Salah is the formal prayer of Islam and the second of the Five Pillars. It is the act of worship a Muslim performs most often — five times every day — and is meant as a constant, living link between a person and God.

"Islam is built upon five [pillars]: … the establishment of prayer …"

— Sahih al-Bukhari 81

A command at the heart of faith

In the Quran, prayer is tied directly to the remembrance of God:

"Indeed, I am Allah. There is no deity except Me, so worship Me and establish prayer for My remembrance."

— Quran 20:14 (Saheeh International)2

Five appointed times

Muslims pray at five set times spread across the day and night — Fajr (dawn), Dhuhr (midday), Asr (afternoon), Maghrib (sunset), and Isha (night).789 The Quran establishes that prayer has fixed times:

"Indeed, prayer has been decreed upon the believers a decree of specified times."

— Quran 4:103 (Saheeh International)3

Each prayer falls at a different point in the day's cycle and has its own number of rak'ahs (units). Only two — Dhuhr and Asr — sit in full daylight; Fajr comes before sunrise, and Maghrib and Isha after the sun has set:

The five daily prayers across a day-to-night cycle, with the number of obligatory rak'ahs for each: Fajr at dawn (2), Dhuhr just after midday (4), Asr in the late afternoon (4), Maghrib just after sunset (3), and Isha at night (4).

  1. Fajrdawn, before sunrise2rak’ahs
  2. Dhuhrjust after midday4rak’ahs
  3. Asrlate afternoon4rak’ahs
  4. Maghribjust after sunset3rak’ahs
  5. Ishanight, until dawn4rak’ahs
Times are descriptive — actual clock times shift with location and season. Counts are the obligatory (fard) rak’ahs; some prayers have additional sunnah units.

Facing the Kaaba

Wherever they are in the world, Muslims face the Kaaba in Mecca when they pray, uniting the community in a single direction (the qibla):

"So turn your face toward al-Masjid al-Haram. And wherever you [believers] are, turn your faces toward it."

— Quran 2:144 (Saheeh International)5

Preparing for prayer: wudu

Before praying, Muslims perform wudu, a ritual washing:

"O you who have believed, when you rise to [perform] prayer, wash your faces and your forearms to the elbows and wipe over your heads and [wash] your feet to the ankles."

— Quran 5:6 (Saheeh International)6

The purpose of prayer

Beyond its form, prayer is meant to shape character and keep a person mindful of God:

"Indeed, prayer prohibits immorality and wrongdoing."

— Quran 29:45 (Saheeh International)4

In short

Salah is the daily prayer that anchors a Muslim's life — five times a day, facing Mecca, after ritual washing — keeping the remembrance of God at the center of every day.