Prayer is one of the pillars on which the true religion of Islam is built. Almighty God says, "Indeed, the prayer has been decreed upon the believers at fixed times,"(1) and in a hadith from the Prophet Muḥammad (peace be upon him and his family), it is said, "Everything has a face and the face of your religion is prayer." In another hadith, it is said, "My intercession will not reach those who belittle their prayers."
The most important obligatory prayers are the five daily prayers:
1. Fajr (Dawn) Prayer: Two units (rakaʿat).
2. Ẓuhr (Noon) Prayer: Four units.
3. ʿAṣr (Afternoon) Prayer: Four units.
4. Maghrib (Evening) Prayer: Three units.
5. ʿIshāʾ (Night) Prayer: Four units.
In certain conditions, the four-unit prayers are shortened during travel or moments of fear.
Issue 59: It is recommended to perform thirty-four units of supererogatory (nafl) prayers in a day and night, which include:
1. Eight units before the Ẓuhr prayer.
2. Eight units before the ʿAṣr prayer.
3. Four units after the Maghrib prayer.
4. Two units after the ʿIshā prayer, which should be recited sitting, counting as one unit.
5. Eight units of the Late Night Prayer (Ṣalāt al-Layl). Its time starts from the beginning of the night after ʿIshāʾ prayer and if it is offered any time after ʿIshāʾ prayer, it is offered within the prescribed time; ideally, it is performed close to the dawn.
6. Two units of the Shafʿ prayer after the Night Prayer.
7. One unit of the Witr prayer after the Shafʿ prayer.
8. Two units before the Fajr prayer.
Except for the Witr prayer, which is a one-unit prayer, all other supererogatory prayers are performed in sets of two units.
Issue 60: The time for the Fajr prayer is from the true dawn until sunrise. The time for Ẓuhr and ʿAṣr prayers is from the sun's decline (noon) until sunset, and the Ẓuhr prayer should be performed before the ʿAṣr prayer. The sun's decline is the midpoint between sunrise and sunset. The time for Maghrib and ʿIshāʾ prayers for a person who is not in a state of emergency extends from sunset (dusk) until midnight.(2) Midnight is the midpoint between sunset and the true dawn. If a person intentionally delays the Maghrib and ʿIshāʾ prayers until after midnight, he must perform them before dawn without making a niyyat of Adā (i.e. in time) or Qaḍā (i.e. after the lapse of time), and in both cases, the Maghrib prayer should be performed before the ʿIshā prayer.
Issue 61: A person must face the Qibla (the direction of the Kaʿba) while performing obligatory prayers. However, if performing supererogatory prayers while walking or riding, it is not necessary to face the Qibla, but in other situations, the obligatory precaution is that they should be performed while facing the Qibla.
Issue 62: If a person is confident about the direction of the Qibla and prays facing that direction, then later realizes that the Qibla was in another direction, if the deviation from the Qibla is less than 90 degrees to the right or left, the prayer is valid. If the deviation is more than 90 degrees or the person prayed with their back to the Qibla, he must repeat the prayer if there is time left, and if the time has expired, it is not to make up the prayer.
Issue 63: The person performing the prayer must ensure that his body, including hair and nails, as well as his clothing, are clean from impurities. Small items of clothing, such as socks and hats, which by themselves cannot cover the private parts, do not need to be clean, provided they are not made from impure substances or animals like dogs. There is no problem in carrying impure (mutanajjis)(3) objects in one’s pockets during prayer.
Issue 64: If there is blood from a wound or sore on the body or clothing, praying with it is permissible as long as it has not yet healed. Superficial wounds must be cleaned.
Issue 65: If a person's body or clothing is stained with a small amount of blood, less than the size of a fingertip, praying with it is valid. However, there are exceptions, including menstrual blood, and as an obligatory precaution, the blood from impure animals or carcasses, blood from animals forbidden to eat, postnatal bleeding, and irregular bleeding (Istiḥāḍa).
Issue 66: If a person unknowingly prays with an impure body or clothing and discovers the impurity after the prayer, the prayer is valid. However, if he had doubts about the impurity before the prayer and did not check, discovering the impurity afterward, he must repeat the prayer as an obligatory precaution. If he notices the impurity during the prayer and is certain it was there before starting, and there is enough time to repeat the prayer, he must do so as an obligatory precaution. If there is not enough time, such that even one unit of the prayer cannot be performed within the time, he should remove the impurity during the prayer, completing it without committing one of the invalidating agents, and the prayer will be valid.
Issue 67: If a person knows his body or clothing is impure but neglects it and forgets, and prays in that state, he must repeat the prayer as an obligatory precaution.
Issue 68: Purity from minor and major impurities is obligatory in prayer, as mentioned in the rules of purification.
Issue 69: The place where one prays must be lawful, and praying in a usurped place is, as an obligatory precaution, invalid. If a usurped carpet is on lawful ground, or a lawful carpet is on usurped ground, praying on it is also invalid, as an obligatory precaution.
Issue 70: If an item is subject to Khums(4) and the owner has not paid it, it is considered usurped. Therefore, until the Khums is paid, it is forbidden to pray or use it in any way.
Issue 71: The place where the forehead touches in prostration must be clean, but it is not necessary for the places where other parts of the body touch to be clean, provided the impurity does not transfer to the body or clothing.
Issue 72: If a man and woman want to pray in the same place, as an obligatory precaution, the woman should not stand in front of or equal to the man. The woman should stand back, with the minimum distance being such that her place of prostration is in line with the man's knees when he is in prostration, or there should be a barrier like a wall between them, or the distance between them should be more than ten cubits (approximately four and a half meters).
Issue 73: During prayer, one must cover his private parts. For men, the private parts in prayer include the penis, testicles, and anus. For women, the entire body except for three areas should be covered:
1. Face to the extent that a scarf usually does not cover it when it is wrapped around it.
2. The hands from the wrist to the fingertips.
3. The feet from the ankle down (in the absence of non-mahram men).
Issue 74: If someone realizes during prayer that his private parts are uncovered, he must cover them immediately, and the prayer is valid. If he realizes after finishing the prayer, the prayer is still valid.
Issue 75: The conditions for the prayer garments are:
1. They must be clean, as mentioned earlier.
2. The garment that covers the private parts should be lawful, as an obligatory precaution.
3. The garment should not be made from the body parts of an animal that has a soul, such as the skin of an animal slaughtered non-Islamically. This applies as an obligatory precaution even if the garment alone is insufficient to cover the private parts.
4. It should not be made from predatory animals, like foxes, and as an obligatory precaution, it should not be made from animals whose meat is forbidden to eat, like rabbits and cats. This condition applies only to the garments that sufficiently cover the private parts and not to others.
5. The garment should not be made of pure natural silk for men.
6. The garment should not be made of pure or impure gold for men. Wearing gold jewelry, such as a gold chain or ring, renders men’s prayers invalid.
Issue 76: Wearing gold and pure silk is always forbidden for men, even outside of prayer, and as an obligatory precaution, men should never use gold for adornment.
Issue 77: It is recommended to recite the Adhān (call to prayer) before the daily prayers. The Adhān is as follows:
Allāhu akbar (4 times)
Ashhadu an lā ilāha illallāh (2 times)
Ashhadu anna Muḥammadan Rasūlullāh (2 times)
Ḥayya ʿalaṣ ṣalāh (2 times)
Ḥayya ʿalal falāḥ (2 times)
Ḥayya ʿala khayril ʿamal (2 times)
Allāhu akbar (2 times)
Lā ilāha illal lāh (2 times)
اللّهُ‏ أَکْبَرُ، اللّهُ‏ أَکْبَرُ، اللّهُ‏ أَکْبَرُ، اللّهُ‏ أَکْبَرُ
أَشْهَدُ أَنْ لا إِلٰهَ إلّا اللّهُ، أَشْهَدُ أَنْ لا إِلٰهَ إلّا اللّهُ
أَشْهَدُ أنَّ مُحَمَّداً رَسُوْلُ اللّهِ، أَشْهَدُ أنَّ مُحَمَّداً رَسُوْلُ اللّهِ
حَیَّ عَلَی الصَّلاةِ، حَیَّ عَلَی الصَّلاةِ
حَیَّ عَلی الفَلٰاحِ، حَیَّ عَلی الفَلٰاحِ
حَیَّ عَلیٰ خَیرِ الْعَمَلِ، حَیَّ عَلیٰ خَیرِ الْعَمَلِ
اللّهُ‏ أَکْبَرُ، اللّهُ‏ أَکْبَرُ
لا إِلٰهَ إلّا اللّهُ، لا إِلٰهَ إلّا اللّهُ

Testifying to the guardianship and leadership of Amīr al-Muʾminīn, ʿAlī (peace be upon him) is itself recommended and complementary to the testimony of the Prophet's (peace be upon him and his family) message but is not part of the Adhān. Therefore, it is appropriate to recite it without intending it as part of the Adhān, after “Ashhadu anna Muḥammadan Rasūlullāh,” with the intention of seeking nearness to Allah: “Ashhadu anna ʿAlīyan Amīr al-Muʾminīn Walīyullāh.”
Issue 78: It is recommended to recite the Iqāmah (second call to prayer) before the daily prayers. The Iqāmah is as follows:
Allāhu akbar (2 times)
Ashhadu an lā ilāha illallāh (2 times)
Ashhadu anna Muḥammadan Rasūlullāh (2 times)
Ḥayya ʿalaṣ ṣalāh (2 times)
Ḥayya ʿalal falāḥ (2 times)
Qad qāmatiṣ salāh (2 times)
Allāhu akbar (2 times)
Lā ilāha illal lāh اللّهُ‏ أَکْبَرُ، اللّهُ‏ أَکْبَرُ
أَشْهَدُ أَنْ لا إِلٰهَ إلّا اللّهُ، أَشْهَدُ أَنْ لا إِلٰهَ إلّا اللّهُ
أَشْهَدُ أنَّ مُحَمَّداً رَسُوْلُ اللّهِ، أَشْهَدُ أنَّ مُحَمَّداً رَسُوْلُ اللّهِ
حَیَّ عَلَی الصَّلاةِ، حَیَّ عَلَی الصَّلاةِ
حَیَّ عَلی الفَلٰاحِ، حَیَّ عَلی الفَلٰاحِ
حَیَّ عَلیٰ خَیرِ الْعَمَلِ، حَیَّ عَلیٰ خَیرِ الْعَمَلِ
قَدْ قٰامَتِ الصَّلاَةُ، قَدْ قٰامَتِ الصَّلاَةُ
اللّهُ‏ أَکْبَرُ، اللّهُ‏ أَکْبَرُ
لا إِلٰهَ إلّا اللّهُ
Testifying to the guardianship and leadership of Amīr al-Muʾminīn, ʿAlī (peace be upon him) is itself recommended and complementary to the testimony of the Prophet's (peace be upon him and his family) message but is not part of the Iqāmah. Therefore, it is appropriate to say without intending it as part of the Iqāmah, after “Ashhadu anna Muḥammadan Rasūlullāh,” with the intention of seeking nearness to Allah: “Ashhadu anna ʿAlīyan Amīr al-Muʾminīn walīyullāh.”