Note: This is original study material in plain English to help you understand the shape and meaning of namaz. For the actual prayer, recite from the verified Arabic / Lisan ud-Dawat text and follow the guidance of your local hudud and FAIZ resources.
What namaz is
Namaz (salat) is the daily prayer that a baligh (mature) mumin offers facing the Qibla, the direction of Baitullah in Makkah. It is one of the pillars of faith and the most regular act of worship in a Bohra’s day — a fixed appointment with Allah repeated throughout the waking hours.
Before you begin: wudhu and niyyat
Two things prepare you for namaz:
- Wudhu — the ritual washing that establishes taharat (purity). Without valid wudhu the prayer is not accepted. (See the separate article Wudhu, step by step.)
- Niyyat — the intention. Before starting you silently fix in your heart which prayer you are about to offer, how many rakaat, and that it is for the sake of Allah. Niyyat turns ordinary motions into worship.
You should also be wearing clean clothes, stand on a clean place (a musallah or saf), and have your satr (the parts of the body that must be covered) properly covered.
The five prayers and the Bohra three-vakt grouping
There are five daily prayers:
- Fajr — dawn (2 rakaat farz)
- Zohr — after midday (4 rakaat farz)
- Asr — afternoon (4 rakaat farz)
- Maghrib — just after sunset (3 rakaat farz)
- Isha — night (4 rakaat farz)
Dawoodi Bohras characteristically pray these in three sittings (vakt) rather than five separate times spread across the day:
- Fajr on its own at dawn.
- Zohr and Asr prayed together in the midday-to-afternoon window.
- Maghrib and Isha prayed together after sunset.
This is why a Bohra masjid typically calls the congregation three times a day. Within each combined sitting the farz prayers are still offered in full and in order; they are simply performed in one continuous session.
The structure of a rakaat
A rakaat is one complete unit of prayer. Almost everything in namaz is built by repeating this unit. A single rakaat moves through these postures:
- Qiyam — standing. You recite Surat al-Fatiha and (in the early rakaat) a further short surah.
- Ruku — bowing from the waist, hands on the knees, glorifying Allah.
- Qauma — rising upright again from ruku.
- Sajda — prostration, forehead to the ground; this is the posture closest to Allah. Each rakaat has two sajda.
- Jalsa — the brief sitting between the two sajda.
After the required number of rakaat you sit for the tashahhud, bear witness to the oneness of Allah and the prophethood of Rasulullah (SAW), send salawat, and close with salaam, turning the prayer to completion.
Putting it together
Each prayer is simply a set number of these rakaat — two for Fajr, three for Maghrib, four for Zohr, Asr and Isha. Once you can perform one rakaat correctly, you can perform any prayer, because every prayer is the same unit repeated and then sealed with tashahhud and salaam.
Namaz is meant to be unhurried and attentive. The Arabic words, the postures, and the niyyat work together so that the body, tongue, and heart all face the same direction at once.
Step-by-step prayer text and audio are available in the Namaz section of the app.