The Factors of Being Affected or Not by the Imam in the Prayer of the Followers

Question : A problem. Yes, Salim. The time, O Shaykh, an imam comes to the neighborhood and recites the Qur'an, and perhaps all the Muslims cry. But if another imam comes, even if he is a memorizer, they are not affected by his recitation, O Shaykh. This, O Shaykh, look, the conditions are present; these people have not changed, but these imams make the difference.

Answer : Yes, in any case, the causes of khushu' (humility) include the recitation itself; some people's recitation of the Noble Qur'an causes humility. Also, if the imam is humble, it is the norm that the followers are affected and become humble. And it includes contemplating the meaning. There are verses that cause the heart to soften, because, as you know, the verses are not all the same. If you recite, for example, a surah, or recite Surah al-Waqi'ah, there is no doubt that you are more affected than if you recite, for example, the verse of faith. So these have causes. Then, the hardness of hearts now is greater than it was before. Now, hearts are hard because the world has been opened up to us and we have become engrossed in it, and the person enters his prayer thinking and exits thinking. Do you understand? And this has a strong effect.