Submissiveness & Humility (Khushu’) in Salah

Transcript of the Khatira delivered by Dr. Munawar Haque on Nov 11, 2017

الحمد لله رب العالمين والصلاة والسلام على سيد المرسلين وعلى آله وأصحابه أجمعين

Alhamdulillah, we are all Muslims. We say, we claim, and we believe that we have submitted ourselves to the will of Allah (SWT). But let us ask ourselves with full sincerity; have we actually humbled and submitted ourselves to Him? If we have, then do we find khushu’ in our salah? The topic of my khatira today is “Khushu’ in Salah.” Surat al-Mu’minun describes true believers as those who offer their prayers with khushu’. The blessed surah says,

قَدْ أَفْلَحَ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ () الَّذِينَ هُمْ فِي صَلَاتِهِمْ خَاشِعُونَ

“Successful indeed are the believers; those who humble themselves in their prayers” (al-Mu’minun, 23:1-2).

What is khushu’? It refers to a state of mind when we stand in front of Allah and fully direct our minds and hearts towards Him. It is also said to be a state of mind that contains calmness, tranquility, dignity, and humility during prayers. What makes a person to have khushu’ is the consciousness that Allah (SWT) is always watching him or her.

Khushu’ is often associated with prayers, but it shouldn't be confined to it. The ritual prayer—the salah is the manifestation of this submission of the hearts and limbs and, without khushu’, the salah becomes a mechanical act. If our hearts are not in it, the very objective of salah, which is to link us with Allah, has been missed. How can our salah be accepted if we take it lightly and our attention is continuously diverted while we are in the midst of it? Surat al-Ma’un clearly says,

فَوَيْلٌ لِلْمُصَلِّينَ () الَّذِينَ هُمْ عَنْ صَلاتِهِمْ سَاهُونَ

“Woe to those who pray but whose hearts are not in their prayers” (al-Ma’un, 107:4-5).

Khushu’ is very important, but it is something that is easily lost and is rarely seen. Some of us do not concentrate on what we are saying; some of us rush through our prayers; some of us let our gaze wander during salah. One of Shaytan’s most significant plots is to divert people from salah 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.

Concerning the virtues of khushu’ and as a warning to the one who neglects it, the Prophet (SAW) said: “Allah has made five prayers compulsory. If anyone performs ablution (wudu) for them well, offers them at their time, and observes properly their bowing and has perfect khushu’, it is a promise from Allah that he will be forgiven, but whoever does not do this, has no such promise. If Allah wishes, He will forgive him, and if He wishes, He will punish him.

One of the benefits of khushu’ is that it makes prayer easier for a person. Allah tells us,

وَاسْتَعِينُوا بِالصَّبْرِ وَالصَّلَاةِ وَإِنَّهَا لَكَبِيرَةٌ إِلَّا عَلَى الْخَاشِعِينَ

“Seek help with patience and prayer. But that is a very hard thing, except for the humble ones” (al-Baqarah, 2:45).

We should not take our salah something to just get over with. In a hadith, the Prophet (SAW) said: ‘The worst type of thief is the one who steals from his prayer.’ When asked how can a person steal from his prayer?’ He said, ‘By not doing ruku’ and sujood properly.” Remember the hadith about the person who rushed through his prayer? The Prophet (SAW) told him three times: “Go back and pray, for you have not prayed.” Then he told the man: “When you go to pray, say takbeer, then recite whatever you can of the Qur’an. Then bow until you are at ease in bowing, then rise until you are standing up straight. Then prostrate until you are at ease in prostration, then sit up until you are at ease in sitting. Then do that throughout the entire prayer.”

We know that our state of mind, directly or indirectly, impacts almost everything we do in life. A bad state of mind can have a negative effect on our overall performance. We must find ways to get in the right states of minds to maximize our performance for any given activity. The activity of salah is no exception to that rule. There is a hadith the meaning of which implies that the reward that one gets for salah is in proportion to the degree of khushu’ one has in the prayers.

The reality is that as soon as we enter the state of prayers, various thoughts rush into our minds distracting us from the state of worship. Sadly, this lack of control on our thoughts and states of our minds not only deprives us from establishing a relationship with our Creator but also prevents us from bringing calm to our stressed out nerves and lives in general. Among other things, the Prophet (SAW) relied on prayers to provide him comfort and mental calm. He is reported to have said,

 حُبِّبَ إِلَىَّ النِّسَاءُ وَالطِّيبُ وَجُعِلَتْ قُرَّةُ عَيْنِي فِي الصَّلاَةِ

“'Women and perfume have been made dear to me, but my comfort has been provided in prayer.”

One way to get in a positive state of mind so that we may excel at a task is to ensure that we develop a passion for it. The more passionate we feel about doing something, the less likelihood there is to get distracted from that activity. A reduced interest drives us to rush through prayers so that we can get back to our other activities of interest. The reason behind our poor khushu’ levels, therefore, may be rooted in our lack of interest to pray in the first place. We can get over this problem by spending time to learn and internalize the merits and rewards of prayer.

Also, we should strive to learn some Arabic; at least to the extent that we understand the translation of the Qur’anic verses we’re reciting. There is a general notion that this is very difficult, if not impossible. Allah says four times in Surat al-Qamar,

وَلَقَدْ يَسَّرْنَا الْقُرْآنَ لِلذِّكْرِ فَهَلْ مِن مُّدَّكِر

“And We made the Quran easy to learn. Do any of you wish to learn?” (al-Qamar, 54:17).

Another method to help us perform our best in any activity is to get mentally ready for that activity beforehand. Athletes do it regularly. We do it too before getting ready for any challenging activity. This preparation before the actual event helps clear the clutter from our minds that maybe lingering from previous activities.

As far as prayers are concerned, performing proper ablution (wudu), making du’a, offering sunnah and nawafil prayers are some of the things that can get us in the right state of mind before we start the obligatory prayers.

Let me conclude by saying that khushu’ is an ideal practice to help us increase the quality of our prayers that can, as the Prophet (SAW) said bring delight and calmness to our lives.

أَقُولُ قَوْلِي هَذَا وَأَسْتَغْفِرُ اللَّهَ لِي وَلَكُمْ وَلِسَائِرِ المُسْلِمينَ وَالمُسْلِمَاتْ فَاسْتَغْفِرُوهْ إِنَّهُ هُوَ الْغَفُورُ الرَّحِيمُ

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