Prepare, then learn one unit
Learn the prayer time, purification, suitable covering, and qiblah direction. Intend the prayer, begin with the opening takbir, and learn the standing recitation, bowing, return to standing, two prostrations with a sitting between them, and the required sittings and ending. Our visual guide introduces the movements; a teacher can check your full prayer.
The five obligatory prayers
For an ordinary resident’s obligatory prayers, Fajr has 2 units, Dhuhr 4, Asr 4, Maghrib 3, and Isha 4. Voluntary prayers are additional. Timings depend on your location and date; use a reliable local mosque timetable. Travel and other circumstances have rulings of their own.
If Arabic is new to you
Listen to Al-Fatiha in the reader and practise line by line. A report in Sunan Abi Dawud describes teaching words of remembrance to someone unable to learn Qur’anic recitation. Ask a teacher about the temporary concession while you learn; do not assume an English translation simply replaces every prescribed Arabic recitation.
If standing or prostrating is difficult
An authentic report instructs a person to pray standing, sitting if unable, and on their side if unable to sit. Ask for guidance on the movements and purification you can manage. Physical ability does not make someone less welcome.
Read the sources here
Qur’an buttons open the local text and translation. Hadith and scholarly notes are authored summaries, with the collection or source identified.