As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa raḥmatullāh
Abū Dāwūd, Nasā’ī · ḥasan. Replace the substitute with al-Fātiḥah as soon as you have learned it — see day 8.
First Forty Days 2 of 4
Week one Days 1–7 · one prayer a day, done properly, is the whole goal of this week
The shahādah, and one prayer. Use the short form. Bathe if you can.
Learn wuḍū. Eight steps; do it once slowly with the poster or a video in front of you, then again from memory.
Learn the five names and their times. Fajr, Ẓuhr, ‘Aṣr, Maghrib, ‘Ishā’. Install a prayer-time application set to your city.
Pray Maghrib at its time. Three units. It is the easiest to catch, and the first habit worth owning.
Learn Bismillāh and al-ḥamdu lillāh. Say the first before eating, the second after. Your first two daily habits outside prayer.
Visit a masjid, at a quiet hour if that is easier. Find where it is, when it opens, and who to speak to.
Pray Maghrib and ‘Ishā’ both. Two prayers a day from here on.
Week two Days 8–14 · learning the words you will use for the rest of your life
Begin al-Fātiḥah. Seven verses. Learn the first three this week — by listening far more than by reading.
Add Fajr. Three prayers a day. Fajr is the hardest and the most rewarding; sleep earlier rather than trying harder.
Learn what breaks wuḍū, and the rule that certainty is not removed by doubt.
Finish al-Fātiḥah. Replace the short substitute with it in every unit from today.
Learn Sūrat al-Ikhlāṣ. Four short verses, and a third of the Qur’ān in reward. Recite it after al-Fātiḥah.
Add ‘Aṣr. Four prayers a day. One remains.
Add Ẓuhr — all five. Two weeks in, you are praying what every Muslim prays.
If you are behind this schedule, you are not behind. It is a suggested order, not a deadline. Most people take two or three months to reach day 14, and that is entirely normal.
First Forty Days 3 of 4
Week three Days 15–21 · completing the prayer, and beginning the rest of the religion
Learn the tashahhud. The longest passage you will memorise for the prayer. Take three days over it.
Continue the tashahhud. Say aloud what you have, read the rest.
Finish the tashahhud, and add the ṣalāt upon the Prophet ﷺ in the final sitting.
Learn ghusl — when it is required, and how it is done. Plainly stated, and nothing to be embarrassed by.
Learn Sūrat al-Falaq and an-Nās. Recited in prayer, and over yourself at night.
Read about the six articles of faith. Allah, the angels, the books, the messengers, the Last Day, and the decree.
Attend Jumu‘ah. Friday midday, in congregation. Obligatory on men; women may attend and are not required to. Arrive early and sit at the back if it is easier.
Week four Days 22–28 · the daily life around the prayer
Learn the morning and evening adhkār — begin with Āyat al-Kursī and the three short sūrahs, morning and night.
Learn what food is lawful. Start with what is clearly forbidden — pork, alcohol, and meat not lawfully slaughtered. The details can wait.
Say the adhkār after each prayer — subḥānallāh, al-ḥamdu lillāh, Allāhu akbar, thirty-three each.
Read the life of the Prophet ﷺ — a short biography, a chapter at a time. You are following someone; know who.
Learn how to make du‘ā — in your own language, in your own words, at any hour. This is not a formal act and needs no Arabic.
Give something in charity, however small. Zakāt is a later matter; the habit is not.
Pray one prayer in congregation at the masjid. Four weeks in.
A note on family. Kindness to non-Muslim parents is not merely permitted but commanded — their right over you is unchanged, and Allah instructed the believer to accompany them in this world with kindness even where they oppose the faith itself (Q 31:15).
First Forty Days 4 of 4
Weeks five and six Days 29–40 · settling in
Learn the sunnah prayers around the five.
Learn how to make up a missed prayer: pray it as soon as you remember, and do not despair over it.
Learn sujūd as-sahw, for when you lose count.
Learn to pray when travelling — four units shortened to two.
Learn the adhkār for the home — entering, leaving, and the washroom.
Begin a fixed daily portion of the Qur’ān in translation — a page is enough.
Learn the basics of fasting, before Ramaḍān arrives.
Fast one voluntary day — a Monday or a Thursday — as practice.
Learn the manners of speech — and in particular what backbiting is.
Memorise a fourth short sūrah, so your prayers are not all identical.
Learn the first ḥadīth of an-Nawawī: actions are by intentions.
Look back at day one, and see the distance.