The following supplications are recommended to be recite before beginning one’s prayers.
One Takbir is sufficient for beginning the prayer however it is mustaḥab to perform 7 takbirs and making the 7th takbir, the takbīratul iḥrām, and perform the others with the intention of nearness to Allāh.
Perform three takbīrāt and then say:
ظَلَمْتُ نَفْسِي فَاغْفِرْ لِي ذَنْبِـي إِنَّهُ لاَ يَغْفِرُ الذُّنُوبَ إِلاَّ أَنْتَ
Allahumma anta al-malik al-haqq; lā ilāha illā anta Subhānaka inni zalamtu nafsi fa’ghfir li dhanbi, innahu la yaghfiru al-dhunub illā anta
“O Allah, You are the True King; there is no god but You, glory be to You, I have wronged myself, so forgive me my sin. Surely none forgives sins but You.”
Perform two takbīrāt and then say:
لاَ مَلْجَأَ مِنْكَ إِلاَّ إِلَيْكَ سُبْحَانَكَ وَحَنَانَيْكَ تَبَارَكْتَ وَتَعَالَيْتَ سُبْحَانَكَ رَبَّ الْبَيْتِ
Labbayk wa sa’dayk, wa’l khayr fi yadayk, wa’l sharr laysa ilayk; wa’l mahdi man hadayta. La malja’ minka illa ilayka. Subhanaka wa hanānayka. Tabārakta wa ta’ālayta Subhānaka Rabb al-bayt.
“Here I am at your service. Good is in Your hands and evil cannot be ascribed to You; the rightly guided is the one You have guided. There is no refuge from You except in You. Glory be to You and I ask Your mercy. Blessed are You and Exalted. Glory be to You, Lord of the House.”
Perform two takbīrāt and then say:
إِنِّ صَلاَتِي وَنُسُكِي وَمَـحْيَايَ وَمَمَاتِي لِلهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ لاَ شَرِيكَ لَهُ وَبِذٰلِكَ أُمِرْتُ وَأَنَا مِنَ الْمُسْلِمِينَ
Wajjahatu wajhi li’lladhi fatara‘s samāwāt wa’l ard; ‘ālim al-ghayb wa’s shahādah, hanifann musliman wa mā ana min al-mushrikin. Inna salati wa nusuki wa mahyāya wa mamāti li’llāhi rabbi’l ‘alamin; la sharika lahu; wa bi dhālika umirtu wa anā min al-muslimin.
“I have turned my face to He Who created the heavens and the earth; the Knower of the Unseen and the Witnessed; upright, submissively and I am not one of those who ascribe equals to Him. [Q, 6:79] Surely my prayer, my ritual sacrifice, my living, my dying – all belongs to Allah, the Lord of all Being. No associate has he. Even so I have been commanded, and I am of those who surrender.” [Q, 6:162-3]
Then recite the Isti’ādha (verse of taking refuge) and begin the ṣalāt by reciting Sūrah al-ḥamd:
