Tartib (Order in Prayer)

Tartib (Arabic: ترتيب) means "order" or "arrangement" and is an important principle in Shia fiqh that requires the prayer's actions to be performed in the correct sequence, and the daily prayers to be prayed in the right order.

Within prayer, tartib requires that the actions are performed in this order: qiyam (standing) with recitation, ruku (bowing), qawmah (rising), first sujud, juloos (sitting), second sujud. If one deliberately changes this order — e.g., performing sujud before ruku — the prayer is invalid. Imam al-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: "Prayer has a specific form — the one who changes it has invalidated it" (Wasail al-Shia, vol. 6).

Between the daily prayers, tartib requires that Dhuhr is prayed before Asr, and Maghrib is prayed before Isha. Fajr has its own time window. Imam al-Baqir (peace be upon him) said: "Do not pray Asr before Dhuhr or Isha before Maghrib" (Al-Kafi, vol. 3). If one mistakenly prays Asr before Dhuhr, one must pray Dhuhr and then repeat Asr.

Tartib also applies to qada prayers (makeup prayers): they must be prayed in the order they were missed, if the order is known. Islamic scholars explain that tartib is a wajib condition for the prayer's validity, and that deliberate neglect of tartib invalidates the prayer. The tartib principle reflects Islam's general emphasis on order, discipline, and respect for the divine arrangement in worship.