The conversation begins: Allahu Akbar, the opening dua, and the first half of Al-Fatihah, with what Allah (SWT) answers.
In Lesson 3, we learned that when you pray, you are speaking in private to your Lord. Lessons 4 and 5 walked you to the edge of the prayer.
Today we begin the prayer itself. You will learn every word from Allahu Akbar to the middle of Al-Fatihah, and what Allah (SWT) answers as you recite it.
Islamic Studies · Worship class · about 75 minutes · a notebook, about a dozen index cards, and a pen
Today the cards are on the screen. One partner reads the cue at the top of a card, and the other says the words and what they mean, then switch. Then the card is flipped on the screen so everyone can check. From today, every one of you builds your own deck of cards, one lesson at a time.
أَشْهَدُ أَنْ لاَ إِلَهَ إِلاَّ اللَّهُ وَأَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا عَبْدُ اللَّهِ وَرَسُولُهُ
Ash-hadu an la ilaha illallah, wa anna Muhammadan 'abdullahi wa rasuluh
I testify that there is no god but Allah (SWT), and that Muhammad (pbuh) is the servant of Allah (SWT) and His Messenger.
Lesson 5
سُبْحَانَ رَبِّيَ الْعَظِيمِ
Subhana Rabbiyal-Adheem
Glory be to my Lord, the Most Great.
Lessons 2 and 5
لَا حَوْلَ وَلَا قُوَّةَ إِلَّا بِاللَّهِ
La hawla wa la quwwata illa billah
There is no might and no power except with Allah (SWT).
Lesson 4
اللَّهُمَّ رَبَّ هَٰذِهِ الدَّعْوَةِ التَّامَّةِ، وَالصَّلَاةِ الْقَائِمَةِ، آتِ مُحَمَّدًا الْوَسِيلَةَ وَالْفَضِيلَةَ، وَابْعَثْهُ مَقَامًا مَحْمُودًا الَّذِي وَعَدْتَهُ
Allahumma Rabba hadhihi ad-da'wati at-tammah, wa as-salati al-qa'imah, ati Muhammadan al-wasilata wal-fadilah, wab'athhu maqaman mahmudan alladhi wa'adtah
O Allah (SWT), Lord of this perfect call and of the prayer about to be established, give Muhammad (pbuh) al-wasilah and al-fadilah, and raise him to a praised station that You promised him.
Lesson 4 · Sahih al-Bukhari 614
If a card is still shaky, that is normal. It goes in your "Still learning" pile when you make it this week.
Your notebook. Use one notebook for the rest of the course. Each lesson gets a new page. By Lesson 10, it will hold every word of salah in your own handwriting.
Your cards. Write each card by hand on an index card. Writing it yourself is part of memorizing it.
اللَّهُ أَكْبَرُ
Allahu Akbar
Allah (SWT) is greater than everything.
Lesson 6
Front: where in the prayer you say it, the Arabic if you can write it, and the transliteration. Back: what it means, and where it comes from.
Your notebook and your cards are yours. Nobody checks them.
Make four catch-up cards for the words you learned before today:
Copy them from the card drill at the start of this lesson, on the class website.
You will make today's eight new cards in class, near the end of the lesson.
The last lesson ended with this challenge: make the full wudu at least once a day, step by step, and say the testimony after it. Once this week, pray two rak'ahs right after a wudu.
In the back of your notebook, or on your own paper:
Your writing stays with you.
اللَّهُ أَكْبَرُ
Allahu Akbar
Allah (SWT) is greater than everything.
Akbar is the Arabic word for "greater" or "greatest". In Lesson 4, we translated it in the adhan as "Allah (SWT) is the Greatest". The sentence never says greater than what, so it leaves nothing out: whatever you can think of, Allah (SWT) is greater.
Start today's page: write "Lesson 6 · Takbir to Fatihah" at the top. Then write "Allahu Akbar" in the first column and "Allah (SWT) is greater than everything." in the second.
قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم: مِفْتَاحُ الصَّلاَةِ الطُّهُورُ، وَتَحْرِيمُهَا التَّكْبِيرُ، وَتَحْلِيلُهَا التَّسْلِيمُ
Ali ibn Abi Talib (RA) said: The Messenger of Allah (SWT) (pbuh) said: "The key to the prayer is purification, its tahrim is the takbir, and its tahlil is the taslim."
Tahrim comes from the same root as haram, and tahlil from the same root as halal. Purification, the key, is what Lessons 4 and 5 were about.
How scholars explain it · a summary, not a quote: the takbir is the line where the prayer begins and the rest of the world is set aside. The taslim, the salam at the end, is where you return to it.
A key opens a door. When you say Allahu Akbar, what do you want to leave on the other side of that door?
أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم كَانَ يَرْفَعُ يَدَيْهِ حَذْوَ مَنْكِبَيْهِ إِذَا افْتَتَحَ الصَّلاَةَ
Abdullah ibn Umar (RA) said: "The Messenger of Allah (SWT) (pbuh) used to raise his hands to the level of his shoulders when he began the prayer..."
How high the hands are raised, where they are placed after the takbir, and whether they are raised again later in the prayer are things the schools of fiqh differ on, each with its own evidence. Follow what your imam teaches.
What does it look like when someone raises both hands? What could it mean for you when you raise yours at the start of the prayer?
Think about the minute before a prayer you remember. Maybe it was a game, a phone, homework, an argument, or a worry.
When you raise your hands and say Allahu Akbar, you are saying that Allah (SWT) is greater than every one of those things. They will still be there after the salam. For these few minutes, they are behind you, and you are standing before Al-Adheem, the Most Great, the Name from Lesson 2.
In the back of your notebook, or on your own paper, write the three things most likely to be on your mind at the start of your next prayer.
Is anything on my list greater than Allah (SWT)? If not, why does it get so much of my attention once the prayer starts?
Your writing stays with you.
كَانَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم إِذَا اسْتَفْتَحَ الصَّلاَةَ قَالَ: سُبْحَانَكَ اللَّهُمَّ وَبِحَمْدِكَ وَتَبَارَكَ اسْمُكَ وَتَعَالَى جَدُّكَ وَلاَ إِلَهَ غَيْرُكَ
Aisha (RA) said: "When the Messenger of Allah (SWT) (pbuh) began the prayer, he would say: 'How perfect You are, O Allah (SWT), and I praise You. Blessed is Your name, exalted is Your majesty, and there is no god but You.'"
The first thing you say after Allahu Akbar is praise, not a request. Why might a conversation with Allah (SWT) start this way?
| The words | Transliteration | What they mean |
|---|---|---|
| سُبْحَانَكَ اللَّهُمَّ | Subhanakallahumma | How perfect You are, O Allah (SWT), |
| وَبِحَمْدِكَ | wa bihamdika | and I praise You. (Word for word: and with Your praise.) |
| وَتَبَارَكَ اسْمُكَ | wa tabarakasmuka | Blessed is Your name, |
| وَتَعَالَى جَدُّكَ | wa ta'ala jadduka | exalted is Your majesty, |
| وَلاَ إِلَهَ غَيْرُكَ | wa la ilaha ghayruk | and there is no god but You. |
Other authentic opening duas also exist, such as the one in Sahih al-Bukhari 744. The schools of fiqh differ on which opening dua to use and when it is said, so ask your imam.
Write the opening dua in your two columns, one row of this table on each line.
فَإِذَا قَرَأْتَ الْقُرْآنَ فَاسْتَعِذْ بِاللَّهِ مِنَ الشَّيْطَانِ الرَّجِيمِ
"So when you recite the Qur'an, [first] seek refuge in Allah (SWT) from Satan, the expelled [from His mercy]."
أَعُوذُ بِاللَّهِ مِنَ الشَّيْطَانِ الرَّجِيمِ
A'udhu billahi minash-shaytanir-rajim
I seek refuge with Allah (SWT) from Satan, the expelled.
When and how it is said inside the prayer differs between the schools of fiqh. Ask your imam.
Why would you need protection right before you start reciting to Allah (SWT)?
بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ
"In the name of Allah (SWT), the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful."
بِسْمِ
Bismi
In the name
اللَّهِ
Allahi
of Allah (SWT)
الرَّحْمَٰنِ
Ar-Rahmani
the Entirely Merciful
الرَّحِيمِ
Ar-Rahim
the Especially Merciful
You met Ar-Rahman in Lesson 2. Both names come from rahmah, mercy. How the basmalah is said in the prayer differs between the schools of fiqh, so ask your imam. In the hadith on the next slides, the conversation starts with the ayah after it.
Write the words for seeking refuge and the basmalah, each with its meaning.
سَمِعْتُ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم يَقُولُ: قَالَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى: قَسَمْتُ الصَّلَاةَ بَيْنِي وَبَيْنَ عَبْدِي نِصْفَيْنِ، وَلِعَبْدِي مَا سَأَلَ
Abu Hurairah (RA) said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (SWT) (pbuh) say: "Allah (SWT), the Most High, said: I have divided the prayer between Myself and My servant into two halves, and My servant shall have what he asked for.
A hadith qudsi is a hadith in which the Prophet (pbuh) tells us what Allah (SWT) said. It is not part of the Quran. Servant translates 'abd, someone who belongs completely to Allah (SWT) and worships Him. In this hadith, He (SWT) calls the one who is praying "My servant".
How scholars explain it · a summary, not a quote: "the prayer" in this hadith means Al-Fatihah, the surah recited in every prayer, as the rest of the hadith shows.
فَإِذَا قَالَ الْعَبْدُ: ﴿الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ﴾ قَالَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى: حَمِدَنِي عَبْدِي
So when the servant says, '[All] praise is [due] to Allah (SWT), Lord of the worlds,' Allah (SWT), the Most High, says: 'My servant has praised Me.'
الْحَمْدُ
Al-hamdu
all praise
لِلَّهِ
lillahi
is for Allah (SWT)
رَبِّ
Rabbi
Lord
الْعَالَمِينَ
al-'alamin
of the worlds: all of creation
وَإِذَا قَالَ: ﴿الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيمِ﴾ قَالَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى: أَثْنَى عَلَيَّ عَبْدِي
And when he says, 'The Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful,' Allah (SWT), the Most High, says: 'My servant has extolled Me.'
الرَّحْمَٰنِ
Ar-Rahmani
the Entirely Merciful
الرَّحِيمِ
Ar-Rahim
the Especially Merciful
To extol is to praise highly. It comes right after 1:2, so the praise goes on: first "all praise", then His (SWT) mercy.
وَإِذَا قَالَ: ﴿مَالِكِ يَوْمِ الدِّينِ﴾ قَالَ: مَجَّدَنِي عَبْدِي، وَقَالَ مَرَّةً: فَوَّضَ إِلَيَّ عَبْدِي
And when he says, 'Sovereign of the Day of Recompense,' He (SWT) says: 'My servant has glorified Me.' And once He said: 'My servant has entrusted [his affairs] to Me.'
مَالِكِ
Maliki
Sovereign, Owner
يَوْمِ
yawmi
of the Day
الدِّينِ
ad-din
of Recompense, when every deed is repaid
Notice the turn: mercy in 1:3, then the Day of Recompense in 1:4. Love and awe stand side by side, like Al-Wadud beside Al-Adheem in Lesson 2.
فَإِذَا قَالَ: ﴿إِيَّاكَ نَعْبُدُ وَإِيَّاكَ نَسْتَعِينُ﴾ قَالَ: هَذَا بَيْنِي وَبَيْنَ عَبْدِي، وَلِعَبْدِي مَا سَأَلَ
So when he says, 'It is You we worship and You we ask for help,' He (SWT) says: 'This is between Me and My servant, and My servant shall have what he asked for.'
إِيَّاكَ
Iyyaka
You alone
نَعْبُدُ
na'budu
we worship
وَإِيَّاكَ
wa iyyaka
and You alone
نَسْتَعِينُ
nasta'in
we ask for help
In Arabic, Iyyaka comes before the verb. That order gives the meaning "You, and no one else".
فَإِذَا قَالَ: ﴿اهْدِنَا الصِّرَاطَ الْمُسْتَقِيمَ، صِرَاطَ الَّذِينَ أَنْعَمْتَ عَلَيْهِمْ غَيْرِ الْمَغْضُوبِ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلَا الضَّالِّينَ﴾ قَالَ: هَذَا لِعَبْدِي، وَلِعَبْدِي مَا سَأَلَ
So when he says, 'Guide us to the straight path, the path of those upon whom You have bestowed favor, not of those who have earned [Your] anger or of those who are astray,' He (SWT) says: 'This is for My servant, and My servant shall have what he asked for.'"
The first half of Al-Fatihah is about Him (SWT). This last part is what you ask for, and He (SWT) answers, "My servant shall have what he asked for." These ayahs, word by word, are the focus of the next lesson.
| Ayah | You say | It means | Allah (SWT) answers |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1:2 | Al-hamdu lillahi Rabbil-'alamin | [All] praise is [due] to Allah (SWT), Lord of the worlds. | "My servant has praised Me." |
| 1:3 | Ar-Rahmanir-Rahim | The Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful. | "My servant has extolled Me." |
| 1:4 | Maliki yawmid-din | Sovereign of the Day of Recompense. | "My servant has glorified Me." |
| 1:5 | Iyyaka na'budu wa iyyaka nasta'in | It is You we worship and You we ask for help. | "This is between Me and My servant, and My servant shall have what he asked for." |
The answers are from Sahih Muslim 395, on the last six slides. The meanings are from Saheeh International.
Copy these four ayahs into your two columns. Under each meaning, add Allah's (SWT) answer.
إِيَّاكَ نَعْبُدُ وَإِيَّاكَ نَسْتَعِينُ
"It is You we worship and You we ask for help."
Al-Fatihah turns on this ayah. Before it, you praise Him (SWT). After it, you ask Him (SWT) for guidance. In Lessons 1 and 2, we said His (SWT) love comes first and worship is what love does. "It is You we worship" is a promise, and you can only make it honestly to Someone you know and love. That is why this course started with love and not with rules.
When I say "It is You we worship", is it true of my day? Why does asking for help come right after that promise?
At the bottom of today's page, under "In my own words", write one sentence: what "It is You we worship" means for me.
Partner A says an ayah from 1:2 to 1:5, in Arabic and then in English. Partner B answers from the notebook, beginning with "Allah (SWT) says". Go through all four, then switch.
The same, with notebooks closed. If you get stuck, your partner gives you the first word of the answer.
Partner A says each ayah. Then both of you stay quiet for one breath and think of the answer. This is how you can pray tonight.
You are repeating Allah's (SWT) words from the hadith, so say them with respect, and always begin with "Allah (SWT) says".
There are no graded answers here. Talking about the prayer in your own words is the point.
اللَّهُ أَكْبَرُ
Allahu Akbar
Allah (SWT) is greater than everything.
Lesson 6
سُبْحَانَكَ اللَّهُمَّ وَبِحَمْدِكَ، وَتَبَارَكَ اسْمُكَ، وَتَعَالَى جَدُّكَ، وَلاَ إِلَهَ غَيْرُكَ
Subhanakallahumma wa bihamdika, wa tabarakasmuka, wa ta'ala jadduka, wa la ilaha ghayruk
How perfect You are, O Allah (SWT), and I praise You. Blessed is Your name, exalted is Your majesty, and there is no god but You.
Lesson 6 · Sunan Abi Dawud 776
أَعُوذُ بِاللَّهِ مِنَ الشَّيْطَانِ الرَّجِيمِ
A'udhu billahi minash-shaytanir-rajim
I seek refuge with Allah (SWT) from Satan, the expelled.
Lesson 6 · Surah An-Nahl 16:98
بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ
Bismillahir-Rahmanir-Rahim
In the name of Allah (SWT), the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful.
Lesson 6
Front on one side of the index card, back on the other. Your cards stay with you. Nobody collects them.
الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ
Al-hamdu lillahi Rabbil-'alamin
[All] praise is [due] to Allah (SWT), Lord of the worlds. Allah (SWT) answers: "My servant has praised Me."
Lesson 6 · Sahih Muslim 395
الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ
Ar-Rahmanir-Rahim
The Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful. Allah (SWT) answers: "My servant has extolled Me."
Lesson 6 · Sahih Muslim 395
مَالِكِ يَوْمِ الدِّينِ
Maliki yawmid-din
Sovereign of the Day of Recompense. Allah (SWT) answers: "My servant has glorified Me."
Lesson 6 · Sahih Muslim 395
إِيَّاكَ نَعْبُدُ وَإِيَّاكَ نَسْتَعِينُ
Iyyaka na'budu wa iyyaka nasta'in
It is You we worship and You we ask for help. Allah (SWT) answers: "This is between Me and My servant, and My servant shall have what he asked for."
Lesson 6 · Sahih Muslim 395
If you do not finish in class, finish at home from the class website. Your cards stay with you. Nobody collects them.
Your writing stays with you.
In one prayer each day, pause for a breath after each ayah of Al-Fatihah from 1:2 to 1:5, and remember what Allah (SWT) answers.
If you are praying behind an imam, think of each answer as Al-Fatihah is recited. If you are not praying every prayer yet, start with one you do pray.
Make your four catch-up cards this week, and study all your cards one or two minutes a day, for example after a prayer.
The card drill at the start of the next lesson begins with today's eight cards.
Fatihah Completed, and One Surah of Your Own. The rest of Al-Fatihah word by word, what it means to ask for the straight path, and Surah Al-Ikhlas.