الرُّكُوعُ وَالسُّجُودُ وَالتَّسْلِيمُ

After the Fatiha and the short surah, the prayer goes on. At each change of position, we say "Allaahu akbar" (except when rising from the bow). [À VÉRIFIER : les écoles diffèrent, l'imam tranche]

5. The bow (ar-rukuu') I bend forward, with my back straight and my hands on my knees, and I say three times: سُبْحَانَ رَبِّيَ الْعَظِيمِ subḥaana rabbiya l-'aẓiim: "Glory be to my Lord, the Most Great." (Muslim 772)

6. I rise again I stand up straight saying: سَمِعَ اللَّهُ لِمَنْ حَمِدَهُ sami'a llaahu liman ḥamidah: "Allah hears the one who praises Him." Then, standing: رَبَّنَا وَلَكَ الْحَمْدُ rabbanaa wa laka l-ḥamd: "Our Lord, to You belongs the praise." (Bukhari 789, Muslim 392)

7. Prostration (as-sujuud) I put on the ground my forehead and nose, both hands, both knees and the tips of my toes (Bukhari 812, Muslim 490), and I say three times: سُبْحَانَ رَبِّيَ الْأَعْلَى subḥaana rabbiya l-a'laa: "Glory be to my Lord, the Most High." (Muslim 772)

8. Sitting between the two prostrations I sit for a moment and say: رَبِّ اغْفِرْ لِي rabbi ghfir lii: "My Lord, forgive me." (Abu Dawud 874 [À VÉRIFIER : numéro]) Then I make a second prostration, like the first. There: one rak'a is finished! I stand up for the second rak'a, which is done the same way.

9. The tashahhud After the second prostration of the second rak'a, I sit and recite the tashahhud (Bukhari 831, Muslim 402): [À VÉRIFIER : les écoles diffèrent, l'imam tranche] التَّحِيَّاتُ لِلَّهِ وَالصَّلَوَاتُ وَالطَّيِّبَاتُ، السَّلَامُ عَلَيْكَ أَيُّهَا النَّبِيُّ وَرَحْمَةُ اللَّهِ وَبَرَكَاتُهُ، السَّلَامُ عَلَيْنَا وَعَلَى عِبَادِ اللَّهِ الصَّالِحِينَ، أَشْهَدُ أَنْ لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ، وَأَشْهَدُ أَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا عَبْدُهُ وَرَسُولُهُ at-taḥiyyaatu lillaahi wa ṣ-ṣalawaatu wa ṭ-ṭayyibaat, as-salaamu 'alayka ayyuha n-nabiyyu wa raḥmatu llaahi wa barakaatuh, as-salaamu 'alaynaa wa 'alaa 'ibaadi llaahi ṣ-ṣaaliḥiin, ash-hadu an laa ilaaha illa llaah, wa ash-hadu anna muḥammadan 'abduhu wa rasuuluh. The meaning: "Greetings are for Allah, and prayers and good things. Peace be upon you, O Prophet, and the mercy of Allah and His blessings. Peace be upon us and upon the good servants of Allah. I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and His Messenger."

10. The prayer on the Prophet ﷺ In the last sitting, I add the prayer on the Prophet ﷺ (Bukhari 3370, Muslim 406): اللَّهُمَّ صَلِّ عَلَى مُحَمَّدٍ وَعَلَى آلِ مُحَمَّدٍ، كَمَا صَلَّيْتَ عَلَى إِبْرَاهِيمَ وَعَلَى آلِ إِبْرَاهِيمَ، إِنَّكَ حَمِيدٌ مَجِيدٌ، اللَّهُمَّ بَارِكْ عَلَى مُحَمَّدٍ وَعَلَى آلِ مُحَمَّدٍ، كَمَا بَارَكْتَ عَلَى إِبْرَاهِيمَ وَعَلَى آلِ إِبْرَاهِيمَ، إِنَّكَ حَمِيدٌ مَجِيدٌ allaahumma ṣalli 'alaa muḥammadin wa 'alaa aali muḥammad, kamaa ṣallayta 'alaa ibraahiima wa 'alaa aali ibraahiim, innaka ḥamiidun majiid. allaahumma baarik 'alaa muḥammadin wa 'alaa aali muḥammad, kamaa baarakta 'alaa ibraahiima wa 'alaa aali ibraahiim, innaka ḥamiidun majiid. The meaning: "O Allah, send prayers on Muhammad and his family, as You sent prayers on Ibrahim and his family; You are worthy of praise and glory. O Allah, bless Muhammad and his family, as You blessed Ibrahim and his family; You are worthy of praise and glory."

11. The salaam to finish I turn my head to the right, then to the left, saying each time (Muslim 582): [À VÉRIFIER : les écoles diffèrent, l'imam tranche] السَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُمْ وَرَحْمَةُ اللَّهِ as-salaamu 'alaykum wa raḥmatu llaah: "Peace be upon you, and the mercy of Allah." The prayer is finished!

Little activity: make a two-rak'a prayer with your parent beside you. They say the name of each position before you do it: "rukuu'", "sujuud", "tashahhud", "salaam".

Understanding the lesson

Explanation Each position of the prayer has a meaning. In the bow, I make myself small before Allah, the Most Great. In prostration, I put my forehead, the highest part of my body, on the ground: this is the moment I am closest to Allah, so I can ask Him for whatever I want (Muslim 482). One day, a man prayed very fast in front of the Prophet ﷺ, who told him: "Go back and pray, for you have not prayed." Then he taught him to stay calm in each position (Bukhari 757, Muslim 397). So we take our time: we wait until the body is settled before moving on. In the tashahhud, we greet the Prophet ﷺ and all the good servants of Allah, and we repeat the shahada. The salaam to the right and to the left ends the prayer, wishing peace.

Lessons to draw from it • I pray slowly, staying calm in each position. • In prostration, I make a dua to Allah, in my heart. • If I make a mistake while I am learning, I carry on and ask my parent or the imam.

Key points to remember • Rukuu': "Subḥaana rabbiya l-'aẓiim"; sujuud: "Subḥaana rabbiya l-a'laa" (Muslim 772). • Rising: "Sami'a llaahu liman ḥamidah, rabbanaa wa laka l-ḥamd". • Two prostrations per rak'a, with "Rabbi ghfir lii" in between. • Tashahhud (Bukhari 831, Muslim 402), prayer on the Prophet ﷺ (Bukhari 3370, Muslim 406), then the salaam.

The main message Standing, bowing, prostrating, sitting: from the first "Allaahu akbar" to the last salaam, my whole prayer talks to Allah, calmly, like the Prophet ﷺ.