How Many Rakats in Each Prayer? The Complete Chart
The five daily prayers contain 17 obligatory (fard) rakats in total: Fajr has 2, Dhuhr has 4, Asr has 4, Maghrib has 3, and Isha has 4. Around them sit the voluntary sunnah rakats — 2 before Fajr, 4 before and 2 after Dhuhr, 2 after Maghrib, 2 after Isha — and the Witr prayer that closes the night. This guide gives you the full chart, explains what fard, sunnah and nafl mean, and covers the two cases where the counts change: travel and Friday prayer.
Quick Answer — Fard Rakats per Prayer
- Fajr (dawn): 2 rakats
- Dhuhr (midday): 4 rakats
- Asr (afternoon): 4 rakats
- Maghrib (sunset): 3 rakats
- Isha (night): 4 rakats
Total: 17 fard rakats every day. These are the required minimum — the sunnah rakats and Witr below are voluntary additions, not obligations.
Rakats in Each Prayer: The Full Chart
This is the complete picture most people are looking for: the obligatory rakats of each prayer, plus the sunnah rakats prayed before and after them. “Emphasised” marks the confirmed sunnah (sunnah mu'akkadah) — the ones the Prophet ﷺ prayed consistently. “Optional” marks the lighter, non-emphasised sunnah he prayed sometimes.
| Prayer | Fard | Sunnah before | Sunnah after | Witr & notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fajr الفجر | 2 | 2 (emphasised) | — | The 2 sunnah before Fajr are the most emphasised of all. |
| Dhuhr الظهر | 4 | 4 (emphasised) | 2 (emphasised) | Hanafis pray the 4 before as one set; others as two pairs. |
| Asr العصر | 4 | 4 (optional) | — | No confirmed sunnah — the 4 before are non-emphasised. |
| Maghrib المغرب | 3 | 2 (optional) | 2 (emphasised) | The 2 before are a lighter, optional sunnah. |
| Isha العشاء | 4 | — | 2 (emphasised) | Witr closes the night: 1–11 rakats, most commonly 3. |
| Daily total | 17 | 12 emphasised sunnah | + Witr after Isha | |
A rakat(also written rak'ah or rak'at) is one complete unit of prayer: standing and reciting, bowing (ruku), rising, and two prostrations (sujud). Every salah is built from these repeating units — the only thing that changes between prayers is how many you pray. For the movements and words inside each unit, see our step-by-step guide on how to pray salah.
Fard, Wajib, Sunnah, Nafl — What the Labels Mean
The chart above uses labels that describe how required each set of rakats is. Islamic law grades acts of worship by obligation, and knowing the grades removes most of the confusion about what you “have” to pray:
Fard (obligatory)
Required of every adult Muslim. The 17 daily fard rakats are the core of the religion's practice; missing one deliberately without a valid excuse is a serious sin, and a missed fard prayer should be made up.
Wajib (necessary — a Hanafi category)
The Hanafi school recognises a rank just below fard, called wajib. Witr is the best-known example: Hanafis treat it as a necessary duty, while the other schools file it under emphasised sunnah. The practical effect is that a Hanafi takes Witr as seriously as an obligation.
Sunnah Mu'akkadah (emphasised sunnah)
The voluntary rakats the Prophet ﷺ prayed so consistently that leaving them was rare — the 12 daily rakats marked “emphasised” in the chart. Not sinful to miss, but strongly encouraged. Our sunnah prayers guide covers each one in detail.
Sunnah Ghayr Mu'akkadah & Nafl (optional)
The lighter sunnah — like the 4 rakats before Asr and the 2 before Maghrib — plus any extra voluntary prayer offered purely for reward. Praised and rewarded, with no blame at all for leaving them. Night prayers such as Tahajjud fall here too; see Qiyam al-Layl: Tahajjud, Tarawih & Witr.
Prayer by Prayer: The Breakdown Behind the Chart
Fajr — 2 fard (+ 2 sunnah before)
The dawn prayer is the shortest of the five: just 2 obligatory rakats, recited aloud. The 2 sunnah rakats before it carry the strongest emphasis of any voluntary prayer — the Prophet ﷺ called them better than the world and all it contains (reported by Muslim) and kept them even while travelling, when other sunnah were dropped.
After the fard of Fajr, voluntary prayer is paused until the sun has fully risen — one of the small windows in the day when extra rakats are not offered.
Dhuhr — 4 fard (+ 4 sunnah before, 2 after)
The midday prayer has 4 obligatory rakats, recited quietly. It carries the largest sunnah package of the day: 4 emphasised rakats before and 2 after. The 4 before are prayed as two pairs of two in most schools, while the Hanafi school prays them as a single set of four with one closing salam.
Some also add 2 further rakats after Dhuhr, based on reports encouraging four before and four after — a practice scholars describe as praiseworthy but not part of the confirmed twelve.
Asr — 4 fard (no confirmed sunnah)
The afternoon prayer is 4 obligatory rakats, also recited quietly. Asr is the one daily prayer with no emphasised sunnah attached. There is a lighter, optional practice of 4 rakats before it, based on the Prophet's ﷺ supplication for those who pray four before Asr (reported by Tirmidhi) — recommended, but not blameworthy to leave.
After Asr, as after Fajr, general voluntary prayer pauses until Maghrib. Note that the start time of Asr itself differs between the Shafi'i and Hanafi methods — a separate topic from the rakat count.
Maghrib — 3 fard (+ 2 sunnah after)
The sunset prayer is the only one with an odd number of obligatory rakats: 3, with the first two recited aloud. The 2 sunnah rakats after it are emphasised and, like other voluntary prayers, best prayed at home.
There is also an optional 2 rakats in the short gap between the Maghrib adhan and the congregation — the Prophet ﷺ encouraged them for whoever wishes (reported by Bukhari), which is why the chart lists them as optional rather than emphasised.
Isha — 4 fard (+ 2 sunnah after, then Witr)
The night prayer has 4 obligatory rakats, with the first two recited aloud. Two emphasised sunnah rakats follow it and complete the daily twelve. The night is then sealed with Witr — an odd-numbered prayer of 1 to 11 rakats, most commonly 3.
Witr's status is the clearest school difference in the whole chart: the Hanafi school counts it as wajib (necessary) and prays it as 3 connected rakats, while the Maliki, Shafi'i and Hanbali schools treat it as an emphasised sunnah with more flexible formats. All agree it should not be habitually skipped.
Traveling? The Counts Change (Qasr)
Islam builds ease into the prayer for travelers. The concession is called qasr(shortening), and it comes directly from the Qur'an (4:101): when you travel, the 4-rakat prayers are shortened to 2.
| Prayer | At home | Traveling (qasr) |
|---|---|---|
| Fajr | 2 | 2 (unchanged) |
| Dhuhr | 4 | 2 |
| Asr | 4 | 2 |
| Maghrib | 3 | 3 (unchanged) |
| Isha | 4 | 2 |
Fajr and Maghrib keep their counts — only the three 4-rakat prayers shrink. A traveler's daily fard total therefore drops from 17 to 11 rakats. Most scholars also excuse the traveler from the sunnah rakats, with one famous exception: the 2 before Fajr, which the Prophet ﷺ kept even on journeys. Witr also stays.
Who counts as a traveler, how far you must go, and how prayers can also be combined(jam') on the road are their own topic — our guide to prayer while traveling walks through the distances and the school positions.
Friday: Jumu'ah Replaces Dhuhr With 2 Rakats
Once a week the chart changes for those who attend the mosque. On Friday, the congregational Jumu'ah prayer takes the place of Dhuhr. Its format is different: 2 rakats prayed in congregation, preceded by the khutbah (sermon) in two parts. The khutbah is an essential part of the prayer's format — arriving after it and only catching the 2 rakats is not the complete Jumu'ah experience the day asks for.
Two practical rules follow. First, whoever prays Jumu'ah does notpray Dhuhr that day — the 2 rakats stand in for the 4. Second, whoever misses Jumu'ah (or is not required to attend, such as women, travelers and the ill — though they are welcome) simply prays the normal 4-rakat Dhuhr at home. Sunnah rakats are still prayed around Jumu'ah, commonly 4 after it in the mosque or 2 at home.
Lost Count Mid-Prayer? Here's the Rule
Everyone blanks mid-prayer sometimes — suddenly you cannot remember whether you are on the third rakat or the fourth. The ruling is simple and merciful:
Build on what you are certain of
Take the smaller number — the one you are sure you completed — and continue from there. Unsure whether it was 3 or 4? Treat it as 3 and pray the remaining rakat.
Perform sujud al-sahw before you finish
Add the two prostrations of forgetfulness (sujud al-sahw) to patch the doubt. The schools differ on whether they fall just before or just after the closing salam; both positions are established, so follow the practice of your school or local imam.
The prayer does not need to be restarted, and an honest mistake carries no sin. That is the whole point of sujud al-sahw: the prayer is repaired from inside, not thrown away.
Rakat Counts for Other Common Prayers
The five daily prayers are the core, but the same question comes up for the occasional and voluntary prayers too. Here are the counts for the ones people ask about most:
Tarawih (Ramadan nights)
8 or 20 rakatsPrayed in pairs after Isha through Ramadan. Both 8 and 20 are long-standing, valid practices — mosques differ, and neither is wrong.
Eid prayer
2 rakatsPrayed in congregation in the morning of each Eid, with extra takbeers added in both rakats and a khutbah after the prayer.
Duha (forenoon)
2 to 8 rakatsPrayed in pairs from shortly after sunrise until before Dhuhr. Two rakats is the minimum; the Prophet ﷺ is reported to have prayed up to eight.
Tahajjud (late night)
2 rakats at a timeNo fixed total — prayed in pairs after waking from sleep. The Prophet's ﷺ own night prayer was most often eleven rakats including Witr.
Istikhara and other need prayers
2 rakatsVoluntary prayers offered for a specific purpose — seeking guidance, or asking for a need — are two rakats followed by their du'a.
Janazah (funeral prayer)
No rakatsThe one prayer with no rakats at all: it is prayed entirely standing, with four takbeers and no bowing or prostration.
Where Do the Numbers Come From?
The rakat counts are not derived from logic or chosen by scholars — they were fixed by the Prophet ﷺ himself, who told his community to pray as they saw him pray. That is why all four schools of law, and Muslims across every region and century, agree on the same 17 fard rakats. The school differences you will meet in practice sit at the edges — the status of Witr, how to group the sunnah of Dhuhr — never on the obligatory counts themselves.
It is also reported from Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) that prayer was first prescribed as two rakats, and was later lengthened for the resident while the traveler's prayer kept its original two (reported by Bukhari and Muslim). That early history is why qasr is not a discount but a return: when you shorten Dhuhr to two rakats on a journey, you are praying the prayer in its oldest form.
🔔 The counts are easy — the timing is where prayers slip
Prayer Times Near Me Pro reminds you before each of the five windows opens, so all 17 fard rakats — and the sunnah around them — land on time. Try it free for 14 days.
Start 14-Day Free TrialFrequently Asked Questions
How many rakats are in the five daily prayers in total?
17 obligatory (fard) rakats: 2 in Fajr, 4 in Dhuhr, 4 in Asr, 3 in Maghrib, and 4 in Isha. The 12 confirmed sunnah rakats and Witr come on top of these, but they are voluntary.
How many rakats is Fajr?
2 fard rakats, preceded by 2 sunnah rakats. Those 2 sunnah are the most emphasised voluntary prayer of all — the Prophet ﷺ described them as better than the world and everything in it (Muslim) and kept them even while travelling.
Is Witr obligatory?
In the Hanafi school, Witr is wajib — a necessary duty just below fard, prayed as 3 connected rakats. The other three schools treat it as a strongly emphasised sunnah of 1 to 11 rakats, commonly 3. All schools agree it should not be habitually neglected.
How many rakats do travelers pray?
The 4-rakat prayers shorten to 2 (qasr), so Dhuhr, Asr and Isha become 2 each while Fajr stays 2 and Maghrib stays 3 — 11 fard rakats instead of 17. The concession comes from the Qur'an (4:101).
How many rakats is Jumu'ah?
2 rakats in congregation, preceded by the khutbah. For those who attend, it replaces the 4 rakats of Dhuhr. Whoever misses it prays the normal 4-rakat Dhuhr instead.
What if I forget how many rakats I've prayed?
Build on the number you are certain of — the smaller one — finish the prayer, and add the two prostrations of forgetfulness (sujud al-sahw). The prayer does not need to be restarted, and an honest mistake carries no sin.
Related Guides
17 rakats, five windows — never miss one
See exactly when Fajr, Dhuhr, Asr, Maghrib, and Isha open for your city today, with a live countdown to the next prayer.
See today's prayer times →