What is the meaning of the statement: "A person has no part of his prayer except what he comprehends of it"?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question:
The questioner says: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said:Jami` at-Tirmidhi 3851Sahih (Darussalam) except what he comprehends of it. May Allah reward you for us. Is this hadith for the one praying behind the imam or for the one praying alone?
Answer:
It applies to every person who prays. This is for every person who prays: the imam, the one praying behind him, and the one praying alone. He has no part of his prayer except what his heart is present for. "What he comprehends of it" means what his heart is present for in it, and that he is humble before Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He). Yes, he may be recorded as having a complete prayer if his heart is present for the entire prayer. He may be recorded as having half a prayer, a quarter of a prayer, or a tenth of a prayer. He may be recorded as having nothing if he is distracted throughout the entire prayer, in which case nothing is recorded for him. Allah the Exalted said:[Al-Mu'minun 23:1-2] Yes.
The questioner says: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
Narrated Jabir bin 'Abdullah: "The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) came to me, not riding a mule nor a Birdhawn (a type of Turkish horse)."
صلى الله عليه وسلم ليس للمرء من صلاتهAnswer:
It applies to every person who prays. This is for every person who prays: the imam, the one praying behind him, and the one praying alone. He has no part of his prayer except what his heart is present for. "What he comprehends of it" means what his heart is present for in it, and that he is humble before Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He). Yes, he may be recorded as having a complete prayer if his heart is present for the entire prayer. He may be recorded as having half a prayer, a quarter of a prayer, or a tenth of a prayer. He may be recorded as having nothing if he is distracted throughout the entire prayer, in which case nothing is recorded for him. Allah the Exalted said:
(1) Certainly will the believers have succeeded: (2) They who are during their prayer humbly submissive
قَدْ أَفْلَحَ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ الَّذِينَ هُمْ فِي صَلَاتِهِمْ خَاشِعُونَ
Source
قناة «العلامة الدكتور صالح الفوزان»، ما معنى قوله ليس للمرء من صلاته إلا ما عقل منها؟ للشيخ الفوزان — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.