Khushu' in Prayer and Its Causes
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question:
From Tabuk, the questioner, Noun al-F, says: I am a person who maintains the five daily prayers, praise be to Allah, but my problem, Honorable Shaykh, in the prayers is the lack of khushu' (humility and focus). Do these prayers count for me, or do I have to repeat the ones in which I did not have khushu'?
Answer:
Khushu' is not something a person can force upon himself. Khushu' is something Allah places in the heart, but there are causes for it. One must remove the distractions and confusions before entering the prayer. For this reason, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade praying while one is struggling with the two urges, urine and feces, until one has relieved oneself. He also forbade praying in the presence of food that one desires, so one does not pray until one has taken one's fill from it, so that one enters the prayer with a calm mind. He also forbade praying near something that distracts one, such as annoying noises, or in extreme heat, a place of intense heat, or a place of intense cold. He also forbade rushing to the prayer when the iqamah is called; rather, one should walk with composure. What excuse does one have to pray and miss what one missed? One makes up what was missed, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) commanded. One should also reflect on the Qur'an and be present in heart when reciting the Qur'an or hearing it from the imam, so that khushu' is attained. One should also realize the greatness of the One before whom one is standing, for one is standing before the King of Kings, standing before Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He). One must be aware of this. If a person, praise be to Allah, knew that he was standing before a king of kings, how would his feeling and his caution be? How much more so for the one who stands before the Lord of the Worlds? One must know this and not let it slip from his mind, so that he has khushu' before Allah (Mighty and Majestic).
The presenter:
Yes. May Allah reward you.
From Tabuk, the questioner, Noun al-F, says: I am a person who maintains the five daily prayers, praise be to Allah, but my problem, Honorable Shaykh, in the prayers is the lack of khushu' (humility and focus). Do these prayers count for me, or do I have to repeat the ones in which I did not have khushu'?
Answer:
Khushu' is not something a person can force upon himself. Khushu' is something Allah places in the heart, but there are causes for it. One must remove the distractions and confusions before entering the prayer. For this reason, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade praying while one is struggling with the two urges, urine and feces, until one has relieved oneself. He also forbade praying in the presence of food that one desires, so one does not pray until one has taken one's fill from it, so that one enters the prayer with a calm mind. He also forbade praying near something that distracts one, such as annoying noises, or in extreme heat, a place of intense heat, or a place of intense cold. He also forbade rushing to the prayer when the iqamah is called; rather, one should walk with composure. What excuse does one have to pray and miss what one missed? One makes up what was missed, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) commanded. One should also reflect on the Qur'an and be present in heart when reciting the Qur'an or hearing it from the imam, so that khushu' is attained. One should also realize the greatness of the One before whom one is standing, for one is standing before the King of Kings, standing before Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He). One must be aware of this. If a person, praise be to Allah, knew that he was standing before a king of kings, how would his feeling and his caution be? How much more so for the one who stands before the Lord of the Worlds? One must know this and not let it slip from his mind, so that he has khushu' before Allah (Mighty and Majestic).
The presenter:
Yes. May Allah reward you.
Source
قناة «العلامة الدكتور صالح الفوزان»، نور على الدرب 241 من المجموعة الثالثة للشيخ صالح الفوزان — youtube.com (1:37)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.