Rak'ah (Prayer Cycle)

Rak'ah (Arabic: ركعة, plural: raka'at) is a single cycle of standing, bowing, and prostration in the Islamic prayer. Each obligatory prayer consists of a set number of rak'ah: Fajr has 2, Dhuhr has 4, Asr has 4, Maghrib has 3, and Isha has 4.

Each rak'ah contains the following elements in order: standing position (qiyam) with recitation of Surah Al-Fatiha and optionally additional Quran verses, bowing (ruku) with glorification of Allah, return to standing position, prostration with the forehead on the ground (sujud) with glorification, sitting position, and another sujud.

The number of rak'ah in the obligatory prayers was established by Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and cannot be changed. In addition to the obligatory rak'ah, there are sunnah prayers (voluntary extra rak'ah), which are prayed before or after the obligatory prayers. The Prophet regularly prayed 12 extra rak'ah per day: 2 before Fajr, 4 before Dhuhr, 2 after Dhuhr, 2 after Maghrib and 2 after Isha.