Welcome to The Khushoo In Salah Series
Top tips to attain Khushoo’ in Salah #1
Introduction
Assalamu ‘Alaikum wa Rahmatullah wa Barakatuh
Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim
What is Khushoo’? Khushoo’ means reverence i.e. an act of showing respect.
But what is Khushoo’ in Salah. Khushoo’ in Salah has many possible translations which include tranquility, humility, calmness, serenity and submission. Ultimately, it is the state one wants to achieve during Salah.
Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah be pleased with him) said:
“The Khushoo’ of true faith is when the heart feels aware and humble before the greatness and glory of Allah, and is filled with awe, fear and shyness, so that the heart is utterly humbled before Allah and broken, as it were, with fear, shyness, love and the recognition of the blessings of Allah and its own sins.” [Kitab Al-Ruh].
So we now know the meaning of Khushoo’ in Salah but what about its importance, these are some points gathered from the Qur’an and Hadith:
1. Salah is the only obligation/ act of worship that was gifted to our beloved Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) by Allah SWT in the Heavens.
2. Also in a Hadith reported by Imams Ahmad, Abu Dawood, An-Nisa’i and Al-Hakim, the prophet (peace be upon him) taught us that Salah is the first thing to be accounted for on the Day of Judgement.
3. In the Qur’an, Khushoo’ is associated with success (i.e. forgiveness and reward of Paradise). Allah SWT says in Suratul Mu’minoon, verses 1&2 :
“Certainly will the believers have succeeded. They who are during their prayer humbly submissive.”
4. Also Allah SWT tells us in Qur’an that the believing men and women who have khushoo’ in Salah are among those whom He has promised forgiveness and a great reward. (Suratul Ahzaab, verse 35).
5. In another verse, Allah SWT says:
“And seek help in patience and al-salah (the prayer), and it is truly extremely heavy and hard except for al-khushoo’…” (Suratul Baqarah, verse 45).
All these points show us that Khushoo’ in Salah is a fundamental component of a complete and rewarding Salah, it is also very important in order to attain the utmost spiritual connection with Allah.
In Shaa Allah with this article I hope you understand the meaning and importance of Khushoo’ in Salah but not just in Salah but in everything that we do.
Assalamu ‘Alaikum wa Rahmatullah wa Barakatuh
P.S. In the upcoming articles, In Shaa Allah, I will provide you with the 30 top tips to attain Khushoo’ in Salah. these tips will be divided int 3 categories: -Before Salah -During Salah -After Salah
Jazakumullahu Khairan
Ma Assalma.
Also on WHI
Khushoo In Salahweheartit.com/articles/334810555-top-tips-to-attain-khushoo-in-salah-1
Top tips to attain Khushoo’ in Salah #2
Assalamu ‘Alaikum Wa Rahmatullah Wa Barakatuh
Bismillahir Rahmanir Raheem
Hello again my fellow brothers and sisters, as I have said before the tips will be divided into 3 categories. And without further ado we proceed.
Before Salah
Focus (Khushoo’) starts even before we pray. Yes that’s right, from our wudoo’ (ablution). Ok now, let us begin with the tips.
Tip 1: Make your Wudu’ (ablution) flawless
I leave you with these two Hadith to reflect on
We tend to take wudu’ for granted but it is also a part of our prayer (salah) and we should make it as flawless and perfect as we can. And remember there’s always room for improvement. Here’s is a Hadith on how our Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings upon him) performed wudu’ (ablution).
Tip 2: Wear loose comfortable clothes
When we pray we move about, so should wear clothes that are loose, of the right size & length, covers the body appropriately so as not to be thinking ‘Oh God, this clothes are so tight’ or ‘I feel so itchy and hot’ thereby disturbing your focus during your prayer.
Tip 3: Prepare for the spectacular event
Allah is beautiful and thus loves beauty. We should look and smell our utmost best (even when praying at home) for the wonderful conversation we will be having with Allah Lord of the Worlds.
Tip 4: Get rid of all those distractions
Remove all the things you know will distract you when your praying; switch off all those devices, food, pictures, your clothes, objects around you, people around you and even your praying mat, as in the Hadith above some patterns may be distracting hence the praying mat. And also don’t be a distraction to yourself.
Tip 5: Perform your prayers on time
You want to be among the people closest/dearest to Allah SWT pray on time. Many of us succumb to shaytaan and think we still have time but remember, that is shaytaan whispering to you and you should never listen. Set an alarm, ask a friend to remind you, ask a work colleague to remind you, switch off all those devices, pray to Allah ask him to give you the ability, do whatever it takes to pray on time and Allah SWT will not let your efforts go to waste for He is The Most Merciful (Ar-Rahman & Ar-Raheem), The Satisfier of Needs (As-Samad) & The Responder to Prayer (Al-Mujeeb).
Tip 6: Make sure you Feel amazing
Keep yourself physically fit and healthy. Eat well and exercise your body. Go on walks etc.
Tip 7: Take a minute and Calm down
In this life and age, we are always on the go go go. It’s either work or school or household chores or the family etc. When it is time for prayer, take 3 deep breaths, loosen up, calm down, forget about everything and focus on your conversation with Allah SWT.
Tip 8: Make your intentions clear
Ok so it’s time for prayer, you are standing on your praying mat, you know you are going to pray to Allah SWT, that is your intention. Keep it with you throughout your prayer, don’t let the whispers of shaytaan distract you. Always remember that you are in front of Allah SWT Lord of the worlds. When a distraction comes to you push it away, you are in front of Allah SWT The Creator of Everything and Everyone.
Tip 9: Pray a farewell Prayer
When you are about to pray always remember, this might be my last prayer and so always pray the most beautiful prayer every time you pray.
Tip 10: Annihilate Shaytaan!!!!
As we have read earlier in many of the tips above, shaytaan will alway whisper his distractions to us. But we should remember that shaytaan’s power is weak and can be overcome easily, if you know how.
Did you know that there’s a specific shaytaan that comes to distract us during prayer? Yes, his name is Khanzab. So how do we annihilate this distraction you question?
- Seek refuge from Shaytaan by saying “A’uthu Billahi Minash-Shaytanir-Rajeem” (I seek refuge in Allah from Satan the accursed).
- Ask Allah SWT to help you combat his whispers before you begin your prayer.
Tip 11: Pray in Congregation
Just think about all these benefits, all these rewards, angels supplicate for you and as we know the angels’ supplication is of the highest degree. Don’t you want that? Don’t you want the angels to supplicate for you, don’t You want your sins to be forgiven? If you can’t go to the masjid, you can gather your family members, your friends, your neighbors, your work colleagues etc and pray together. The feeling is beyond words. And yes I am saying this from experience. As a female who lives in a country that there are no part in the mosques excluded for females, I only get to do this during ramadan and the feeling is amazing, your focus (khushoo’) during salah is transcendent when you are in the masjid. Allah Akbar!!! ( Allah is Great!!!).
With this tip 11, we come to the end of the first category (before salah). I hope all the tips where clear and precise and I hope they help your on this journey of perfecting your salah. Do not despair and always try, don’t give up, if you try Allah SWT will always help you. May Allah bless us all and make guidance easy for us.
Jazakumullahu Khairan!!!
Assalamu ‘Alaikum Wa Rahmatullah Wa Barakatuh
Ma Assalama.
Also WHI
Khushoo In Salahweheartit.com/articles/347960331-top-tips-to-attain-khushoo-in-salah-2
Top tips to attain Khushoo’ in Salah #3
Assalamu ‘Alaikum Wa Rahmatullah Wa BarakatuhBismillahir Rahmanir Raheem Hello again my fellow WHI brothers and sisters, we will continue with the second category, during salah. Without more ado we proceed.
During Salah
This is the most important part were you want you khushoo’ to remain firm without straying away.
It was narrated from ‘Abdullah bin Buraidah that his father said: “The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said: ‘The convenient that stands between us and them is the Salah; whoever abandons it, he has committed disbelief.'” [Sunan an-Nasa’i, Vol. 1, Book 5, Hadith 464]
It was narrated that Jabir said: “The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said: ‘There is nothing between a person and disbelief except abandoning Salah.'” [Sunan an-Nasa’i, Vol.1, Book 5, Hadith 465]
“Certainly will the believers have succeeded: They who are during their prayer humbly submissive” {Qur’an 23: 1-2}
Tip 12: Let go of the World
Our minds tend to have the habit of thinking about things that have long been forgotten when it’s at rest, for example during salah. That’s when your brain starts to remember ‘oh I forgot to call this person’ or ‘that movie scene was so good’ and so on. Yes, I am sure we have all had this at one point or another. Just try to forget them all!!! You are in front of your Lord, those 10mins that you will spend is all it takes, forget the world and focus on your Creator for He is deserving of all your attention.
Tip 13: Recite Properly
The recitation of the Qur’an in a proper manner is called Tajweed. So when you are in a conversation with your Lord recite every verse correctly with a melodious voice for Allah loves when His servant recite His words. So always strive to perfect your tajweed never give up. As the Prophet ﷺ said:
“Verily the one who recites the Qur’an beautifully, smoothly, and precisely, he will be in the company of the noble and obedient angels. And as for the one who recites with difficulty, stammering or stumbling through its verses, then he will have twice that reward.” (Sahih)
Tip 14: Reflect upon the verses of the Qur’an
An amazing way to implement this tip is to read the translation of the verses/chapters of the Qur’an in your own language of course before you pray or in your free time. This will help you a great deal because when you are reciting in your salah you will be thinking about what you are reciting instead of your mind drifting elsewhere.
Tip 15: Don’t be monotonous
“When you go to pray, say takbeer, then recite whatever you can of the Qur’an…” [Bukhari & Muslim]
Many of us are guilty of reading the same surah (chapter) for almost every salah either because you are tired from work, school, or whatever it is or because those are the only surahs (chapters) you have memorized. Your salah becomes monotonous and you won’t even remember what you read in the first or second raka’at thus your khushoo’ ultimately reducing.
Tip 16: Take it easy… it’s not a race!
Abu Qutaadah (may Allah SWT be pleased with him) said: “The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: ‘The worst type of thief is the one who steals from his prayer.’ He said, ‘O Messenger of Allah, how can a person steal from his prayer?’ He said, ‘By not doing ruku’ and sujood properly.’” [Ahmad & Al-Haakim]
When performing your rukuu’ (bowing) & sujood (prostration) make show all your bones are at their appropriate positions, your back straight and your forehead & nose (in the case of sojuud) are touching your praying mat (ground). And also say every dhikr in salah clearly and correctly. Tip 17: Cherish those special moments
Make sure you make as many dua’ as you can in these special moments.
Tip 18: Converse with the Lord of the worlds
Many of us don’t realize that Allah SWT actually responds during the prayer. Wait! Really? Yes, really. As a matter of fact, every time you recite Suratul-Fatiha, Allah SWT responds in most magnificent way. If there is any moment in your salah to have the greatest focus it will be here during the recitation of Suratul-Fatiha which is at the beginning of every raka’ah. This comes from the following Hadith:
“Allah the Exalted said: I have divided prayer between Myself and My servant into two halves, and My servant shall have what he has asked for. When the servant says: Praise be to Allah Lord of the Worlds, Allah says: My servant has praised Me. When he says: The Gracious, the Merciful, Allah says: My servant has exalted Me. When he says: Master of the Day of Judgment, Allah says: My servant has glorified Me, and on one occasion He said: My servant has submitted to My power. When he says: You alone we worship, You alone we ask for help, Allah says: This is between Me and My servant, and My servant will have what he has asked for. When he says: Guide us to the straight path, the path of those whom you have favoured, not those who went astray, Allah says: This is for My servant, and My servant will have what he has asked for.” [Sahih Muslim]
Tip 19: Think of the rewards for praying
With this Hadith as a reminder of the reward we get when we pray, let it motivate us to make our salah of today better than that of tomorrow. There will always be room for improvement which in turn leads to more reward In Shaa Allah.
Tip 20: Beautify your prayer
How do we beautify our Prayer? That is simple, by following the sunnah of our Prophet Muhammad SAW. This will surely elevate and beautify our prayers in the sight of Allah SWT In Shaa Allah.
Tip 21: Fall in love with your Creator…
Allah loves us more than we will ever know, so let us be thankful to Him and love Him back to the best of our ability. How do we love Allah you may ask? That’s simple. By doing what Allah commands us to do and staying away from what He forbids.
” [Such believers are] the repentant, the worshippers, the praisers [of Allah ], the travelers [for His cause], those who bow and prostrate [in prayer], those who enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong, and those who observe the limits [set by] Allah . And give good tidings to the believers.” {Qur’an 9: 112}
Tip 22: Be Humble in Front of Allah
The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “…No one humbles himself before Allah but Allah will raise him (in status).” (Muslim)
In the words of Ibn Taymiyyah: “… And the worshiper – the more humble, needy, and is subject to Allah – he will be closer to Him, and be more beloved to Him, and to Him be higher status Thus, the happiest creation is who is the greatest in servitude to Allah.
Ibn Al-Qayyim, may Allaah have mercy upon him, considered this as one of the causes that implant love for Allaah The Almighty in one’s heart. He said, “Humbling one’s heart before Allaah The Exalted is one of the most amazing causes of love, and when we speak about it, we only refer to names and description rather than the indescribable essence.” [Madaarij As-Saalikeen]
And already had Allaah given you victory at [the battle of] Badr while you were humble. {Quran 3:123}
I don’t think I need to add anything more. These 4 quotations explain it all.
Tip 23: Let go of all those doubts
As we talked about in Tip 10, shaytaan really really hates us and so he will always come back to try to distract us with those doubts, ‘what if…’, ‘did I do rukoo’, ‘maybe..’ and so on. Stop him, how you may ask? by turning to your Creator.
“If a number of other possible doubts or whispers from Shaytan become severe during prayer and distract you, a little trick you can do is to recite A’uthubillahi minash Shaytanir-rajeem, turn your head slightly to the left and gently dry spit 3 times (i.e. without really spitting out any saliva). This trick is from the Sunnah [narrated in Sahih Muslim], as taught by the Prophet (may peace be upon him) to a Companion, who complained of being distracted and confused by Shaytan during prayer. This will stop the extreme distractions and whispers, In Shaa Allah.”
And with this tip we come to the end of our second category (during salah). I hope all the tips are clear and straight to the point & I hope they help you on your journey.
Jazakumullahu Khairan!!!
Assalamu ‘Alaikum Wa Rahmatullah Wa BarakatuhMa Assalama
Also on WHI Khushoo In Salah
weheartit.com/articles/348231029-top-tips-to-attain-khushoo-in-salah-3
Top tips to attain Khushoo’ in Salah #4
Assalamu ‘Alaikum Wa Rahmatullah Wa Barakatuh
Bismillahir Rahmanir Raheem
Hello again my fellow brothers and sisters , we have arrived at our final category, after salah. And without more ado we proceed.
After Salah
Don’t just get up and continue your day after the salaam, no stay on the prayer mat for 3-5 more minutes.
The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said, “The angels supplicate in favour of one of you so long as he remains in the place where he has performed Salat (prayer) in a state of Wudu’. They (the angels) say: `O Allah! Forgive him, O Allah! Have mercy on him.’” [Bukhari]
Tip 24: Don’t forget the dhikr
The Hadith below is one of the most common & very highly rewarding forms of dhikr to be recited after salah, taught by our Prophet (PBUH):
“Hold fast onto making tasbih [saying Subhanallah], tahlil [saying La ilaha illallah] and glorifying Allah, and count them on your fingers for they [your fingers] will be questioned and asked to speak.” (Sahih Ibn Hibban; Al Ihsan, Hadith: 842)
Tip 25: Make Du’a & Cry our to your Lord
Call out to Allah, praise Him & send blessings upon the Prophet (PBUH) , use His beautiful names and ask Him.
Here are some du’as from the Quran:
“أَعُوذُ بِٱللَّهِ أَنْ أَكُونَ مِنَ ٱلْجَٰهِلِينَ “
“I seek refuge in Allah from being among the ignorant.” (2:67).
”رَبَّنَا تَقَبَّلْ مِنَّآ ۖ إِنَّكَ أَنتَ ٱلسَّمِيعُ ٱلْعَلِيمُ “
“Our Lord, accept [this] from us. Indeed You are the Hearing, the Knowing.” (2:127)
“رَبَّنَا وَٱجْعَلْنَا مُسْلِمَيْنِ لَكَ وَمِن ذُرِّيَّتِنَآ أُمَّةً مُّسْلِمَةً لَّكَ وَأَرِنَا مَنَاسِكَنَا وَتُبْ عَلَيْنَآ ۖ إِنَّكَ أَنتَ ٱلتَّوَّابُ ٱلرَّحِيمُ.”
“Our Lord, and make us Muslims [in submission] to You and from our descendants a Muslim nation [in submission] to You. And show us our rites and accept our repentance. Indeed, You are the Accepting of repentance, the Merciful.” (2:128)
Tip 26: Add in voluntary prayers
The 5 daily prayers are among the pillars of Islam, hence they are obligatory on every Muslim. But also if you want to be more loved by Allah, what better way to do that than to perform the sun again of our beloved Prophet (PBUH). In part of a Hadith it mentions that Allah SWT says:
“…And My servant does not draw near to Me with anything more beloved to Me than the religious duties I have obligated upon him. And My servant continues to draw near to me with nafl (supererogatory) deeds until I Love him. …” [Bukhari]
So let us increase those voluntary prayers, one by one until we complete all 12. Let’s keep getting those rewards/ hasanaat.
Tip 27 : Hold yourself to account
“Hold yourself accountable before you are held accountable…” [Umar Ibn Al-Khattab – may Allah be pleased with him]
The most effective way to correct ourselves is by practicing, learning from our mistakes and continuing to perfect all those mistakes that hold us back from the ultimate performance.
May Allah grant us the ability. Ameen!!!
Tip 28: Don’t stop, keep it up all day
DO NOT fall into extremes with your religion. Islam is about balance for example a Muslim fears Allah as much as he loves Him, also Allah shows us mercy but at the same time warns us of His punishment. So always maintain a health balance.
And also you will gain priceless & vast knowledge and wisdom on your journey to please your Creator. But remember as long as you are consistent & sincere Allah will easy your path towards the light ( true useful knowledge) In Shaa Allah.
Alhamdullillah!!!! We have finally reached the end of this series. A huge thanks to the deenspiration podcast, visit their podcast:
https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-deenspiration-podcast/id1121049916
May Allah bless us all & male guidance easy for us. Ameeen!!!
P.S here is a link on a short video on common mistakes that invalidate salah: https://www.youtube.com/embed/pssu3FHvUkI
Jazakumullahu Khairan!!!
Assalamu ‘Alaikum Wa Rahmatullah Wa Barakatuh
Ma Assalama
Also on WHI
https://weheartit.com/articles/348576771-top-tips-to-attain-khushoo-in-salah-4?
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