Bismillaahirrahmaanirrahiim
During Ramadan, we all try to do our 'ibadah including our shalat properly according to Fiqh of Shalah. It's hard, however, to concentrate fully in shalat because the shaythaan always tempt us with many things in our head. for example when you are trying to follow the meaning what you are saying, unfortunately very often we fail to do that. We end up thinking "what I 'am gonna to cook today for iftar, for example. It happens to everyone, anyway.
And now what is the Islamic teachings regarding khusyu' in Shalat in order to reach the highest merits in front of Allah SWT.
Shalat is the greatest of the practical pillars of Islam, and khushu' in prayer is required by sharee'ah. When Iblis, 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 Shalat 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 khushu' will be the first thing to disappear from the earth, and we are living in the last times, as the words of Hudhayfah (may Allaah be pleased with him) are particularly pertinent to us: "The first thing of your religion that you will lose is khushu'", 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 khushu'(al-Madaarij, 1/521).
Because of what every person knows about himself, and because of the complaints that one hears from many people about was was (insinuating thoughts from Shaytaan) during the salaah and the loss of khushu', 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 Allaah to make it of benefit.
Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): "Successful indeed are the believers, those who offer their salaah (prayers) with all solemnity and full submissiveness."[al-Mu'minuun 23:1-2] i.e., fearing Allaah and in a calm manner. Khushu' means calmness, serenity, tranquillity, dignity and humility. What makes a person have this khushu' is fear of Allaah and the sense that He is always watching. (Tafseer Ibn Katheer, Daar al-Shab edn., 6/414). Khushu' 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 Allaah 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 Allaah, may He be glorified." (Ta'zeem Qadr al-Salaah, 1/188).
The site of khushu' 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 Shaytaan, 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.
Therefore, Khushu' is a serious, major issue, which is impossible to achieve without the help of Allah SWT. Being deprived of khushoo� is nothing short of a calamity. Hence the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to say in his du'aa: "Allaahumma innee a'oodhu bika min qalbin laa yakhsha" (O Allaah, 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 was waas.
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 was waas, but he is preoccupied with his struggle against his enemy (i.e. the Shaytaan), lest he steal from his prayer, so he is engaged in salaah and jihaad 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 Allaah in the Hereafter, and will also find his joy in Allaah in this world. Whoever finds his joy in Allaah will be content with everything, and whoever does not find his joy in Allaah, will be destroyed by his feelings of grief and regret for worldly matters. (al-Waabil al-Sayib, p. 40).
There are some ways than we can have khusyu' in shalat: For example:
1 Remembering death whilst praying
The Prophet Muhammad SAW 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."
The Prophet Muhammad SAW also advised Abu Ayyoob: "When you stand up to pray, pray a farewell prayer." It means that 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 khusho' in the prayer that he is doing, for he does not know whether this will be his last prayer.
2. Thinking about the Ayaat and adhkaar being recited during the prayer and interacting with them
The Qur'aan was revealed to be pondered over. Allah SWT says : "(This is) a Book (the Qur'aan) 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 SWT 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].
3. Repeat the Aayaat
This will help one to think deeply and look again at the meanings. The Prophet Muhammad SAW used to do this. It was reported that he spent a night repeating one aayah until morning came. The aayah was: "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].
4. Interact with the Aayaat
Hudhayfah said: " I prayed with the Messenger of Allah SWT, the Prophet Muhammad SAW one night" he was reciting at length. If he recited an aayah that mentioned tasbeeh, he would say Subhaan Allaah; if it mentioned a question, he would ask a question; if it mentioned seeking refuge with Allaah, he would seek refuge with Allaah." (HR Muslim).
According to another report, [Hudhayfah] said: "I prayed with the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah 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 Allaah, and if he recited an aayah that mentioned deanthropomorphism of Allaah, he would say Subhaan-Allaah."
One of the Sahaabah Qutaadah ibn al-Nu'maan "prayed qiyaam at night and did not recite anything but Qul Huwa Allaah Ahad, repeating it and not adding anything more. (Al-Bukhaari, and Ahmad,)
Sa'eed ibn 'Ubayd al-Taa'i said: "I heard Sa'eed ibn Jubayr leading them in prayer during the month of Ramadaan, 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.".
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 Allaah. 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 aayah until just before dawn: " and if you count the Blessings of Allaah, never will you be able to count them". When morning came, we said, "O Abu Sa'eed, you did not recite any more than this one aayah 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."
5. memorize Qur'aan 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 khushu', as Allah SWT says: "And they fall down on their faces weeping and it adds to their humility [khushu']" [al-Isra' 17:109].
One example of interacting with the aayaat is to say "Aameen" after al-Faatihah, which brings a great reward. The Prophet Muhammad SAW 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." (HR al-Bukhaari).
Another example is responding to the imaam when he says 'Sami 'Allaahu liman hamidah (Allaah 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 Allaah 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." (HR al-Bukhaari).
6. Pausing at the end of each aayah
This is more helpful in understanding and thinking about the meaning, and it is the Sunnah of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), as Umm Salamah (may Allaah be pleased with her) described how the Prophet Muhammad SAW 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 aayah by aayah. (HR. Abu Dawood,).
Pausing at the end of each aayah is Sunnah even if the meaning continues into the next aayah.
7. Reciting in slow, rhythmic tones (tarteel) and making one�s voice beautiful when reciting
As Allah SWT says:"and recite the Qur'aan (aloud) in a slow, (pleasant tone and) style.� [al-Muzzammil 73:4]. The recitation of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah 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 Muhammad SAW "would recite a soorah in such slow rhythmic tones that it would be longer than would seem possible."(HR. Muslim)
This slow, measured pace of recitation is more conducive to reflection and khushu' than a hurried, hasty reading.
8. Making one's voice beautiful when reciting.
This is something that was advised by the Prophet Muhammad SAW as when he said, "Beautify the Qur'aan with your voices, for a fine voice increases the Qur'aan in beauty."
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 Allaah, as the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: 'Truly, the one who has one of the finest voices among the people for reciting the Qur'aan is the one whom you think fears Allaah when you hear him recite."
8 Knowing that Allah SWT responds to prayers
The Prophet Muhammad said: "Allaah, 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 Allaah, Lord of the Worlds," Allaah says, "My slave has praised Me." When the slave says, "The Most Merciful, the Bestower of Mercy," Allaah says, "My slave has extolled me." When the slave says, "Master of the Day of Judgement," Allaah 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," Allaah 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,"Allaah says, "All these are for My slave, and My slave shall have what he asked for.
This is a great and important hadeeth. If everyone kept it in mind when he prays, he would attain immense khushu'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?
9. Praying with a barrier in front of one and praying close to it
Another thing that will help one to have khushu' 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 Shaytaan and keep people from passing in front of you, which causes a distraction and reduces the reward of the prayer.
The Prophet Muhammad SAW said: "When any one of you prays, let him pray facing a sutrah, and let him get close to it."
Getting close to the sutrah is very beneficial, as the Prophet Muhammad SAW said: "When any one of you prays facing a sutrah, let him get close to it so that the Shaytaan 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 ahaadeeth. (Al-Bukhaari).
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah 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., shaytaan] with him." (HR. Muslim).
Al-Nawawi (may Allaah 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 Shaytaan from passing in front of you and trying to corrupt your prayer." (Sharh Saheeh Muslim).
10. Placing the right hand on the left hand on the chest
The Prophet Muhammad SAW, when he stood up to pray, used to place his right hand on his left hand (Muslim), and place them on his chest (Abu Dawood). TheProphet Muhammad SAW said, "We Prophets were commanded" to place our right hands on our left hands in prayer."
Imaam Ahmad (may Allaah 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."
"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".
11. Looking at the place of prostration
It was reported from 'Aa'ishah that "the Prophet Muhammad SAW used to pray with his head tilted forward and his gaze lowered, looking at the ground."
When the Prophet Muhammad SAW entered the Ka'bah, his eyes never left the place of his prostration until he came out again.
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 Muhammad SAW "would point with the finger next to the thumb towards the qiblah, and focus his gaze upon it."
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 khushu'?
The answer is that this goes against the Sunnah that was reported from the Prophet Muhammad SAW 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-Allaah Ibn al-Qayyim, which will explain the matter further. He (may Allaah 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'aa', 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. 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 hadeeth that describes how the Shaytaan 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 ahaadeeth 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 khushu', then this is better, but if keeping the eyes open affects a person's khushu'o 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 shari'ah than saying it is makrooh. And Allaah knows best.
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 khushu'.
12. 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 khushu'.
The Prophet Muhammad SAW said: "It is more powerful against the Shaytaan than iron, pointing with the forefinger during the Tashahhud is more painful to the Shaytaan than being beaten with a rod of iron, because it reminds the slave of the Unity of Allaah and to be sincere in his worship of Him alone, and this is what the Shaytaan hates most; we seek refuge with Allaah from him."
Because of this great benefit, the Sahaabah, may Allaah 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 Allaah be upon him) used to enjoin one another, i.e., with regard to pointing with the finger during the du'a'.
The Sunnah in pointing with the forefinger is that it should remain raised and moving, pointing towards the qiblah, throughout the Tashahhud.
13. 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 khushu'.
If we study what the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah of upon him) used to recite in his prayer, we will see this variation. For example, with regard to the opening du'aa', we find examples such as the following:
"Allaahumma baaid bayni wa bayna khataayaaya kamaa baa'adta bayn al-mashriqi wal-maghrib. Allaahumma naqqani min khataayaaya kamaa yunaqqaa al-thawb al-abyad min al-danas. Allaahumma ghsilni min khataayaaya bil-maa wal-thalj wal-barad" (O Allaah, separate me (far) from my sins as You have separated (far) the East from the West. O Allaah, cleanse me of my sins as white cloth is cleansed from dirt. O Allaah, wash me of my sins with water, snow and ice)."
"Wajahtu wajhi lilladhi fatara al-samawaati wal-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 Allaah, 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 Allaah, 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.
THE ADVANTAGES OF KHUSYU' IN SHALAT
1. The Prophet Muhammad SAW said: "There is no Muslim man who, when the time for a prescribed prayer comes, he does wudoo' properly, has the proper attitude of khushu', 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" (HR. by Muslim)
2. The reward recorded is in proportion to the degree of khushu', as the Prophet Muhammad SAW 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." (HR.Imaam Ahmad).
3. 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 Allaah 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 khushu', as the Prophet Muhammad SAW) 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." (HR.al-Bayhaqi).
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 [Allaah] in the position of a humble slave." (HR al-Bayhaqi).
4. The one who prays with khushu' 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 Muhammad SAW said, "O Bilaal, let us find comfort in prayer." He did not say "Let us get it over and done with."
5. The Prophet Muhammad SAW) 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?
Wallaahu A'lam bis shawaab
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