary prayer (salat al-ihtiyat): straight after the salam, without turning away or speaking, intend it, say the takbir, recite al-Fatiha only (quietly, with no surah and no qunut), bow, prostrate twice, then tashahhud and salam. For two rak'ahs, do the second the same way before the tashahhud.

Someone who doubts very often should ignore the doubt and assume whatever keeps the prayer valid. Practical Laws, Doubts in prayer

• Forgot something and remembered before the next pillar: go back and do it, then continue. Forgot the surah and remembered before bowing: recite it. Remembered after the next pillar: the prayer stands; carry on.
• Forgot ruku: remembered before the prostration, stand up straight and bow. Remembered after both prostrations: void.
• Forgot one prostration: remembered before the next ruku, sit and do it. Remembered later: finish the prayer, then do the missed prostration, then the two prostrations of forgetfulness.
• Forgot both prostrations and remembered after the next ruku: void.
• Forgot the tashahhud: remembered before the next ruku, sit and say it. Remembered later: finish, then the two prostrations of forgetfulness; making up the tashahhud first is the cautious practice.
• Spoke by mistake, or gave the salam too early by mistake: the prayer stands; do the two prostrations of forgetfulness afterwards.
• Stood when you should have sat, or the reverse, and remembered too late to fix it: two prostrations of forgetfulness, as a precaution.
• Added a pillar, even by mistake (an extra ruku, an extra pair of prostrations): void. Added a non-pillar by mistake: the prayer stands; two prostrations of forgetfulness as a precaution.
• Unsure whether you did a part: still in its place, do it. Already past it, assume you did it. After the salam, ignore the doubt.

The two prostrations of forgetfulness (sajdatay al-sahw): straight after the salam, intend them, prostrate on the turbah and say بِسْمِ اللهِ وَبِاللهِ، اَللّٰهُمَّ صَلِّ عَلَىٰ مُحَمَّدٍ وَآلِ مُحَمَّد "Bismillāhi wa billāh, Allāhumma ṣalli ʿalā Muḥammadin wa āli Muḥammad" (or "Bismillāhi wa billāh, as-salāmu ʿalayka ayyuhan-nabiyyu wa raḥmatullāhi wa barakātuh"), sit up, prostrate again with the same words, then say the tashahhud and the final salam. Practical Laws, Sajdat al-sahw

On a journey, Zuhr, Asr and Isha are prayed as two rak'ahs, like Fajr. Maghrib and Fajr do not change, and fasting is not valid on such a journey. The conditions:

• The journey is about 45 km or more in all (eight shar'i farsakh), going and returning combined.
• You do not intend to stay ten days in one place. Once you decide to stay ten days, pray in full there.
• Travel is not your profession, and the trip is not for something forbidden.
• You have passed the limit where the town's adhan can no longer be heard. Before that, pray in full.
• In your home town, and in a place where you have decided to stay ten days, pray in full.

A prayer missed while travelling is made up as two rak'ahs; one missed at home is made up in full. Practical Laws, Prayer of a traveller

A daily prayer missed in its time, on purpose or by oversight, must be made up. There is no deadline, but do not put it off carelessly. Make it up as it was owed: a missed Fajr as two rak'ahs, a missed Zuhr as four, or two if it was missed on a journey. The order between missed prayers is not obligatory, except Zuhr before Asr and Maghrib before Isha of the same day. Prayers missed before puberty, while unconscious, or during menstruation and post-natal bleeding are not made up. The eldest son makes up the prayers his father left behind. Practical Laws, Qada prayers

Needed after sexual emission or intercourse (janaba), after menstruation (hayd) and post-natal bleeding (nifas), in some cases of irregular bleeding (istihada), after touching a dead human body that has gone cold and not yet been washed, and for washing the dead. Ghusl al-janaba replaces wudu; after the other ghusls, do wudu as well before praying.

1. Intend ghusl for God.
2. Wash the head and neck completely.
3. Then wash the rest of the body. Right side then left is the recommended practice.

Water must reach the skin everywhere: move rings, part thick hair. Immersing the whole body at once (ghusl irtimasi) is also valid. Practical Laws, Ghusl

If water is unavailable, harmful to use, needed for drinking, or there is no time left for wudu or ghusl, do tayammum instead, on earth, sand, stone or clay, or on dust if nothing else is at hand.

1. Intend tayammum in place of wudu (or of ghusl).
2. Strike both palms together on the earth.
3. Wipe the whole forehead with both palms, from the hairline down to the eyebrows and the top of the nose.
4. Wipe the back of the right hand with the left palm, wrist to fingertips.
5. Wipe the back of the left hand with the right palm the same way.

Striking the earth a second time before wiping the hands is the cautious practice. Practical Laws, Tayammum

• Intend to follow the imam. Stand behind him, with no high barrier and no large gap between you; one person alone stands to his right, a little behind. Women pray behind the men.
• In rak'ahs 1 and 2 do not recite al-Fatiha and the surah; stay quiet and listen. Everything else, including the tasbihat, you recite yourself.
• Move with the imam. Never go into or come out of a position before he does.
• You may join while the imam is standing or bowing. Reaching his ruku before he rises counts as a full rak'ah.
• Joining in his rak'ah 3 or 4 counts as your rak'ah 1 or 2: recite al-Fatiha and the surah yourself, quietly; if there is only time for al-Fatiha, recite that; if not even that, wait and join him in ruku. When he sits for a tashahhud that is not yours, sit half-raised. When he finishes, stand and complete your remaining rak'ahs alone.

Practical Laws, Congregational prayer

Say each line twice, except where marked.

اللهُ أَكْبَر

Allahu akbar (four times in the adhan)

أَشْهَدُ أَنْ لَا إِلٰهَ إِلَّا الله

Ash-hadu an la ilaha illallah

أَشْهَدُ أَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا رَسُولُ الله

Ash-hadu anna Muhammadan rasulullah

أَشْهَدُ أَنَّ عَلِيًّا وَلِيُّ الله

Ash-hadu anna Aliyyan waliyyullah (symbol of the school, not part of the call)

حَيَّ عَلَى الصَّلَاة

Hayya alas-salah

حَيَّ عَلَى الْفَلَاح

Hayya alal-falah

حَيَّ عَلَىٰ خَيْرِ الْعَمَل

Hayya ala khayril-amal

قَدْ قَامَتِ الصَّلَاة

Qad qamatis-salah (iqama only)

اللهُ أَكْبَر

Allahu akbar

لَا إِلٰهَ إِلَّا الله

La ilaha illallah (once in the iqama)

Say "Allahu akbar" three times, then the tasbih of Lady Fatima:

• Allahu akbar, 34 times
• Alhamdulillah, 33 times
• Subhanallah, 33 times

The YouTube video is part 2 of a 3-part upload, so it does not start at al-Fatiha. It opens in YouTube because video cannot play inside this page.

Question numbers (Q) refer to Practical Laws of Islam on leader.ir, the English edition of Ayatollah Khamenei's rulings. The wudu steps follow the method all Twelver jurists share.

Doubts, mistakes, travel, missed prayers, ghusl, tayammum and congregation are covered above only in outline, in the form every Twelver jurist shares and his book confirms. For an unusual case, read the full chapter in the same book or ask his office.

Ayatollah Khamenei was martyred on 28 February 2026. His rulings remain in print and in force for those who follow him by baqāʾ, that is, continuing on the rulings of the marjaʿ one already followed in his lifetime. The jurists allow this with the permission of a living marjaʿ; confirm your own position with a scholar you trust. Besides Practical Laws of Islam, his Ajwibat al-Istiftaʾāt (Replies to Inquiries) is the other main source of his rulings.

Al-Fatiha and al-Ikhlas are recited by Mishary Alafasy. The other phrases use a synthesized Arabic voice for pronunciation practice. The audio is for learning; in your own prayer you recite yourself.