Khushoo in Salah Pt 3: Warding off distractions and waswasa

In this third part of the series on increasing Khushoo in Salah, we will discuss how to ward of distractions and how to deal with waswasa.

Warding off distractions and things that adversely affect khushoo

Every Muslim who wishes to develop Khushoo in their salah has to strive to push away distractions that make them think of other things and lose focus on the prayer itself. This can depend heavily on the extent of waswaas the person may suffer from and has to do with one’s doubts and desires.

Removing anything that may distract the worshipper

Anas (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: “ ‘Aa’ishah had a decorated, colourful curtain which she used to cover the side of her house. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said to her, ‘Take it away from me, because its decorations keep distracting me when I pray.’” (Reported by alBukhaari, Fath al-Baari, 10/391).

Al-Qaasim reported that ‘Aa’ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her) had a cloth with decorations on it, which she used to cover a small sunken alcove (used for sleeping or storage). The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to pray facing it, and he said, ‘Take it away from me, because its decorations keep distracting me when I pray.’ So she took it away and made pillows out of it.” (Reported by Muslim in his Saheeh, 3/1668).

Another indication of this is the fact that when the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) entered the Ka’bah to pray in it, he saw two ram’s horns. When he had prayed, he told ‘Uthmaan al-Hajabi, “I forgot to tell you to cover the horns, because there should not be anything in the House to distract the worshipper.” (Reported by Abu Dawood, 2030; Saheeh al-Jaami’, 2504).

Apart from what we learn from the above, we must also strive to pray in a peaceful and secluded place where conversations and other distractions will not negatively impact the Khushoo in our prayer.

One should also avoid praying in places that are very hot or very cold, if possible. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) told us to delay praying Zuhr in summer until the hottest part of the day was over. Ibn alQayyim (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: “Praying when it is intensely hot prevents a person from having the proper khushoo’ and presence of mind, and he does his worship reluctantly, so the Prophet wisely told them to delay praying until the heat had lessened somewhat, so that they could pray with presence of mind and thus achieve the purpose of prayer, i.e., having khushoo’ and turning to Allaah.” (Al-Waabil al-Sayib, Daar al-Bayaan edn., p.22)

Not praying in a garment that has decorations, writing, bright colours or pictures that will distract the worshipper

‘Aa’ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her) said: “The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) stood up to pray wearing a checkered shirt, and he looked at the patterns in it. When he had finished his prayer, he said, “Take this shirt to Abu Jaham ibn Hudhayfah and bring me an anbajaani (a garment with no decorations or checks), because it distracted me when I was praying.” According to another report: “These checks distracted me.” According to another report: “He had a checkered shirt, which used to distract him whilst he was praying.” (Reports in Saheeh Muslim, no. 556, part 3/391).

Not praying when there is food prepared that one wants to eat

The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Do not pray when there is food prepared.” (Reported by Muslim, no. 560).

If food has been prepared and served, or if it is offered, a person should eat first, because he will not be able to concentrate properly and have khushoo’ if he leaves it and gets up to pray when he is wanting to eat. He should not even hasten to finish eating, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “If the dinner is served and the time for prayer comes, eat dinner before praying Salaat al-Maghrib, and do not rush to finish your meal.” According to another report: “If dinner has been put out and the iqaamah has been given for prayer, eat dinner first and do not rush to finish it.” (Agreed upon. Al-Bukhaari, Kitaab al-Aadhan, Baab idhaa hadara al-ta’aamu wa uqeemat al-salaah; Muslim, no. 557-559).

Not praying when one needs to answer the call of nature

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) forbade praying when one is suppressing the urge to urinate or defecate. (Reported by Ibn Maajah in his Sunan, no. 617; Saheeh al-Jaami’, no. 6832).

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “If any one of you needs to go to the toilet, and the prayer has begun, he should go to the toilet first.” (Reported by Abu Dawood, no. 88; Saheeh al-Jaami’, no. 299)

If this happens to a person whilst he is praying, he should stop praying, go and answer the call of nature, purify himself then pray, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, “There is no prayer when there is food prepared or if one is suppressing the urge to expel waste matter.” (Saheeh Muslim, no. 560). Without a doubt, this trying to suppress the urge takes away khushoo’. This ruling also applies to suppressing the urge to pass wind.

Not praying when one feels sleepy

Anas ibn Maalik said, “The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “If any one of you feels sleepy when he is praying, he should sleep until he [is rested enough to] know what he is saying,” i.e., he should take a nap until he no longer feels drowsy. (Reported by al-Bukhaari, no. 210).

Not praying behind someone who is talking (or sleeping)

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) forbade this; he said: “Do not pray behind one who is sleeping or one who is talking.” (Reported by Abu Dawood, no. 694; Saheeh al-Jaami’, no. 375. He said, a hasan hadeeth).

Al-Khattaabi (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: “As for praying behind people who are talking, al-Shaafa’i and Ahmad ibn Hanbal considered this to be makrooh, because their talk distracts the worshipper from his prayer.” (‘Awn alMa’bood, 2/388).

Not occupying oneself with smoothing the ground in front of one

Al-Bukhaari (may Allaah have mercy on him) reported from Mu’ayqeeb (may Allaah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said concerning a man’s smoothing the ground when he prostrates, “If you have to do that, then do it only once.” (Fath al-Baari, 3/79).

The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Do not wipe (the ground) when you are praying, but if you have to, then do it only once.” (Reported by Abu Dawood, no. 946; Saheeh al-Jaami’, no. 7452).

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Prayer is an occupation in itself.” (Reported by al-Bukhaari, Fath al-Baari, 3/72). Ibn Abi Shaybah reported that Abu’l-Darda’ said: “Even if I were to get red camels, I would not like to wipe the gravel from my forehead.” ‘Ayaad said: “The salaf did not like to wipe their foreheads before they finished praying.” (al-Fath, 3/79).

Not disturbing others with one’s recitation

The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “All of you are speaking to your Lord, so do not disturb one another, and do not raise your voices above one another when reciting” or he said, “in prayer.” (Reported by Abu Dawood, 2/83; Saheeh al-Jaami’, no. 752). According to another report, he said, “Do not compete with one another in raising your voices when reciting Qur’aan.” (Reported by Imaam Ahmad, 2/36; Saheeh al-Jaami’, 1951).

Not turning around during prayer

Abu Dharr (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: “The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: ‘Allaah continues to turn towards His slave whilst he is praying, so long as he does not turn away, but if he turns away, [Allaah] turns away from him.” (Reported by Abu Dawood, no. 909; Saheeh Abi Dawood).

Not raising one’s gaze to the heavens

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) forbade us to do this and issued a warning against it. He said: “When any one of you is praying, he should not lift his gaze to the heavens, lest he lose his sight.” (Reported by Ahmad, 5/294; Saheeh al-Jaami’, no. 762). According to another report, he said: “What is wrong with people who lift their gaze to the heavens whilst they are praying?” According to another report, he said: “that they raise their gaze when they make du’aa’ during salaah?” (Reported by Muslim, no. 429). He spoke out strongly against it, to the extent that he said, “Let them stop it, or their eyesight will be taken away.” (Reported by Imaam Ahmad, 5/258; Saheeh al-Jaami’, 5574).

Not spitting in front of one when praying

This is incompatible with khushoo’ and good manners before Allaah. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “When any one of you is praying, let him not spit in front of himself, for Allaah is before him when he prays.” (Reported by al-Bukhaari in his Saheeh, no. 397).

He also said: “When any one of you stands up to pray, he should not spit in front of himself, because he is talking to Allaah – may He be blessed and exalted – as long as he is in his prayer place; and he should not [spit] to his right, because there is an angel on his right. He should spit to his left, or beneath his feet, and bury it.” (Reported by al-Bukhaari, al-Fath, no. 416, 1/512).

He said: “When one of you stands to pray, he is talking to his Lord, and his Lord is between him and the qiblah, so none of you should spit in the direction of his qiblah, but to his left or under his feet.” (Reported by al-Bukhaari, al-Fath alBaari, no. 417, 1/513).

Trying not to yawn when praying

The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “If any one of you feels the urge to yawn during prayer, let him suppress it as much as he can, lest the Shaytaan enter…” (Reported by Muslim, 4/2293). If the Shaytaan enters, he will be more able to disturb the worshipper’s khushoo’, in addition to laughing at him when he yawns.

Not putting one’s hands on one’s hips when praying

Abu Hurayrah said: “The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) forbade putting the hands on the hips during prayer.” (Reported by Abu Dawood, no. 947; Saheeh al-Bukhaari, Kitaab al-‘Aml fi’l-Salaah, Baab al-Hadhr fi’l-Salaah).

Ziyaad ibn Subayh al-Hanafi said: “I prayed beside Ibn ‘Umar and I put my hand on my hip, but he struck my hand. When he had finished praying, he said, “This is crossing in prayer. The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to forbid this.” (Reported by Imaam Ahmad, 2/106 and others. Classed as saheeh by al-Haafiz al-‘Iraaqi in Takhreej al-Ihyaa’. See al-Irwaa’, 2/94).

Not letting one’s clothes hang down (sadl) during prayer

It was reported that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) forbade letting one’s clothes hang down during prayer or for a man to cover his mouth. (Reported by Abu Dawood, no. 643; Saheeh al-Jaami’, no. 6883. He said, this is a hasan hadeeth). In ‘Awn al-Ma’bood (2/347) al-Khattaabi said: “Al-sadl: letting one’s clothes hang down all the way to the ground.” It was reported in Marqaat al-Mafaateeh (2/236): “Al-sadl is completely forbidden because it has to do with showing off, and in prayer it is even worse.” The author of al-Nihaayah said: “It means wrapping oneself up in one’s garment, leaving one’s hands inside and bowing and prostrating in it.” It was said that the Jews used to do this. It was also said that al-sadl meant putting the garment over one’s head or shoulders, and letting its edges come down in front and over one’s upper arms, so that a person will be preoccupied in taking care of it, which reduces khushoo’, unlike garments that are tied up properly or buttoned, which do not distract the worshipper or affect his khushoo’. These kinds of clothes are still to be found nowadays in some parts of Africa and elsewhere, and in the way some Arabian cloaks are worn, which distract the worshipper and keep him busy adjusting them, retying them if they become loose and so on. This should be avoided.

Not resembling animals

The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) forbade three things in prayer: pecking like a crow, spreading one’s forearms like a carnivore, or always praying in the same place like a camel keeping to its own territory. (Reported by Ahmad, 3/428). It was said that when a man always prays in the same place in the mosque, making it his own, it is like a camel keeping to its own territory. (Al-Fath al-Rabaani, 4/91). According to another report: “He forbade me to peck like a cockerel, to sit like a dog or to turn like a fox.” (Reported by Imaam Ahmad, 2/311; Saheeh al-Targheeb, no. 556).

When a person suffers a great deal of waswaas (insinuating thoughts from Shaytaan) in his prayer, is his prayer valid or does he have to repeat it?

Ibn al-Qayyim, may Allaah have mercy on him, said:

“It was said: what do you say concerning the prayer of one who has no khushoo’, does he have to repeat it or not?

With regard to whether it will count for the purposes of reward, it will not be counted, except for [the parts] where one is focused and has the correct attitude of khushoo’ towards one’s Lord.

Ibn ‘Abbaas said: ‘You will gain nothing from your prayer except the parts where you were focused.’

In the case where there was no khushoo’ or proper focus for most of the prayer, there is a difference of opinion among the fuqahaa’. Ibn Haamid, one of the companions of Ahmad, thought it obligatory to repeat the prayer. The fuqahaa’ also differed with regard to khushoo’ in prayer, and there are two scholarly opinions on this point. They are to be found in the Hanbali madhhab and others.

These opinions differ as to whether it is obligatory to repeat prayers in which one encountered a great deal of waswaas. Ibn Haamid among the companions of Ahmad said that it was obligatory, but the majority of fuqahaa’ do not share this view.

They take as evidence the fact that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) commanded the one who gets mixed up in his prayer to do sajdatay al-sahw (two prostrations of forgetfulness); he did not say that the prayer has to be repeated, even though he said, “The Shaytaan comes to any one of you when he is praying and says, ‘Remember such and such, remember such and such,’ about something that he had forgotten, until he misguides him to the extent that he does not know how much he has prayed.”

If you say that the prayer has to be repeated, so as to gain the benefits and rewards, then that is up to the individual. If he wants to gain those benefits, he can, and if he wants to miss out, he can. If you say that we have to force people to repeat the prayer and punish them if they do not, applying to them the rulings on those who forsake prayer, then this is not right. This is the more correct of the two opinions. And Allaah knows best.

Conclusion

Khushoo’ is a serious, major issue, which is impossible to achieve without the help of Allaah. Being deprived of khushoo’ is nothing short of a calamity. Hence the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to say in his du’aa’: “Allaahumma innee a’oodhu bika min qalbin laa yakhsha’… (O Allaah, I seek refuge with You from a heart that has no khushoo’…).” (Reported by al-Tirmidhi, 5/485, no. 3482; Saheeh Sunan al-Tirmidhi, 2769).

Whoever finds his joy in Allaah will be content with everything, and whoever does not find his joy in Allaah, will be destroyed by his feelings of grief and regret for worldly matters.” (al-Waabil al-Sayib, p. 40)

We ask Allaah to make us among those who have khushoo’ and to accept our repentance.

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