When I pray, my mind speaks to me during the prayer with things and intrusive thoughts; is my prayer valid, or do I have to repeat it?
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The questioner : He says: When I pray, my mind speaks to me during the prayer with things and intrusive thoughts; is my prayer valid, or do I have to repeat the prayer?
The Shaykh : The prayer is valid without a doubt, because this is a difficult matter, meaning it is difficult to abandon it. However, it is deficient to the extent of the intrusive thoughts that occurred. A person may be present in his prayer seventy-five percent of the time, in which case he has three-quarters of a prayer, meaning a complete prayer. Or he may have twenty-five percent of his heart present, and the rest absent, in which case he has a quarter of the prayer, meaning the complete prayer.
So intrusive thoughts affect the perfection of the prayer, not its validity. The prayer is valid in all cases, but it is deficient. So strive, my brother. I advise myself and you to strive for the presence of the heart in the prayer, so that a person performs it completely, and so that he obtains its fruits, which are that it restrains him from indecency and wrongdoing.
The Shaykh : The prayer is valid without a doubt, because this is a difficult matter, meaning it is difficult to abandon it. However, it is deficient to the extent of the intrusive thoughts that occurred. A person may be present in his prayer seventy-five percent of the time, in which case he has three-quarters of a prayer, meaning a complete prayer. Or he may have twenty-five percent of his heart present, and the rest absent, in which case he has a quarter of the prayer, meaning the complete prayer.
So intrusive thoughts affect the perfection of the prayer, not its validity. The prayer is valid in all cases, but it is deficient. So strive, my brother. I advise myself and you to strive for the presence of the heart in the prayer, so that a person performs it completely, and so that he obtains its fruits, which are that it restrains him from indecency and wrongdoing.