Faith Friday: Attaining Khushu' in Prayer


Definition of khushu': A state of mind that contains serenity, tranquility, dignity and humility during prayer, which springs from one’s heart when standing in front of Allah in humility and submission.

Over the years I have learned that one of the most important aspects of being Muslim is knowing and understanding the purpose and significance of solah (prayer) in our daily lives. Following that, it is vital that we understand the significance of having khushu' during prayer because only then will we understand the beauty of prayer and that it is a blessing not a burden.

"Successful indeed are the believers. Those who perform their prayer (solah) with all solemnity and full submissiveness." {Surah al-Mu'minun, 23:1-2}

Often times I have felt that prayer is a burden because it "disrupts" my daily activities and I have always wanted to understand why Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) had said: "The comfort and delight of my eyes has been placed in solah (prayer)." {Ahmad, Nasai}

What are the benefits of praying with khushu'? According to Prophet Muhammad (pbuh): "Whoever does wudhu' [the correct way] and then prays two rakaats in which he does not become distracted [in a state of khushu'] will have his past wrong actions forgiven." {Bukhari}


Personally, when I have khushu' I feel liberated from my fears, worries and worldly desires. My focus is diverted from worldly affairs to building a relationship with my Creator and attaining Paradise, an everlasting abode for the faithful. When I have khushu' during prayer, I have clarity of mind after prayer. I see the bigger picture and feel more at ease because I understand that I should place more trust in Allah swt and His wisdom. I'm humbled because I'm reminded that things cannot always go the way I want. My spirit is lifted and I move forward with my day instead of dwelling on the things that worry or upset me. I become more grateful for His blessings and feel I am on the right path.

This is the power of khushu' and this is how every prayer should make me feel. If it doesn't, there's something wrong with the way I prayed and I find that it's most probably because I didn't have khushu' during prayer.

There is a sea of information out there about how we can attain khushu' during prayer (alhamdulillah) but here are some simple practical tips that can be done after completing the necessary steps such as making wudhu' (ablution) properly and wearing clean clothes.


I recommend reading 9 Keys to Presence of Heart in Prayer and also watching The Prophet's Prayer (How to Develop Khushu') for further explanation of what is khushu' and how we can achieve it, inshaAllah. Jumaah mubarak everyone.

Comments

Anonymous said…
jazakallah sis..
Ayu Nuradi said…
jazakillah khairan katsir for your sharing :)
it's really my problem too when I have to be consistant in khusyuk during all prayer
Ali said…
I wanted to share a story that I have been told numerous times by teachers. InshaAllah people may take benefit from it.

The key to having presence in prayer is to have presence in wudu'. When Imam al-Shafi'i died, Sayyida Nafeesa (the granddaughter of al-Hussein, the prophet's grandson) said: "May Allah have mercy on him, he perfected his wudu'." She did not say "he was a great scholar," or something of the like. The reason for this is because if a person perfects their wudu', it will lead to perfection in prayer and so on. Have presence and awareness in wudu' because it is the key to everything else.
Anonymous said…
Assalamu alaikum sha.

You are a great struggler..Thinker, seeker of divinity, God fearing positive woman..Your efforts to correct yourself at the same time inspiring others to be faithful,will never go wrong ..Insha Allah and …AAMEEN…

Solid Soul
Noor Of My Life said…
Wow beautiful article and a fantastic video by my shaykh Muhammad al Yaqucobi who has the most amazing way to explain every subject masha'Allah x
A much needed reminder - thank you!