He then seeks refuge with Allah, pronounces “Bismillāh al-Raḥmān al-Raḥīm” in a low voice—it is not counted as part of the Fātiḥah—and proceeds to recite the Fātiḥah. If he interrupts it with an unprescribed remembrance or with silence of undue length, or if he omits from it a required doubling of a consonant, a letter, or its correct order, he—other than the one praying behind an imam—must repeat it. In prayers that are recited aloud, everyone voices “Āmīn” audibly.¹

Afterward he recites another surah: in the dawn prayer it should be chosen from the long passages of the Mufaṣṣal, beginning with Sūrah Qāf; in the sunset prayer from the short passages; and in the remaining prayers from the middle passages. The prayer is invalid if the recitation departs from the reading found in the codex of ʿUthmān.

He then bows, saying the takbīr, raising his hands, placing them on his knees with the fingers spread, keeping his back level, and says, “Subḥāna rabbiy al-ʿaẓīm” (Glory be to my Lord, the Magnificent). Next he raises his head and his hands, saying—if he is the imam or praying alone—“Samʿa-llāhu liman ḥamidah” (Allah hears whoever praises Him). When fully upright they both add, “Rabbanā wa laka-l-ḥamd, milʾa al-samāʾ wa milʾa al-arḍ wa milʾa mā shiʾta min shayʾin baʿd” (Our Lord, to You belongs all praise—filling the heavens, filling the earth, and filling whatever else You will besides). The follower, upon rising, says only: “Rabbanā wa laka-l-ḥamd.”

He then descends into prostration with the takbīr and places himself upon seven limbs: the toes of both feet, then the knees, then the hands, and finally the forehead together with the nose—even if separated by a covering that is not one of the organs of prostration. He keeps his upper arms away from his sides, his abdomen away from his thighs, and spreads² his knees, saying: “Subḥāna rabbiy al-aʿlā” (Glory be to my Lord, the Most High). He next raises his head with the takbīr, sits in iftirāsh—spreading his left foot and erecting his right—and says, “Rabbi-ghfir lī” (My Lord, forgive me), then performs the second prostration exactly as the first.

Rising once more with the takbīr, he stands up on the balls of his feet, supporting himself with his knees if he can, and performs the second rakʿah in the same manner, except that it omits the opening takbīr of consecration, the initial supplication, and the taʿawwudh.