What image do you have in your mind when you pray?

[Signor]

Could you focus on the sense of Allah's presence around you instead?

This is the highest level of Imaan which can't achieved easily,one have to strive for it.

Narrated Abu Huraira:

One day while the Prophet was sitting in the company of some people, (The angel) Gabriel came and asked, "What is faith?" Allah's Apostle replied, 'Faith is to believe in Allah, His angels, (the) meeting with Him, His Apostles, and to believe in Resurrection." Then he further asked, "What is Islam?" Allah's Apostle replied, "To worship Allah Alone and none else, to offer prayers perfectly to pay the compulsory charity (Zakat) and to observe fasts during the month of Ramadan." Then he further asked, "What is Ihsan (perfection)?" Allah's Apostle replied, "To worship Allah as if you see Him, and if you cannot achieve this state of devotion then you must consider that He is looking at you." Then he further asked, "When will the Hour be established?" Allah's Apostle replied, "The answerer has no better knowledge than the questioner. But I will inform you about its portents.

1. When a slave (lady) gives birth to her master.

2. When the shepherds of black camels start boasting and competing with others in the construction of higher buildings. And the Hour is one of five things which nobody knows except Allah.

The Prophet then recited: "Verily, with Allah (Alone) is the knowledge of the Hour--." (31. 34) Then that man (Gabriel) left and the Prophet asked his companions to call him back, but they could not see him. Then the Prophet said, "That was Gabriel who came to teach the people their religion." Abu 'Abdullah said: He (the Prophet) considered all that as a part of faith.Sahih Bukhari

 

[syed_z]

Asalaam O Alaikum Brother

This is the highest level of Imaan which can't achieved easily,one have to strive for it.

Yes the striving part is there, definitely but there are also several paths leading and helping, the one striving, towards Allah (swt).

Allah (swt) mentions the following for those who strive on the path of Ihsan.

But as for those who strive hard in our Cause - We shall most certainly guide them onto paths that lead unto Us; for, behold, God is indeed with the Muhsineen (following the path of Ihsan). (Surah Al Ankaboot Verse 69)

 

[InToTheRain]

I think you are supposed to have your eyes open when you pray...looking down at a fixed point on the prayer rug/ground.

An excellent point. Yes you should keep the eyes focused on the place where you do your Sajdah as this conforms with Sunnah. However if one think they will be distracted they can close their eyes as per opinions below:

It is somewhat disliked to close one�s eyes in prayer, because:

-it entails leaving the sunna of looking at the place of prostration,
-it resembles the worship of the Jews, and
-it is reported from the early Muslims that they disliked this.
(There is a weak hadith regarding this, which is not sufficient as proof (in itself), but supports these other considerations.)

However:

if one does not gain full attentiveness or is distracted in prayer if one�s eyes are open, then it would be permitted (or, perhaps, even better) to close one�s eyes.
[This is the summary of what Imam Haskafi said in Durr al-Mukhtar, Ibn Abidin in Radd al-Muhtar, Ibn Nujaym in al-Bahr al-Ra�iq, and Imam Kasani in Bada�i` al-Sana�i`, in Hanafi fiqh. It is confirmed by what Imam Buhuti said in Kashshaf al-Qina` in Hanbali fiqh; and Imam Dardir in al-Sharh al-Saghir in Maliki fiqh. In the Shafi`i school, it is transmitted that it is disliked to close one�s eyes, but Imam Nawawi chose that it is not disliked in his Majmu` and also in his Minhaj, which some interpreted as saying it is absolutely permitted to close one�s eyes, and others that it is better not to (khilaf al-awla), unless it aid�s one�s presence of heart.]

Imam Buhuti also mentioned in his Kashshaf al-Qina` that a reason for its being disliked is that it can be a means for one becoming drowsy. [F: Such as when praying at night.]

Imam Kasani explained in his Bada�i` that the reason for looking at one�s place of prostration is that each limb of the body has a share in the prayer�s worship.

Imam Ibn Nujaym mentioned that one does not close one�s eyes in prostration, either, and mentioned that, �A number of Sufis (may Allah benefit us through them) said that one keeps one�s eyes open because the eyes too prostrate.�

Imam Abu Bakr al-Jassas (Allah have mercy on him) mentioned in his magnificent Qur�anic tafsir of the verses relating to legal rulings, Ahkam al-Qur�an, explaining the words of Allah Most High in Surat al-Mu�minin: �Successful indeed are the believers, who are reverent in prayer,� (Qur�an. 23: 1-2) that:

It has been reported Muhammad Ibn Sirin reported that the Prophet (Allah bless him & give him peace) used to look up to the sky while praying. After this verse, he used to keep his head lowered.
It has also been reported from him that after this verse was revealed, the Companions would lower their gazes until their eyes did not go beyond their place of prostration.

 

[MustafaMc]

The perfection of your life is to perceive the lights of the Eternal Sun which are depicted in the mirror of your life, and to love them. It is to display ardor for Him as a conscious being. It is to pass beyond yourself with love of Him. It is to establish the reflection of His light in the center of your heart. It is due to this mystery that the Hadith Qudsi was uttered, which is expressed by the following lines, and will raise you to the highest of the high:

The heavens and the earth contain me not;
Yet, how strange! I am contained in the hearts of believers. (1)

Dipnot-1 See, al-‘Ajluni, Kashf al-Khafa’, ii, 165; al-Ghazzali, Ihya’ l-‘Ulum al-Din, iii, 14.

Assalamu alaikum, to ponder over this post is to get at the heart of the initial question. The question can also be approached by asking, 'What is our own essential nature?' We can look in a mirror or see a picture and recognize ourselves, but is that image really who we are? When we die, we essentially look the same (for a while), but is that corpse really who we are? It is indeed true that Muslims have no mental image of Allah (swt) and I have pondered over this point myself from the perspective of a former Christian. As a Christian, I had the concept of God, the Father, that was practically the same as my concept of Allah (swt) today. The difference though is that I had believed that a portion of God became incarnate in the body of Jesus in order to live a perfect life despite facing the temptations that I do as a human and that he should offer himself as the only acceptable redeeming sacrifice dying a horrible death on the cross such that I, as a sinner, could be admitted to be in the presence of God in Heaven. I saw this as a manifestation of God's love for mankind and as such my mental image of God was that of Jesus on the cross. In stark contrast I have no mental image of Allah; however, the same could be said that I had no mental image of God, the Father. When I pray, I try to focus on the words and actions of my prayer, but I admit that my mind wanders such that I sometimes can't remember if I have done 3 or 4 rakat, especially if I have prayed sunnah before zuhr. Despite this shortcoming, I strive to 'be in the moment' and to imagine that I am in the presence of Allah's awareness or conciousness, you might say. Rather than trying to focus (like a telescope) on a specific 'image' of Allah (swt) I try to go the other way, thinking expansively of His all-encompassing mercy and glory that is beyond words or image. Sometimes I think about the vastness of the universe and how I can't imagine the distance of a single light year when I come to the point of asking, 'What is 1cm beyond the edge of the universe?' I, of course, can't answer that and yet I know that Allah (swt) is not physically contained even within this vastness of the universe that I can't comprehend. I am left with the conclusion that it is utterly incomprehensible to comprehend Allah (swt). I am reminded of Jesus' words in 5:116 "You know what is within myself, and I do not know what is within Yourself. Indeed, it is You who is Knower of the unseen."

 

[Aaqib]

I used to day dream before in my early prayers, until I started praying more often.
I would usually think to myself "If I mess up, Allah won't except your prayer" repeatedly many times.


Now I'm working on looking for the meaning of all the things I have to say in a prayer.