“Relieve us with it, O Bilal…”
This is what the Prophet (peace be upon him) would say when feeling burdened, and the time for prayer would come.
Bilal ibn Rabah was the first Muadhin (person who sounded the call to prayer) in Islam. The noble Prophet yearned for relief, and his urge to Bilal highlights how his relief was acquired in prayer. Salah as a pocket of peace is attainable not just by the most remarkable men and women to walk the earth before us but by all those who unlock the secrets of salah. Can you imagine feeling such a sweet reprieve? And not once a week, once a month, or a couple of weeks in the year? Sweet, heavenly reprieve five times a day, every day, seven days of the week!
One such secret is khushu’. What does khushu’ mean? While linguistically, khushu’ means a ‘state of calmness,’ in religious terminology, the word is defined as a ‘state of perfect concentration.’
Symptoms
Do you find yourself forgetting which raka’ah you are on?
Offering sujood like you’re standing on burning ground?
Forgot which surah you recited?
Salah seems like a chore rather than a conversation?
If you answered yes to any of the above, or can just generally relate, then you- like us and so many others - are most likely victims of a ‘khushu-less’ manner of praying.
Allah Almighty refers to the successful believers as those who practice khushu’ in their prayers:
ٱلَّذِينَ هُمْ فِى صَلَاتِهِمْ خَـٰشِعُونَ
(Surah Mu’minun: 2)
What is khushu’?
This state of perfect concentration or humility (as other commentators of the Qur’an have defined khushu’) is relevant in two ways:
- There is a funny Mufti Menk story about a young man, who in the midst of his salah, took out his water bottle from his pocket and proceeded to drink from it. Having witnessed this, Shaykh approached the young man and reminded him that this was not permissible in salah. The young man, however, had not processed that he had done such a thing in the middle of his prayer and so denied this. This was until he removed his bottle from his pocket under the instruction of the Shaykh and saw that he had indeed drank half the contents of the bottle! I’m sure we can all relate to doing things in what I can only term as a ‘glazed mental state’ which, unfortunately, in salah would be the complete opposite of khushu’!
So on a physical level, khushu’ in salah means avoiding body movements that indicate a lack of attentiveness. This may be casting sideward or upward glances with the eyes, toying with parts of the body and clothing, or praying hurriedly.
- There are great stories about scholars and the Sahaba (may Allah be pleased with them) and the khushu’ they displayed in prayer. Take that of Imam Bukhari, for example, who, despite being stung by a wasp 17 times while standing in prayer, felt absolutely nothing until after he had made salaam. Then there is the account of Ibn Zubayr, who continued his salah, firm and unflinching, while catapults fired upon the ground he stood on.
Such accounts reflect what it means to have a mental calmness in prayer: to offer salah in such a state of perfect concentration that no thought other than the remembrance of Allah enters the heart knowingly. Had they wished to stop their prayer, this would have been entirely valid, but Imam Bukhari and Ibn Zubayr were so immersed in the beauty of their salah that even physical pain and danger could not break their mental state.
This is not to say that acquiring kushu’ in salah is easy, and that’s absolutely ok. And perhaps once khushu’ has been mastered, it could very well be that the level varies from prayer to prayer. And that is ok too. As noted in our previous article, the journey is not linear. What matters is the process of getting just that little bit closer to tasting such sweetness and calmness in our salah.
So what small steps can we implement to improve our khushu’?
7 Steps to attain a perfect state of concentration in prayer
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Preparing for Prayer: Ritual Ablution as a Mercy from Allah
How do you prepare for special occasions? Weddings, parties, ‘Eid? The preparation process for many is exciting, enjoyable, and in many ways as fun as the actual function itself. This same philosophy could be applied to salah as well. How do you prepare for salah? Offer ablution in a calm manner. Recite the required prayers before and after ablution to gain nearness to Allah even before the prayer has commenced. Consider it an exciting part of the process rather than something that must be done to validate our salah. Ablution is mercy from Allah, especially as it allows the human mind to detach from whatever is occupying him at that moment before he proceeds with his prayer. During ablution, visualize the dirt of our misdeeds leaving our limbs as we wash the designated parts of our bodies. This is discussed in a hadith: “When a Muslim, or a believer, washes his face (in the course of Wudu), every sin which he committed with his eyes, will be washed away from his face with water, or with the last drop of water; when he washes his hands, every sin which is committed by his hands will be effaced from his hands with the water, or with the last drop of water; and when he washes his feet, every sin his feet committed will be washed away with the water, or with the last drop of water; until he finally emerges cleansed of all his sins.” [Muslim] In fact, on the Day of Resurrection, our noble Prophet (peace be upon him) will recognize his ummah (community) from their shining faces because of the traces of their ablutions! Subhan Allah! May we be amongst these fortunate people!
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Consciousness of Allah: The Practice of Ihsaan in Salah
When we know someone is watching us, it is very natural to adapt how we do something to impress them. So visualize that Allah is watching you as you pray. And if you have mastered this, then great – pray as though you see Allah standing right in front of you. In the traditions of the Prophet (peace be upon him), worshipping in such a manner is described as ihsaan. This should also impact the pace at which one prays, especially in the ruku’ and sujood that one performs. During my years of studying Islamic theology, a teacher once offered an interesting suggestion. She said that if with the intention of acquiring khushu’ one was to choose to pray in the presence of people so that they could pray more gracefully and slowly because people are watching, then do so on a few occasions. Naturally, one should be wary of nifaq (hypocrisy) and shirk (in this case, praying for somebody other than the sake of Allah) as this is not a long-term solution, and one who tries this should check their intentions.
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Engagement in Prayer: The Importance of Understanding Recitations
What is it that we are reading in our salah? Understanding what is being recited is a brilliant way to engage the senses in prayer. If we understand what is being read, the concentrating part becomes more accessible as we follow the stories and messages being shared with us. The process becomes so much more enjoyable too. Imagine following a podcast or a show in a completely different language with no translator or subtitles to aid you! While unlocking the translations and commentaries of so much recitation can be daunting, set small doable targets for studying verses like Surah Fatiha, which is read in every salah.
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Embracing Transience: Praying Each Salah as if it could be the Final One
Pray as though this may be your last salah. There is a strong emphasis on remembering death in Islam. Though this seems morbid, if we apply this at least to our salah, then I am certain that such a prayer cannot be without khushu’.
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Cognitive Therapy in Islam: Achieving Mindfulness in Prayer
Modern-day cognitive therapy is very much focused on mindfulness. This entails being present in the moment rather than losing time over the past or the future. The same could be applied to salah. Suppose you find your thoughts wandering in salah, completely natural. But do what you can to try and bring your attention back. The more often you do this, the easier it will become to retain the desired mental tranquillity for prayer. If you do not know what to bring your attention back to, visualize Paradise on your right and Hellfire on your left. Do not despair even if you must do this exhaustively in your prayer.
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Timely Prayers: Ensuring Salah Within Set Timings
No matter the situation, try and offer your salah at the desired time or at least well within the set timings of that prayer. This allows the prayer to be performed at a more leisurely pace without rushing as time has been designated for it. If one performs the salah last minute, they will have no choice but to rush to ensure the prayer does not become a missed one.
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Continual Improvement: Seeking Allah's Help for Better Khushu’ in Salah
Last but not least, the very fact that you are reading this is a successful step in itself. We can only improve our khushu’ firstly because we realize we need to and secondly because we want to. Assess the quality of your prayers regularly and arm yourself with the knowledge required to improve khushu’ in salah. This might mean reading articles like this one or listening to suitable lectures and so forth. Most importantly, though, is seeking Allah’s help and guidance. One way of doing this is making Istighfar (seeking forgiveness) as a form of dhikr (remembrance) throughout the day. Istighfar clears the path for Allah’s pleasure and guidance. A second way of doing this is making du’a specifically for khushu’, such as the following:
“O Allah, I seek refuge with You from a heart that has no khushu.’’ [at-Tirmidhi]
Transliteration: Allaahumma innee a’oodhu bika min qalbin laa yakhsha’
May our hearts be filled with the light of prayer and the sweet reprieve of khushu’.
Minara,
With love and dua