Do I pray the Dhuhr and 'Asr prayers aloud so that I do not lose the atmosphere of the prayer?
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The questioner : In the last of this questioner's questions, he says: "I pray the Dhuhr or 'Asr prayer aloud so that I do not lose the atmosphere of the prayer?"
The Shaykh : He says: "I do not lose the atmosphere of the prayer?"
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : This is a mistake, because the Sunnah in the Dhuhr and 'Asr prayers is to recite quietly. It is a mistake for a person to claim that he does not attain khushu' (humility) except by contradicting the Sunnah. Rather, he should train himself to conform to the Sunnah and try to attain khushu' to the best of his ability. This is similar to what some people mention, that they do not attain khushu' unless they close their eyes; this is also a mistake. Rather, we say: do not close your eyes, and try as much as you can to attain khushu' in your prayer. Yes, if there is something in front of you that distracts you and diverts your attention if you do not close your eyes, then in that case the reason for closing the eyes is present, and it is permissible to close them out of necessity for that.
The Shaykh : He says: "I do not lose the atmosphere of the prayer?"
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : This is a mistake, because the Sunnah in the Dhuhr and 'Asr prayers is to recite quietly. It is a mistake for a person to claim that he does not attain khushu' (humility) except by contradicting the Sunnah. Rather, he should train himself to conform to the Sunnah and try to attain khushu' to the best of his ability. This is similar to what some people mention, that they do not attain khushu' unless they close their eyes; this is also a mistake. Rather, we say: do not close your eyes, and try as much as you can to attain khushu' in your prayer. Yes, if there is something in front of you that distracts you and diverts your attention if you do not close your eyes, then in that case the reason for closing the eyes is present, and it is permissible to close them out of necessity for that.