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BEFORE YOU BEGIN THE SALAH

Check the following and be sure that you are doing things the way they aught to be done:

1. It is necessary that you face the Qiblah.

2. You should stand upright and your eyes should be focused on the spot where you make your Sajdah. Bending your neck and resting your chin on the chest is makruh (reprehensible). Similarly, standing in Salah while your chest is bent down is also not correct. Stand upright in a way that your eyes keep looking at the spot where you make your sajdah.

3. Not that the direction of the gingers on your feet is towards the Qiblah and that your feet also have the same straight stance facing Qiblah. (Placing feet tilting to the right or left is contrary to Sunnah). Both feet should in the direction of the Qubilah.

4. In between both feet, there should be a minimum span of four fingers of the hands as ready measure.

5. If you are making your Salah with Jama'ah (congregation), make sure the line you are standing in is straight. The best method to make sure that the line is straight is that each person positions the farthest ends of both his heels at the farthest end of the prayer-rug or at lines that mark out one rug form the other.

6. While in Jama'ah, satisfy yourself by making certain that your arms are close to the arms of those who are standing on your right and loft and that there is no gap in between.

7. It is imperissible, under all conditions, to let the lower portion of your dress cover your ankles. It is obvious that its repugnance while standing for Salah increases much more. Therefore, be sure that the dress you are wearing is higher then your ankiles.

8. Sleeves should be full, covering the whole arm. Only hands remain uncovered. Some people make their Salah with sleeves rolled up. This method is not correct.

9. It is makruh to stand for Salah while wearing clothes which one would not normally wear in public.

WHEN YOU BEGIN THE 'SALAH'

1. Make niyyah or intention in your heart to the effect that your are offering such and such Salah. It is not necessary to say the words of the niyyah verbally.

2. Raise your hand upto your ears in a way that palms face Qibalh and the ends of the thumbs either touch the lobes of the ears or come parallel to them. The rest of the fingers stay straight pointing upwards. There are some who would tend to turn the direction of their palms towards their ears rather than having them face the Qiblah.
   
   There are some others who almost cover their ears with their hands.
   There are still others who make a faint symbolic gesture without raising their hands fully upto the ears.
   Some others grip the lobes of their ears with their hand.
   All these practices are incorrect and contrary to Sunnah. These should be abandoned.

3. While raising your hands in the manner stated above , Say:
   
    Allahu-Akbar
   Then using the thumb and the little finger of your right hand, make a circle round the wrist of your left hand and hold it. You should then spread out the three remaining fingers of your right hand on the back of your left hand so that these three fingers face the elbow.

4. Placing both hands slightly below the navel, fold them as explained above.

WHEN YOU ARE STANDING

1. If you are making your Salah alone, or leading it as Imam, you first recite Thana':
   ,
   then Surah al-Fatihah, then some other Surah. If you are behind an Imam, you only recite Thana: Subhanaka Allah-huma and then stand silent listening attentively to the recitation of the Imam. If the Imam's recitation is not loud enough for your the hear, you should be thinking of Surah al-Fatihah using your heart and mind without moving your tongue.

2. When your are reciting yourself, it is better that you, while reciting Surah al-Fatihah, stop at next verse and break your breath. Recite the next Verse in a single breath. For example, break your breath at
   
   then on
   
   then on
   
   Recite the whole Surah al-Fatihah in this manner. But, there is non harm if, during recitation that follows, more than one verse has been recited in a single breath.

3. Do not move any part of your body without the need. Stand in peace - the more, the better. If you have to scratch or do something else like that, use only one hand and that too, under very serious compulsion using the least time and effort.

4. Transferring all the weight of the body on to one leg and leaving the other weightlessly loose to the limit that it shows a certain band is against the etiquette of Salah. Abstain from it. Either you transfer your body weight equally on both legs or if you must channel your body weight on one leg, you have to do it in a way that the other leg shows no bend or curve.

5. If you feel like yawning, try your best to suppress it.

6. When standing for Salah, keep your eyes looking at the spot where you make your Sajada. Abstain from looking to your right and left, or front.

WHEN IN 'RUKU'

when you bend for Ruku', watch out for the following:

1. Bend the upper part of your body upto a point where the neck and back nearly level up. Do not bend any more or less than that.

2. While in Ruku', neither bend the neck to the limit that the chin starts touching the chest, nor raise it so high that the neck goes higher then the waist level. Instead, the neck and the waist should be in one level.

3. In Ruku', keep feet straight. Do not place them with an outward or inward slant.

4. Place both hands on your knees on a way that fingers on both hands stay open. In other words, there should be space between every two fingers when you thus go on to hold the right knee with your right hand and the left knee with your left hand.

5. In the state of Ruku', wrists and arms should remain stretched straight. They should not bend, curve or sag.

6. Stay in Ruku', at least for a time during which
   
   could be said three times calmly and comfortably.

7. IN the state of Ruku', the eyes should be looking towards the feet.

8. Body weight should be evenly distributed on both feet and both knees should be parallel to each other.

RETURNING TO THE STANDING POSITION FROM 'RUKU'

1. While returning from Ruku' back to the standing position, see to it that you should straight leaving no sag or droop in the body.

2. In this position as well, eyes should be fixed on the spot where you do your Sajdah.

3. There are those who simply make a 'gesture' of rising from the Ruku' instead of rising fully and standing upright when it is time to do so and who, in that very state, when their body is still bent downwards, go on to do their Sajdah, for them it becomes obligatory that they make their Salah all over again. Therefore, abstain from it very firmly. Unless you make sure about having become perfectly straight in you standing position, do not go for Sajdah.

WHEN BOWING DOWN FOR 'SAJDAH'

Remember the following method when bowing down for 'Sajdah'.

1. Bending the knees first of all, take them towards the prayer floor in a way that the chest does not lean forward. When the knees have already been rested on the floor, the chest should then be lowered down.

2. Until such time that the knees have come to rest against the floor, abstain, as far as possible, from bending or lowering the upper part of the boy.
   
   These days negligence in observing this particular rule of etiquette while getting ready to fo for 'Sajdah' has become very common. Many people do lower down their chest right from the start and go on the do their 'Sajdah'. But, the correct method is what has been stated in No. 1 and No.2 above. Unless it be for a valid reason, this method should not be bypassed.

3. After having rested your knees on the floor, place your hands first, then the tip of the nose, then the forehead.

IN 'SAJDA'

1. While in 'Sajdah' keep your head in between your two hands in a way that the ends of the two thumbs come parallet to the ear-lobes.

2. In 'Sajdah', fingers on both hands should remain close together, that is, the fingers should be adjacent to each other leaving no space in between them.

3. The direction of the fingers should be towards the 'Qiblah'.

4. The elbows should stay raised off the floor. It is not correct to rest the elbows on the floor.

5. Both arms should stay apart from armpits and sides. Never keep them tucked in.

6. Do not, at the same time, poke your elbows far out your right and left causing discomfort to those making 'Salah" next to you.

7. The thighs should not come in contact with the stomach-wall. The stomach and thighs should stay apart.

8. During the entire 'Sajdah', the nose-tip should continue to rest on the floor.

9. Both feet should be placed upright on the floor with heels showing on top and all fingers turned flat on the floor in the direction of the 'Qiblah'. Those who cannot turn all their fingers because of the physical formation of their feet, they will still do well to turn them as much as they can. It is not correct to place the fingers vertically on the floor just for non valid reason.

10. Be careful that your feet do not lift off the floor during 'Sajdah'. Some people would bo their 'Sajdah' while none of the fingers on their feet come to rest on the floor even for a moment. This way the obligation of 'Sajdah' in not liquidated at all, and as a result, the 'Salah' too becomes invalid. Be very particular in abstaining from this error.

11. In the state of 'Sajdah' the least time you can give yourself should be sufficient enough to say,
    
    three times, calmly and comfortably. Raising the forehead immediately after having rested it on the floor is prohibited.

IN BETWEEN THE TWO 'SAJDAHS'

1. Rising from the first 'Sajdah' sit up straight, on the hams, calmly and comfortably. Then go for the second 'Sajdah'. During the second 'Sajdah' after raising the head just little bit and without becoming straight is a sin. If one does it like that, it becomes obligatory that the 'Salah" be made all over again.

2. Spread out the left foot (like the blade of a hockey stick) and sit on it. Let the right foot stand vertically with fingers turned towards the 'Qiblah'. Some people let both feet remain in upright position and sit on the heels. This method is not correct.

3. While sitting, both hands should be placed on the thighs but fingers should not taper down onto the knees, instead, the far ends of the finger tips should reach only as far as the beginning edge of the knee.

4. While sitting, let your eyes be on the lap.

5. Sit for a time during
   
   could be said at least once and if you can sit for a time during which
   
   could be recited, it is better. But, reciting this during 'Fard (obligatory) Salah' is not necessary. It is better to do so in 'Nafl Salah'.

THE SECOND 'SAJDAH' AND RISING FROM IT

1. Go on to do your second 'Sajdah' in the same manner by first placing both hands on the floor, then the nose-tip, then the forehead.

2. The complete form of 'Sajdah' should be the same as mentioned in connection with the first 'Sajdah'.

3. When rising from 'Sajdah', first raise the forehead off the floor, then the nose-tip, then the hands, and then the knees.

4. While rising, it is better not to lean for support off the floor, however, should it be difficult to get up from the floor because of body-weight, sickness or old age, making use of the floor for support is also permissible.

5. After you have risen back to your standing position, recite
   
   before Surah al-Fatihah in the beginning of each 'Raka'ah'.

IN 'QA'DAH'

1. The method of sitting on 'Qadah' shall be the same as mentioned in connection with the method of sitting between 'Sajdah'

2. when you reach
   
   while reciting
   
   raise the 'Shahadah" finger (the fore-finger) with a pointing mention and let it fall back at
   .

3. The method of making a pointing mention is that you make a circle by joining your middle finger and the thumb, close the little finger and the ring-finger (the one next to it), then raise the 'shahadah' finger in a way that it is tapered towards the 'Qiblah'. It should not be raised up straight in the direction of the sky.

4. However, lower the 'Shahadah' finger while saing
   ,
    but retain, right through the end, the initial formation of the rest of the fingers your already had when making the pointing motion.

WHEN TURNING FOR 'SALAM'

1. When turning for 'Salam' on both sides, you should turn your neck just enough that your cheeks become visible to the person sitting behind you.

2. When turning for 'Salam', eyes should be towards the shoulders.

3. When turning your neck to the right to say
   ,
   make an intention that you are offering your 'Salam' greetings to all human beings and angels on your right. Similarly, While turning for 'Salam' to the left, have the intention of offering your 'Salam' greetings to all human beings and angels present on your left.

THE METHOD OF 'DU'A'

1. The method of Du'a is that both hands be raised high enough so that they come in front of the chest. Let there be some space between the two hands. Neither bring the hands close together nor keep them far apart.

2. When making Du'a, keep the inner side of the hands turned towards your face.

Red text sign is Qur'anic Verses or Prayers and Blue Text is sign Roman English, Green text Traditions of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him)