Salat Rakat Table: Complete Daily Prayer Reference

The Question Every New Muslim — and Many Practicing Muslims — Has

How many rakats is this prayer again?

It is one of the most common questions in Islamic practice, and there is no shame in it. The five daily prayers each have different rakat counts. Some prayers have sunnah units before the fard, some after, some both. Witr adds another layer. New Muslims learning to pray, parents teaching their children, or anyone returning to practice after a break all face the same honest question: what exactly am I supposed to be praying?

This guide gives you that answer in a single reference — a complete salat rakat table you can bookmark and return to whenever you need it.

How Many Rakats Are in Each Daily Prayer?

The five daily salat have these fard (obligatory) rakat counts: Fajr 2, Dhuhr 4, Asr 4, Maghrib 3, Isha 4 — totaling 17 obligatory rakats per day. Each prayer also carries confirmed sunnah units before or after: 2 before Fajr, 4+2 for Dhuhr, 2 after Maghrib, and 2 after Isha plus 3 witr. The Prophet ﷺ said these sunnah rakats fill any gaps in the obligatory prayer (Sahih Muslim 728).

What Is a Rakat?

A rakat (رَكْعَة, also spelled rakah) is one complete unit of Islamic prayer. It consists of a standing recitation (qiyam), a bowing (ruku'), two prostrations (sujood), and a sitting. Most prayers consist of multiple rakats performed in sequence. For a detailed breakdown of what happens within each rakat, see the complete salah guide and what is a rakat in Islam.

The Full Salat Rakat Table: All Five Daily Prayers

This table shows the rakat breakdown for each of the five daily prayers. Fard = obligatory; Sunnah M = sunnah muakkadah (confirmed, strongly recommended); Sunnah G = sunnah ghair muakkadah (occasional, less emphasized); Witr = the closing night prayer.

Fard total per day: 17 rakats With all sunnah muakkadah + witr: 32+ rakats

Note: Minor variations exist between madhabs. The counts above reflect the majority Sunni position (Hanafi/Shafi'i/Maliki/Hanbali consensus on fard; sunnah counts follow the most commonly cited practice).

Breaking Down Each Prayer

How Many Rakats Is Fajr?

Fajr (Fair Dawn) is the first prayer of the day, prayed between true dawn and sunrise.

• 2 sunnah muakkadah (before fard) — The Prophet ﷺ said: "The two rakahs of Fajr are better than this world and everything in it" (Sahih Muslim 725). This is one of the most emphasized sunnah prayers in Islam.
• 2 fard — The obligatory prayer. This is the minimum for Fajr.

Total with sunnah: 4 rakats

For a detailed walkthrough, see how to pray Fajr.

How Many Rakats Is Dhuhr?

Dhuhr (Midday) is the longest sunnah prayer block of the day.

• 4 sunnah muakkadah (before fard)
• 4 fard
• 2 sunnah muakkadah (after fard)
• 2 optional nafl (additional voluntary)

Total with confirmed sunnah: 10 rakats. Dhuhr's generous sunnah window reflects its midday timing — a natural break that gives Muslims time for voluntary worship before the afternoon.

How Many Rakats Is Asr?

Asr (Afternoon) has a stripped-down sunnah structure.

• 4 sunnah ghair muakkadah (before fard) — practiced but not heavily emphasized
• 4 fard

Total minimum fard: 4 rakats. The Prophet ﷺ warned severely against missing Asr: "Whoever misses Asr prayer, it is as if he has been robbed of his family and wealth" (Sahih al-Bukhari 552). For details on its rakat breakdown, see Asr prayer how many rakat.

How Many Rakats Is Maghrib?

Maghrib (Sunset) is the only odd-numbered fard prayer.

• 3 fard — the obligatory core, ending with salaam after the third rakat
• 2 sunnah muakkadah (after fard)

Total with sunnah: 5 rakats. Maghrib's 3-rakat structure is unique among the five prayers and is one of the first things new Muslims notice about the salah pattern.

How Many Rakats Is Isha?

Isha (Night) has the most rakats when you include the optional components.

• 4 sunnah ghair muakkadah (before fard)
• 4 fard
• 2 sunnah muakkadah (after fard)
• 3 witr — the closing night prayer (wajib in Hanafi; sunnah muakkadah in other schools)

Total with confirmed sunnah + witr: 9 rakats (up to 13 with all optional). For the full Isha guide, see how to pray Isha.

Still struggling to perform salah properly?

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Understanding the Types of Rakats

Not all rakats are equal in status. This distinction matters because it determines how much effort you should put into each category.

The fard rakats are your non-negotiable foundation. The sunnah muakkadah prayers — especially Fajr's 2, Dhuhr's 4+2, Maghrib's 2, and Isha's 2 — are the next priority. The Prophet ﷺ said these sunnah prayers compensate for any deficiency in the fard prayers on the Day of Judgment (Sahih Muslim 728).

How to Use This Table in Daily Life

Start with Fard — Then Build

If you are new to salah or returning after a long gap, begin with the 17 daily fard rakats. Once these feel natural, add the sunnah muakkadah prayers. Start with Fajr's 2 sunnah before — the Prophet ﷺ said they are better than the world — and build from there.

When Traveling

The rukhsa (dispensation) for travelers allows shortening the four-rakat fard prayers (Dhuhr, Asr, Isha) to 2 rakats each. This reduces the daily fard to 11 rakats during travel. Sunnah prayers may also be deferred while traveling, though witr should still be observed. See the full five Muslim prayers guide for travel-specific guidance.

Building Consistency

The sunnah prayer structure exists precisely to help you stay connected with Allah throughout the day — not just at the five appointed times. Dhuhr's generous 10-rakat block is a natural midday pause. Isha's 3-rakat witr is a closing conversation with Allah before sleep.

For daily habit-building alongside your salah, the DeenBack guide on a daily prayer schedule offers a practical framework for building all five prayers into a busy day. And Demi Manifest's salah guide provides additional context for making each prayer intentional rather than mechanical.

For a deeper understanding of the full how many rakats in each prayer breakdown across schools of thought, that detailed guide is worth reading alongside this quick-reference table.

You can also find the complete breakdown for specific prayers in our guides on how to pray Fajr and Asr prayer rakat count.

The Prophetic Basis for These Counts

The rakat structure comes directly from the Sunnah. The Prophet ﷺ demonstrated the five prayers through action, and the Companions memorized and transmitted what they observed. Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them) narrated: "I prayed with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ two rakats before Dhuhr and two after, two after Maghrib in his house, and two after Isha in his house" (Sahih al-Bukhari 1180).

The Quran establishes the obligation of prayer (Surah An-Nisa, 4:103 — "Indeed, prayer has been decreed upon the believers a decree of specified times") but the specific structure — how many rakats, when to bow, what to recite — comes from the Prophet's practice. This is why authentic hadith collections like Sahih al-Bukhari at sunnah.com are essential for understanding salah correctly.

For scholarly grounding on why the prayer structure matters and what it achieves spiritually, Yaqeen Institute's research on Islamic spiritual practice is a helpful starting point.

Still struggling to perform salah properly?

Learn each prayer step by step, understand what you are saying, and build a consistent salah habit with clear, scholar-approved lessons in DeenUp.

Take the Salah Quiz

Common Questions About the Salat Rakat Table

What is the minimum number of rakats per day? The minimum is 17 fard rakats: 2 Fajr + 4 Dhuhr + 4 Asr + 3 Maghrib + 4 Isha. These are obligatory. Skipping any of them without a valid Islamic reason (illness, travel, etc.) is a serious matter.

Why does Maghrib have 3 rakats instead of 4? Maghrib has always been 3 rakats, and this is one of the distinctive features of Islamic prayer. The odd number reflects witr — the principle of praying in odd numbers that the Prophet ﷺ emphasized. Its exact origin is in the Sunnah: this is how the Prophet ﷺ prayed Maghrib, and it has been transmitted uninterrupted through the generations.

Is witr obligatory? The Hanafi school considers witr wajib (near-obligatory), making it close to compulsory. The Shafi'i, Maliki, and Hanbali schools consider it a highly confirmed sunnah. In all schools, it is strongly discouraged to abandon witr regularly. The Prophet ﷺ never abandoned it even while traveling (Sahih al-Bukhari 1000).

Do the sunnah counts change between madhabs? Minor variations exist. The Hanafi school counts more confirmed sunnah prayers than the Shafi'i and Maliki schools. The fard counts (17 total) are the same across all four major Sunni madhabs. The table above reflects the most widely cited counts — for madhab-specific guidance, consult a qualified scholar.

Can women and men pray different numbers of rakats? No — the rakat counts are the same for men and women. Some physical positions differ slightly (for example, how a woman positions her arms and body), but the number of rakats in each prayer is identical across genders.