Concealment of Khushoo
Rulings on Khushoo'
The means of developing Khushoo'
Knowing the advantages of Khushoo' in Salaah
Warding off distractions and things that adversely affect khushoo
When a person suffers a great deal of waswaas
In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious Most Merciful
All Praise is for Allah Alone and Salutations are for His Messenger, Muhammad (),
his companions and his family and all those who follow them with Ehsaan.
(Ameen)
Lord of the Worlds,
Who has said in His book (interpretation of the meaning), “…and stand before Allah with obedience” [al-Baqarah 2:238] and has said concerning the
prayer (interpretation of the meaning): “… and truly it is extremely heavy and hard except for
al-khaashi‟oon…‟ [Al-Baqarah
2:45]; and peace and blessings be upon the leader of the pious, the chief of
al-khaashi‟oon, Muhammad the Messenger of
Allah, and on all his family and companions. Salaah is the greatest of the
practical pillars of Islam, and khushoo‟ in prayer is required by sharee‟ah. When Iblees, the enemy of Allah, vowed to
mislead and tempt the sons of Adam and said “Then I will come to them from before them and behind them, from
their right and from their left…” [al-A‟raaf 7:17, interpretation of
the meaning], one of his most significant plots became to divert people from
salaah by all possible means and to whisper to them during their prayer so as
to deprive them of the joy of this worship and cause them to lose the reward
for it. As khushoo‟ will be the first thing to
disappear from the earth, and we are living in the last times, the words of
Hudhayfah (may Allah be pleased with him) are particularly pertinent to us: “The first thing of your religion that you will
lose is khushoo‟, and the last thing that
you will lose of your religion is salaah. There may be a person praying who has
no goodness in him, and soon you will enter the mosque and not find anyone who
has khushoo‟.” (al-Madaarij, 1/521). Because of what every person
knows about himself, and because of the complaints that one hears from many
people about waswaas (insinuating thoughts from Shaytan) during the salaah and
the loss of khushoo‟, the need for some discussion
of this matter is quite obvious. The following is a reminder to myself and to
my Muslim brothers, and I ask Allah to make it of benefit. Allah says
(interpretation of the meaning): “Successful indeed are the believers, those who offer their
salaah (prayers) with all solemnity and full submissiveness.” [al-Mu‟minoon 23:1-2] – i.e., fearing Allah and in a calm
manner. Khushoo‟ means calmness, serenity,
tranquility, dignity and humility. What makes a person have this khushoo‟ is fear of Allah and the sense that He is always
watching. (Tafseer Ibn Katheer, Daar al-Sha‟b edn., 6/414). Khushoo‟ means that the heart stands before the Lord in
humility and submission. (al-Madaarij, 1/520).
It was reported that Mujaahid said: “‟…and stand before Allah with obedience” [al-Baqarah
2:238 – interpretation of the meaning]‟ – part of obedience is to bow, to be
solemn and submissive, to lower one‟s gaze and to humble oneself out of fear of Allah,
may He be glorified.” (Ta‟zeem Qadr al-Salaah, 1/188).
The site of khushoo‟ is the heart, and its effects
are manifested in the physical body. The various faculties follow the heart: if
the heart is corrupted by negligence or insinuating whispers from Shaytan, the
worship of the body‟s faculties will also be
corrupt. The heart is like a king and the faculties are like his troops who
follow his orders and go where they are commanded. If the king is deposed, his
followers are lost, which is like what happens when the heart does not worship
properly. Making a show of khushoo‟ is condemned.
To proceed:
Salaah (Prayer) as is defined by the Scholars of Islam is an act of worship consisting of specific sayings accompanying specific actions, at specific times. It begins with “Takbeer” and ends with “Tasleem”.
While
thinking about this topic, I started mentally rewinding all the series and
lectures, books or articles I had heard/read about khushoo and its importance
in salah. However, what I soon realized was that it didn’t matter how much I
read or how many lectures I listened to, the effect of having khushoo only
lasted for a few prayers but was not a consistent element in my salah.
For those who are not really
sure what ‘khushoo’ is, it’s most often translated as sincerity and
concentration during salah, where you focus only on speaking with your Creator
and not getting distracted by worldly affairs.4
A famous speaker portrayed a
very powerful and beautiful definition of khushoo. He said khushoo is a feeling
when your limbs and mind become numb, when you can’t think or hear about
anything else around you because you are standing in front of the King, the
Master and speaking to Him.
Sadly, there have been
instances when I rush through the salah and sometimes even forget if I am
praying the 3rd rakat or the 4th one! In trying to figure out where I was going
wrong repeatedly,
This sacred and noble act of Salaah maybe divided into separate but interrelated components.
First: The body or the external aspects of the Salaah (Prayer). This comprises of its mechanical components and includes purification, standing, bowing, prostrating, sitting, recitation of the Quran and all the other apparent aspects. All these aspects must be performed correctly before anyone’s Salaah can be said to be Sahih (correct). This aspect is dealt with in all its details in the
books of Fiqh.
Undoubtedly, those who translate and write about Islam in English have excellent works that would assist Muslims in understanding performane of the external aspect of the Salaah (i.e. the body of the Salaah). However, very little time is spent on emphasizing the importance of consciousness of Allah in the Salaah. Consequently, what we find is that most of the translated and written works deal with the rules governing the various components of the external aspects of Salaah. Due to this lack of emphasis on AlKhushoo’ by the various authors its significance has therefore, been also deemphasized by the average worshipper.
The importance of the external aspects of the Prayer cannot be deemphasized and we must warn our brothers and sisters that if they are negligent in learning the outward manifestations of the Salaah that this can lead to destruction. All aspects of the Prayer must be well understood so that they can pray as the Messenger of Allah () did.
He () commanded:
“Pray as you see me pray.” [AlBukhari]
This command directly relates to the outward aspects of the Salaah. Hence all Muslims must make every effort to know how the Prophet () prayed, so that we can obey this command of his.
However, this work is not related to the external aspects, so much time would not be spent here dealing with the Fiqh (rules governing the performance) of Salaah.
This short exhortation should suffice to create an interest in our brothers and sisters so that they would make much more effor to learn all aspects of Salaah properly.
Second: The spirit or the internal aspects of the Salaah which comprises of the following:
Purity of Niyyah (Intention)
AlKhushoo’ means being completely solemn, submissive and humble to Allah during our performance of Prayer.
Muslims should at no time make their prayers ritualistic. However, the sad thing is that most of
us have unconsciously fallen prey to this. The following narration will help us to understand this. Jubair bin Nufair narrates from `Aus ibn Maalik that the Messenger of Allah () looked towards the sky and said:
“It is now the time when knowledge shall be raised up.” So a man from the Ansaar called Ziyaad ibn Labeed said: “O Messenger of Allah! Will knowledge be raised up, when it has been established and the hearts have stored it?” The Messenger of Allah () said: “I used to regard you as the best man of understanding among the people of Madinah; did the Jews and the Christians not have the Tauraat and the Injeel? So what benefit did this bring them?” [AnNasa`i, Ahmad, AlHaakim, Ibn Hibbaan]
After reporting the Hadeeth, Jubair said, I later met Shaddaad ibn `Aus, so he said: “`Aus has spoken truthfully. Shall I not inform you of the first part of the knowledge that will be taken up?” I sad: “Of course.” He said: Khushoo’ (humility and consciousness) in prayer, until you will not see one attentive worshipper.”
It is when the external and the internal aspects of the Salaah are properly combined that it manifests itself through the personality of the one performing the Salaah as is stated by Allah, the AllKnowing:
“Verily, Salaah (Prayer) prevents from AlFahshaa (i.e. illegal sexual intercourse) and AlMunkar (disbelief, polytheism or every kind of wicked and evil deed).” [Al’Ankaboot 29:45]
The above ayah clearly declares that the person who prays should not find within himself any of these two characteristics. This is so because when someone performs Salaah with consciousness and humility, then this Salaah works as a check for him, and in turn helps him to keep away from doing evil deeds.
The Need for Emphasizing AlKhushoo’
As was mentioned above Khushoo’ means to be solemn, submissive and humble to Allah the Almighty, during the performance of the Salaah (Prayer). Khushoo’, which is the most important aspect of the Prayer, has to be present before it (the prayer) is fully accepted by Allah (). He, the AlMighty said:
“Successful indeed are the believers: those who offer their prayers with Khushoo’ (solemnity and full submissiveness)…” [AlMuminoon 23:12]
Implied in this also is that one must be totally conscious of Allah and let his/her heart be alive with His remembrance during the performance of Salaah.
Therefore, if anyone finds that he is heedless whilst standing before Allah the Great during his prayer because his heart is directed to ther things, naturally when he is not involved in it (i.e. Salaah) he would become more vulnerable to indulge in disobedience to Allah (), because it is less likely for him to be aware of Allah then. If one performs his Fajr (Dawn) Salaah consciously and becomes involved in his daily affairs, he would be ashamed to do anything evil because he would be aware that he has an appointment to stand before his Lord again atnoontime.
Compare this type of consciousness with another person who goes to his Fajr Salaah, but his heart is on everything but Allah (). Another example is that of a Muslim who performs his Salaah because this is what he had been taught a Muslim must do. Therefore, all it is to him is habit, and nothing more than a series of ritualistic standings, sittings, and bowings.
Obviously the effects of the Salaah on these categories of
People described above will not be the same.
Definitely, the effects upon the person who is conscious of what he is doing during his Salaah and is aware that he is being moitored would be different from the one who is heedless and negligent or the one who performs it as a ritual.
Heedlessness of Allah during the Salaah is the natural state of most of the praying Muslims living in our time. Their only struggle is centered on the fact that they must pray on time and that they must get the standing, sitting, bowing and other external aspects over with (i.e. for those
who are that conscious). No time is spent to ensure that they correct the state of their hearts during the Salaah. What is important to them, it seems, is that they perform the mechanical aspects of the Salaah. Subsequently, when they find five minutes of spare time they quickly rush through their Salaah to get rid of ‘the burden’ on them.
It is important to realize that during Salaah, the heart is incapable of desiring both Allah and worldly possessions such as our children, money, etc. simultaneously, this is stated emphatically by Allah. He said:
“Allah has not put for any man two hearts inside his body…” [AlAhzaab 33:4]
Now, to what is our heart attached when we pray? Is it attached to Allah, or to the worldly things; if it is attached to the latter then clearly our loyalties are in the wrong place. This shows that our love and the attachments of our hearts are directed to the world and whatever is in it. Whereas Allah commands us to love Him i.e. attach ourselves to Him, He says:
“Say (O Muhammad): If your fathers, and your sons, and your brothers, and your spouses, and your tribe, and the wealth you have acquired, and the merchandise for which you fear there will be no sale, and the dwellings you desire, are more loved to you than Allah and His Messenger and Jihaad in His way, then wait until Allah brings His command (punishment) to pass…” [AtTaubah 9:24]
Now let us compare ourselves to those people Allah has commanded us to follow their pattern (i.e. the Prophet () and his companions). Their attitude during the performance of their Salaah was completely different from the majority of us. Even while they were busy with their everyday chores outside the Masjid, their hearts were obsessed with returning to the Masjid to stand in communion with their Lord again. Can we imagine the state of their hearts during the performance of the Prayer?
They were conscious that they were always being monitored because they were living in the shade of the Revelation. Observing this attitude shows us to what extent their hearts were attached to Allah and the Hereafter. What it emphasizes to us also how very far away we are in our attitude from those whom we are commanded to emulate.
The Importance of Khushoo’
When we analyze the statements of Allah and His Messenger () related to Salaah, we find that undoubtedly AlKhushoo’ appears to be more important than the outward aspects of Salaah, because the value of the Prayer is directly related to the depth of fervency the servant of Allah can achieve during its perfomance.
Allah commands us to be Humble in Salaah,
“Stand (in Prayer) to Allah in a devout frame of mind…” [AlBaqarah 2:238]
He also commands us to be conscious in Salaah. He said:
“Establish Salaah for My remembrance.” [Taha 20:14]
The Messenger of Allah () said:
“From among us is one who prays his Salaah completely and another who prays half, or a third, or a quarter” until he () reached a tenth. [AnNasa`i]
Subsequently, we can conclude from the above statement of the Messenger of Allah () that what is recorded from anyone’s prayer is that part of it in which he was conscious of Allah, the Great.
Allah, Himself lauded those people who have achieved AlKhushoo’ (solemnity, humility, and full submissiveness) when offering prayers.
He says:
“Successful indeed are the believers: those who offer their prayers with Khushoo’ (solemnity and full submissiveness)” [AlMu’minoon 23:12]
Therefore, if anyone wants to be among those who are successful, then they have to try to achieve the noble characteristic of AlKhushoo’ in their Salaah. After all, it is the Creator, Himself Who is informing us that this is one of the yardsticks to measure whether we are successful or
not.
Bringing Home the Reality
When someone dies, what occurs? Everything but the soul is present in the body. This body still possesses the mouth, nose, heart, brain and all other mechanism it needs to function, yet it does not. Why? Obviously, because the soul is absent.
Does this body that is devoid of a soul have value? Certainly not. Proof of this is evident in the actions of those who love him the most while he was alive amongst them. When this soul departs, the one who loves him tries to get rid of him quickly. Is this not so?
If someone who is __________dearest to the dead person and loves him most when he was alive were to be asked to sleep with this body now hat it has no soul, would he want to? They would not even think of it. All that occupies the minds of those near to him is what is the most effective way to get rid of it.
If, however, the soul returns, then so does its value return. This body with a soul now has value. As long as the soul is present, even if the person had a severe accident and his face is so severely battered up that he can no longer be recognized. Even if he cannot hear, or see or speak anymore, or even if he is in a coma and in now considered a ‘living vegetable’, as long as his soul is there, then all efforts will be made to keep him alive. As we emphasized before, so long as the soul remains, then its value remains.
Likewise is the case with AsSalaah (the Prayer). The standing sitting, bowing, prostrating, etc. makes up the body of the Salaah, its soul/spirit is AlKhushoo’ (full solemnity coupled with submissiveness)and if it is absent in the Salaah,
then so is its value The Salaah without the
Khushoo’ would be now a set of empty rituals. Consider a very sick person who cannot stand up to pray, and so he offers his Salaah lying down but he is totally conscious of Allah (), then his Salaah will contain a great value although the external aspects (the body of the prayer) were all absent. This is not the same if the position is reversed because as we pointed out before: If AlKhushoo’ (full solemnity coupled with full submissiveness) is absent in the Salaah, then so is its value.
The Messenger of Allah () said:
“…When you pray, do not look here and there because Allah directs His Face towards the face of His ‘abd (worshipper) who is praying, as long as he does not turn away (or look away)” [AtTirmidhi and Haakim]
The Messenger () also said:
“Allah does not cease to turn to a slave in his prayer as long as he is not looking around; when he turns his face,
Allah turns away from him.” [Abu Dawood, Ibn Hibbaan, Ibn Khuzaimah]
What is the meaning of ‘turning away (or looking away)’? For the person who is observing prayer it has two meanings:
1) The physical turning away (looking to the right or left or otherwise) during the prayer
2) Turning away from Allah with the heart i.e. letting one’s concentration be directed to other than the Almighty.
Both types of ‘turning away’ described above are Haraam in Islam (forbidden i.e. the person who is guilty of it is sinning).
The first of the two types of turning away (i.e. the physical turning away) we can try to control, and there is no doubt that this can be achieved with a fair amount of ease. However, the most serious problem for all of us is the turning away with our hearts and directing our concentration on other than Allahduring prayer.
Is this not the reality with most of us?
The following example should illustrate this for us very clearly:
Take the case of a brother who invited some brothers to his house for dinner after Maghrib(after sunset) prayer and forgot. However, just as he was about to pronounce the ‘Takbeer’ to start his Maghrib prayer, Satan came to him and whispered into his chest, reminding him of the invitation that would take place after the Prayer. Immediately he began to worry, and allowed his mind to dwell on this during the Prayer. However, Satan returned to him
again and whispered ‘Do not worry’
and presented him a list of things to do, prompting him to go to such and such store and such and such restaurant and to buy all the things he would need to honor his gests. Just when everything was carefully planned in his mind the Imaam pronounced the ‘Tasleem’ to indicate that the Salaah is completed.
Should such a person be rewarded for his Salaah as is one who performs his/her Salaah with Khushoo’? Obviously not. Therefore, do you expect Allah to reward him for it?
Now ask yourself: Is your Salaah like this? If it is, then it means that the most important part of your Salaah the Khushoo’ is missing and you have to really start paying attention to it to correct this great deficiency.
Certainly no one desires that when he stands before Allah, the Just for judgment that he is informed that he had not performed any of his Salaah properly. Also, he should not expect any reward for something he did not do.
Our obligation and that of the brother used in this example would be to postpone all other thinking for the five or ten minutesthat it would take for the Salaah to be completed. However, we have to realize that this is our biggest battle because our greatest enemy Satan is very envious of anyone who prostrates to Allah. As such he would try his utmost to ensure that he thwarts us from performing this noble act.
Among the signs of sincerity are:
Concealment of khushoo’
Hudhayfah (may Allah be pleased with him) used to
say: “Beware of the khushoo‟ of hypocrisy.” He was asked, “What is the
khushoo‟ of hypocrisy?” He said,
“When the body shows khushoo‟ but there is no khushoo‟ in the heart.” Fudayl ibn „Ayaad said: “It was disliked for a man to show more khushoo‟ than he had in his heart.” One of them saw a man showing khushoo‟ in his shoulders and body, and said, “O So and so, khushoo‟ is here” – and he pointed to his chest, “not
here” – and he pointed to his shoulders. (al-Madaarij, 1/521)
Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) said, explaining the
difference between the khushoo‟ of true faith and the khushoo‟ of hypocrisy: “The khushoo‟ of true faith is when the heart feels aware and humble before
the greatness and glory of Allah, and is filled with awe, fear and shyness, so
that the heart is utterly humbled before Allah and broken, as it were, with
fear, shyness, love and the recognition of the blessings of Allah and its own
sins. So no doubt the khushoo‟ of the heart is followed by the khushoo‟ of the body. As for the khushoo‟ of hypocrisy, it is something that is put on
with a great show, but there is no khushoo‟ in the heart. One of the Sahaabah used to say,
„I seek refuge with Allah from the khushoo‟ of hypocrisy.” It was said to him, „What is the
khushoo‟ of hypocrisy?‟ He said, “When the body appears to have khushoo‟ but there is no khushoo‟ in the heart.‟ The person who truly feels khushoo‟ before Allah is a person who no long feels the
flames of physical desire; his heart is pure and is filled with the light of
the greatness of Allah. His own selfish desires have died because of the fear
and awe which have filled his heart to overflowing so that his physical
faculties have calmed down, his heart has become dignified and feels secure in
Allah the remembrance of Him, and tranquillity descends upon him from his Lord.
So he has become humble (mukhbit) before Allah, and the one who is humble is
the one who is assured. Land that is “mukhbit” is land that is low-lying, in
which water settles, so the heart that is “mukhbit” is humble and content, like
a low-lying spot of land into which
water flows and settles. The sign of this is that a person
prostrates to his Lord out of respect and humility, and never raises his head
until he meets Him. The arrogant heart, on the other hand, is one that is
content with its arrogance and raises itself up like an elevated portion of
land in which water never settles. This is the khushoo‟ of true faith.” As for overdoing it, and the
khushoo‟ of hypocrisy, this is the
attitude of a person who tries to make a great show of khushoo‟, but deep down he is still filled with desires.
So on the outside he appears to have khushoo‟, but the snake of the valley and the lion of the
forest reside within him, watching for prey. (Al-Rooh, p. 314, Daar al-Firk edn., Jordan). “Khushoo‟ in prayer happens when a person empties his heart
for it (prayer), and focuses on it to the exclusion of all else, and prefers it
to everything else. Only then does he find comfort and joy in it, as the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: „… and my joy has been made in salaah.‟” (Tafseer Ibn Katheer, 5/456. The hadith is in Musnad Ahmad, 3/128
and Saheeh al-Jaami‟, 3124). Allah has mentioned
al-khaashi‟eena wa‟l-khaashi‟aat (men and women who are humble (before their
Lord)), and described this quality as one of the qualities of those who are
chosen. He tells us that He has prepared for them forgiveness and a great
reward (i.e., Paradise). [See al-Ahzaab 33:35]. One of the benefits of khushoo‟ is that it makes prayer easier for a person. Allah
tells us (interpretation of the meaning): “And seek help in patience and al-salaah (the prayer), and truly
it is extremely heavy and hard except for al-khaashi‟oon [i.e., the true believers, those who obey
Allah with full submission, fear much from His Punishment, and believe in His
Promise and in His Warnings]” [al-Baqarah
2:45]. The meaning is that the burden of prayer is heavy indeed, except for
those who have khushoo‟. (Tafseer Ibn Katheer,
1/125). Khushoo‟ is very important, but it is
something that is easily lost and is rarely seen, especially in our own times,
which are the last times. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon
him) said: “The first thing to be
lifted up (taken away) from this ummah will be khushoo‟, until you will see no one who has khushoo‟.” (Al-Haythami said in al-Majma‟, 2/136: It was reported by al-Tabaraani in
al-Kabeer, and its isnaad is hasan. See also Saheeh al-Targheeb, no. 543. He
said it is saheeh). ......
Rulings on Khushoo' According to the most correct view, khushoo‟ is obligatory. Shaykh al-Islam [Ibn Taymiyah], may
Allah have mercy on him, said: “Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation
of the meaning): „And seek help in patience
and al-salaah (the prayer), and truly it is extremely heavy and hard except for
al-khaashi‟oon …‟ [al-Baqarah
2:45]. This implies condemnation of those who are not khaashi‟oon… Condemnation only applies when something
obligatory is not done, or when something forbidden is done. If those who do
not have khushoo‟ are to be condemned, this
indicates that khushoo‟ is obligatory (waajib)… The
fact that khushoo‟ is obligatory is also
indicated by the aayaat (interpretation of the meaning): „Successful indeed are
the believers, those who offer their salaah (prayers) with all solemnity and
full submissiveness… These are indeed the inheritors, who shall inherit the
Firdaws (Paradise). They shall dwell therein forever.‟ [al-Mu‟minoon 23:1-2, 10-11] Allah, may He be glorified
and exalted, tells us that these are the ones who will inherit Firdaws
(Paradise), which implies that no-one else will do so… Khushoo‟ is obligatory in prayer, and this includes
calmness and khushoo‟ [the original says „khushoo‟; perhaps what is meant is khudoo‟ meaning submission, humility]. Whoever pecks like
a crow in his sujood (prostration) does not have khushoo‟, and whoever does not raise his head fully from
rukoo‟ (bowing) and pause for a while
before going down into sujood is not calm, because calmness implies doing
things at a measured pace, so the person who does not do things at a measured
pace is not calm. Whoever is not calm does not have khushoo‟ in his rukoo‟ or sujood, and whoever does not have khushoo‟ is a sinner… Another indication that khushoo‟ in prayer is obligatory is the fact that the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) warned those who do not have
khushoo‟, such as the one who lifts up
his gaze to the sky (in prayer), because this movement and raising of the gaze
goes against the idea of khushoo‟…” (Majma‟ al-Fataawa, 22/553-558). Concerning the virtues of
khushoo‟ and as a warning to the one
who neglects it, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “Five prayers which Allah has made obligatory.
Whoever does wudoo‟ properly for them, prays
them on time, does rukoo‟ properly and has perfect
khushoo‟, it is a promise from Allah
that he will be forgiven, but whoever does not do this, has no such promise –
if Allah wishes, He will forgive him, and if He wishes, He will punish him.” (Reported by Abu Dawood, no. 425; Saheeh al-Jaami‟, 3242). Concerning the virtues of khushoo‟, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon
him) also said: “Whoever does wudoo‟ and does it well, then prays two rak‟ahs focusing on them completely [according to
another report: and does not think of anything else], will be forgiven all his
previous sins [according to another report: will be guaranteed Paradise].” (Al-Bukhari, al-Bagha edn., no. 158; al-Nisaa'i,
1/95; Saheeh al-Jaami‟, 6166).
When we look at the things that help us to have khushoo‟ in prayer, we find that they may be divided into
two types: things that help you to have and to strengthen khushoo‟, and warding off the things that reduce and weaken
khushoo‟. Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah
(may Allah have mercy on him) explained the things that help us to have khushoo‟: “Two
things help us to [develop khushoo‟]: a strong desire to do what is obligatory, and
weakness of distractions. With
regard to the first, the strong desire to do what is obligatory: [this means
that] a person strives hard to focus on what he is saying and doing, pondering
on the meanings of the Qur‟an recitation, dhikr and du‟aa‟s, and keeping in mind the fact that he is speaking to Allah as if
he sees Him, for when he is standing in prayer, he is talking to his Lord.
Ihsaan means „that you worship Allah as if you see Him, and if you cannot see
Him, He can see you.‟ The more the slave tastes the
sweetness of salaah, the more attracted he will be to it, and this has to do
with the strength of his imaan. The means of strengthening imaan are many, and
this is why the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) used to say,
„In your world, women and perfume have been made dear to me, and my joy is in
prayer.‟ According to another hadith,
he said, „Let us find comfort in prayer, O Bilaal‟ – he did not say, „Let us get it over and done
with.‟ With regard to the second,
weakness of distractions: This means striving to push away all distractions
that make you think of something other than the prayer itself, and warding off
thoughts that keep you mind off the purpose of the prayer. This is something
which differs from one person to another, because the extent of waswaas has to
do with the extent of one‟s doubts and desires and the
heart‟s focus and dependence on what
it loves, and its efforts to avoid what it dislikes.” (Majmoo‟ al-Fataawa, 22/606-607) On the basis of this
division, we will now discuss some of:
The means of developing Khushoo'
1 – Striving to gain that which gives and strengthens khushoo‟ This can be achieved in several ways, such as the
following: Preparing oneself for prayer properly For example: By repeating the
words of the adhaan after the muezzin; By pronouncing the du‟a‟ to be recited after the adhaan: “Allaahummah Rabba haadhihi‟l-da‟wati‟l-taammah wa‟-salaati‟l-qaa‟imah, aati Muhammadan il-waseelata wa‟l-fadeelah, wab‟ath-hu‟l-maqaam al-mahmood alladhi wa‟adtah (O Allah, Lord of this perfect call and the
prayer to be offered, grant Muhammad the privilege (of interceding) and also
the eminence, and resurrect him to the praised position that You have
promised)”; Reciting du‟a‟ between the adhaan and the iqaamah; Doing wudoo‟ properly, saying Bismillaah before it and making
dhikr and saying the du‟a‟ after it, “Ash-hadu an laa ilaaha ill-Allah
wahdahu laa shareeka lah wa ash-hadu anna Muhammadan „abduhu wa rasooluhu (I
bear witness that there is no god except Allah alone, with no partner or
associate, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His slave and messenger)” and
“Allaahummaj‟alni min al-tawwaabeena waj‟alni min al-mutatahhireen (O Allah, make me of
those who repent and make me of those who purify themselves)”; Using siwaak to
cleanse and perfume the mouth that is going to recite Qur‟an in a short while, because the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “Purify your mouths for the Qur‟an.” (Reported by al-Bazzaar, who said: we do not have it with any
better isnaad than this. Kashf al-Astaar, 1/242. Al-Haythami said: its men are
thiqaat. 2/99. Al-Albaani said: its isnaad is jayyid. Al-Sahihah, 1213);
Wearing one‟s best and cleanest clothes,
because Allah says (interpretation of the meaning): “O Children of Adam! Take your adornment (by wearing your
clean clothes) while praying…” [Al-A‟raaf 7:31]. Allah is most deserving of seeing us
“take our adornment” for Him. Clean, pleasant smelling clothes are also more
comfortable and relaxing, unlike clothes for sleeping or working in.
We should also prepare ourselves by covering our „awrah properly,
purifying the spot where we are going to pray, getting ready early and waiting
for the prayer, and making
the rows straight and solid, without any gaps, because the
shayaateen come in through the gaps in the rows.
Moving at a measured pace during prayer The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon
him) used to move at a measured pace during salaah, allowing every bone to
return to its place. (Its isnaad is classed as saheeh in Sifat al-Salaat, p.
134, 11th edn. Ibn Khuzaymah also classed it as saheeh as mentioned by
al-Haafiz in al-Fath, 2/308). He commanded those who were not doing their
prayer properly to do this too. He said, “None of you has prayed properly until he does this.” (Reported by Abu Dawood, 1/536, no. 858). Abu
Qutaadah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: “The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:
„The worst type of thief is the one who steals from his prayer.‟ He said, „O Messenger of Allah, how can a person
steal from his prayer?‟ He said, „By not doing
rukoo‟ and sujood properly.‟” (Reported by Ahmad and al-Haakim, 1/229; Saheeh al-Jaami‟, 997). Abu „Abd-Allaah al-Ash‟ari (may Allah be pleased with him) said: “The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be
upon him) said, „The one who does not do rukoo‟ properly, and pecks in sujood, is like a
starving man who eats only one or two dates; it does not do him any good at
all.‟” (Reported by al-Tabaraani in al-Kabeer, 4/115. In
Saheeh al-Jaami‟ it says, hasan). The one who
does not move at a measured pace in his prayer cannot have khushoo‟ because haste is a barrier to khushoo‟ and pecking like a crow is a barrier to reward. Remembering death whilst praying The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon
him) said: “Remember death in your
prayer, for the man who remembers death during his prayer is bound to pray
properly, and pray the prayer of a man who does not think that he will pray any
other prayer.” (al-Silsilat al-Sahihah by
al-Albaani, 1421. It was reported from al-Suyooti that al-Haafiz ibn Hajar
classed this hadith as hasan). The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be
upon him) also advised Abu Ayub (may Allah be pleased with him): “When you stand up to pray, pray a farewell
prayer.” (Reported by Ahmad, 5/412;
Saheeh al-Jaami‟, no. 742) – meaning the
prayer of one who thinks that he will not pray another prayer. The person who
is praying will no doubt die, and there is some prayer that will be his last prayer,
so let him have khushoo‟ in the prayer that he is
doing, for he does not know whether this will be his last prayer.
Thinking about the aayaat and adhkaar being recited during the
prayer and interacting with them The Qur‟an was revealed to be pondered over. Allah says
(interpretation of the meaning):
“(This is) a Book (the Qur‟an) which We have sent down to you, full of blessings that they
may ponder over its Verses, and that men of understanding may remember.” [Saad 38:29]. No one can ponder over its verses
unless he has some knowledge of the meaning of what he is reciting, so that he
can think about it and be moved to tears by it. Allah says (interpretation of
the meaning): “And those who, when they
are reminded of the aayaat (proofs, evidences, verses, lessons, signs,
revelations, etc.) of their Lord, fall not deaf and blind thereat.” [al-Furqaan 25:73]. Thus the importance of studying
Tafseer (Qur‟an commentary) is quite clear.
Ibn Jareer (may Allah have mercy on him) said: “I am astonished at people who read the Qur‟an and do not know what it means. How can they
enjoy reading it?” (Muqaddimat Tafseer al-Tabari
by Mahmood Shaakir, 1/10. For this reason it is important for the reader of Qur‟an to look at a Tafseer, even if it is abridged,
when he is reading. For example, he could read Zubdat al-Tafseer by al-Ashqar,
which is abridged from the Tafseer of al-Shawkaani, and the Tafseer of
al-„Allaamah Ibn Sa‟di, entitled Tayseer al-Kareem
al-Rahmaan fi Tafseer Kalaam al-Mannaan. At the very least he could consult a
book explaining the unusual words such as al-Mu‟jam al-Jaami‟ li Ghareeb Mufradaat al-Qur‟an by „Abd al-„Azeez al-Seerwaan, which is a compilation
of four books of unusual words used in the Qur‟an). Another way of helping oneself to ponder over
the meanings is to repeat aayaat, because this will help one to think deeply
and look again at the meanings. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be
upon him) used to do this. It was reported that he spent a night repeating one
aayah until morning came. The aayah was (interpretation of the meaning): “If you punish them, they are Your slaves, and if
You forgive them, verily You, only You are the All-Mighty, the All-Wise.” [al-Maa‟idah 5:118]. (Reported by Ibn Khuzaymah, 1/271 and
Ahmad, 5/149; Sifat al-Salaah, p. 102). [Translator‟s note: Shaykh al-Albaani‟s book Sifat al-Salaah is available in English
under the title The Prophet‟s Prayer described by Shaikh Muhammad Naasir-ud-Deen al-Albaani,
translated by Usama ibn Suhaib Hasan, Al-Haneef Publications, Ipswich, UK,
1993]
Another way of helping oneself ponder over the meanings is to
interact with the aayaat. Hudhayfah said: “ I prayed with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of
Allah be upon him) one night… he was reciting at length. If he recited an aayah
that mentioned tasbeeh, he would say Subhaan Allah; if it mentioned a question,
he would ask a question; if it mentioned seeking refuge with Allah, he would
seek refuge with Allah.” (Reported by Muslim, no. 772).
According to another report, [Hudhayfah] said: “I prayed with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of
Allah be upon him), and if he recited an aayah that mentioned mercy, he would
ask for mercy; if he recited an aayah that mentioned punishment, he would seek
refuge with Allah, and if he recited
an aayah that mentioned deanthropomorphism of Allah, he would
say Subhaan-Allah.” (Ta‟zeem Qadr al-Salaah, 1/327). This was reported
concerning qiyaam al-layl (prayer at night). One of the Sahaabah – Qutaadah ibn
al-Nu‟maan (may Allah be pleased
with him) – prayed qiyaam at night and did not recite anything but Qul Huwa
Allah Ahad, repeating it and not adding anything more. (Al-Bukhari, al-Fath,
9/59; Ahmad, 3/43) Sa‟eed ibn „Ubayd al-Taa‟i said: “I heard Sa‟eed ibn Jubayr leading them in prayer during the
month of Ramadan, and he was repeating this aayah (interpretation of the
meaning): „… they will come to know,
when iron collars will be rounded over their necks, and the chains, they shall
be dragged along, in the boiling water, then they will be burned in the Fire.‟ [Ghaafir
40:70-72].” Al-Qaasim said: “I saw Sa‟eed ibn Jubayr praying qiyaam al-layl and reciting
(interpretation of the meaning): „And be afraid of the Day when you shall be brought back to
Allah. Then every person shall be paid what he earned…‟ [al-Baqarah
2:281], and repeating it twenty-odd times.” A man of Qays who was known by the
kunyah Abu „Abd-Allaah said: “We stayed with al-Hasan one night, and he got up
to pray qiyaam al-layl. He prayed and did not stop repeating this ayah until
just before dawn (interpretation of the meaning): „… and if you count the Blessings of Allah, never
will you be able to count them…‟ [Ibrahim 14:34]. When morning
came, we said, „O Abu Sa‟eed, you did not recite any
more than this one ayah all night.‟ He said, „I learn a great deal from it: I do not
glance at anything but I see a blessing in it, but what we do not know about
Allah‟s blessings is far greater.‟” (Al-Tidhkaar li‟l-Qurtubi, p. 125). Haroon ibn Rabaab al-Usaydi
used to get up at night to pray Tahajjud, and he would repeat this ayah until
daybreak (interpretation of the meaning): “… „Would that we were but sent back (to the world)! Then we
would not deny the aayaat (signs, verses) of our Lord, and we would be of the
believers!‟” [al-An‟aam 6:27], and weeping until daybreak. Another way
of helping oneself to ponder over the meanings is to memorize Qur‟an and various adhkaar to be recited during
different parts of the prayer, so that one may recite them and think about
their meanings. There is no doubt that these actions – thinking about the
meanings, repeating and interacting with the words – are among the greatest
means of increasing khushoo‟, as Allah says (interpretation of the meaning): “And they fall down on their faces weeping and it
adds to their humility [khushoo‟]‟” [al-Isra‟ 17:109].
The following is a moving story that illustrates how the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) had khushoo‟, as well as explaining how it is obligatory to
think of the meaning of the aayaat. „Ataa‟ said: “ „Ubayd ibn „Umayr and I entered upon
„Aa‟ishah (may Allah be pleased
with her) and Ibn „Umayr said to her, „Tell us of the most amazing thing you
saw on the part of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon
him).‟ She wept and said, „He got up
one night and said, “O „Aa‟ishah, leave me to worship my Lord.” I said, “By Allah, I love to
be close to you, and I love what makes you happy.” So he got up and purified
himself, then he stood and prayed. He kept weeping until his lap got wet, then
he wept and kept weeping until the floor got wet. Bilaal came to tell him that
it was time to pray, and when he saw him weeping, he said, “O Messenger of Allah, you are weeping when Allah
has forgiven you all your past and future sins?” He said, “Should I not be a
grateful slave? Tonight some aayaat have been revealed to me; woe to the one
who recites them and does not think about what is in them (interpretation
of the meaning): „Verily! In the creation of
the heavens and the earth…‟” [Aal „Imraan 3:190… or
al-Baqarah 2:164].‟” (Reported by Ibn Hibaan. He
said in al-Silsilat al-Sahihah, no. 68: this is a jayyid isnaad). One example
of interacting with the aayaat is to say “Aameen” after al-Faatihah, which
brings a great reward. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be
upon him) said: “If the imaam says „Aameen,‟ then say „Aameen‟ too, for whoever says „Aameen‟ and it coincides with the „Aameen‟ of the angels, will have all his previous sins
forgiven.” (Reported by al-Bukhari, no.
747). Another example is responding to the imaam when he says “Sami‟ Allaahu liman hamidah (Allah hears the one who
praises Him)”; the members of the congregation should say, “Rabbanaa wa laka‟l-hamd (O our Lord, to You be praise).” This also
brings a great reward. Rifaa‟ah ibn Raafi‟ al-Zirqi said: “One day we
were praying behind the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him).
When he raised his head, he said, „Sami‟ Allaahu liman hamidah,‟ and a man behind him said, „Rabbanaa wa laka‟l-hamdu hamdan katheeran tayyiban mubaarakan fih
(Our Lord to You be much good and blessed praise).‟ When he
finished, he said, „Who is the one who spoke?‟ The man said, „Me.‟ He said, „I saw thirty-odd angels rushing to see
who would write it down first.‟” (Reported by al-Bukhari,
al-Fath, 2/284).
Pausing at the end of each ayah This is more helpful in understanding and thinking
about the meaning, and it is the Sunnah of the Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allah be upon him), as Umm Salamah (may Allah be pleased with her) described
how the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) would
recite, “Bismillah il-Rahmaan
il-Raheem”, and according to one report, he would pause, then say, “Al-hamdu
Lillaahi Rabbi‟l-„Aalameen, al-Rahmaan,
al-Raheem.” Then according to one report, he would pause, then say, “Maaliki
yawm il-deen,” and he would break up his recitation ayah by ayah. (Reported by Abu Dawood, no. 4001; classed as
Saheeh by al-Albaani in al-Irwaa‟, where its isnaads are described. 2/60).
Pausing at the end of each ayah is Sunnah even if the meaning
continues into the next ayah. Reciting in slow, rhythmic tones (tarteel) and
making one‟s voice beautiful when
reciting As Allah says (interpretation of the meaning): “… and recite the Qur‟an (aloud) in a slow, (pleasant tone and) style.”
[al-Muzzammil 73:4]. The
recitation of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was clear,
with each letter pronounced distinctly.” (Musnad Ahmad, 6/294, with a saheeh
isnaad. Sifat al-Salaah, p. 105). The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be
upon him) “would recite a surah in
such slow rhythmic tones that it would be longer than would seem possible.” (Reported by Muslim, no. 733). This slow, measured
pace of recitation is more conducive to reflection and khushoo‟ than a hurried, hasty reading. Another way of
helping oneself to have khushoo‟ is by making one‟s voice beautiful when reciting. This is something that was
advised by the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), as when he
said, “Beautify the Qur‟an with your voices, for a fine voice increases
the Qur‟an in beauty.” (Reported by al-Haakim, 1/575; Saheeh al-Jaami‟, no. 3581). Beautifying it with one‟s voice does not mean elongating the vowels and
giving it a tune in the manner of corrupt people; it means beautifying one‟s voice with the fear of Allah, as the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “Truly, the one who has one of the finest voices among the
people for reciting the Qur‟an is the one whom you think fears Allah when you hear him
recite.” (Reported by Ibn Maajah,
1/1339; Saheeh al-Jaami‟, no. 2202).
Knowing that Allah responds to prayers
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “Allah, the Blessed and Exalted has said: „I have divided the prayer between Myself and My
slave, into two halves, and My slave shall have what he has asked for.” When the slave says „Praise be to Allah, Lord of
the Worlds,‟ Allah says, „My slave has
praised Me.‟ When the slave says, „The
Most Merciful, the Bestower of Mercy,‟ Allah says, „My slave has extolled me.‟ When the slave says, „Master of the Day of
Judgement,‟ Allah says, „My slave has
glorified me.‟ When the slave says, „It is
You alone we worship and it is You alone we ask for help,‟ Allah says, „This is between Me and My slave,
and My slave shall have what he asked for.‟ When the slave says, „Guide us to the Straight
Path, the path of those whom You have favoured, not the path of those who
receive Your anger, nor of
those who go astray,‟ Allah says, „All these are for My slave, and My slave shall have what he
asked for.‟” (Saheeh Muslim, Kitaab al-Salaah, Baab wujoob qiraa‟at al-Faatihah fi kulli rak‟ah). [Words in italics are the translation of the
meaning of Soorat al-Faatihah – Translator]. This is a great and important
hadith. If everyone kept it in mind when he prays, he would attain immense
khushoo‟ and al-Faatihah would have a
great impact on him. How could it be otherwise, when he feels that his Lord is
addressing him and giving him what he is asking for? This “conversation” with
Allah must be respected and accorded its proper value. The Messenger of Allah
(peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “When any one of you stands to pray, he is conversing with his
Lord, so let him pay attention to how he speaks to Him.” (al-Haakim, al-Mustadrak, 1/236; Saheeh al-Jaami‟, 1538).
Praying with a barrier (sutrah) in front of
one and praying close to it Another thing that will help one to have khushoo‟ is paying attention to the matter of having a
sutrah and praying close to it, because this will restrict your field of vision,
protect you from the Shaytan and keep people from passing in front of you,
which causes a distraction and reduces the reward of the prayer. The Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “When any one of you prays, let him pray facing a sutrah, and
let him get close to it.” (Reported
by Abu Dawood, no. 695, 1/446; Saheeh al-Jaami‟, no. 651). Getting close to the sutrah is very
beneficial, as the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “When any one of you prays facing a sutrah, let
him get close to it so that the Shaytan cannot interrupt his prayer.” (Reported by Abu Dawood, no. 695, 1/446; Saheeh
al-Jaami‟, no. 650). The Sunnah in
getting close to the sutrah is to have three cubits between it and the spot
where one prostrates, or to allow enough space for a sheep to pass between the
two, as is reported in the Saheeh ahadith. (Al-Bukhari; see al-Fath, 1/574,
579). The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) advised the one
who is praying not to allow anyone to pass between him and his sutrah. He said:
“When any one of you is
praying, he should not allow anyone to pass in front of him, and he should
prevent him as most as he can. If he insists, he should fight him, for he has a
companion [i.e., Shaytan] with him.” (Reported by Muslim, 1/260; Saheeh al-Jaami‟, no. 755).
Al-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said: “The wisdom in using a sutrah is to lower your
gaze and not to look beyond it, and to prevent anyone from passing in front
of you… and to prevent the Shaytan from passing in front of you
and trying to corrupt your prayer.” (Sharh Saheeh Muslim, 4/216).
Placing the right hand on the left hand on
the chest The Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allah be upon him), when he stood up to pray, used to place his right hand on his
left hand (Muslim, no. 401), and place them on his chest (Abu Dawood, no. 759; see also Irwa‟ al-Ghaleel, 2/71). The Messenger of Allah (peace
and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, “We Prophets were commanded… to place our right hands on our
left hands in prayer.” (Reported by al-Tabaraani in
al-Mu‟jam al-Kabeer, no. 11485.
Al-Haythami said: Al-Tabaraani reported it in al-Awsat and its men are the men
of saheeh. Al-Majma‟, 3/155). Imam Ahmad (may
Allah have mercy on him) was asked about the meaning of placing one hand on top
of the other when standing in prayer. He said: “It is humility before the Almighty.” (Al-Khushoo‟ fi‟l-Salaah by Ibn Rajab, p. 21). Ibn Hajar (may Allah have mercy on
him) said: “The „ulamaa‟ said: the meaning of this posture is that it is
the attitude of the humble petitioner, it is more likely to prevent fidgeting,
and it is more conducive to khushoo‟.” (Fath al-Baari, 2/224).
Looking at the place of prostration It was reported from „Aa‟ishah that “the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon
him) used to pray with his head tilted forward and his gaze lowered, looking at
the ground.” (Reported by al-Haakim, 1/479.
He said it is saheeh according to the condition of the two Shaykhs [al-Bukhari
and Muslim], and al-Albaani agreed with him in Sifat al-Salaah, p. 89). When
the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) entered the Ka‟bah, his eyes never left the place of his
prostration until he came out again. (Reported by al-Haakim in al-Mustadrak,
1/479. He said it is saheeh according to the condition of the two shaykhs, and
al-Dhahabi agreed with him. Al-Albaani said, It is as they said. Irwaa‟ al-Ghaleel, 2/73). When a person sits for
Tashahhud, he should look at the finger with which he is pointing as he is
moving it, as it was reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be
upon him) “would point with the finger
next to the thumb towards the qiblah, and focus his gaze upon it.” (Reported by Ibn Khuzaymah, 1/355, no. 719. The
editor said: its isnaad is saheeh. See Sifat al-Salaah, p. 139). According to
another report he “pointed with his index
finger and did not allow his gaze to wander beyond it.” (Reported by Ahmad, 4/3, and by Abu Dawood, no.
990)
Note There is a question in the minds of some
people who pray, which is: what is the ruling on closing the eyes during
prayer, especially when a person feels that this increases his khushoo’? The answer is that this goes against the Sunnah
that was reported from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)
that was just referred to above. Closing the eyes means that a person misses
out on the Sunnah of looking at the place of prostration and at his finger. But
there is more to the matter than this, so we should listen to the opinion of an
expert, al-„Allaamah Abu „Abd-Allah Ibn al-Qayyim, which will explain the
matter further. He (may Allah have mercy on him) said: “It is not part of the
Prophet‟s teaching to close the eyes
during prayer. We have already mentioned how he used to look at his finger
during the Tashahhud and the du‟a‟, and he would not let his
gaze wander beyond his finger… Another indication [of the fact that he kept his
eyes open] is the fact that he stretched his hand forth to take the bunch of
grapes when he saw Paradise, and he also saw Hell and the woman (who had
tormented) the cat, and the owner of Stick (al-Mihjan). Likewise, he pushed
away the animal that wanted to pass in front of him whilst he was praying, and
he pushed back the boy, and the young girl, and the two young girls. He used to
wave to those whom he saw greeting him (whilst he was praying). There is also a
hadith that describes how the Shaytan tried to tempt him whilst he was praying,
so he grabbed him and strangled him, as he had seen him with his own eyes. From
these ahadith and others we learn that he did not close his eyes when he
prayed. The fuqahaa‟ differ as to whether closing
the eyes during prayer is makrooh. Imaam Ahmad and others did count it as
makrooh, and said: “This is the action of the Jews,” but others allowed it and
did not count it as makrooh. The correct view is that if keeping the eyes open
does not affect a person‟s khushoo‟, then this is better, but if keeping the eyes open
affects a person‟s khushoo because of
decorations, adornments etc. in front of him, which distract him, then it is
not makrooh at all for him to close his eyes. The opinion that indeed it is mustahabb
in this case is closer to the principles and aims of sharee‟ah than saying it is makrooh. And Allah knows best.
(Zaad al-Ma‟aad, 1/293, Daar al-Risaalah
edn.) Thus it is clear that the Sunnah is not to close one‟s eyes, unless it is necessary to do so in order to
avoid something that may adversely affect one‟s khushoo‟.
Moving the index finger This is something which is neglected by many
worshippers because they are ignorant of its great benefits and its effect on
khushoo‟. The Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “It is more powerful against the Shaytan than iron” (reported by Imaam Ahmad, 2/119, with a hasan
isnaad, as stated in Sifat al-Salaah, p. 159), i.e., pointing with the
forefinger during the Tashahhud is more painful to the Shaytan than being
beaten with a rod of iron, because it reminds the slave of the Unity of Allah
and to be sincere in his worship of Him alone, and this is what the Shaytan
hates most; we seek refuge with Allah from him.” (al-Fath al-Rabbani by al-Saa‟idi, 4/15). Because of this great benefit, the
Sahaabah, may Allah be pleased with them, used to enjoin one another to do this
and were very keen to remember to do this thing which so many people nowadays
take so lightly. It was reported that “the Companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be
upon him) used to enjoin one another, i.e., with regard to pointing with the
finger during the du‟a‟.” (Reported by Ibn Abi Shaybah with a hasan isnaad, as stated in
Sifat al-Salaah, p. 141. See al-Musannaf, no. 9732, part 10, page 381, Dar
al-Salafiyyah, India, edn.) The Sunnah in pointing with the forefinger is that
it should remain raised and moving, pointing towards the qiblah, throughout the
Tashahhud. Varying the soorahs,
aayaat, adhkaar and du’aa’s recited in prayer This makes the worshipper feel that he is
encountering new meanings and moving between different topics mentioned in the
aayaat and adhkaar. This is what a person misses out on if he only memorizes a
few soorahs (especially the short ones) and adhkaar. Varying what one recites
is the Sunnah and is more conducive to khushoo‟. If we study what the Prophet (peace and blessings
of Allah of upon him) used to recite in his prayer, we will see this variation.
For example, with regard to the opening du‟a‟, we find examples such as the following: “Allaahumma baa‟id bayni wa bayna khataayaaya kamaa baa‟adta bayn al-mashriqi wa‟l-maghrib. Allaahumma naqqani min khataayaaya kamaa
yunaqqaa al-thawb al-abyad min al-danas. Allaahumma‟ghsilni min khataayaaya bi‟l-maa‟ wa‟l-thalj wa‟l-barad (O Allah, separate me
(far) from my sins as You have separated (far) the East from the West. O Allah,
cleanse me of my sins as white cloth is cleansed from dirt. O Allah, wash me of
my sins with water, snow and ice).”
“Wajahtu wajhi li‟lladhi fatara al-samawaati wa‟l-ard haneefan, wa maa ana min al-mushrikeen. Inna
salaati wa nusuki wa mahyaaya wa mamaati Lillaahi Rabb il –„aalameen, laa
shareeka lahu wa bidhaalika umirtu wa ana awwal al-muslimeen (I have set my
face towards the Originator of the heavens and the earth sincerely and I am not
among the mushrikeen. Indeed my prayer, my sacrifice, my living and my dying
are for Allah, the Lord of the Worlds: no partner has He. With this I have been
commanded, and I am the first of the Muslims (those who submit to Him).”
“Subhaanak Allaahumma wa bi hamdika wa tabaaraka ismuka wa ta‟aala jadduka wa laa ilaaha ghayruk (Glory and
praise be to You, O Allah, blessed be Your name and exalted be Your majesty.
There is no god besides You).” And other du‟aa‟s and adhkaar which the worshipper can use at various times. Among
the soorahs which the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah of upon him) used
to recite during Salaat al-Fajr we find a great and blessed number. The longer
mufassal soorahs (soorahs from the last seventh of the Qur‟an), such as al-Waaqi‟ah [56], al-Toor [52] and Qaaf [50], and shorter
mufassal soorahs such as Idhaa al-shamsu kuwwirat [al-Takweer 81], al-Zalzalah
[99], and al-Mi‟wadhatayn [the last two
soorahs]. It was reported that he recited al-Room [30], Yaa-Seen [36] and
al-Saaffaat [37], and on Fridays he would recite al-Sajah [32] and al-Insaan
[76, a.k.a. al-Dhahr] in Fajr prayer. It was reported that in Salaat al-Zuhr,
he would recite the equivalent of thirty aayaat in each of the two rak‟ahs, and that he recited al-Taariq [86], al-Burooj
[85] and wa‟l-layli idhaa yaghshaa
[al-Layl, 92]. In Salaat al-„Asr, he would recite the equivalent of fifteen
aayaat in each rak‟ah, and he would recite the
soorahs already mentioned in connection with Salaat al-Zuhr. In Salaat
al-Maghrib, he would recite short mufassal soorahs such as al-teeni wa‟l-zaytoon [al-Teen 95], and he recited Soorat
Muhammad [47], al-Toor [52], al-Mursalaat [77] and others. In „Ishaa‟ he would recite medium-length mufassal soorahs,
such as al-shamsu wa duhaahaa [al-Shams 91], idhaa‟l-samaa‟u inshaqqat [al-Inshiqaaq 84]. He told Mu‟aadh to recite al-A‟laa [87], al-Qalam [68] and al-layli idhaa yaghshaa
[al-Layl, 92]. In qiyaam al-layl, he used to recite the long soorahs. It was
reported that he (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) used to recite 200
or 150 aayaat, and sometimes he used to shorten the recitation.
He used to vary the adhkaar he recited in rukoo‟. In addition to “Subhaana Rabbi al-„Azeem (Glory
be to my Supreme Lord)” and “Subhaana Rabbi al-„Azeem wa bi hamdih (Glory and
praise be to my Supreme Lord)”, he would say: “Subbooh, Quddoos, Rabb il-Malaa‟ikati wa‟l-Rooh (Perfect, Blessed, Lord of the Angels and
the Spirit),” or, “Allaahumma laka raka‟tu wa bika aamantu wa laka aslamtu wa „alayka
tawakkaltu anta Rabbi. Khasha‟a sam‟i wa basari wa dammi wa lahmi
wa „azmi wa „asabi Lillaahi Rabbi‟l-„Alaameen (O Allah, to You have I bowed, to You I
have submitted, in You I have believed, to You I have submitted and in You I
have put my trust. Humbled are my hearing, my seeing, my blood, my flesh, my bones
and my nerves for Allah, Lord of the Worlds).” When standing upright from rukoo‟, after saying “Sami‟a Allah liman hamidah (Allah listens to the one who
praises Him)” he would say, “Rabbanaa wa laka‟l-hamd (Our Lord, and to You be all praise),” or sometimes,
“Rabbanaa laka‟l-hamd (Our Lord, to You be
all praise),” or, “Allaahumma Rabbanaa [wa] laka‟l-hamd (O Allah our Lord, [and] to You be all
praise).” Sometimes he would add the words: “Mil‟a al-samawaati wa mil‟a al-ard wa mil‟a maa shi‟ta min shay‟in ba‟d ([Praise] filling the heavens, filling the earth,
and filling whatever else You wish)”, and sometimes he would add, “Ahl
al-thanaa‟i wa‟l-majd, laa maani‟a limaa a‟tayta wa laa mu‟tiya limaa mana‟t, wa laa yanfa‟u dhaa‟l-jaddi minka‟l-jadd (Lord of Glory and Majesty! None can
withhold what You grant, and none can grant what You withhold; nor can the
possessions of an owner benefit him in front of You).” In sujood, in addition
to “Subhaan Rabbi al-A‟laa (Glory be to my Lord Most
High)” and “Subhaana Rabbi al-A‟laa wa bi hamdih (Glory and praise be to my Lord Most High),” he
would say “Subbooh, Quddoos, Rabb il-Malaa‟ikati wa‟l-Rooh (Perfect, Blessed, Lord of the Angels and
the Spirit),” or “Subhaanak Allaahumma Rabbanaa wa bi hamdik, Allaahumma‟ghfir li (Glory and raise be to you O Allah, our
Lord. O Allah forgive me)” or “Allaahumma laka sajadtu wa bika aamantu wa laka
aslamtu, sajada wajhi lilladhi khalaqahu wa sawwarahu wa shaqqa sam‟ahu wa basarahu, tabaarak Allaahu ahsaan
al-khaaliqeen (O Allah, to You I have prostrated, in You I have believed and to
You I have submitted. My face has prostrated to the One Who created it and gave
it shape, then brought forth its hearing and its vision. Blessed be Allah, the
Best to create),” and others. When sitting between the two prostrations, in
addition to “Rabb ighfir li, Rabb ighfir li (Lord, forgive me, Lord, forgive
me),” he would say, “Allaahumm aghfir li warhamni wajbarni wa arfa‟ni wahdini wa „aafini wa arzuqni (O Allah, forgive
me, have mercy on me, strengthen me, raise my rank, guide me, pardon me,
sustain me).”
A number of versions of the tashahhud have been narrated, such as:
“Al-tahiyyaatu Lillaahi wa‟l-salawaatu wa‟l-tayyibaat al-salaamu „alayka ayyuha‟l-Nabiyyu …etc. (All compliments, prayers and pure
words are due to Allah. Peace be upon you, O
Prophet…)” and “Al-Tahiyyaat al-mubaarakaat al-salawaat
al-tayyibaatu Lillaahi, al-salaamu „alayka ayyuha‟l-Nabiyyu…etc. (All compliments, blessed words,
prayers, pure words are due to Allah. Peace be upon you, O Prophet…)” and
“Al-tahiyyaat al-tayyibaat al-salawaatu Lillaahi, al-salaamu „alayka ayyuha‟l-Nabiyyu… etc. (All compliments, good words and
prayers are due to Allah. Peace be upon you, O Prophet …).” So the worshipper
may use one form one time and another at another time, and so on. There are a
number of versions of the prayers sent upon the Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allah be upon him), such as: “Allaahumma salli „ala Muhammad wa „ala aali
Muhammad kamaa salayta „ala Ibrahim wa „ala aali Ibrahim, innaka Hameedun
Majeed. Allaahumma baarik „ala Muhammadin wa „ala aali Muhammadin kamaa
baarakta „ala Ibrahim wa „ala aali Ibrahim innaka Hameedun Majeed (O Allah,
send prayers on Muhammad and on the family of Muhammad, as You sent prayers on
Ibrahim and the family of Ibrahim, verily You are Worthy of Praise and Full of
Glory; O Allah, send blessings on Muhammad and on the family of Muhammad, as
You sent blessings on Ibrahim and the family of Ibrahim, verily You are Worthy
of Praise and Full of Glory).” Or: “Allaahumma salli „ala Muhammad wa „ala aali
baytihi wa „ala azwaajihi wa dhuriyatihi kamaa salayta „ala aali Ibrahim,
innaka Hameedun Majeed wa baarik „ala Muhammadin wa „ala aali baytihi wa „ala
azwaajihi wa dhuriyatihi kamaa baarakta „ala aali Ibrahim innaka Hameedun
Majeed (O Allah, send prayers on Muhammad and on his family, wives and progeny,
as You sent prayers on the family of Ibrahim, verily You are Worthy of Praise and
Full of Glory; O Allah, send blessings on Muhammad and on his family, wives and
progeny, as You sent blessings on the family of Ibrahim, verily You are Worthy
of Praise and Full of Glory).” Or: “Allaahumma salli „ala Muhammad al-Nabiyy
al-Ummi wa „ala aali Muhammad kamaa salayta „ala aali Ibrahim, wa baarik „ala
Muhammad al-Nabiyy al-Ummi wa „ala aali Muhammadin kamaa baarakta „ala aali
Ibrahim fi‟l-„aalameen, innaka Hameedun
Majeed (O Allah, send prayers on Muhammad the Unlettered Prophet and on the family
of Muhammad, as You sent prayers on the family of Ibrahim, and send blessings
on Muhammad the Unlettered Prophet and on the family of Muhammad, as You sent
blessings on the family of Ibrahim among the nations, verily You are Worthy of
Praise and Full of Glory).”
Other similar versions have also been narrated, and the Sunnah is
to vary among them, as stated above. There is nothing wrong with reciting one
version more than others, because it is more strongly proven and better known
in the books of saheeh ahaadeeth, or because the Prophet (peace and blessings
of Allah be upon him) taught one version rather than others to his Sahaabah
when they asked him about it, and so on. (All of the above texts etc. have been
taken from Sifat al-Salaat al-Nabi (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)
by Shaykh Muhammad Naasir al-Deen al-Albaani, which he compiled from the books
of hadeeth).
Performing sujood al-tilaawah when reciting
an ayah where this is required One of the etiquettes of reciting Qur‟an is to perform sujood al-tilaawah (prostration
for recitation) when one recites an ayah containing a “sajdah” (place where a
prostration is required). In His Book, Allah describes the Prophets and the
righteous as follows (interpretation of the meaning): “… When the Verses of the Most Beneficent were
recited unto them, they fell down prostrating and weeping.” [Maryam 19:58]. Ibn Katheer (may Allah have mercy
on him) said: “The scholars agreed that we
should prostrate here [when reciting this ayah] so as to follow their example.”
(Tafseer al-Qur‟an al-„Azeem, 5/238, Daar al-Sha‟b edn.) Sujood al-Tilaawah in prayer is very
important because it increases khushoo‟. Allah says (interpretation of the meaning): “And they fall down on their faces weeping and
it adds to their humility [khushoo‟].” [al-Israa‟ 17:109]. It was reported that
the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) prostrated when he
recited Soorat al-Najm [53] in his prayer. Al-Bukhari (may Allah have mercy on
him) reported in his Saheeh that Abu Raafi‟ said: “I prayed „Ishaa‟ with Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) and he
recited Idhaa al-samaa‟u inshaqqat [al-Inshiqaaq
84] and prostrated. I asked him about it, and he said, „I prostrated behind Abu‟l-Qaasim [the Prophet] (peace and blessings of
Allah be upon him), and I will continue to do so until I meet him again.” (Saheeh al-Bukhari, Kitaab al-Adhaan, Baab al-Jahr
bi‟l-„Ishaa‟). It is important to maintain the practice of
sujood al-tilaawah, especially since it causes annoyance to the Shaytan and
suppresses him, thus weakening his hold on the worshipper. Abu Hurayrah said: “The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of
Allah be upon him) said: „When the son of Adam recites a sajdah, the Shaytan
goes away weeping, saying, “Woe to him! He was commanded to prostrate and he
prostrated, so Paradise is his; I was ordered to prostrate and I disobeyed, so
Hell is my fate!”‟” (Reported by Imaam Muslim in his Saheeh, no. 133).
Seeking refuge with Allah from the Shaytan The Shaytan is our enemy, and one of the aspects of
his enmity is his whispering insinuating thoughts (waswaas) to the worshipper
at prayer so as to take away his khushoo‟ and confuse him in his prayer. Waswaas is a
problem that befalls everyone who turns to Allah with dhikr and other kinds of
worship; it is inevitable, so one has to stand firm and be patient, and persist
in the dhikr or salaah, and not give up. His sticking to it will ward off the
Shaytaan‟s plots from himself. “… Ever feeble indeed is the plot of Shaytan.” [al-Nisaa‟ 4:76 – interpretation of the meaning]. Every time
the slave wants to turn his thoughts towards Allah, thoughts of other matters
come sneaking into his mind. The Shaytan is like a bandit lying in wait to
launch an ambush: every time the slave wants to travel towards Allah, the
Shaytan wants to cut off his route. For this reason, it was said to one of the
salaf: “The Jews and Christians say
that they do not suffer from the problem of waswaas.” He said, “They are speaking the truth, for what would the Shaytan want
with a house that is in ruins?” (Majma‟ al-Fataawa, 22/608). This is
a good analogy. It is as if there are three houses: the house of a king, filled
with his treasure and savings, the house of a slave, containing his treasure
and savings, and an empty house with nothing in it. If a thief comes to steal
from one of the three houses, which one will he choose? (al-Waabil al-Sayib, p.
43). When the slave stands up to pray, the Shaytan feels jealous of him,
because he is standing in the greatest position, one that is closest [to Allah]
and most annoying and grievous to the Shaytan. So he tries to stop him from
establishing prayer in the first place, then he continues trying to entice him
and make him forget, and “making assaults on him with
his cavalry and infantry” [cf.
Al-Isra‟ 17:64], until he thinks of
prayer as less important, so he starts to neglect it, and eventually gives it
up altogether. If the Shaytan fails to achieve this, and the person ignores him
and starts to pray, the enemy of Allah will come and try to distract him, by
reminding him of things that he did not remember or think of before he started
praying. A person may have forgotten about something altogether, but the
Shaytan will remind him of it when he starts praying, so as to distract him
from his prayers and take him away from Allah, so that his heart will no longer
be in his prayers, and he will lose out on the honour and reward of Allah
turning toward him, which is only attained by the one whose heart is really in
his prayer. Thus he will finish his prayer no better off than when he started,
with his burden of sins not reduced at all by his salaah, because prayer only
expiates for sins when it is done properly, with perfect khushoo‟, and the person stands before Allah in body and
soul.” (Al-Waabil al-Sayib, p. 36).
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) taught us
the following methods of combatting the wiles of Shaytan and getting rid of his
waswaas: Abu‟l-„Aas (may Allah be pleased
with him) reported that he said, “O Messenger of Allah, the Shaytan interrupts
me when I pray, and I get confused in my recitation.” The Messenger of Allah
(peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, “That is a Shaytan whose name is Khanzab. If you sense his
presence, seek refuge with Allah from him, and spit [dry spitting] towards your
left three times.” [Abu‟l-„Aas] said: “I did that and Allah took him away from me.” (Reported by Muslim, no. 2203) The Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allah be upon him) also told us about another of the Shaytaan‟s tricks and how to deal with it. He said, “When any one of you gets up to pray, the Shaytan
comes and confuses him – i.e., mixes up his prayer and creates doubts in his
mind – so that he does not know how many [rak‟ahs] he has prayed. If any one of you experiences
that, he should do two prostrations whilst he is sitting.” (Reported by al-Bukhari, Kitaab al-Sahw, Baab
al-Sahw fi‟l-Fard wa‟l-Tatawwu‟). Another of the Shaytaan‟s tricks was described as follows. The Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “If any one of you is praying and feels some movement in his
back passage, and is uncertain as to whether he has broken his wudoo‟ or not, he should not end his prayer unless he
hears a sound or smells an odour.” Indeed, his tricks may be very strange indeed, as the following
hadith makes clear. Ibn „Abbaas reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings
of Allah be upon him) was asked about a man who thought that he had broken his
wudoo‟ when he had not done so. The
Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “The Shaytan may come to any one of you when he
is praying and open his buttocks and make him think that he has broken his
wudoo when in fact he has not. So if this happens to any one of you, let him
not end his prayer unless he hears the sound of it with his ears or smells the
odour of it with his nose.” (Reported
by al-Tabaraani in al-Kabeer, no.11556, part 11, p. 222. He said in Majma‟ al-Zawaa‟id, 1/242, its men are the men of Saheeh).
Note There is a devilish trick which “Khanzab” plays on some
worshippers:
He tries to distract them by making them think of acts of worship
other than the prayer that they are performing, by making them think of some
issues of da‟wah or knowledge, so that they
start to think deeply about those matters and stop focusing on the prayer they
are performing. He even confuses some of them by suggesting to them that „Umar
used to make plans for the army whilst he was praying. We should let Shaykh
al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah explain this matter and set the record straight:
“With regard to what was reported, that „Umar ibn al-Khattaab
said, “I make plans for the army whilst I am praying,” this was because „Umar
was commanded to engage in jihaad and he was the leader of the believers (ameer
al-mu‟mineen, i.e., the khaleefah),
so he was also the leader of jihad. So in some respects he was like the one who
prays the prayer of fear (salaat al-khawf) whilst also watching out for the
enemy, whether or not there is actual fighting. He was commanded to pray, and
also to engage in jihad, so he had to carry out both duties as much as he
could. Allah says (interpretation of the meaning): „O you who believe! When you meet (an enemy)
force, take a firm stand against them and remember the Name of Allah much, so
that you may be successful.‟ [al-Anfaal 8:45]. It is known
that one cannot achieve the same peace of mind during jihad as at times of
peace and security, so if it happens that a person‟s prayer is lacking because of jihad, this does not
mean that his faith is lacking. For this reason, standards may be regarded as
being slightly relaxed in the case of prayer at times of danger as compared
with times of peace. With regard to prayer at times of danger, Allah says
(interpretation of the meaning): „… but when you are free from danger, perform al-salaah. Verily,
the prayer is enjoined on the believers at fixed hours.‟ [al-Nisa‟ 4:103]. So the one who is commanded to establish
prayer at times of peace is not commanded to do so in the same manner at times
of danger. Moreover, people are of varying levels in this regard. If a person‟s faith is strong, he will have the proper presence
of mind when he prays, even if he thinks of other matters. Allah had caused the
truth to reside firmly in „Umar‟s heart, and he was al-muhaddith al-mulham („the inspired speaker‟), so there is nothing strange in a person of his
calibre making plans for the army whilst performing the prayer. He was able to
do this, whilst others are not, but undoubtedly when he did not have these
concerns to think about, his presence of mind in prayer would be greater. And
no doubt the prayer of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)
at times of safety was even more perfect that at times of danger, in terms of
external appearance. If Allah has made allowances with regard to some of the
external movements of the prayer at times of fear, how then about the internal
aspects?
In conclusion, therefore, if a person who is pressed for time
thinks about some obligatory matter whilst he is praying, this is not the same
as a person who is not pressed for time thinking during prayer about some
matter that is not obligatory. It may be that „Umar could not give thought to
making plans for the army except at that time, because he was the leader of the
ummah with many obligations and responsibilities. Anyone could find himself in
a similar situation, according to his position. People always think during
prayer about things that they do not think of at other times, and some of this
could come from the Shaytan. A man told one of the salaf that he had buried
some money, but he had forgotten where he had buried it. He told him, „Go and
pray,‟ so he went and prayed, and he
remembered where it was. It was said [to the salafi], „How did you know that?‟ He said, „I know that the Shaytan will not leave
him
alone when he prays without reminding him of something that matters
to him, and there is nothing more important to this man than remembering where
he had buried his money.‟ But the good slave will
strive to attain perfect presence of mind in prayer, just as he strives to do
everything else properly that he is commanded to do. And there is no help and
no strength except in Allah, the Most High, the Almighty.” (Majmoo‟ al-Fataawa, 22/610)
Thinking of how the salaf were when they
prayed This will increase one‟s khushoo‟ and motivate one to follow their example. “If you
were to see one of them when he stood up to pray and started reciting the words
of his Master, it would cross his mind that he was standing before the Lord of
the Worlds, so he would be filled with overwhelming awe.” (Al-Khushoo‟ fi‟l-Salaah by Ibn Rajab, p. 22). Mujaahid (may Allah have mercy on
him) said: “When one of them stood in
prayer, he would be too fearful of his Lord to allow his eyes to be drawn to
anything, or to turn aside or to fidget by playing with pebbles or anything
else or to think of any worldly matter, unless he forgot, during prayer.” (Ta‟zeem Qadr al-Salaah, 1/188) When Ibn al-Zubayr stood up to pray,
he would be like a stick (i.e., immobile) with khushoo‟. Once he was prostrating when a missile from a
catapult was launched at him, when Makkah was being besieged, and part of his
garment was torn away whilst he was praying, and he did not even raise his
head. Muslimah ibn Bashshaar was praying in the mosque when part of it
collapsed, and the people got up [and fled], but he was praying and did not
even notice. We have heard that one of them was like a garment thrown on the
floor; one of them would end his prayer with the colour of his complexion
changed because he had been standing before Allah. One of them would not know
who was standing to his right or left when he prayed. One of them would go pale
when he did wudoo‟ for prayer, and it was said
to him, “We see that when you do wudoo‟ a change comes over you.” He said, “I know before
Whom I am going to stand.” When the time for prayer came, „Ali ibn Abi Taalib
would be visibly shaken, and the colour of his face would change. It was said
to him, “What is the matter with you?‟ He said, “By Allah, there has come the time of the
amaanah (trust) which Allah offered to the heavens and the earth, and the
mountains, but they declined to bear it and were afraid of it, but I bore it
[cf. Al-Ahzaab 33:72].” When Sa‟eed al-Tanookhi prayed, there would be tears rolling down his
cheeks onto his beard. We heard that one of the Taabi‟een, when he stood up to pray, his colour would
change, and he would say, “Do you know before Whom I am going to stand and with
Whom I am going to talk?” Who among you has fear and respect like this? (Silaah
al-Yaqazaan li Tard al-Shaytan, „Abd al-„Azeez Sultaan, p. 209)
They said to „Aamir ibn „Abd al-Qays, “Do you think to yourself
during prayer?” He said, “Is there anything I like to think about more than the
prayer?” They said, “We think to ourselves during prayer.” He said, “About
Paradise and al-hoor (“houris”) and so on?” They said, “No; about our families
and our wealth.” He said, “If I were to be run through with spears, it would be
dearer to me than thinking to myself about worldly matters during prayer.” Sa‟d ibn Mu‟aadh said: “I have three qualities, which I wish I could keep up all the
time, then I would really be something. When I am praying, I do not think about
anything except the prayer I am doing; if I hear any hadith from the Messenger
of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), I do not have any doubts about
it; and when I attend a janaazah (funeral), I do not think about anything
except what the janaazah says and what is said to it.” (Al-Fataawa li Ibn Taymiyah, 22/605). Haatim (may
Allah have mercy on him) said: “I carry out what I am commanded; I walk with
fear of Allah in my heart; I start with the [correct] intention; I magnify and
glorify Allah; I recite at a slow and measured pace, thinking about the
meaning; I bow with khushoo‟; I prostrate with humility; I sit and recite the complete
tashahhud; I say salaam with the [correct] intention; I finish with sincerity
towards Allah; and I come back fearing lest [my prayer] has not been accepted
from me, so I continue to strive until I die.” (Al-Khushoo‟ fi‟l-Salaah, 27-28). Abu Bakr al-Subghi said: “I lived through the
time of two imaams (leaders) although I was not fortunate enough to hear them
in person: Abu Haatim al-Raazi and Muhammad ibn Nasr al-Marwazi. As for Ibn
Nasr, I do not know of any prayer better than his. I heard that a hornet stung
him on his forehead and blood started flowing down his face, but he did not
move.” Muhammad ibn Ya‟qoob al-Akhram said: “I have
never seen any prayer better than that of Muhammad ibn Nasr. Flies used to land
on his ears, and he did not shoo them away. We used to marvel at how good his
prayer and khushoo‟ were. His fear [of Allah] in
prayer was so great that he would put his chin on his chest as if he were a
piece of wood standing up.” (Ta‟zeem Qadr al-Salaah, 1/58). Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may
Allah have mercy on him), when he started to pray, used to tremble so much that
he would lean right and left. (Al-Kawaakib al-Durriyah fi Manaaqib al-Mujtahid
Ibn Taymiyah, by Mar‟i al-Karami, p. 83, Daar
al-Gharb al-Islaami). Compare this with what some of us do nowadays, looking at
our watches, adjusting our clothes, fiddling with our noses, thinking of deals
and counting our money whilst praying, or tracing the patterns of decorations
on carpets and ceilings, or trying to see who is beside us. Think of how anyone
would behave before some great leader of this world – would he dare to behave
in such a manner then?!
Knowing the advantages of khushoo' in salaah These include: - The Prophet (peace and blessings
of Allah be upon him) said: “There
is no Muslim man who, when the time for a prescribed prayer comes, he does
wudoo‟ properly, has the proper
attitude of khushoo‟, and bows properly, but it
will be an expiation for all his previous sins, so long as they were not major
sins (kabeerah). And this is the case for life” (Reported by Muslim, 1/206, no. 7/4/2) - The reward recorded is in
proportion to the degree of khushoo‟, as the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be
upon him) said: “A slave may pray and have
nothing recorded for it except a tenth of it, or a ninth, or an eighth, or a
seventh, or a sixth, or a fifth, or a quarter, or a third, or a half.” (Reported by Imaam Ahmad; Saheeh al-Jaami‟, 1626). - Only the parts of his prayer where he
focused and concentrated properly will be of any avail to him. It was reported
that Ibn „Abbaas (may Allah be pleased with him) said: “You will only have from
your prayer that which you focused on.” Sins will be forgiven if you
concentrate properly and have full khushoo‟, as the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be
upon him) said: “When a slave stands and
prays, all his sins are brought and placed on his head and shoulders. Every
time he bows or prostrates, some of them fall from him.” (Reported by al-Bayhaqi in al-Sunan al-Kubraa,
3/10; see also Saheeh al-Jaami‟). Al-Manaawi said: “What is meant is that every time a pillar
(essential part) of the prayer is completed, part of his sins fall from him,
until when he finishes his prayer, all his sins will be removed. This is in a
prayer where all the conditions are met and the essential parts are complete.
What we understand from the words “slave” and “stands” is that he is standing
before the King of Kings [Allah] in the position of a humble slave.” (Reported
by al-Bayhaqi in al-Sunan al-Kubraa, 3/10; see also Saheeh al-Jaami‟). - The one who prays with khushoo‟ will feel lighter when he finishes his prayer, as
if his burdens have been lifted from him. He will feel at ease and refreshed,
so that he will wish he had not stopped praying, because it is such a source of
joy and comfort for him in this world. He will keep feeling that he is in a
constricting prison until he starts to pray again; he will find comfort in
prayer instead of wanting just to get it over and done with. Those who love
prayer say: we pray and find comfort in our prayer, just as their leader,
example and Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, “O Bilaal, let us find comfort in prayer.” He did
not say “Let us get it over and done with.”
- The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, “My joy has been made in prayer.” So whoever finds his joy in prayer, how can he bear
to look for joy anywhere else, or to keep away from it? (Al-Waabil al-Sayib,
37). Striving to offer du‟a‟ at the appropriate times during the prayer,
especially in sujood There is no doubt that talking to Allah, humbling oneself
before Him, asking things from Him and earnestly seeking His help, all help to
strengthen the slave‟s ties to his Lord and
increase his khushoo‟. Du‟aa‟ is an act of worship, and we are commanded to make du‟a‟. Allah says (interpretation of the meaning): “… call upon Him in humility and in secret…” [al-An‟aam 6:63]. The Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allah be upon him) said: “Whoever does not call on
Allah, Allah will be angry with him.” (Reported by al-Tirmidhi, Kitaab al-Da‟waat, 1/426; classed as hasan in Saheeh
al-Tirmidhi, 2686). It was reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allah be upon him) used to make du‟a‟ at specific places in the prayer, i.e., in sujood, between the
two prostrations and after the Tashahhud. The greatest of these is in sujood,
because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, “The closest that the slave can be to his Lord is
when he is prostrating, so increase your du‟a‟ [at that time].” (Reported by Muslim, Kitaab al-Salaah, Baab maa yuqaalu fi‟l-rukoo‟ wa‟l-sujood. No. 215). And he said: “… As for sujood, strive hard to make du‟a‟ in it, for it is bound to be answered for you.” (Reported by Muslim, Kitaab al-Salaah, Baab al-Nahy
„an qiraa‟at al-Qur‟an fi‟l rukoo‟ wa‟l-sujood, no. 207). One of the du‟aa‟s which the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)
used to recite in his sujood was: “Allaahumma‟ghfir li dhanbi diqqahu wa jillahu wa awwalahu wa
aakhirahu wa „alaaniyatahu wa sirrahu (O Allah, forgive me my sins, the minor
and the major, the first and the last, the open and the hidden).” (Reported by
Muslim, Kitaab al-Salaah, Baab ma yuqaalu fi‟l-rukoo‟ wa‟l-sujood, no. 216). He also used to say, “Allaahumma‟ghfir li maa asrartu wa maa a‟lantu (O Allah, forgive me what I have done in
secret and done openly).” (Reported by al-Nisaa'i, al-Mujtabaa, 2/569; Saheeh
al-Jaami‟, 1067). We have already
described some of the du‟aa‟s that he used to recite between the two sajdahs.
(See section 11).
One of the things that he (peace and blessings of Allah be upon
him) used to recite after the Tashahhud is what we learn from the hadith: “When
any one of you finishes the Tashahhud, let him seek refuge with Allah from four
things, from the punishment of Hell, from the punishment of the grave, from the
trials (fitnah) of life and death, and from the evil of the Dajjal („Antichrist‟).” He used to say,
“Allaahumma innee a‟oodhu bika min sharri maa „amiltu wa min sharri maa
lam a‟mal (O Allah, I seek refuge
with You from the evil of what I have done and the evil of what I have not
done).” “Allaahumma haasibni hisaaban yaseeran (O Allah, make my accounting
easy).” He taught Abu Bakr al-Siddeeq (may Allah be pleased with him) to say,
“Allaahumma innee zalamtu nafsi zulman katheeran, wa la yaghfir al-dhunooba
illa anta, faghfir li maghfiratan min „indaka warhamni innaka anta al-Ghafoor
al-Raheem (O Allah, I have wronged myself very much, and no one can forgive sin
but You. Grant me forgiveness from You and have mercy on me, for You are the
All-Forgiving, Most Merciful).” He heard a man saying in his Tashahhud:
“Allaahumma inne as‟aluka yaa Allah al-Ahad
al-Samad alladhi lam yalid wa lam yoolad wa lam yakum lahu kufuwan ahad an
taghfir li dhunoobi innaka anta‟l-Ghafoor al-Raheem (O Allah, I ask You O Allah, the One, the
Self-Sufficient Master, Who begets not neither is begotten, and there is none
like unto Him, to forgive me my sins, for You are the All-Forgiving, Most
Merciful).” He (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said to his
companions: “He has been forgiven, he has been forgiven.” He heard another man
saying, “Allaahumma innee as‟aluka bi-anna laka‟l-hamd, laa ilaaha ill anta wahdaka laa shareeka lak al-Mannaan
yaa badee‟ al-samawaati wa‟l-ard, yaa dhaa‟l-jalaali wa‟l-ikraam, ya hayyu yaa qayyoom, innee as‟aluka al-jannah wa a‟oodhu bika min al-naar (O Allah, I ask You as all
praise is due to You, there is no god but You Alone, with no partner or
associate, the Bestower, O Originator of the heavens and earth, O Possessor of
Glory and Honour, O Ever-Living, O Self-Sustaining, I ask You for Paradise and
I seek refuge with You from Hell).” The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah
be upon him) said to his companions: “Do you know by what did he ask Allah?” They said, “Allah and
His Messenger know best.” He said, “By the One in Whose hand is my soul, he
asked Allah by His greatest Name (ismuhu‟l-a‟zam) which, when He is called by it, He responds,
and if He is asked by it, He gives.” The last thing he would say between the Tashahhud and the Tasleem
was: “Allaahumma‟aghfir li maa qaddamtu wa ma
akhkhartu wa maa asrartu wa maa a‟lantu wa maa asraftu wa maa anta a‟lam bihi minni anta‟l-muqaddim wa anta‟l-mu‟akhkhir, laa ilaaha illa anta (O Allah, forgive me what
I have done in the past, and what I will do in the future, and what I have
concealed, and what I have done openly, and what I have exceeded in, whatever
You know about more than I. You are the Bringer-Forward, and You are the
Delayer, there is no god except You).” (These du‟aa‟s and others, along with their isnaads, are to be found in Sifat
al-Salaah by al-„Allaamah al-Albaani, p.163, 11th edn.)
Memorizing du‟aa‟s like these will solve the
problem that some people have of remaining silent behind the imaam when they
have finished the Tashahhud because they do not know what they should say.
Adhkaar to be recited after prayer These also help to strengthen khushoo‟ in the heart and reinforce the blessings and
benefits of the prayer. Without a doubt, one of the best ways of preserving and
protecting a good action is to follow it up with another. So the one who thinks
about the adhkaar that come after the prayer will find that they begin with
seeking forgiveness three times, as if the worshipper is seeking forgiveness
from his Lord for any shortcomings that may have occurred in his prayer or his
khushoo‟. It is also important to pay
attention to naafil (supererogatory) prayers, because they make up for anything
lacking in the fard (obligatory) prayers, including any failure with regard to
khushoo‟. Having discussed things that
help us to have khushoo‟, we now move on to a
discussion of Warding off distractions
and things that adversely affect khushoo’ Removing anything that may distract the worshipper Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) said: “ „Aa‟ishah had a decorated, colourful curtain which
she used to cover the side of her house. The Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allah be upon him) said to her, „Take it away from me, because its decorations
keep distracting me when I pray.‟” (Reported by al-Bukhari, Fath al-Baari, 10/391). Al-Qaasim
reported that „Aa‟ishah (may Allah be pleased
with her) had a cloth with decorations on it, which she used to cover a small
sunken alcove (used for sleeping or storage). The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) used to
pray facing it, and he said, „Take it away from me, because its decorations
keep distracting me when I pray.‟ So she took it away and made pillows out of it.”
(Reported by Muslim in his
Saheeh, 3/1668). Another indication of this is the fact that when the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) entered the Ka‟bah to pray in it, he saw two ram‟s horns. When he had prayed, he told „Uthmaan
al-Hajabi, “I forgot to tell you to
cover the horns, because there should not be anything in the House to distract
the worshipper.” (Reported by Abu Dawood, 2030;
Saheeh al-Jaami‟, 2504). This also includes
avoiding praying in places where people pass through, or where there is a lot
of noise and voices of people talking, or where they are engaging in
conversations, arguments etc., or where there are visual distractions. One
should also avoid praying in places that are very hot or very cold, if
possible. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) told us to
delay praying Zuhr in summer until the hottest part of the day was over. Ibn
al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) said: “Praying when it is intensely hot prevents a person from having
the proper khushoo‟ and presence of mind, and
he does his worship reluctantly, so the Prophet wisely told them to delay
praying until the heat had lessened somewhat, so that they could pray with
presence of mind and thus achieve the purpose of prayer, i.e., having khushoo‟ and turning to Allah.” (Al-Waabil al-Sayib, Daar al-Bayaan edn., p.22)
Not praying in a garment that has
decorations, writing, bright colours or pictures that will distract the
worshipper
„Aa‟ishah (may Allah be pleased
with her) said: “The Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allah be upon him) stood up to pray wearing a checkered shirt, and
he looked at the patterns in it. When he had finished his prayer, he said,
“Take this shirt to Abu Jaham ibn Hudhayfah and bring me an anbajaani (a
garment with no decorations or checks), because it distracted me when I was
praying.” According to another report: “These
checks distracted me.” According to another report: “He had a
checkered shirt, which used to distract him whilst he was praying.” (Reports in Saheeh Muslim, no. 556, part 3/391). It
is better not to pray in a garment that has pictures on it, and we should be
especially careful to avoid garments with pictures of animate beings, like many
garments that are widely available nowadays.
Not praying when there is food prepared that
one wants to eat The Messenger of Allah (peace
and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “Do not pray when there is food prepared.” (Reported by Muslim, no. 560). If food has been
prepared and served, or if it is offered, a person should eat first, because he
will not be able to concentrate properly and have khushoo‟ if he leaves it and gets up to pray when he is
wanting to eat. He should not even hasten to finish eating, because the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “If the dinner is served and the time for prayer comes, eat
dinner before praying Salaat al-Maghrib, and do not rush to finish your meal.” According to another report: “If dinner has been put out and the iqaamah has
been given for prayer, eat dinner first and do not rush to finish it.” (Agreed upon. Al-Bukhari, Kitaab al-Aadhan, Baab
idhaa hadara al-ta‟aamu wa uqeemat al-salaah;
Muslim, no. 557-559).
Not praying when one needs to answer the call
of nature No doubt one of the things
that can prevent proper khushoo‟ is praying when one needs to go to the washroom. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon
him) forbade praying when one is suppressing the urge to urinate or defecate. (Reported by Ibn Maajah in his Sunan, no. 617;
Saheeh al-Jaami‟, no. 6832). If anyone is in
this position, he should first go to the bathroom and answer the call of
nature, even if he misses whatever he misses of the congregational prayer,
because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “If any one of you needs to go to the toilet, and
the prayer has begun, he should go to the toilet first.” (Reported by Abu Dawood, no. 88; Saheeh al-Jaami‟, no. 299) If this happens to a person whilst he is
praying, he should stop praying, go and answer the call of nature, purify
himself then pray, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon
him) said, “There is no prayer when
there is food prepared or if one is suppressing the urge to expel waste
matter.” (Saheeh Muslim, no. 560).
Without a doubt, this trying to suppress the urge takes away khushoo‟. This ruling also applies to suppressing the urge
to pass wind.
Not praying when one feels sleepy
Anas ibn Maalik said, “The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings
of Allah be upon him) said: “If any
one of you feels sleepy when he is praying, he should sleep until he [is rested
enough to] know what he is saying,” i.e., he should take a nap until he no longer feels drowsy.
(Reported by al-Bukhari, no. 210). This may happen when one is praying qiyaam
al-layl, at the time when prayers are answered, and a person may pray against
himself without realizing it. This hadith also includes fard prayers, when a
person is confident that he will still have enough time to pray after taking a
nap. (Fath al-Baari, Sharh Kitaab al-Wudoo‟, Baab al-wudoo‟ min al-nawm).
Not praying behind someone who is talking (or
sleeping) The Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allah be upon him) forbade this; he said: “Do not pray behind one who is sleeping or one
who is talking.” (Reported by Abu Dawood, no.
694; Saheeh al-Jaami‟, no. 375. He said, a hasan
hadith). - because one who is talking will distract the worshipper with his
talk, and one who is sleeping may expose something that will distract the
worshipper. Al-Khattaabi (may Allah have mercy on him) said: “As for praying behind people who are talking,
al-Shaafa'i and Ahmad ibn Hanbal considered this to be makrooh, because their
talk distracts the worshipper from his prayer.” („Awn al-Ma‟bood, 2/388). As regards not
praying behind someone who is sleeping, a number of scholars thought that the
evidence for this was weak (including Abu Dawood in his Sunan, Kitaab
al-Salaah, Tafree‟ Abwaab al-Witr, Baab al-Du‟aa‟, and Ibn Hajar in Fath al-Baari, Sharh Baab al-Salaah khalf
al-Naa‟im, Kitaab al-Salaah).
Al-Bukhari, may Allah have mercy on him, quoted the hadith of „Aa‟ishah in his Saheeh, Baab al-Salaah khalf al-Naa‟im: “The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) used to
pray whilst I was lying across from him on his bed…” (Saheeh al-Bukhari, Kitaab al-Salaah). Mujaahid,
Taawoos and Maalik thought it makrooh to pray facing someone who was sleeping,
lest he expose something that would distract the worshipper from his prayer.
(Fath al-Baari, ibid.) If there is no risk of that happening, then it is not
makrooh to pray behind someone who is sleeping. And Allah knows best.
Not occupying oneself with smoothing the
ground in front of one
Al-Bukhari (may Allah have mercy on him) reported from Mu‟ayqeeb (may Allah be pleased with him) that the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said concerning a man‟s smoothing the ground when he prostrates, “If you
have to do that, then do it only once.” (Fath al-Baari, 3/79). The Messenger of
Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “Do not wipe (the ground) when you are praying,
but if you have to, then do it only once.” (Reported by Abu Dawood, no. 946; Saheeh al-Jaami‟, no. 7452). The reason for this prohibition is so
as to maintain khushoo‟, and so that a person will
not make too many extra movements in prayer. If the place where one is going to
prostrate needs to be smoothed, it is better to do this before starting to
pray. This also applies to wiping the forehead or nose when praying. The
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) used to prostrate in water
and mud, which would leave traces on his forehead, but he did not bother to
wipe it off every time he raised his head from sujood. It remained there
because he was so deeply absorbed in his prayer and his khushoo‟ was so strong that he took not notice of it. The
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “Prayer is an occupation in itself.” (Reported by al-Bukhari, Fath al-Baari, 3/72). Ibn
Abi Shaybah reported that Abu‟l-Darda‟ said: “Even if I were to get
red camels, I would not like to wipe the gravel from my forehead.” „Ayaad said:
“The salaf did not like to
wipe their foreheads before they finished praying.” (al-Fath, 3/79). Just as a worshipper should avoid
anything that will distract him from his prayer, by the same token he should avoid
disturbing others. This includes:
Not disturbing others with one’s recitation The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of
Allah be upon him) said: “All of you are speaking to
your Lord, so do not disturb one another, and do not raise your voices above
one another when reciting” or he said, “in prayer.” (Reported by Abu Dawood, 2/83; Saheeh al-Jaami‟, no. 752). According to another report, he said, “Do not compete with one another in raising your
voices when reciting Qur‟an.” (Reported by Imaam Ahmad, 2/36; Saheeh al-Jaami‟, 1951).
Not turning around during prayer Abu Dharr (may Allah be pleased with him) said: “The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of
Allah be upon him) said: „Allah continues to turn towards His slave whilst he
is praying, so long as he does not turn away, but if he turns away, [Allah]
turns away from him.” (Reported by Abu Dawood, no.
909; Saheeh Abi Dawood).
Turning away during prayer is of two types: The turning away of
the heart to something other than Allah. The turning away of the eyes. Both of
them are not allowed, and are detrimental to the reward for the prayer. The
Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was asked about
turning away during prayer, and he said: “It is something that Shaytan steals from a person‟s prayer.” (Reported by al-Bukhari, Kitaab al-Adhaan, Baab al-Iltifaat fi‟l-Salaah). The one who turns away with his heart or
his eyes during prayer is like a man who is called by the ruler and made to
stand before him, and when the ruler starts to address him, he turns away,
looking to the right and the left, not listening to what the ruler is saying
and not understanding a word of it, because his heart and mind are elsewhere.
What does this man think the ruler will do to him? The least that he deserves
is that when he leaves the ruler, he is hated and no longer valued. One who
prays like this is not equal to one who prays with the proper presence of mind,
turning to Allah in his prayer in such a way that he feels the greatness of the
One before Whom he is standing, and he is filled with fear and submission; he
feels too shy before his Lord to turn to anyone else or to turn away. The
difference between their prayers is as Hassaan ibn „Atiyah said: “The two men
may be in one congregation, but the difference in virtue between them is as
great as the distance between heaven and earth. One of them is turning with all
his heart towards Allah, whilst the other is negligent and forgetful.”
(Al-Waabil al-Sayib by Ibn al-Qayyim, Daar al-Bayaan, p. 36).
As for turning away for a genuine reason, this is OK. Abu Dawood
reported that Sahl ibn al-Hanzaliyyah said: “We started praying – Salaat
al-Subh (Fajr) – and the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be
upon him) was looking at the ravine.” Abu Dawood said: “He had sent a horseman
at night to guard the ravine.” This is like when he carried Umaamah bint Abi‟l-„Aas, and when he opened the door for „Aa‟ishah, and when he came down from the minbar whilst
praying in order to teach them, and when he stepped back during Salaat
al-Kusoof (prayer at the time of an eclipse), and when he grabbed and strangled
the Shaytan when he wanted to interrupt his prayer. He also ordered that snakes
and scorpions should be killed even during prayer, and a person who is praying
should stop and even fight one who wants to pass in front of him whilst he is
praying. He told women to clap during prayer [if they spot a mistake on the
part of the imaam], and he used to wave or gesture to people who greeted him
whilst he was praying. These and other actions may be done in cases of
necessity, but if there is no necessity, then they are just idle gestures that
cancel out khushoo‟ and are therefore not allowed
during prayer. (Majmoo‟ al-Fataawa, 22/559).
Not raising one's gaze to the heavens The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon
him) forbade us to do this and issued a warning against it. He said: “When any one of you is praying, he should not
lift his gaze to the heavens, lest he lose his sight.” (Reported by Ahmad, 5/294; Saheeh al-Jaami‟, no. 762). According to another report, he said: “What is wrong with people who lift their gaze to
the heavens whilst they are praying?” According to another report, he said: “that they raise their gaze when they make du‟a‟ during salaah?” (Reported by Muslim, no. 429). He spoke out strongly against it,
to the extent that he said, “Let
them stop it, or their eyesight will be taken away.” (Reported by Imaam Ahmad, 5/258; Saheeh al-Jaami‟, 5574).
Not spitting in front of one when praying This is incompatible with khushoo‟ and good manners before Allah. The Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “When any one of you is praying, let him not spit in front of
himself, for Allah is before him when he prays.” (Reported by al-Bukhari in his Saheeh, no. 397). He also said: “When any one of you stands up to pray, he should
not spit in front of himself, because he is talking to Allah – may He be
blessed and exalted – as long as he is in his prayer place; and he should not
[spit] to his right, because there is an angel on his right. He should spit to
his left, or beneath his feet, and bury it.” (Reported by al-Bukhari, al-Fath, no. 416, 1/512). He said: “When one of you stands to pray, he is talking to
his Lord, and his Lord is between him and the qiblah, so none of you should
spit in the direction of his qiblah, but to his left or under his feet.” (Reported by al-Bukhari, al-Fath al-Baari, no. 417,
1/513). If the mosque is furnished with carpets and so on, as is the norm
nowadays, if a person needs to spit, he can take out a handkerchief or
whatever, spit into it, and put it away again. Trying not to yawn when praying The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of
Allah be upon him) said: “If any one of you feels the
urge to yawn during prayer, let him suppress it as much as he can, lest the
Shaytan enter…” (Reported by Muslim, 4/2293).
If the Shaytan enters, he will be more able to disturb the worshipper‟s khushoo‟, in addition to laughing at him when he yawns.
Not putting one’s hands on one’s hips when
praying Abu Hurayrah said: “The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of
Allah be upon him) forbade putting the hands on the hips during prayer.” (Reported by Abu Dawood, no. 947; Saheeh
al-Bukhari, Kitaab al-„Aml fi‟l-Salaah, Baab al-Hadhr fi‟l-Salaah). Ziyaad ibn Subayh al-Hanafi said: “I prayed beside Ibn „Umar and I put my hand on
my hip, but he struck my hand. When he had finished praying, he said, “This is
crossing in prayer. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be
upon him) used to forbid this.” (Reported by Imaam Ahmad, 2/106 and others. Classed as saheeh by
al-Haafiz al-„Iraaqi in Takhreej al-Ihyaa‟. See al-Irwaa‟, 2/94). It was reported that the Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allah be upon him) said that this posture is how the people of
Hell rest; we seek refuge with Allah from that. (Reported by al-Bayhaqi from
Abu Hurayrah. Al-„Iraaqi said, its isnaad appears to be saheeh).
Not letting one’s clothes hang down (sadl)
during prayer It was reported that the
Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) forbade letting
one‟s clothes hang down during
prayer or for a man to cover his mouth. (Reported by Abu Dawood, no. 643; Saheeh al-Jaami‟, no. 6883. He said, this is a hasan hadith). In
„Awn al-Ma‟bood (2/347) al-Khattaabi
said: “Al-sadl: letting one's clothes hang down all the way to the ground.” It
was reported in Marqaat al-Mafaateeh (2/236): “Al-sadl is completely forbidden
because it has to do with showing off, and in prayer it is even worse.” The
author of al-Nihaayah said: “It means wrapping oneself up in one's garment,
leaving one‟s hands inside and bowing and
prostrating in it.” It was said that the Jews used to do this. It was also said
that al-sadl meant putting the garment over one‟s head or shoulders, and letting its edges come
down in front and over one‟s upper arms, so that a person will be preoccupied in taking care
of it, which reduces khushoo‟, unlike garments that are tied up properly or buttoned, which do
not distract the worshipper or affect his khushoo‟. These kinds of clothes are still to be found
nowadays in some parts of Africa and elsewhere, and in the way some Arabian
cloaks are worn, which distract the worshipper and keep him busy adjusting
them, retying them if they become loose and so on. This should be avoided. The
reason why it is forbidden to cover one‟s mouth was explained by the scholars as being
because that prevents a person from reciting Qur‟an and doing sujood properly. (Marqaat
al-Mafaateeh, 2/236).
Not resembling animals Allah has honoured the son of Adam and created him
in the best way, so it is shameful for the son of Adam to resemble or imitate
animals. We have been forbidden to resemble or imitate a number of postures or
movements of animals when we pray, because that is contrary to khushoo‟ or because it is ugly and does not befit the
worshipper who is praying. For example, it was reported that the Messenger of
Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) forbade three things in
prayer: pecking like a crow, spreading one‟s forearms like a carnivore, or always praying in
the same place like a camel keeping to its own territory. (Reported by Ahmad,
3/428). It was said that when a man always prays in the same place in the
mosque, making it his own, it is like a camel keeping to its own territory.
(Al-Fath al-Rabaani, 4/91). According to another report: “He forbade me to peck like a cockerel, to sit
like a dog or to turn like a fox.” (Reported by Imaam Ahmad, 2/311; Saheeh al-Targheeb, no. 556).
This is what we were able to mention about the means of attaining khushoo‟, so that we may strive for them, and about the
things that detract from khushoo‟, so that we can avoid them. There is another issue
that has to do with khushoo‟, to which the scholars attached so much importance that it is
worthy of mention here:
When a person suffers a great deal of waswaas
(insinuating thoughts from Shaytan) in his prayer, is his prayer valid or does
he have to repeat it? Ibn
al-Qayyim, may Allah have mercy on him, said: “It was said: what do you say concerning the prayer of one who
has no khushoo‟, does he have to repeat it
or not? With regard to whether it will
count for the purposes of reward, it will not be counted, except for [the
parts] where one is focused and has the correct attitude of khushoo‟ towards one‟s Lord. Ibn „Abbaas said: „You will gain nothing
from your prayer except the parts where you were focused.‟ In the Musnad it is reported that the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “A person may offer a prayer, and nothing will be recorded of it
for him except half of it, or a third, or a quarter … or a tenth.” Allah has made the success of the worshipper in
prayer dependent on his khushoo‟, and has indicated that the one who has no khushoo‟ will not be among the successful, but if it is
counted for him for the purpose of reward, he will be one of the successful.
With regard to the matter of whether it counts in terms of worldly rulings and
exempts him from having to repeat it, if he focused with proper khushoo‟ for most of the prayer, it is OK, according to
scholarly consensus. The sunnah prayers and adhkaar recited after prayer make
up for anything that is lacking. But in the case where there was no khushoo‟ or proper focus for most of the prayer, there is a
difference of opinion among the fuqahaa‟. Ibn Haamid, one of the companions of Ahmad,
thought it obligatory to repeat the prayer. The fuqahaa‟ also differed with regard to khushoo‟ in prayer, and there are two scholarly opinions on
this point. They are to be found in the Hanbali madhhab and others. These
opinions differ as to whether it is obligatory to repeat prayers in which one
encountered a great deal of waswaas. Ibn Haamid among the companions of Ahmad
said that it was obligatory, but the majority of fuqahaa‟ do not share this view.
They take as evidence the fact that the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allah be upon him) commanded the one who gets mixed up in his
prayer to do sajdatay al-sahw (two prostrations of forgetfulness); he did not
say that the prayer has to be repeated, even though he said, “The Shaytan comes to any one of you when he is
praying and says, „Remember such and such, remember such and such,‟ about something that he had forgotten, until he
misguides him to the extent that he does not know how much he has prayed.”
There is no dispute regarding the fact that there is no reward for
the prayer except for the portion in which a person had proper presence of
mind, as the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “A person may offer a prayer, and nothing will be
recorded of it for him except half of it, or a third, or a quarter … or a
tenth.” Ibn „Abbaas said: “You will gain nothing from your prayer except
what you focus on.” So [the prayer] is not correct
if you are looking at it from the point of view that it has to be perfect, but
it may be regarded as valid in the sense that we are not commanded to repeat
it. (Madaarij al-Saalikeen, 1/112). It was reported in al-Saheeh that the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “When the muezzin calls the adhaan, the Shaytan
runs away farting, so that he will not hear the adhaan. When the adhaan is
over, he comes back. When the prayer starts, he runs away, but once it is in
progress, he comes back, until he comes between a man and his own soul, and
says, „Remember such and such, remember such and such,‟ which he had forgotten, until he cannot remember
how much he has prayed. If any one of you experiences this, let him do two
prostrations of forgetfulness (sajdat al-sahw) whilst he is sitting.” They said: The Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allah be upon him) commanded him, with regard to this prayer in which the
Shaytan made him forget how much he had prayed, to do the two prostrations of
forgetfulness. He did not command him to repeat it. If the prayer was invalid –
as they claim – he would have told him to repeat it. They said: This is the
reason for the two prostrations of forgetfulness – to annoy the Shaytan for
“whispering” insinuating thoughts to a person and coming between him and his
own soul when he is praying. For this reason, these two prostrations are also
called al-murghimatayn (the two annoying ones). (Madaarij al-Saalikeen,
1/528-530). If you say that the prayer has to be repeated, so as to gain the
benefits and rewards, then that is up to the individual. If he wants to gain
those benefits, he can, and if he wants to miss out, he can. If you say that we
have to force people to repeat the prayer and punish them if they do not,
applying to them the rulings on those who forsake prayer, then this is not
right. This is the more correct of the two opinions. And Allah knows best.
Conclusion Khushoo‟ is a serious, major issue,
which is impossible to achieve without the help of Allah. Being deprived of
khushoo‟ is nothing short of a
calamity. Hence the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) used to
say in his du‟a‟: “Allaahumma
innee a‟oodhu bika min qalbin laa
yakhsha‟… (O Allah, I seek refuge
with You from a heart that has no khushoo‟…).” (Reported by al-Tirmidhi, 5/485, no. 3482; Saheeh Sunan
al-Tirmidhi, 2769). Those who have khushoo‟ are of varying levels or degrees. Khushoo‟ is an action of the heart that may increase and
decrease. Some people have khushoo‟ as great as the clouds of the sky, and others may
finish their prayer without having understood anything at all. “When it comes
to prayer, people are of five levels: The first is the level of the one who
wrongs himself and is negligent. He does not do wudoo‟ properly, or pray at the right time or make sure
he does all the necessary parts of prayer. The second is one who observes the
outward essentials of prayer, prays on time and does wudoo‟, but he has lost the battle against his own self
and is overwhelmed with waswaas. The third is one who observes the outward
essentials of prayer, prays on time and does wudoo‟, and also strives against his own self and against
waswaas, but he is preoccupied with his struggle against his enemy (i.e. the
Shaytan), lest he steal from his prayer, so he is engaged in salaah and jihad
at the same time. The fourth is one who when he stands up to pray, he fulfils
all the requirements of the prayer, and his heart is fully focused and alert
lest he omit anything, and his concern is to do the prayer properly and
perfectly. His heart is deeply immersed in his prayer and worship of his Lord.
The fifth is one who does all of that, but he takes his heart and places it
before his Lord, looking at his Lord with his heart and focusing on Him, filled
with love and adoration, as if he is actually seeing Him. That waswaas and
those thoughts diminish, and the barriers between him and his Lord are lifted.
The difference between the prayer of this person and the prayer of anyone is
else is greater than the difference between heaven and earth. When this person
prays, he is preoccupied with his Lord and content with Him.
The first
type is punishable; the second is accountable; the third is striving so he is
not counted as a sinner; the fourth is rewarded and the fifth is drawn close to
his Lord, because he is one of those for whom prayer is a source of joy.
Whoever finds their joy in prayer in this life, will find their joy in being
close to Allah in the Hereafter, and will also find his joy in Allah in this
world. Whoever finds his joy in Allah will be content with everything, and
whoever does not find his joy in Allah, will be destroyed by his feelings of
grief and regret for worldly matters.” (al-Waabil al-Sayib, p. 40).
Necessary Steps to Develop AlKhushoo’
The internal aspect of our Salaah can become closer to what is required if the following things are worked upon and effort is mde to perfect them.
1. Complete consciousness or presence of mind during the performance of the Salaah (Prayer).
This means emptying the heart of everything except remembrance of Allah (). This can only be achieved if one focuses his attention upon keeping the heart restricted. This will result in making the heart conscious and would restrict it to concentrating upon what its owner wants.
Many people are not aware that the condition of the heart is linked to what its owner aims after. This is determined based upon what he knows and does. His heart thereafter will not roam except upon these two things. Therefore, we can conclude that the heart would be consciousness in the Prayer if its owner is fully aware of his goal. Consequently, he should work diligently to know about it so that he can properly fulfill it.
Now, if this world and things related to it are of importance to a person and this is what all his attention is directed at fulfilling, then it is upon this that his heart will dwell. The heart of such a person would now find it very difficult to be conscious of Allah ().
A person afflicted with such a severe ailment can only correct his deficient state if he makes Allah and the seeking of His pleasures his goal. This must be his major concern so that his heart would follow accordingly.
Another thing that can greatly assist someone in clarifying his true purpose is a proper understanding of the life of this worl in which he lives. He should contemplate what Allah says about this materialistic state, because He would know its reality better than everyone else. After all, is He not its Creator? After this he should further try to understand what Allah advises about the way in which he should go about his dealings, and what should be his relationship to the world in which he lives.
The statements of Allah and His Messenger () bring home this reality very clearly indeed. Allah, the Glorious informs us:
(a) This worldly life is play and pastime. Allah says:
“And the life of this world is nothing but play and amusement. But far better is the house of the Hereafter for those who are the Muttaqoon (those who are conscious of Allah). Will you then not understand?” [AlAn’aam 6:32].
(b) The life of this world is a matter of deception. Allah says:
“Everyone shall taste death. And only on the Day of Resurrection shall you be paid your wages in full. And whoever is removed away from the Fire and admitted to Paradise, he indeed is successful. The life of this world is only the enjoyment of deception (a deceiving thing).” [Aali ‘Imraan 3:185]
From the sayings of the Messenger () we can also get a clear picture of the life of this compared to the Next.
Jaabir Ibn ‘Abdullah reported that the Messenger of Allah () walked through the market place. Some people were gathered on either side of him. Then he came across a dead goat with very short ears, of which he took hold saying, “Who among you would like to have this for a dirham?”
They said: “We would not even like to have it for nothing, for it is of no use to us.”
He () said: “Would you like to have it for free?”
They said: “By Allah, not even if it were alive, because its ears are so short; and now it is also dead.”
Thereupon the Messenger () said: “By Allah, this world is more insignificant in the sight of Allah than this is in your eyes.” [Muslim]
If anyone becomes convinced of the above, and there is no reason why he should not be, since this is the testimony of both Allah and His Messenger (). It would then be very easy for him to make the pursuit of the life of the Hereafter his major goal. Every other goal would therefore become insignificant and as such subservient to this major one.
This is because the most effective cure for removing thoughts that occupy the heart is to first remove the reason that is the cuse of these different thoughts. This is because the heart would hover around those things that its owner is attached to and it would then begin to love them. Therefore, whoever has developed a stronger love for anyone or anything other than Allah and the Hereafter would never be free from distrcting thoughts during the performance of the Salaah.
Hence, for anyone to properly benefit from his prayer he must make Allah his first love and the most important thing to himself.
Allah, Himself emphasizes this in the following ayah:
“Say (O Muhammad): If your father, and your sons, and your brothers, and your spouses, and your tribe, and the wealth you have acquired, and the merchandise for which there will be no sale, and the dwellings you desire are more loved to you than Allah and His Messenger and Jihaad in His way, then wait until Allah brings His command to pass. And Allah does not guide the wrong doing people.” [Taubah 9:24]
2. Understanding what is said during the Salaah.
This is a very important aspect to develop humility and consciousness while performing the Salaah. It is to make sure that one has a working knowledge of every phrase he recites during the Prayer. This means that he should clearly understand the meaning of the words as well as the principles founded in them. After this, it will now become essential for him to try and savor these meanings whilst reciting them in the Salaah. This would assist the concentration greatly, if Allah wills.
3. Feeling Allah’s Majesty in the heart during the performance of the Salaah.
Understanding the meaning of what is recited as explained above not only assist in developing the consciousness that is necessay in the Salaah but it also assists in the ‘abd (servant) feeling Allah’s Majesty in his heart.
Feeling Allah’s Majesty in the heart during the Salaah can be further achieved when the servant of Allah gets two things clearly established in his mind:
That Allah is the Greatest. He owns everything and He has power to do all things and that if Allah wants to destroy him, he can do nothing about it. If this is clearly realized and believed in, then this should force the heart to honor Allah ()
Being sure that left to his own desires without the Mercy and Guidance of his Lord and Creator, he would be no better, in fact he would be worse than the animals.
Allah says:
“They are like cattle; nay, they are even farther astray from the Path (i.e. even worse than cattle).” [AlFurqaan 25:44]
These two traits combined should make the heart adopt a state where it feels the Majesty of Allah during the Salaah.
4.Showing reverence to Allah ().
This is really a manifestation of fear for Allah by His servant. This results when the servant becomes aware of His Greatness and Majesty.
Fear is what restrains the servant from being disobedient and compels him to worship his Lord. When fear is absent the servant becomes negligent and it becomes easy for him to commit sins. However, it must be known that too much fear brings about hopelessness and despair. Therefore, a servant must follow the middle course, which is to fear the punishment of Allah and hope for His Mercy.
Fear of Allah sometimes comes about from knowing Him and His Attributes as well as the realization that Allah can do whatever He wills and if He were to destroy everything it would not decrease His kingdom in anyway.
The Messenger of Allah () said that Allah, the Mighty said:
“…And were I to give everyone what he requested, that would not decrease what I have anymore than a needle decreases the sea if put into it…” [Muslim]
At other times fear of Allah can be developed if a person realizes the magnitude of his sins.
Yet at other times it is caused by a combination of both i.e. his fear of Allah will depend upon his being aware of his sins coupled with his awareness of Allah’s Glory and Majesty.
Fear of Allah is directly proportional to one’s knowledge of Him. As his knowledge of Allah increases so would his fear of Him. Allah clearly states this in the Quran:
“Indeed those of His servants who know Allah are (the most) fearful of Allah.” [Faatir 35:28]
Developing fear for Allah should assist in a servant to be reverent to his Lord in his prayers as well as all his other actions.
Hoping for Allah’s reward and that He will forgive the sins one commits.
Allah said:
“Say: O My servants who have wronged their souls, do not lose hope of the Mercy of Allah, for surely Allah forgives all sins…” [AzZumar 39:53]
Hoping for Allah’s forgiveness and that He will reward for good deeds is something that has to be worked for. This does not come about by sitting back and depending on Allah’s Mercy as is the state of many Muslims who commit sins. This can only be achieved if the following three conditions are met:
1) Considering what one hopes for as something important. This makes what he is striving after dear to him.
2) Being very afraid of losing whatever he hopes for.
3) Striving to achieve what he hopes for.
If any of the above conditions are missing, then that is not hope but only wishful thinking. This is because the one who has hope is one who is fearful when he strives after something he hopes for, he hastens along because of fear that he might lose it. Allah said:
“Surely those who believe and those who make hijrah and struggle in the way of Allah; these are those who have hope in Allah’s Mercy…” [AlBaqarah 2:218]
The Messenger () also emphasizes the need for struggling after what one hopes, he () said:
“Whoever is afraid of being destroyed by the enemy sets out in the early part of the night, and whoever sets forth early achieves his goal. Be aware! Indeed the treasures of Allah are very precious. Take note! The treasure of Allah is Paradise. [AtTirmidhi and AlHaakim].
Hope and fear are characteristics that always go together because both result from the fact that the servant has come to realize his true nature. He knows that he is incapable and in total need of Allah and that he cannot survive in this world or the next except if Allah ) is totally merciful to him for all his many shortcomings. Yahya ibn Mu’adh said: “Any wrong action committed by a believer is followed by two consequences; fear of His (Allah’s) punishment and hope for His forgiveness.”
Therefore, true hope is what guides and encourages a person to obedience of Allah and restricts him from falling into disobedience. On the other hand the one whose hopes lead him to idleness and being involved in evils is a person who is living in deception nd who will lose in the end. Developing hope in Allah’s Mercy is an attitude that can bring about beautiful results for us in our prayer.
5. Feeling ashamed and insignificant before Allah ().
This comes about when the worshipper knows that he is weak and commits sins by day and night, and he realizes that Allah is aware of this.
This state of mind can be achieved if the following things are realized and worked upon:
1) Understanding that we are weak and have many limitations existing within us and that we sin by night and day. The Messenger of Allah () said:
“Every son of Adam is constantly sinning, and the best of them is the one who turns to Allah in repentance.” [Ibn Majah, AtTirmidhi and Ahmad].
What helps to emphasize our insignificance is that we are in total need of Allah while He is totally independent of everything. This is beautifully described for us by Allah in a Qudsi Hadeeth. The Messenger of Allah () said that Allah, the Mighty said:
“…O My servants, were the first of you and the last of you, the human of you and the jinn of you were to rise up in one place and make a request from Me, and were I to give everyone what he requested, that would not decrease what I have any more than a needle decreases the sea if put into it…” [Part of a Hadeeth found in Sahih Muslim].
Realizing that we are very much deficient in our sincerity to Allah whenever we worship Him.
Understanding that if we were to worship Allah as we should, we would never be able to do so effectively. ‘Ibn Abbaas () said: “Two raka`aat prayed consciously is more beneficial than praying the entire night and the heart is inattentive.”
Realizing all the above should make us become very ashamed before Allah and should assist us to humble ourselves.
6. Other Profitable Prescriptions for Humbling the Heart
As discussed before, a true believer must try his best to love Allah above everyone and everything else. He must also work tenaciously to declare His Glory, fear Him, hope for His mercy and try to be completely ashamed of himself before Allah. He realizes all of this because he knows in reality that he is weak and has numerous limitations and is constantly in error.
These realizations will help a person to become humble before Allah and there is nothing better that he can achieve.
However, his being unmindful of the above attitudes would only result in his mind heedless and complacent. While praying, these characteristics would be transferred to his prayer also and as such he will find himself suffering from random thoughts, heedlessness and lack of concentration in the Prayer.
The cure for these sicknesses can be achieved if one removes these random thoughts which would provide a temporary
relief. However, if one works diligently to dig the roots of these sicknesses that are imbedded in the heart cure would be complete. These roots have to be taken care of from two levels; externally as well as internally.
1.External
The heart is mostly affected by what is observed by the eyes and the ears. These effects leave marks on it, which would finally determine upon what it would focus. The things that would be thought about are what the heart focuses upon and these would produce other thoughts. Therefore, the roots of the thoughts are really the eyes and the ears. So to make the mind be focused on what would be beneficial in the Salaah one must practice lowering the gaze as well as controling what one listens to.
Allah said about lowering the gaze:
“Tell the believing men to lower their gaze and guard their modesty; this is more purifying for them…” [AnNoor 24:30]
He should also remove any other thing from around him that would assist in distracting him.
As such he should try to pray close to the wall so that the space in front of him is no more than the length of the Sajdah (Prostration). He should try not to pray on the streets nor in rooms that are decorated or that have other distractions such as music, children etc. This is why it is strongly discouraged to decorate the Masjids.
Controlling these external influences is not so difficult. A small amount of effort on this will, by Allah’s Mercy, assist us to do better with our concentration in our Salaah.
2. Internal
This is always more difficult to control and master than the external distractions. This is primarily because the thoughts that are in the mind are not confined to only one subject.Thus the mind roams from one thing to the other. If one tries to shut off one thought that distracts him,if the same thought does not return another takes place.
Added to this is the fact that his most dangerous enemy (Satan) is very covetous of anyone who prostrates because he was cast out of Paradise because he refused to.Thus he diligently works on distracting anyone who prays. He will therefore, use every possible strategy to assist the heart to roam wildly. Is it not in the Salaah that you find yourself suddenly remembering things that you might have misplaced, etc?
The cure for this is to concentrate on the meanings of what is being recited and to make these meanings the thoughts with whichthe heart becomes occupied. What will help along with this is to prepare the mind before starting the prayer by concentrating upon Whom we are going to be standing before and try to feel as if we are standing on Judgment Day to be judged by or Lord. We should also try to convince ourselves that this might be our final farewell prayer as the Messenger of Allah () said:
“Pray a farewell prayer as if you see Him…” [Tabaraani, Ibn Majah, Ahmad]
Our aim behind establishing prayer should be what Allah made as the aim. He says:
“Establish Prayer for My remembrance.” [Taha 20:14]
What is evident from this command is that we must establish Salaah for Allah’s remembrance and not be absentminded and heedless during our performance of it. This is further emphasized when Allah reprimands us for heedlessness. He said:
“And do not be among the heedless…” [AlA’raaf 7:205]
Conclusion
Now after reading this humble work let us examine ourselves: Are we praying as we should? Are we establishing Salaah for Allah’s remembrance or is it mostly habit? Or are we just praying and not even understanding why we are praying?
It is too dangerous for us to continue like this especially when we know that Salaah is the first action that a believer would e questioned about on the Day of Judgment and if it is correct then he would have prospered and succeeded. Do we not wish for prosperity and success?
The Messenger of Allah () said:
“The first action for which a servant of Allah will be held accountable on the Day of Resurrection will be his prayers. If they are in order then he would have prospered and succeeded…” [AtTirmidhi, Abu Dawood, AnNasaa’ee, Ahmad and Ibn Majah]
My brothers and sisters is it not that we should try to be fair to ourselves and try our best to pray to Allah alone? Should we not try to show gratitude to our Creator Who has bestowed all the
various bounties upon us? At least we should try to obey His simple command:
“Establish prayer for My remembrance” [Taha 20:14]
How to develop Khushoo in Salah?
How to develop Khushoo in Salah?
I would like to share 3 techniques before the salah, in the
salah and outside of the salah to develop khusoo in Salah
Before the Salah:-
1) When you are about to get ready
for salah you need to get into the frame of mind for salah. We often see people
when they come to salah; salah is a big burden upon them. Its sth they want to
do and just get over with. But if you actually you want to enjoy salah then you
come with the frame of mind that I am dedicating this time only for salah now.
I won’t be doing anything else. So you come with the intention to pray peace
pray and tranquil. And you are not focused on anything else. So you get into
the frame of that mind and you know this time is now going to be dedicated to
salah and salah is not a play rather you have to think it is a conversation
between you and Allah SWT.
2) Eliminate all distractions from
salah and this includes varieties of things.
a) Firstly is that of hunger.“If
dinner has been put out and the iqaamah has been given for prayer, eat dinner
first and do not rush to finish it.” (Al-Bukhaari, Kitaab
al-Aadhan, Baab idhaa hadara al-ta’aamu wa uqeemat al-salaah; Muslim,
no. 557-559).
b) Eliminate the distraction of
going to the toilet. How amazing is that when we say Allahu Akbar and started
the salah all of a sudden it is then we have to go to toilet. So before salah
relieve yourself from going to the toilet. The Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) forbade praying when one is suppressing the urge to urinate
or defecate. (Reported by Ibn Maajah in his Sunan, no. 617; Saheeh
al-Jaami’, no. 6832).
c) Relieve yourself from the
world itself. We often use technology which makes life progress. Yes this is
very true but with this progression problems arise as well. When you are
constantly in touch with the world and you are constantly access other people
and people are able to access you, this complicates life. People always want to
be in touch. So when you are about to go into salah make sure you turn off your
cell phone. Don’t let your cell phone distract you from your salah.
3) Follow the advice of the Prophet
Muhammad PBUH and he said: “Remember death in your prayer, for the man who
remembers death during his prayer is bound to pray properly, and pray the
prayer of a man who does not think that he will pray any other prayer.” (al-Silsilat
al-Saheehah by al-Albaani, 1421. It was reported from al-Suyooti that
al-Haafiz ibn Hajar classed this hadeeth as hasan). As you are about to say
takbir think about death at that time very moment, because the one who remembers
death at that time then he will pray his salah properly. And he will pray as if
this is his last salah and imaging what type of salah that would be. Take your
time in recitation, take your time in ruku and sujood and take your time in
everything else. So remembering death in salah is one of the primary ways to
gain khusoo.
Inside the Salah:-
1) Prophet Muhammad PBUH commanded
us to seek refuge in the salah. When you start the salah you are supposed to
say Awzubillah minis shaitanir rajim. And this is what you are supposed to seek
refuge from when you start the salah and you see the wisdom behind this is
shaitan due to his arrogance was not able to perform sijda to Allah and like he
doesn’t want anyone else do that as well. So the time shaitan attacks you the
most is actually in salah so much so that the Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) taught us the following methods of combating the wiles of
Shaytaan and getting rid of his waswaas: Abu’l-‘Aas (may Allaah be pleased with
him) reported that he said, “O Messenger of Allaah, the Shaytaan interrupts me
when I pray, and I get confused in my recitation.” The Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, “That is a shaytaan whose
name is Khanzab. If you sense his presence, seek refuge with Allaah from him,
and spit [dry spitting] towards your left three times.” [Abu’l-‘Aas] said: “I
did that and Allaah took him away from me.” (Reported by Muslim, no. 2203)
2) Contemplate the
sayings and actions of the salah. When you say Allahu Akbar what does that
actually mean? You are saying Allah is the greatest and at this very point when
you are starting your salah that nothing else matters because Allah is the
greatest and this what you are focusing upon. And you will see how amazing it
is that the more you are contemplating upon the sayings of salah you will see
that the more conducive that sayings are, actually they are establishing
khusoo. And you go down to ruku and say Allahu Akbar again and you say Subhana
Rabbil Azim and you go down to do sijda and you say Subhana Rabbil ‘ala ie my
Lord the Most High glory be to Him. How can a person not be humble at that
point when he is down sijda. He is low to the ground and all he is doing is
praising Allah SWT. So think about the sayings in salah and think about what
you are uttering in salah. And one of the best things you can do is to read the
translation of Quran so you can know what you are actually saying in salah.
3) Doing the acts which are
recommended from the sunnah of Messenger PBUH. Have you ever wondered why we
actually put our right hand over left hand in salah? The wisdom behind this is
we aren’t doing anything else with hand. Imagine if your hands were behind your
back or beside you, then you actually don’t know what to do with the hands. So
the actual sunnah acts of salah can be more conducive towards khusoo of salah.
Outside the salah:-
1) As Allah SWT and His Messenger PBUH commanded
us to make dua to Allah. The Prophet PBUH used to make dua frequently Allahumma
inni awzubika min kalbin la yaksha that O Allah I seek refuge in you from a
heart that will not have khusoo(Riyadus Saliheen Hadith 1479). So make dua to
Allah SWT that he grants us hearts with khusoo so that we can live the love of
salah. So the salah actually becomes the coolness of your eyes and warmth our
heart. And this will unengage us from the problems of life and unengaged us
from the glimmer and glitter of this world.
2) Learn about the salah actually
itself. So take the time read and attain halaqa on salah. Learn how to
pray and you will see that there is wisdom behind each and every act in salah
and its relationship to khusoo.
3) Lastly there are certain things
that you can purchase that will help you to increase khusoo. Two books first
one is Prayer and its affect on increasing iman and purifying the soul by
sheikh hussain Al Awaisha and the second book is one of the great scholar from
the past name Imam Ibne Rajab Al Hanbali called Humality in prayer.
I narrowed down on the
following points, which I hope helps you to develop khushoo when you pray next
time, insha’Allah.
1. Get into the grove even
before prayer begins:
Imagine how we would plan for a
meeting or an interview. We would begin with checking if we are dressed
properly, if our papers are ready and if we have perfected our speech. We would
probably even repeat the speech many times over to make ourselves look prepared
and confident.
Imagine the amount of
pre-preparation we have to do to talk in front of the Lord of the Heavens and
the Earth! So, in order to focus in salah, let us prepare even before
we actually start praying. Condition your mind and nafs to get into the
grove by:
·
Repeating after the adhaan
·
Reciting the dua after adhaan
·
Doing wudhoo with concentration
·
Dressing nicely! (You are presenting yourself in front of your
Lord, remember?)
·
And, most importantly, pray on TIME.
2. Learn
something new:
Try learning a new short surah
or maybe even a few verses from a long surah. Recite the same after fatihah.
This way, you are automatically forced to concentrate on reciting something
new. In turn, you will be keeping your heart and mind vigilant. This is an
extremely powerful tool to prevent your mind from wandering away into thinking
about other inconsequential matters while praying.
3. Don’t steal while praying:
Abu Qutaadah 
said:
“The Prophet 
said:
said:
“The Prophet 
said:
‘The
worst type of thief is the one who steals from his prayer.’ He said, ‘O
Messenger of Allah, how can a person steal from his prayer?’ He said, ‘By not
doing rukoo’ and sujood properly.’”2 1
When treating salah as a form
of physical movement, we tend to rush through to get over with it! But, we lose
the blessings of performing salah here. While performing sujood, spend a couple
of minutes extra to make dua. Bow your heart along with
your body and submit to the Highest Power. Allow humility and peace to enter
your heart and mind while praying rather than being worried about what meal to
prepare or what task to complete at office.
While getting up from sujood,
sit up straight and then go back into sujood position slowly, rather than
slamming your forehead to the ground in quick succession. Feel relaxed and
allow each bone in your body to feel at ease. Salah gives you a free ticket to
talk to the King of Heavens and the Earth, acknowledge the fact that it is a graceful
and powerful meeting!
4. Learn the language:
Well, the main reason why most
of us find it difficult to concentrate in salah is because we fail to realize
the magnanimity of the occasion, fail to realize whom we
are speaking to and in most cases, don’t even understand what we
are reciting because most of us are not native Arabs.
The best way to develop khushoo
is to learn the language. If you don’t find the time or the means to learn
Arabic, you can start by learning the meaning of the surahs that you generally
recite during prayer. Try listening to the tafseers of those surahs and you
will automatically realize the beauty of each letter mentioned in the Glorious
Quran, helping you concentrate on every single word being uttered in salah,
making you crave for more, insha’Allah.
5. Perfect your relationship
with Allah
Allah 
says:
says:
“…
and establish prayer for My remembrance”. (Surah Taha 20:14)2
This is the Lord, the All
Mighty, All Powerful asking us to pray so that we remember Him?!
Is there any moment in your life when you forget your own families or kids?
Now, how is it that we forget the Creator, the one who created our families and
kids?
You might be wondering why I’m
talking about perfecting our relationship with Allah on
the same lines as that of khushoo. Ever noticed how close we get with friends
when we get to know them better? A phone call or an online chat with them
becomes more important than anything else. Imagine how much more engrossed in
salah we would be if we could develop the same kind of relationship (if not
more) with our Lord ?
on
the same lines as that of khushoo. Ever noticed how close we get with friends
when we get to know them better? A phone call or an online chat with them
becomes more important than anything else. Imagine how much more engrossed in
salah we would be if we could develop the same kind of relationship (if not
more) with our Lord ?
Our Rabb provides even after
our disobedience, He loves us more than our own mothers do, He descends
down during the last part of the night waiting to see if His slaves ask
anything from Him, so isn’t it time we perfect our relationship with Him ?
descends
down during the last part of the night waiting to see if His slaves ask
anything from Him, so isn’t it time we perfect our relationship with Him ?
Understanding and allowing His
Mercy and Love to enter our hearts will make our hearts humble, filling it with
unimaginable love, automatically making us yearn for more chances to speak to
the King, the All Merciful and Oft Forgiving, with complete concentration!
Start thinking about Allah throughout
the day and it will be easier to talk to Him when
you are given 5 chances to do so. Take the first step, and
He will come running towards you!
throughout
the day and it will be easier to talk to Him when
you are given 5 chances to do so. Take the first step, and
He will come running towards you!
6. Defeat Satan:
“Then
I (Satan) will come to them from before them and from behind them and on their
right and on their left, and You will not find most of them grateful [to You].”
(Surah Al-A’raf 7:17)
Satan has promised to annoy us
and take us away from the straight path. We are given a challenge here to
submit ourselves to our Lord and not let the Satan win. Salah is
probably the most perfect time for Satan to distract us and he does
end up succeeding on more occasions than one. Suddenly, an unfinished work
seems more important and his whispers start getting louder. Crush the satanic
whispers from within.
Stay away from haram, do not
waste ‘free’ time, read beneficial books and do not make your mind a piece of
meat for Satan to devour upon. Keep Satan at bay when you are not
praying and you will automatically be successful in cutting out
his whispers while praying insha’Allah.
7. How’s your dua list?
Most of the time, we end up
asking the same set of duas with an added ‘demand’ here and there according to
the situation we are in. Notice how we always have something new and exciting
to share with our friends everyday? But, why is it that we tell the same stuff
to our Lord in every single prayer? Speak to Him with
zeal, enthusiasm and humility. Start diversifying your dua list. Increase your
time in sujood and make dua, don’t rush to finish tasleem and walk out. Ask dua
constantly to increase khushoo levels.
with
zeal, enthusiasm and humility. Start diversifying your dua list. Increase your
time in sujood and make dua, don’t rush to finish tasleem and walk out. Ask dua
constantly to increase khushoo levels.
Want to be successful? Here’s
how:
“Certainly
will the believers have succeeded: They who are during their prayer
humbly submissive (khaashi’oon)” (Surah Al-Mu’minun 23: 1-2)
In the aforementioned verses,
Allah says
those who have attained khushoo (khaashi’oon) are indeed successful.
He doesn’t call them religious, He calls them successful. Notice the
choice of words here?
says
those who have attained khushoo (khaashi’oon) are indeed successful.
He doesn’t call them religious, He calls them successful. Notice the
choice of words here?
When you manage to discipline
your nafs, mind and heart in front of the Highest Power, it becomes easy to
discipline yourself within the boundaries of Islam while dealing with worldly
matters too, making you successful here and in the hereafter!
Know that you’ve experienced a
small percentage of khushoo when:
·
You can only hear the words which you are
uttering to our Lord and nothing else
·
When external noises are muted
·
When every single worry in your heart ceases to exist
·
When the beauty of Allah’s Mercy and the magnanimity of talking to
Him fills
your heart with awe, so much so that you don’t want to complete your prayer and
let the beautiful meeting end,
fills
your heart with awe, so much so that you don’t want to complete your prayer and
let the beautiful meeting end,
·
When your limbs get soaked in numbness
·
When you feel sad that your meeting and one-on-one conversation
with Allah is
coming to an end during the last rakat
is
coming to an end during the last rakat
·
And, when you cry (without feeling embarrassed that someone might
see you), making you yearn for the next salah!
Reported by Ahmad and al-Haakim, 1/229; Saheeh al-Jaami’, 997
Finally, we ask Allah to make us among those who have khushoo‟ and to accept our repentance. May He reward with
good all those who helped to prepare this book and may He benefit all those who
read it; Aameen. All praise be to Allah, Lord of the Worlds. May
Allah make
us of those who are successful. May Allah make
us of those who are thechosen ones in His eyes. May Allah allow
our hearts to taste the sweetness and beauty of this blessed religion. May
Allah make
us of those who develop khushoo in every single prayer we are allowed to
perform until our last breath! Ameen.
make
us of those who are successful. May Allah make
us of those who are thechosen ones in His eyes. May Allah allow
our hearts to taste the sweetness and beauty of this blessed religion. May
Allah make
us of those who develop khushoo in every single prayer we are allowed to
perform until our last breath! Ameen.
Credit:/ References
Imran
Hussein
Islamhouse
33 Ways of developing Khushoo’ in Salaah
Sheikh Muhammed Salih Al-Munajjid
Islam
online University iou
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