concentration,( afraid of unintended shirk)

[themuffinman]

hey guys long time reader first time poster here. great site for information and the people who post here are very informative. well my question is regarding prayer, iv been trying to pray the full five times a day nowadays but have a hard time concentrating during prayer. what am i suppose to imagine? when i try to concentrate i usually try to think of it as a direct link with allah, and i sort of imagine him in my minds eye, is this wrong? i really hope im not commiting shirk by imagining what he looks like. its just that since i was little my mom use to tell me about allah and islam and when ur little u have a wild imagination you kind of imagine him as this huge being all powerful and stuff and that image has always kind of stuck with me so its very hard to get rid of it, but im deathly afraid of commiting shirk by imagining him in a human image. iv also tried imagining the kabah but i dont want to inadvertantly think im worshipping the kabah, wouldnt that be like idol worshipping astaghfirullah.

im sorry if my question is confusing but its been bothering me alot and any help would be GREATLY appreciated

[themuffinman]

hmmm any help would be appreciated as im finding it increasingly difficult to pray

[kwolney01]

I think everyone finds it hard to concentrate during prayer at least sometimes. I usually try to think about the meaning behind whatever it is I'm saying and that seems to help a lot. I only speak English and I only use Arabic while praying so it's easy for me to get distracted so I usually focus on the meaning in English.

I hope this helps brother!!

Jazak Allah Khair

[alcurad]

so true, I used to do the same when I was a kid
sister kwolnet01 is correct I think, simply concentrate on the meanings behind the verses being recited instead of pictures. it's also good to make ablution before every/most prayer, it helps you get in the mindset, also free your mind before you pray not during, you won't be able to do this every time but that's okit takes time to set in.

[Ummu Sufyaan]

well my question is regarding prayer, iv been trying to pray the full five times a day nowadays but have a hard time concentrating during prayer.
what am i suppose to imagine? when i try to concentrate i usually try to think of it as a direct link with allah, and i sort of imagine him in my minds eye, is this wrong?

Im not sure if imaging what god looks like constitutes shirk, but if yourre that worried and it bothers you that much perhaps the next best thing is to find an alternative to increase your Khusoo (humility), which in that case I refer you to this book, inshallah.