What are the movements of Muslim prayer called?
Yes, each step has an Arabic name, and there are only a few to learn. Standing is qiyam, bowing is ruku, rising from the bow is qawmah, prostrating is sujud, and sitting is julus. Each cycle of these movements is called a rakah, and the prayer ends with the taslim.
The movements in order
Every prayer is made of units called rakat (one unit is a rakah). Here is what happens in one rakah, with the names you'll hear at the mosque:
- Takbir: raising your hands and saying "Allahu akbar" ("Allah is the Greatest") to begin. The opening one is called takbirat al-ihram.
- Qiyam: standing and reciting al-Fatiha and a short surah.
- Ruku: bowing, with your hands on your knees and your back straight.
- Qawmah (also called itidal): standing back up straight after the bow.
- Sujud: prostrating, with forehead, nose, palms, knees and toes on the ground. One prostration is a sajdah.
- Julus (or jalsah): sitting briefly between the two prostrations.
- Second sujud: a second prostration, just like the first.
That is one rakah. You then stand up for the next one, or sit if it is the end of the prayer.
Sitting and ending
- Tashahhud: the sitting after the second rakah (and the last one), in which you recite the testimony of faith. The sitting itself is also called qadah.
- Taslim: turning your head right, then left, saying "Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullah". This ends the prayer.
The Companion Abu Humaid described the Prophet's ﷺ prayer in detail: he put both hands on his knees in bowing with a straight back, then stood up straight until his vertebrae settled back into place, and when he sat in the second rakah he sat on his left foot with the right one upright (Sahih al-Bukhari 828). Those small details are why scholars describe the movements so carefully. For the words said while sitting, see What is the tashahhud?
Calm in every position
One more word is worth knowing: tumaninah, which means stillness. A man once rushed through his prayer, and the Prophet ﷺ told him three times to go back and pray again. He then taught him to stay at ease in each position: bowing until at ease, standing up straight, prostrating until at ease and sitting until at ease (Sahih al-Bukhari 757). Knowing the names helps you check yourself: did you stand fully straight in qawmah, and did you sit properly in julus?
A quick example
Fajr has two rakat, so you do: qiyam, ruku, qawmah, sujud, julus, sujud, then stand for a second rakah, repeat, and sit for tashahhud and taslim. For the full guide, see How do I pray as a Muslim? To learn what to say in each position, see What do I say in ruku and sujud?
- Qiyam is standing, ruku is bowing and sujud is prostrating.
- Qawmah is rising from the bow and julus is sitting between the prostrations.
- Tashahhud is the sitting recitation and taslim ends the prayer.
- Tumaninah means staying calm and still in each position.
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