Khushoo / Sincerity in
Islamic Prayers
Praise
be to Allah, Lord of the Worlds, Who has said in His book
(interpretation of the meaning), ��and stand before Allah with
obedience� [al-Baqarah 2:238] and has said concerning the prayer
(interpretation of the meaning): �� and truly it is extremely heavy
and hard except for al-khaashi�oon�� [Al-Baqarah 2:45]; and peace
and blessings be upon the leader of the pious, the chief of al-khaashi�oon,
Muhammad the Messenger of Allah, and on all his family and
companions.
Salaah
is the greatest of the practical pillars of Islam, and khushoo� in
prayer is required by sharee�ah. When Iblees, the enemy of Allah,
vowed to mislead and tempt the sons of Adam and said �Then I will
come to them from before them and behind them, from their right and
from their left�� [al-A�raaf 7:17, interpretation of the meaning],
one of his most significant plots became to divert people from
salaah by all possible means and to whisper to them during their
prayer so as to deprive them of the joy of this worship and cause
them to lose the reward for it. As khushoo� will be the first thing
to disappear from the earth, and we are living in the last times,
the words of Hudhayfah (may Allah be pleased with him) are
particularly pertinent to us: �The first thing of your religion that
you will lose is khushoo�, and the last thing that you will lose of
your religion is salaah. There may be a person praying who has no
goodness in him, and soon you will enter the mosque and not find
anyone who has khushoo�.� (al-Madaarij, 1/521).
Because
of what every person knows about himself, and because of the
complaints that one hears from many people about waswaas
(insinuating thoughts from Shaytan) during the salaah and the loss
of khushoo�, the need for some discussion of this matter is quite
obvious. The following is a reminder to myself and to my Muslim
brothers, and I ask Allah to make it of benefit.
Allah
says (interpretation of the meaning): �Successful indeed are the
believers, those who offer their salaah (prayers) with all solemnity
and full submissiveness.� [al-Mu�minoon 23:1-2] � i.e., fearing
Allah and in a calm manner. Khushoo� means calmness, serenity,
tranquility, dignity and humility. What makes a person have this
khushoo� is fear of Allah and the sense that He is always watching.
(Tafseer Ibn Katheer, Daar al-Sha�b edn., 6/414). Khushoo� means
that the heart stands before the Lord in humility and submission.
(al-Madaarij, 1/520).
It was
reported that Mujaahid said: ���and stand before Allah with
obedience� [al-Baqarah 2:238 � interpretation of the meaning]� �
part of obedience is to bow, to be solemn and submissive, to lower
one�s gaze and to humble oneself out of fear of Allah, may He be
glorified.� (Ta�zeem Qadr al-Salaah, 1/188).
The
site of khushoo� is the heart, and its effects are manifested in the
physical body. The various faculties follow the heart: if the heart
is corrupted by negligence or insinuating whispers from Shaytan, the
worship of the body�s faculties will also be corrupt. The heart is
like a king and the faculties are like his troops who follow his
orders and go where they are commanded. If the king is deposed, his
followers are lost, which is like what happens when the heart does
not worship properly.
Back to
Islamic Pray and Prayers
Source:
33 Ways of
developing Khushoo� in Salaah
By:
Sheikh
Muhammed Salih Al-Munajjid
www.IslamHouse.com
|
