Foundations

Before you begin

Check that the prayer time has entered. Have the required ritual purification, remove relevant impurities from your body, clothing, and place, cover the required parts of the body, face the qiblah, and know in your heart which prayer you are offering.

Clothing and prayer space

Choose clean, opaque clothing that remains covering when you bow and prostrate. A special prayer mat is not required. Detailed boundaries of covering differ by school and by sex; the Hanafi reference in the library should not be applied as a universal rule.

Intention

Intention is the resolve in the heart to perform a particular prayer for Allah. Do not turn it into an anxious exercise in repeating a formula.

Direction

Face toward the Ka‘bah in Makkah. Our calculation page gives a bearing from true north for your coordinates. It does not act as a live device compass.