Continuation of the Explanation with Benefits

The Shaykh : It remains for us to ask: Does the one praying look at the place of prostration, or straight ahead, or at the Ka'bah if he is in the Sacred Mosque, or at his hands if he is sitting between the two prostrations or in the tashahhud, or what? Most scholars say that he looks at the place of prostration because it is closer to khushu' (humility). For this reason, the sutrah (prayer screen) was made a recommended practice to block what? The gaze, so that he does not look around for a long time, except when pointing with his finger in supplication, whether in the tashahhud or in the sitting between the two prostrations. Here, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) did not let his gaze go beyond his finger, meaning he looked at the finger. This is the Sunnah. As for those who say that he looks straight ahead, they have evidence, among which is that the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) used to look at the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) while he was praying. This is proven by his statement in the eclipse prayer: and by the fact that they described the movement of his beard while he was reciting, and the like. However, it may be said that this was specific to the Companions for the sake of learning how the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) prayed. As for those who say that in the Sacred Mosque he looks at the Ka'bah, their statement is very weak. First, we do not accept that looking at the Ka'bah is an act of worship. We do not accept this. Is it in the Book of Allah, or in the Sunnah of His Messenger, or in the guidance of the Rightly Guided Caliphs? We do not accept it at all. And even if it were established that looking at the Ka'bah is an act of worship, it is an independent act of worship that has no place in the prayer. The prayer has specific acts of worship for each part of the body, and there is no need to list them because time is short, but if you reflect, you will find that each part of your body has an act of worship in the prayer. So the statement that he looks at the Ka'bah is undoubtedly a weak statement. Furthermore, looking at the Ka'bah while people are performing tawaf leads to the heart being preoccupied with the circumambulators. Yes, perhaps he might look at a woman who is uncovered, for example; it may happen or it may not, but perhaps he looks and, out of his sense of modesty, says, "Cover your face, may Allah reward you with good." This is not appropriate. Yes, so the conclusion is that the statement that looking at the Ka'bah when praying in the Sacred Mosque is better than looking at the place of prostration is not correct. Yes.
The Reader: Shaykh, may Allah reward you. The statement of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): Does it not necessarily mean that the khushu' (humility) intended here is only the stillness of the limbs?

The Shaykh : Yes, the hadith contains benefits. First, the establishment of the ruling by way of a question, as in his statement: Second, the confirmation of the ruling by an oath, even if he did not swear when there was no need for it, because the matter is of importance, as in his statement: because a person may have doubt or anxiety about how the Messenger sees them while their backs are to him, so he swore to remove any possible doubt. It also indicates that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) sees the worshippers behind him, but this is specific to the prayer; outside of prayer, he does not see those behind him. For this reason, when Abu Hurayrah hid from him in one of the paths of Madinah and then returned, he said: So the important point is that Allah the Exalted gave the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) a sign to see the worshippers behind him. The wisdom behind this is, first, to straighten the rows, and second, to see how they are praying, whether they are praying with khushu' (humility) and stillness of the limbs or not. Among the benefits of this hadith is that, as the brother Khalid said, it indicates that khushu' (humility) is the stillness of the limbs, because the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) is undoubtedly unaware of what is in their hearts. He is unaware of what is in their hearts; this is the original state. Although it is possible that Allah the Exalted revealed to him what was in their hearts during the prayer, this is contrary to the original state. However, the fact that the Messenger says: meaning the stillness of the limbs, does not prevent khushu' (humility) from also being the humility of the heart, as proven by: And among the benefits of this hadith is the obligation of establishing the ruku' (bowing) and sujud (prostration).