Raka'ah

The word transl|sem|rakaʿah ( _ar. ركعة, pl. ركعات "transl|sem|rakaʿāt") refers to one unit of Islamic prayer, or "Salah". Each daily prayer is made up of a different number of "raka'at":
* "Fajr" — The dawn prayer: 2 "raka'at"
* "Dhuhr" — The noon prayer: 4 "raka'at"
* "Asr" — The afternoon prayer: 4 "raka'at"
* "Maghrib" — The sunset prayer: 3 "raka'at"
* "Isha'a" — The night prayer: 4 "raka'at"

The Friday prayer consists of 2 "raka'at" and is prayed in place of the "Dhuhr" prayer on Friday.

What constitutes a Raka'at

* "Takbir"
* Supplications / Iftitah¹
* Recitation of "Sura Fatiha"
* Recitation of another sura
* "Ruk'u" (Bowing)
* Straightening up from "Ruk'u"
* Sajdah (The prostration)
* Rising from Sajdah
* The second "Sajdah"
* Tashahhud ²
* Salam (The salutation) ³

¹ Only performed in the first "raka'ah" of the prayer.
² Only first half of it is performed in the second "raka'ah" in a 3/4-Raka'ah prayer like Al-zuhr(4) or Al Maghreb(3), whereas all of it is performed in the final (last) raka'ah in any standard "n"-Raka'ah prayer (Salah).
³ Only performed in the final "raka'ah" of the prayer.