Commentary on the words of Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) from *Zad al-Ma'ad*

The Shaykh : First, here we are presenting a question as a commentary on a previous answer regarding closing the eyes in prayer. We mentioned at that time that the Sunnah in prayer is for a person to pray with his eyes open. So here comes a question that Ibn al-Qayyim said: "And the correct view is to say: If opening the eyes does not disrupt khushu', it is better. And if it prevents him from attaining khushu' because of the decorations and adornments in front of him, or other things that disturb his heart, then there is no doubt that closing the eyes is not disliked. And the view that it is recommended in this case is closer to the principles of the Shari'ah and its objectives than the view that it is disliked."
This is the statement of Ibn al-Qayyim verbatim in *Zad al-Ma'ad*.
And I say, as a commentary on it: This statement is correct in itself, but it must be qualified by what the Sunnah indicates and by the circumstances and conditions in which this praying person is. We find in the Sunnah that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said one day to Aisha: The *qiram* is the curtain, and it has decorations. The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), as we explained in the previous lesson, ... and he could not act upon it, and he felt that the decorations and patterns in front of him occupied him and distracted him from the patterns from khushu'. So here, as Ibn al-Qayyim said, there is no harm in closing the eyes by gathering one's self and bringing one's heart to presence in prayer. But this is an occasional occurrence and does not become a followed Sunnah for him. This is the commentary I wished to add to the words of Ibn al-Qayyim. So the words of Ibn al-Qayyim where he said: "And the correct view is to say" to the end are correct with the qualification I mentioned, and its essence is: If he is in a place that has decorations, then keeping these decorations does not justify him taking the Sunnah of closing the eyes; rather, he should remove the decorations or pray in a place that has no decorations, as the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) used to pray. But if he is in a place he does not own and the decorations occupy his heart, then there the words of Ibn al-Qayyim and the correct view he deemed correct apply.
The questioner: ...

The Shaykh : Based on what?
The questioner: Regarding the hadith, the hadith.

The Shaykh : Yes, that is correct.