rakats

Rak’ah, also spelled rak'ah or rakats, is the basic unit of ritual Islamic prayer (salat). Each rak’ah consists of a fixed sequence of positions and recitations: standing to recite verses from the Qur’an (typically al-Fatiha followed by another passage), bowing (rukū’), two prostrations (sujūd) with a brief sitting between them, and a final act that ends the rak’ah. After completing the second prostration, the worshiper may rise to begin the next rak’ah, or, if it is the last rak’ah, perform the final sitting that includes the tashahhud and taslim.

In the five daily prayers, a fixed number of rak’ahs is observed: Fajr two; Dhuhr four; Asr four; Maghrib three; Isha four. Some schools of Islamic jurisprudence and different traditions describe minor variations in wording or practice, but the basic structure is widely shared. In addition to obligatory prayers, Muslims perform voluntary (nafl or sunnah) rak’ahs at various times, and the Witr prayer is commonly observed after the Isha prayer with an odd number of rak’ahs (often 1 or 3, depending on tradition).

Rak’ah as a unit is central to the structure of salat across Islamic practice and is observed in mosques and homes worldwide, reflecting a common framework for worship.