What is the ruling on closing the eyes during prayer?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : Shaykh, is it permissible or not permissible to close one's eyes during the prayer?
The Shaykh : Close one's eyes?
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : If closing the eyes is an act of worship, it is not permissible.
The questioner : I mean, if it is done out of humility, that is an act of worship.
The Shaykh : That is the case, because when you speak of humility, you do not go beyond the scope of worship; therefore, it is not permissible. If it were an act of worship, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), who brought us all the acts of worship, would have preceded us in doing it. And we know that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) did not close his eyes; he kept them open.
The student : May Allah reward you with good.
The Shaykh : May Allah preserve you. Come... Glory be to You, O Allah, and praise be to You. I bear witness that there is no deity but You. I seek Your forgiveness and turn to You in repentance.
The Shaykh : Close one's eyes?
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : If closing the eyes is an act of worship, it is not permissible.
The questioner : I mean, if it is done out of humility, that is an act of worship.
The Shaykh : That is the case, because when you speak of humility, you do not go beyond the scope of worship; therefore, it is not permissible. If it were an act of worship, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), who brought us all the acts of worship, would have preceded us in doing it. And we know that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) did not close his eyes; he kept them open.
The student : May Allah reward you with good.
The Shaykh : May Allah preserve you. Come... Glory be to You, O Allah, and praise be to You. I bear witness that there is no deity but You. I seek Your forgiveness and turn to You in repentance.
Source
www.al-albany.com
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.