The Causes of Humility in Prayer and the Ruling on Missing It
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question:
What are the most prominent factors that help one achieve khushu' (humility and focus) in prayer, and if one does not achieve khushu' in the prayer, is the prayer invalid?
Answer:
Khushu' is the spirit of the prayer,[Al-Mu'minun 23:1-2]. He, the Exalted, said: [Al-Baqarah 2:45-46] So khushu' is the spirit of the prayer. Some people leave with a complete prayer, having its khushu', its pillars, its obligatory acts, and its recommended practices. Some leave with a prayer lacking that. And some leave with nothing of their prayer. The prayer's spirit is khushu', and khushu' has causes. First, that one enters it with a settled heart, having no distracting thoughts or preoccupations. For this reason, the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade a person to pray in the presence of food until he has eaten enough of it to satisfy his desire for it, so that he may be settled in his prayer. He also forbade a man to pray while straining to urinate or struggling with the two excretions, urine and feces, because they distract him from khushu'. Also among the causes of khushu' is remembering the greatness of Allah, the Exalted, when standing before Him. And among the causes of khushu' is also reflecting on the Qur'an [Al-A'raf 7:204]. This applies in prayer and in other matters. So the causes of khushu' are many, and the successful one is the one whom Allah, the Exalted, has guided. Yes.
What are the most prominent factors that help one achieve khushu' (humility and focus) in prayer, and if one does not achieve khushu' in the prayer, is the prayer invalid?
Answer:
Khushu' is the spirit of the prayer,
(1) Certainly will the believers have succeeded: (2) They who are during their prayer humbly submissive
قَدْ أَفْلَحَ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ الَّذِينَ هُمْ فِي صَلَاتِهِمْ خَاشِعُونَ(45) And seek help through patience and prayer, and indeed, it is difficult except for the humbly submissive [to Allah] (46) Who are certain that they will meet their Lord and that they will return to Him.
وَاسْتَعِينُوا بِالصَّبْرِ وَالصَّلَاةِ وَإِنَّهَا لَكَبِيرَةٌ إِلَّا عَلَى الْخَاشِعِينَ الَّذِينَ يَظُنُّونَ أَنَّهُم مُّلَاقُو رَبِّهِمْ وَأَنَّهُمْ إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعُونَSo when the Qur'an is recited, then listen to it and pay attention that you may receive mercy.
وَإِذَا قُرِئَ الْقُرْآنُ فَاسْتَمِعُوا لَهُ وَأَنصِتُوا لَعَلَّكُمْ تُرْحَمُونَ
Source
فتاوى على الهواء 21-12-1435هـ — alfawzan.live (20:35)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.