Lacking Concentration In Prayer

[Pk_#2]

Bismillah-Ir-Rahman-Ir-Raheem,

AsalamuAlaykum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh,

A reminder: For me first and then you lot,

In Bukhari and Muslim, Abu Hurayrah radi Allahu anhu tells us that a man entered the masjid, wherein the messenger of Allah sal Allaahu alayhi was sallam was sitting. He prayed two rakaat and then came to the Prophet sal Allaahu alayhi wa sallam and said salaam. The Prophet sal Allaahu alayhi wa sallam answered his salaam and then said, “Go back and pray for you have not prayed.” So the man went back, prayed (two rakaat) like he did the first time and then came back and repeated the salaam. The Prophet sal Allaahu alayhi wa sallam answered the salaam and then said, “Go back and pray for you have not prayed.” So the man went back, prayed (two rakaat) like he did the first time and then came back and repeated the salaam. The Prophet sal Allaahu alayhi wa sallam answered his salaam once again and once again said, “Go back and pray for you have not prayed.” He said this three times until, after this third time the man said, “By He who sent you with the truth O Messenger of Allah, I do not know any better than this. Teach me.” The Prophet sal Allaahu alayhi wa sallam then said:

“If you stand up for salah say ‘Allahu Akbar.’ Then read what comes easy for you from the Qur'an. Then, bow until you are comfortable in your ruku’. Then, stand up until you are standing up straight. Then, prostrate until you are comfortable in your sujood. Then, sit until you are comfortable in your juloos. Then, prostrate until you are comfortable in your sujood. And do this in your entire salah.”

 

[Pk_#2]

The Prophet sal Allaahu alayhi wa sallam said:

“Verily, a man will leave from (his salah) and only a tenth of his salah is written for him, a ninth, an eighth, a seventh, a sixth, a fifth, a forth, a third, half” (Abu Dawood and Tirmidhi).

Uthman ibn Abi Dahshah said, “I have never prayed a salah after which I have not asked Allah subhaanahu wa ta’aala to forgive me for my shortcomings in that salah.”

Someone who short-changes his salah is a thief. The Prophet sal Allaahu alayhi wa sallam said in an authentic hadeeth, “The most evil thief is he who steals from his salah.” The Sahaabaa radi Allahu anhum asked, “O Messenger of Allah, how does he steal from his salah?” He sal Allaahu alayhi wa sallam said, “He does not perfect its ruku’ and sujood.”

Because of the speed with which some people pray, they appear as if they are birds, pecking up and down. The Prophet sal Allaahu alayhi wa sallam forbade that someone should peck (in salah) like a crow.

Umar radi Allahu anhu once stood on the pulpit and addressed the community with a loud powerful voice saying, “A man may grow old in Islam and never have completed for Allah a single salah!” They said, “How is this?” He said, “He does not perfect his concentration, nor his humbleness, nor his focus on Allah 'azza wa jall.”

Once, Ma’roof Al-Karkhee rahimahullah stood amongst some of his students and one said to the other, “Please lead the Isha Salah.” The first student accepted but said, “I shall lead the Isha Salah on the condition that you will lead the Fajr Salah and not me.” Ma’roof Al-Karkhee was shocked at what he said and commented, “By Allah, if you think that you’ll be alive at Fajr, then by Allah, you have not yet perfected your salah.”

 

[IbnAbdulHakim]

assalamu alaikum

ooh this is the hadith of "the man who prayed poorly" (in saheeh bukhari), this poor man is recognised with such a title, but this title will bring him honor due to the amount of people it taught on the day of judgement inshaAllaah.


when i first learned the fiqh of how to pray that kept coming up lol "the man who prayed poorly", mashaAllah good memories

 

[Pk_#2]

assalamu alaikum

ooh this is the hadith of "the man who prayed poorly" (in saheeh bukhari), this poor man is recognised with such a title, but this title will bring him honor due to the amount of people it taught on the day of judgement inshaAllaah.


when i first learned the fiqh of how to pray that kept coming up lol "the man who prayed poorly", mashaAllah good memories

Yah, reminders are great,

“The first matter that the slave will be brought to account for on the Day of Judgment is the prayer. If it is sound, then the rest of his deeds will be sound. And if it is bad, then the rest of his deeds will be bad" (Al-Tabarani).

May Allah (subhana wa ta'ala) forgive our shortcomings. Ameen (say Ameen)

 

[IbnAbdulHakim]

Ameen!

jizakAllahu khair


assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh

 

[Pk_#2]

Ameen!

jizakAllahu khair


assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh

BrakAllah fik bhaiya

WalaykumSalaam Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh.

Successful are the believers / Those that offer their salah with all earnestness and full obedience (Al-Mu’minoon 23/1-2).

 

[Ummu Sufyaan]

if anyone wants 'how to increase your khusoo3 in prayer' shiekh munajjid wrote a book called: "33 Sababun Lil-Khushoo’ Fi Salaah (33 Ways of Developing Khushoo’ in Salaah)-English Translation
Click here

 

[IbnAbdulHakim]

Assalamu Alaikum wa Rahmatullaahi wa Barakaatuhu

^ I have found broken links in your link sister maryam, but jizakAllaahu khairan for the intention.


Here is a fixed link:


33 Ways of developing Khushoo’ in Salaah

English Translation


Book by Sheikh Muhammed Salih Al-Munajjid


LINK --->http://www.islamworld.net/khushoo.htm​

Introduction

Bismillaah il-Rahmaan il-Raheem
In the Name of Allaah, Most Gracious Most Merciful​

Praise be to Allaah, Lord of the Worlds, Who has said in His book (interpretation of the meaning), “…and stand before Allaah 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 Allaah, 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 Allaah, 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 Allaah 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 Shaytaan) 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 Allaah to make it of benefit.



Allaah 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 Allaah and in a calm manner. Khushoo’ means calmness, serenity, tranquillity, dignity and humility. What makes a person have this khushoo’ is fear of Allaah 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 Allaah 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 Allaah, 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 Shaytaan, 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.
​

mashaAllaah, i have a lot of reading to do today

 

[Ummu Sufyaan]

jazakallahu khair.^ i had no idea.
EDIT: i get what you mean now.

 

[Ummu Sufyaan]

BrakAllah fik bhaiya

WalaykumSalaam Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh.

Successful are the believers / Those that offer their salah with all earnestness and full obedience (Al-Mu’minoon 23/1-2).

actually shiekh al-albaani (rahimahullah) points out something very interesting in his book "The Prophet's Prayer,sallallahu 'alaihi wasallam from the beginning to the end as though you see it"

Praise be to Allaah, who made Prayer compulsory on his slaves and ordered them to establish it and perform it well; who linked success and felicity to humility in Prayer; who made it the criterion to distinguish between Eeman and Kufr ; and who made it a restrainer from shameful and unjust deeds.

interesting, huh?

 

[IbnAbdulHakim]

Assalamu Alaikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuhu

Another way of helping oneself ponder over the meanings is to interact with the aayaat. Hudhayfah said: “ I prayed with the Messenger of Allaah peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) one night… he was reciting at length. If he recited an aayah that mentioned tasbeeh, he would say Subhaan Allaah; if it mentioned a question, he would ask a question; if it mentioned seeking refuge with Allaah, he would seek refuge with Allaah.” (Reported by Muslim, no. 772). According to another report, [Hudhayfah] said: “I prayed with the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), and if he recited an aayah that mentioned mercy, he would ask for mercy; if he recited an aayah that mentioned punishment, he would seek refuge with Allaah, and if he recited an aayah that mentioned deanthropomorphism of Allaah, he would say Subhaan-Allaah.” (Ta’zeem Qadr al-Salaah, 1/327). This was reported concerning qiyaam al-layl (prayer at night).

i thought we're not allowed to speak in our salaah? can someone clarify this?!

 

[Ummu Sufyaan]

lets put hadith interpretations aside for a second. if the prophet (sallalahu aleyhi wa salam) done it, than why worry. get what i mean?

 

[IbnAbdulHakim]

Wa alaikum ussalaam wa rahmatullaah

^ because there were many abrogations sister, so perhaps there was a time when it was permissable to speak in salaah and questin etc, but is it still permissable ??!

 

[Ummu Sufyaan]

i see. sorry, im not sure.

 

[Pk_#2]

Assalamu Alaikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuhu




i thought we're not allowed to speak in our salaah? can someone clarify this?!

Don't tell me you don't speak in your prayer *shocked face*

I mean once ya open your gob to say Al - Fatiha, you are literally speaking, not to yaself, but Allah (subhana wa ta'ala) i guess..

AsalamuAlaykum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh.

 

[InToTheRain]

Assalamu Alaikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuhu




i thought we're not allowed to speak in our salaah? can someone clarify this?!

Mazed there was a time when they used to pray whilst being able to talk. The verses to forbid it came later. Mot likely this hadith is regarding the times before those verses came.

 

[Pk_#2]

Mazed there was a time when they used to pray whilst being able to talk. The verses to forbid it came later. Mot likely this hadith is regarding the times before those verses came.

Can you post up the verses,

I dint think it meant literally talking anyhow. *Hold up lemme do some research*

 

[IbnAbdulHakim]

Mazed there was a time when they used to pray whilst being able to talk. The verses to forbid it came later. Mot likely this hadith is regarding the times before those verses came.

yes but now im thinking maybe we can respond to our own recitation (NOT OTHERS) with words such as "subhanAllaah" and "Alhamdulillah" etc, and i was aware of the abrogation, the stories to funny to forget, mashaAllaah at that sahabi who got corrected.

anyways if sheikh salih al munajjid has made an error on this issue perhaps someone should contact him, or else this issue needs to be clarified further inshaAllaah.

His on islamqa right? i might ask him inshaAllaah

 

[Pk_#2]

AsalamuAlaykum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh Mazed and Rashid,

You two are like SO silleh billeh, ima tell sassi to beat you lot up!

Whose gonna help me find the verses?

JazakAllah in advance. No really I am now extremely interested to know.

Peace.

 

[InToTheRain]

Can you post up the verses,

I dint think it meant literally talking anyhow. *Hold up lemme do some research*

Wa Rahmatullah

I am not 100% sure... but I am 99.9% this verse came because people used to talk casually whilst praying INSHA'ALLAH! SO PLEASE CORECT ME IF I AM WRONG. JAZAK ALLAH:

“Take great care of your Prayers, especially of a Prayer that has excellent qualities of Salat, and stand before Allah like devoted servants”. (2: v 238)

The verses came down quite some time later. In fact the Qur'an mentions how Ali(RA) gave sadaqah whilst in prayer because some one asked him to whilst he was in prayer. This was before the verse commanding them to devote their full attention.

“Your Wali is only Allah, His Messenger, and the believers who establish prayer and give charity, and they bow down.” (al-Ma’idah:55)

The verse came down when a Muslim who was a Jew before was being treated HARSHLY by other Jews for reverting.. They stopped communicating with him, forbade their children to talk or marry them etc and the Jewish man came to Mohammad(SAW) saying how hard it is for him that he has no one and upsets him that they left him.

The above verse was revealed before the verse came commanding them to give their full attention to their prayer.

About reciting whilst Imam is reciting:

Hadith - Bukhari and Muslim

Ibn Mas'ud reports: "We used to greet the Messenger of Allah while he was in salah and he would respond to our greeting. When we returned from Abyssinia, we greeted him [during prayer] but he did not respond to our salutation. We said to him: 'O Messenger of Allah, we used to greet you while you were in salah and you used to respond to us!' He then said: 'Prayer demands one's complete attention.'"

‘When the Qur’an is recited to you then be silent and listen attentively that haply you may be shown mercy’ [7:205].

Imam al-Sawi mentions in his supercommentary on the tafsir al-Jalalayn that the Qur’anic exegetes mention four possible reasons for this verse being revealed [asbab nuzul]. Firstly that it was revealed concerning the khutba. This is the preferred opinion according to Jalaladdin al-Suyuti in the tafsir al-Jalalayn, explaining that the khutba was referred to as ‘Qur’an’ because that is what much of it comprises of. Secondly that it is a general command referring to whenever the Qur’an is recited. Thirdly, that it was revealed to stop people from speaking to each other when praying behind an imam as they used to do before speaking during the prayer was forbidden. Fourthly, that it was revealed concerning reciting the Qur’an aloud when one is praying behind the imam. [Hashiya al-Sawi ‘Ala al-Jalalayn, 2:311, Dar li Ihya al-Turath al-‘Arabi]. Imam al-Nasafi mentions in his tafsir that the most correct opinion is that it was revealed concerning both reciting behind the imam and speaking during the Friday khutba. [Madarik al-Tanzil wa Haqa’iq al-ta’wil, 1:628, Dar ibn Kathir]

The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "When the Imaam recites you (the followers) must remain quiet" (Muslim)

Note: there is a Hadith which says your prayer is not accepted unless you recite surah Fatiha, this is why the Shafi Madhab recites Surah fatiha even if the Imam is reciting it.



Allahu Allom