The ritual prayer that Muslims are enjoined to perform five times a day (at dawn, noon, afternoon, sunset, and evening). The adhan (call to prayer) marks the times of prayer. Before praying a Muslim must ensure that he or she is in a state of ritual purity, which may require performing wudu' (ablutions) or even taking a bath. When two or more people pray together, one serves as imam (prayer leader), while the others follow the imam's lead. On Friday a special prayer, salat al-jum`a, is performed in congregation at the masjid (mosque).
Each prayer consists of a prescribed number of rak`as (prayer cycles, literally bowings). The basic movements included in each rak`a are:
Raising the hands to proclaim "Allahu akbar:"
Standing to recite:
The ruku` (bowing):
The sujud (prostration) (twice):
The sitting (between prostrations):
Illustrations from Cyril Glasse, The Concise Encyclopedia of Islam, (HarperSanFrancisco, 1991) p. 392.