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.