What it means
رکعت (rak’at) refers to one complete unit of Islamic ritual prayer (namâz), made up of a specific sequence of postures: standing (qiyâm), bowing (ruku’), and two prostrations (sojud). The word comes from Arabic, from the root raka’a, meaning to bow. Each of the five daily prayers consists of a set number of rak’ats: sobh has two, zohr and asr each have four, maghreb has three, and eshâ has four. The plural in Persian is رکعات (rak’ât) in formal usage or simply رکعت with a number modifier in everyday speech.
How to use it
- نماز ظهر چهار رکعت دارد. (namâz-e zohr chahâr rak’at dârad.) “The midday prayer has four units.”
- در رکعت اول سوره حمد را میخوانیم. (dar rak’at-e avval sure-ye hamd râ mikhânim.) “In the first unit we recite Surah Al-Fatiha.”
- یک رکعت از نمازم را فراموش کردم. (yek rak’at az namâzam râ farâmush kardam.) “I forgot one unit of my prayer.”
- نماز مغرب سه رکعت است. (namâz-e maghreb se rak’at ast.) “The sunset prayer is three units.”
Cultural note
The رکعت is the fundamental building block of Islamic prayer and has remained structurally unchanged across the centuries in both Sunni and Shia practice. In Shia Islam as practiced in Iran, there are additional recommended prayers (namâz-e mostahab or nafel) beyond the obligatory ones, each with their own number of rak’ats. Understanding the concept of رکعت is indispensable for anyone learning how to perform namaz or for following conversations about prayer in Persian.