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Fatwa CenterDetailed Description of Performing the Prayer
Question
Can you find me pictures as a Muslim praying (the Rak'ah)?
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, and that Muhammad 
is His slave and Messenger.
Verily, the prayer is one of the greatest pillars of Islam, since it is the first act that the slave will be accounted for on the Day of Judgment, as the Prophet said: "The first action a slave will be accounted for on the Day of Judgment is his prayer. If his prayer is of good quality, then verily he has succeeded, and if it is deficient, then he has failed and lost. And if some of his compulsory prayers are still needed, Allah will say (to the angels): see if my slave has any supererogatory prayers so that he can cover up whatever he has missed from his compulsory prayers? Then the rest of his actions will be according to that." [At-Tirmidhi]
The Prophet demonstrated the state of prayer that a person will be successful upon and taught it to his companions in the most demonstrated way of teachings. He did so verbally and through actions, and he used to say to them: "Pray as you have seen me praying." [Al-Bukhari]
Consequently, these have been reported to us through the most perfect of reports, to the point where there is no excuse for a person who is not concerned by the ruling of prayer if he does not have an excuse which is valid by Islamic law that prevents him from gaining knowledge on the subject.
Furthermore, we would like to mention to the person who posed this question, the summarized attributes of prayer, and we also advise him to hasten to learn what he is ignorant of before he is surprised by death. Likewise, we advise him to repent to Allah if he has fallen short of gaining knowledge in what has passed of his life.
We, therefore, say, if a Muslim rises for prayer, he should do so at the punctual time, hastening to it energetically and joyously, happy to discharge of it, pure and covering his ‘Awrah, facing the Qiblah. He should then make the opening Takbeer, raising his hands to his shoulders or his ears, and then, placing the right hand on the left upon his chest. This should be followed by the recitation of the opening supplication and the seeking of refuge in Allah from Satan. Subsequently, he says Bismillah (in the Name of Allah) and recites the opening chapter of the Quran [i.e. al-Faatihah] and whatever he knows from the Quran. This is then followed by the bowing down (Rukoo’), raising the hands during the process and placing them upon his knees, keeping the head inclined whilst ensuring the back is straight (making sure the two are level). He should then repeat "Glory be to Allah the Greatest" thrice (five, six or seven times is better), and then, rise from this position saying Takbeer and raising his hands at the same time. The next step is to say the Takbeer once again and prostrate upon the seven limbs: the knees, the tips of his toes, his palms, his forehead-including the nose, his fingers must be spread, his stomach should be distanced from his thighs, the elbows from the knees and his forearms from his sides. Whilst in this position, he should praise Allah by saying "Glory be to Allah the Highest" thrice (to say more is better). When this has been done, he should arise into a sitting posture, sitting upon his left foot and setting his right foot upright, ensuring that his toes are positioned towards the Qiblah, with his arms laid upon his thighs, at the same time he should say: "O Allah! Forgive me" and proceed in prostrating a second time, as described above. This should be followed by the remaining Rak'ah. When he has reached the third or the fourth Rak'ah (depending on what prayer it is), he should sit after his second prostration on the second Rak'ah. His index finger pointed outwards, and the rest curled up, he should recite the Tashahhud. If, however, he is on his last Rak'ah, he should sit as mentioned above, with the exception that his left foot should emerge from under his right foot. As we mentioned, the Tashahhud is recited and is followed with blessings being sent upon the Prophet ; a person may then supplicate for whatever he wishes for, preferably according to what has been narrated from the Prophet and then proceed in saying the Tasleem, first to the right-hand side and saying "Assalaamu Alaykum” (peace be upon you) then to the left -hand side and saying the same.
Subsequently, he should say the reported forms of Thikr (mention of Allah) once he has completed his prayer.
To conclude, we state that we cannot describe the performance of the prayer with pictures. Anyway, there are many books that use pictures to teach the way of performing the prayer.
Allah knows best.
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