How to Pray Salah For Females?

Salah or prayer is a significant obligation that Muslims perform every day. It’s the second pillar of Islam which comes after the profession of faith (Shahada) and the backbone of religion. Muslim perform this worship five times a day.

In Islam, prayer has two types, the obligatory type, which consists of daily five prayers (Fajr, Zuhr, Asr, Maghrib, Isha), and the Nafl or Sunnah type, which are voluntary prayers that prophet Muhammed (PBUH) used to pray.

If you need to know how to perform Salah in detail, check out this article which displays step-by-step prayer.

Preparation for The Prayer 

Here are the preparation for prayers

1. Make sure you’re purified 

One of the terms of praying is to perform ablution “Wudu”. So if you’re not cleansed, start to purify yourself before prayer to prepare yourself physically and spiritually.

2. Set your intention 

Prophet Muhammed PBUH:” Actions are (judged) by motives (Niyyah), so each man will have what he intended” (Bukhari & Muslim).

So before praying, start with making your intention in your heart or  verbally by saying the following verse {I have turned my face towards the One Who has originated the heavens and the earth—being upright—and I am not one of the polytheists} (Al-An’am, 6:79)

3. Make sure the place is suitable

Before you pray, ensure that the place is clean and quiet enough, so you can pray comfortably and without distraction.

Steps of Praying (Salah)

Prophet Muhammed said: “Pray as you have seen me praying”. So you should follow the same steps that the Messenger of Allah did in prayer. Here are these steps:

Beginning of prayer 

• Place the prayer mat which is in the Qiblah’s direction.
• Stand on the prayer mat facing the direction of Qiblah,
• Look at the sajdah’s place on the prayer mat.
• Raise your hands which align your ears, and say “Allah Akbar”, which means Allah is the greatest. This step is called “Takbirat Al-Ihram”
• Lower your hands, then put your right palm over the left one under the chest and over the naval.
• Start saying the opening dua:”’Subhanak Allahumma wa bihamdika, wa tabaarak-asmuka, wa ta-‘aala jadduka, wa la ilaaha ghayruk”. It means:” ‘O Allah, glory and praise are for you, and blessed is your Name, and exalted is your Majesty and there is no god but You.”
•  Move to say Isti’azah:”auzu billahi minash shaitan rajeem”, which means “I seek Allah’s protection from Satan, the accursed”.
• Say Basmalah:” Bismillahi Al-rahmani Al-raheem”, which means:” In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful”.
• Start reciting surah Al-Fatiha, then say “Amen”, then recite another short surah or any portion of the long surah.

Bowing down (Ruku)

• After reciting the Quran, say “Allah Akbar”.
• Move to the ruku position by putting your hands on your knees after bending down. Make sure your legs are straight and spaced.
• In this position, say Tasbih three times:” Subhana Rabbiyal Adhim, which means:” Glory be to my Lord Almighty”.

Raising from ruku

• Go back to the first position by standing up and saying:” Sami’Allahu liman hamidah”, which means:” Allah hears those who praise Him.”
• Say “Rabbana lakal hamd”, which means “O our Lord, all praise belongs to you.”
• Then say Takbir “Allah Akbar”.

Going down to prostration 

• After saying Takbir, move to the prostration position by laying on the floor (sujood) where your knees, toes, hands, forehead, and nose touch the floor.

• While prostrating, say “Tasbih” three times” Subhaana Rabbiy-al-Aalaa”, which means:” Glory be to my lord, the Highest”.
• Sit up from prostrating position and say “Allah Akbar”. In this position place your palms on bent knees while sitting upright and then say “Rabbighfir li” three times, which means:” O my Lord, Forgive me.”.
• Say “Allah Akbar” again, then repeat the prostration position and say “Subhana Rabbiyal A’la” three times to complete the first rak’ah.

The second Rak’ah and Tashahuud

• Now move to the second rak’ah and repeat all the previous steps.
• After completing two sujoods in the second rak’ah, move to the Tshahhud step, where you make your right leg upright, sit on the left leg, and point with your index finger.
• Put your palms on your both thighs.
• Say the Tashahuud:
• ” Attahiyyaatu lillaahi wassalawaatu, wattayyibaatu, assalaamu ‘alayka ‘ayyuhan-Nabiyyu wa rahmatullaahi wa barakaatuhu, assalaamu ‘alaynaa wa ‘alaa ‘ibaadillaahis-saaliheen. ‘Ash-hadu ‘an laa ‘ilaaha ‘illallaahu wa ‘ash-hadu ‘anna Muhammadan ‘abduhu wa Rasooluhu.”
• The Tashahhud’s translation:” All greetings or salutations are for Allah, and all prayers and goodness. Peace be upon you, O Prophet, and the mercy of Allah and his blessings. Peace be upon us and the righteous slaves of Allah. I bear witness that there is none worthy of worship but Allah, and I bear witness that Muhammad is his slave and his Messenger of Allah”.

The Abrahamic prayer and Taslim

• If the prayer contains three or four rak’ahs (Maghrib prayer) do the third and fourth rak’ah with the same steps as you did in the first and second rak’ah.
• After sujood, say the full Tashahhud, which contains the Abrahamic prayer part after the first part in the previous Tashahhud.
• The Abrahamic payer is:” Allahumma salli ‘ala Muhammadin wa ‘ala ali Muhammadin kama sallaita ‘ala Ibrahima wa ‘ala ali Ibrahima wa barik ‘ala Muhammadin wa ‘ala ali Muhammadin kama barakta ‘ ala Ibrahima wa ‘ ala ali Ibrahima fil a’lamina Innaka hamidun Majid.”
• This part means:” O Allah, let Your mercy come upon Muhammad and the family of Muhammad as you let it come upon Ibrahim and the family of Ibrahim. O Allah, bless Muhammad and the family of Muhammad as you blessed Ibrahim and the family of Ibrahim. Truly you are Praiseworthy and Glorious.”.
• Move to the last step “Taslim”, which is turning your head over your right shoulder to say:” As-salaam Alaykum wa rahmat-ullahi wa barakaatuh”, which means:” May peace, the mercy of Allah and his blessings be upon you”. Then repeat Taslim on the left side.

How to Pray Salah for Females?

For women, the steps before Salah will be different. They should cover their hair and all their body except for their face and hands. Unlike men that they only must cover their “awrah” part, from the navel to the knees.

When starting to pray, women raise their hands which align their shoulders, then put their palms over their chest.

Women do the rest of the same steps men perform in the prayer.

Can you Pray Salah in English?

Non-Arabs Muslims who aren’t familiar with Arabic may find praying in Arabic complicated to pronounce, retain and understand. 

Muslim scholars have ruled that it’s permissible for non-Arab Muslims to pray in English or any other language until learning Arabic.

If you’re stuck in learning Arabic, we offer an online Arabic course that enables you to master Arabic skills, recite the Quran, and understand its verses. 

When Can You Pray Missed Salah?

If you’ve missed prayers due to an excuse such as forgetting or sleeping, you should make up the missed prayer once you remember it or wake up.

In Case of missing Salah without an excuse, it means that you’ve committed a sin, and you should repent to Allah and ask his forgiveness.

Moreover, you can make the missed prayers by praying a missed prayer with a current one until you complete compensation.

What are the Rewards of the Salah?

Prayer has multiple virtues for Muslims. Here are the top rewards of Salah:

• Purifying Muslims from hypocrisy. Prophet Muhammed said:” Whosoever prays forty days with the congregation, attending the initial (Allahu Akbar) of the prayer, will be free of two things: Hell Fire and hypocrisy.” [Ahmad]
• It’s dearest deeds to Allah. Ibn Mas’ud said:” I asked the Prophet which action is dearest to God, and he replied, “Prayer at its proper time”.
• It’s one of the reasons for entering paradise and rescuing from fire. Prophet Muhammed (PBUH):” The one who prays before sunrise (Fajr prayer) and before the sunset (Asr prayer) will not enter Hell Fire”.
• It’s an indication of success in life {Certainly will the believers have succeeded: They who are during their prayer humbly submissive} (Al-Mu’minun, 23:1-2).
• It’s one of the worship that expiate sins.
• It raises believers’ rank in the hereafter.

Conclusion – Is Prayer obligatory?

Prayer is obligatory worship that Muslims perform every day. When you start to pray, you go through the steps of Takibrat Al Ihram, Ruku, Tasbih, Sujood, Tashahhud, and Taslim.

Praying in English is permissible for non-Arab Muslims until they can learn Fusha Arabic and are familiar with it. Muslims get multiple rewards from Salah, such as rescuing from hell and expiating sins.