The Garden of Knowledge

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

15 Sha’ban 1446/14 February 2025

All praise is due to Allah, the Cherisher, Sustainer, Nourisher and Provider of the entire creation. May peace, blessings and salutations be upon our Beloved Prophet Muhammed ﷺ.

A frequently asked question is how can we maintain concentration in Salaah.

First we need to understand what is Salah and why do we pray.

Salah denotes the meaning:

Supplication (Du’a) – This understanding is taken from the Quran, in Surah Tawbah, verse 103:

خُذْ مِنْ أَمْوَٰلِهِمْ صَدَقَةًۭ تُطَهِّرُهُمْ وَتُزَكِّيهِم بِهَا وَصَلِّ عَلَيْهِمْ ۖ إِنَّ صَلَوٰتَكَ سَكَنٌۭ لَّهُمْ ۗ وَٱللَّهُ سَمِيعٌ عَلِيمٌ

“Take from their wealth ˹O Prophet˺ charity to purify and bless them, and pray for them—surely your prayer is a source of comfort for them. And Allah is All-Hearing, All-Knowing.”

Salah is recognized as an act of worship where one prostrates, suplicates and submits to Allah.

Why do we pray? As Muslims we pray/supplicate out of the love of Allah and not just because we have the title of being Muslim. Our supplication is not a ritual rather it is a submission to Allah Almighty.

Allah informs us in the Holy Quran:

قُلْ إِن كُنتُمْ تُحِبُّونَ ٱللَّهَ فَٱتَّبِعُونِى يُحْبِبْكُمُ ٱللَّهُ وَيَغْفِرْ لَكُمْ ذُنُوبَكُمْ ۗ وَٱللَّهُ غَفُورٌۭ رَّحِيمٌۭ

“Say, ˹O Prophet,˺ “If you sincerely love Allah, then follow me; Allah will love you and forgive your sins. For Allah is All-Forgiving, Most Merciful.” – Surah Al-Imran, Verse 31

In the abovementioned verse, Allah commands the Prophet Muhammed ﷺ to advise us to follow the Prophet Muhammed ﷺ if we are sincere in the love of Allah, and by doing so Allah will love us and forgive our sins. So when we perform our Salah, it is more than just an exercise of “Up down, kiss the ground, back to town” rather it is a moment of submission and connection with Allah.

Allah makes mention in Surah Mu’minoon, verse 1 & 2:

قَدْ أَفْلَحَ ٱلْمُؤْمِنُونَ

Successful indeed are the believers:
ٱلَّذِينَ هُمْ فِى صَلَاتِهِمْ خَـٰشِعُونَ

those who humble (submissive with solemnity) themselves in prayer.

“Khushoo‟ in prayer happens when a person empties his heart for it (Salah), and focuses on it to the exclusion of all else, and prefers it to everything else. Only then does he find comfort and joy in his Salah.

There are many ways in which one may strive to achieve ultimate concentration/khushoo in Salaah.

Ibn Taymiyah (may Allah have mercy on him) explained the following: “Two things help us to develop khushoo: a strong desire to do what is obligatory, and weakness of distractions.”

A strong desire to do what is obligtory according to most scholars means to have Ihsan (spiritual excellence) in all that you do, espescially your worship. In Hadith JIbril, Ihsan means:

أَنْ تَعْبُدَ اللَّهَ كَأَنَّكَ تَرَاهُ فَإِنْ لَمْ تَكُنْ تَرَاهُ فَإِنَّهُ يَرَاكَ

“Ihsan is to worship Allah as if you see Him, for if you do not see Him, He surely sees you.” – Sahih Muslim; 8

With regards to the second point of Ibn Taymiyah (may Allah have mercy on him), weakness of distraction means striving to push away all distractions that make you think of something other than Salah itself, and warding off thoughts that keep you mind off the purpose of Salah. This is something which differs from one person to another, because the extent of waswaas has to do with the extent of one’s doubts and desires and the heart’s focus and dependence on what it loves, and its efforts to avoid what it dislikes.”

Shaykh Ebrahim Shcuitema recommended that a person should awaken their presence before performing Salaah. If one is not present whilst performing Salaah, the Salaah has no meaning. One can become present by removing all focus of the dunya before one even makes his/her way towards Salaah and change their focus to worshipping Allah.

In order to gain total concentration in Salaah, one must start concentrating during wudhu, this can be done by making wudhu with cold water and feeling the water and movement of your hands during your wudhu.

When proceeding towards Salaah, one should become familiar with the room and environment. Focus your concentration on the place of sujood and understand the purpose of your prayer and if you find your mind beginning to wonder then revisit your intention, remove all thoughts of the dunya from your mind and become present again.

Some of the other ways one can maintain concentration in Salaah could be by repeating the words of the Athaan after the Muezzin, engaging in dhikr and salawaat before Salaah, performing Salaah in an environment with no distractions and at a measured pace and leaving one’s phone in a different room at the time of Salaah.

It is important for an individual avoid praying at places and times when they would get distracted, for example one should abstain from praying when food is prepared and they have a desire to eat, or when has the urge to answer the call of nature, or when one is feeling sleepy or even praying with clothing which has bright colors and images which are distracting.

The people of Tarim have a practice where they leave off whatever they doing before the athan for each Salah. They make sure that they are in the Masjid before the athan and spend those few moments engaging in thikr and salawat in preparation for their Salah.

We ask Allah to grant us the ability to gain absolute concentration during Salaah and may Allah accept our efforts from us and grant us understanding In Sha Allah!