If a person does not know how to read or write, how can he pray?

There is a woman who does not know how to read or write, and she wants
to pray. What should she do?.
Praise be to Allaah.
You should note, may Allaah guide you, that this religion is a
religion of ease, as the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) said: "Religion is very easy and whoever overburdens himself
in his religion will not be able to continue in that way. So you
should not be extremists, but if you cannot be perfect, then try to be
near to perfection and receive the glad tidings that youwill be
rewarded; and what helps you to persistin worship is to do it at times
when you have most energy, such as at the beginning of the day, after
the sun has passed its zenith and at the end of the night." (Narrated
by al-Bukhaariin his Saheeh, no. 39).
If a person cannot read and write, then he has to learn what he should
say in his prayer, and how to pray. The fact that he cannot read or
write does not mean that he is unable to do that, because that is
easy, praise be to Allaah. Most of the Sahaabah could not read or
write, but they were able to pray well.
But if a person says, someone may be new in Islam, and if he wants to
learn what he should sayin his prayer, he needs time; the same applies
if he is unable to memorize al-Faatihah. So how should he pray?
The answer is: He should pray, and when he comes to the place where
Qur'aan is to be recited, he should glorifyAllaah, praise Him, magnify
Him and proclaim His Oneness, i.e., he should say Subhaan Allaah,
wa'l-hamdulillah wa Allaahu akbar wa laa ilaaha ill-Allaah (Glory beto
Allaah, praise be to Allaah, Allaah is Most Great and there is no god
but Allaah).
The evidence for that is the saheeh hadeeth narrated from Rafaa'ah ibn
Raafi' – the hadeeth about the one who did not pray properly –
according to which the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) saidto him: "If you have memorized some Qur'aan,
then recite it, otherwise praise Allaah, glorify Him and proclaimHis
Oneness)." (Narrated and classed as hasan by al-Tirmidhi, al-Jaami',
no. 302. Also narrated byAbu Dawood in his Sunan, no. 858; classed as
saheeh by al-Albaani, see Saheeh Abi Dawood, no. 767).
And Allaah knows best.