- the purification
- the ritual washing — wudu or the full bath — that a prayer needs, or dry tayammum when water cannot be found
- the qibla
- the direction every prayer turns toward — the Kaaba in Mecca, wherever in the world the worshipper stands
- the congregation
- standing shoulder to shoulder behind the imam in one row — the lesson in equality the prayer teaches
- the bowing
- the bow that follows standing, hands resting on the knees, the back level in humility
- the prostration
- placing the forehead on the ground in deepest humility before God — twice inside every unit
- the unit
- the counted building block of prayer — standing, bowing and prostrations — that prayers are made of
- the intention
- the quiet resolve in the heart that names which prayer is offered before the first word
- the takbir
- 'God is greatest' — the words that open the prayer and carry the worshipper between its parts
- the five
- the five daily devotions God fixed for Muslims at their stated times, from dawn to night
- Friday
- the week's gathering day, when a sermon and one shared prayer replace the noon prayer
- the night prayers
- the long night devotions of Ramadan, prayed in congregation after the evening prayer
- the extra prayers
- the beloved extra devotions the worshipper adds around the prescribed prayers, following the Prophet's way
