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| concentration during salat |
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| kandahar |
| 04/04/03 at 17:09:49 |
salam; i have this problem: when i perform salat, many times i feel like i am doing it quite mechanically, my BODY is making sujud, ruku, ecc..but my mind is running loosely, not concentrating as i think it should. i am reciting fatiha, while at the same time my mind is thinking: when i finish this, i must study two chapters of that book, then prepare meal, then.. sometimes (but ot often) i distract to the point that i miss the number of rakats i have done and i have to start again. i would like very much to be able to leave all the "worldy" things out when i am performing salat, and to concentrate just on Allah (swt), but i don't know how, since it seems like an inconscious thing that i can't control. i try to perform it very slowly, or to listen to some Quran recitation tape before starting, just to get "in the mood"; it works sometimes , but other times i am so absorbed in daily petty problems that i cannot concentrate properly on "higher things". do u have some suggestions? |
| Re: concentration during salat |
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| sista |
| 04/04/03 at 19:18:21 |
| [slm] Try http://www.islamworld.net/khushoo.htm The Sheikh gives some excellent advice. Hope it helps! :) [wlm] |
| 04/04/03 at 19:19:50 |
| sista |
| Re: concentration during salat |
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| theOriginal |
| 04/04/03 at 20:51:08 |
| [slm] You know what helps is knowing what you are reciting. Kind of like attending a Derivative Finance lecture: I fall asleep if I haven't read the chapter the night before :) The other thing that helps me personally, is reminding myself before each prayer that this is how I'm communicating with Allah swt. Not only do I try to concentrate on the meaning of the Arabic words, but I try concentrating on how they are built into our prayers. For example, Surah Fatiha... If you read how Allah responds to you when you recite the words with khushoo', it really REALLY makes you WANT to conncentrate on its meaning. Orrr, reflecting on the meaning of the "atahiyaat" (I am not sure what it's called) really helps too. Especially since a couple of days ago I found out WHY we recite the "atahiyaat" in our Salah. I would tell you here, but I don't want to mess up the beautiful story. Perhaps someone on the board with more knowledge could help out (pleezy?)... And it is SO hard to always have full concentration in prayer. But you can always make the effort, and make duaa to Allah swt to help you out with this dilemma. May Allah make it easy on you, inshaAllah. Wasalaam. |
| Re: concentration during salat |
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| deenb4dunya |
| 04/04/03 at 20:59:51 |
| Assalamu Alaikum; Just a few things... A reminder to myself first... * EXTERNALLY: Try to clear your external surroundings so there is few, or preferably no dunya possesions in sight. Dim the light if you feel more comfortable. Don't perform salaah on a colorful mat that will help you lose focus. Eliminate external noise..etc. * INTERNAL: I remember one shaikh (hafizahuAllah) told us that we are inside salaah what we are outside salaah. So if we are usually busy talking, eating..etc. in salaah, we will still be thinking about those same things. So we should to be in khushoo', and be consious of Allah outside salah to be able to be in khushoo inside salah. Also learning about the importance of khushoo as a prerequisite for the accpetance of salah, degree of those who perform it...etc. helps. Knowldge engenders struggle. Wallahu Ta'aala A'lam. Wassalamu Alaikum; Deen :-) PS- TheOriginal...spill the story... |
| Re: concentration during salat |
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| Ameeraana |
| 04/04/03 at 21:07:31 |
| [slm] One of my Muslims friends told me a story about Prophet Muhammad (sallalahu aleyhi wa salaam). A man was complaining about the fact that when he performs salaat he thinks of other things at the same time. Prophet Muhammad (sallalahu aleyhi wa salaam) said that it is normal and extremely difficult to not think other things during salat. One of Prophet Muhammad's (sallalahu aleyhi wa salaam) companions (I do not remember his name) said "I can perform salaat without any outside thoughts". So then Prophet Muhammad (sallalahu aleyhi wa salaam) told him he would get to have either a red or blue vest (or some type of clothing like this) if he performs it without outside thoughts. And so this man performed salat and was able to concentrate throughout the whole time and then came the end where you say "Assalamu Aleikum Wa Rahmatu Allah" and as he looked right and said it, he thought "do I want the red one or the blue one?". Ameera |
| Re: concentration during salat |
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| sista |
| 04/04/03 at 21:21:38 |
| [slm] Good one sis Ameera! :D You know, I just remembered something one of my teachers once said to me: "The reason we [ie Muslims] are down is 'cause we fill ourselves with rubbish. Gotta study, gotta work, gotta make money, gotta please the family, gotta buy that cool jersey in the shop window, oh, and then there's Bob Marley and 'dil deewana' right?...The effect of filling ourselves with rubbish is a loss of our ability to concentrate in prayers, so that when we should be closest to Allah, we are furthest away..." Figures ::) [wlm] |
| 04/04/03 at 21:23:53 |
| sista |
| Re: concentration during salat |
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| BrKhalid |
| 04/05/03 at 01:39:44 |
| Asalaamu Alaikum ;-) One piece of advice I heard recently was to go through the actions of prayer reading in English only. Obviously such prayer will not be counted but it's useful in reminding us what we say to Allah during Salah. Another is to try to make time for Salah such that we don't have to rush it. (ie don't pray 5 mins before your derivative finance lecture ;-) ) |
| Re: concentration during salat |
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| Tesseract |
| 04/05/03 at 02:01:05 |
| Assalamu 'alaikum, [quote]reflecting on the meaning of the "atahiyaat" (I am not sure what it's called)[/quote] I have read it being called "Tashahhud" more commonly, and rarely as "Tahiyyah". And Allah knows the Best. [quote]Especially since a couple of days ago I found out WHY we recite the "atahiyaat" in our Salah. I would tell you here, but I don't want to mess up the beautiful story. Perhaps someone on the board with more knowledge could help out (pleezy?)...[/quote] I never knew WHY do we recite the Tashahhud in salaah, and tried doing my research too, but nothing came up. So, I am real curious as to what the story is? People of knowledge on board :), please wake up and relate the story, or why don't u tell us sis. theOriginal? Wassalam. |
| Re: concentration during salat |
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| mr-bean |
| 04/05/03 at 08:13:35 |
| [quote author=kandahar link=board=madrasa;num=1049494190;start=0#0 date=04/04/03 at 17:09:49] i miss the number of rakats i have done and i have to start again. [/quote] [slm] if you forget how many rakats you have missed you don't have to start the prayer over...and perhaps you even shouldn't as you are breaking the prayer.... there are provisions for forgetfulness...if you are unsure of the number of rakat...say you are not sure that you have prayed 3, but you are sure you prayed 2 rakats. then pray another 2 rakat (if you are praying say isha or dhuhr) and then pray the two extra sujood (sajdah sahv)... the hanafi way to do this is after you have finished attahiyat, give salam to your right angel (as when ending the prayer) then make two exta sajdahs (prostrate, then sit then prostrate again and finally sit again) and then recite the whole tashahud like when ending the prayer and give salam on the right and left side... ...that then completes the prayer.... ...by starting over in praying you may be making things much more difficult for yourself...so instead of praying again just pray the extra two sajdahs....and then if you want pray lots of extra (nawafil, ie. nafl) prayers...that will draw you closer to Allah. these nawwafil are superegetory prayers and Allah has said about the one who performs extra superogetory duties..(roughly paraphrasing) ....my servant draws near to me with the superrogetory acts untill i am the hand by which he holds....the legs by which he walks.....the eyes by which he sees...when he asks of me....i answer his prayers... some more details from a quick google search http://www.albalagh.net/kids/understanding_deen/sahaf.shtml |
| Re: concentration during salat |
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| theOriginal |
| 04/05/03 at 08:53:24 |
| [slm] [quote]why don't u tell us sis. theOriginal? [/quote] I honestly don't want to mess it up, but I'll tell you what I remember, and then if it's wrong someone can fix it for me. When the Prophet (sallalaahu 'alaihi wassalaam) went on the Miraaj, at his last point of ascension, there was a wall of Nur which Hadhrat Jibrael refused to go past. He told the Prophet (saw), that he (Saw) would have to cross that wall of Nur on his own, because if he (Hadhrat Jibrael) crossed it, he would get burnt. Before crossing, the Prophet (Saw) was getting nervous ( ?? ), and he was wondering how to greet the Creator. (Can you imagine? If we get the chance to meet Allah swt (insha Allah), what can we possibly say??) The Prophet (saw) could only see Light. So when he (Saw) entered, he said "Atahiyaatu lillahi wassalaawatu wa-tayyibaatu." To this Allah swt replied "Assalaamu 'Alaika Ayyuhan Nabiyyo wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatu" Upon hearing this the angels all said, " as Salaamu Alayna wa 'ala ibaadillah his suaaliheen." After which Hadhrat Jibrael added the testimony. Soooooo, how does this add to khushoo'? Well just think, we greet Allah swt in EVERY single prayer, 5x a day, we can't greet Him without concentrating...and insha Allah we should all do it in the best way we can. (btw, did I mention motivation is a myth?? You can't hope for the magical day when you will be automatically motivated to concenrate in prayer, because motivation does not breed action, action breeds motivation. Besides, motivation doesn't even exist...it is a combination of discipline, encouragement, and inspiratation. I'm sorry...I tend to come up with these theories during the exam period at 3:00 am....it's an unpolished idea :) ) Wasalaam. |
| Re: concentration during salat |
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| Bismillah23 |
| 04/05/03 at 16:11:10 |
| [slm] wow, i never knew that, allah swt responds to you when you recite suurah al Fatiha, and when you recite atayat..... can anyone explain what allah swt says? I read somewhere that someone (i forgot his name, sorry) came up to the prophet (sws) and said "O messenger of Allah!" Shaitaan gets in the way of myself and my prayers" then he (sws) said, "O (so and so, i forgot his name) seek refuge in allah from shaitaan, and spit on your left three times" (by the way, if ive explained the above incorrectly, i apologize in advance, pls correct me) That seems to work for me allhamdullilah, and also as someone mentioned here, concentrate on what your saying while ur prostrating before allah swt, it helps cause it makes you focus more on your salah rather than what your going to eat after you pray, or etc... hope that helps your sis |
| Re: concentration during salat |
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| Bismillah23 |
| 04/05/03 at 16:13:48 |
| [slm] one last thing i forgot to mention after i read my response. he <sws> said, seek refuge with allah swt from shaitaan, and spit on ur left 3 times, and then begin praying. jazaker allahu khairen if u guys corrected me. |
| Re: concentration during salat |
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| theOriginal |
| 04/05/03 at 19:55:10 |
| [slm] Here's another article: [url]http://www.youngmuslims.ca/online_library/books/33_ways_of_developing_khushu_in_salah/index.htm[/url] And, just so I am not perpetuating WRONG info, as far as I know, Allah swt responds to us in the 7 verses of Surah Fatiha....not sure about anything else. And once again, I have the memory of a pea, and I can't remember EXACTLY how He responds....sorry :( Wasalaam |
| Re: concentration during salat |
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| A_Stranger |
| 04/06/03 at 11:34:15 |
| [slm], In order to concentrate in Salaah: 1. Avoid sinning. 2. Understand the meaning of what you are uttering. 3. Understand the importance of what you are uttering. ...I forgot the rest. Some good advice was given above. Here's the hadeeth which explains the virtue of surah al-Faatihah and how Allaah (SWT) replies to it: Muslim reports from Abu Hurayrah (RA) who said that the Messenger of Allaah (SAW) said, [i]Allaah, the Glorious and Exalted said, “I have divided the prayer between Myself and my servant equally and My servant shall be granted what he asked for.” Therefore when the servant says,[/i] ‘all praises and thanks are due to Allaah, the Lord of the universe’, [i]Allaah says,[color=Pink][/color] ‘My servant has praised Me.’ When he says,[/i] ‘the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful,’ [i]Allaah says, ‘My servant has extolled Me.’ When he says,[/i] ‘Master of the Day of Judgement,’ [i]Allaah says, ‘My servant has glorified Me.’ When he says,[/i] ‘You Alone we worship and Your aid Alone do we seek,’ [i]Allaah says, ‘this is between Me and My servant and My servant shall have what he requested.’ When he says,[/i] ‘guide us to the Straight Path, the Path of those whom You have favoured, not of those who have incurred [Your] wrath, neither of those who have gone astray,’ [i]Allaah says, ‘this is for My servant and My servant shall have what he asked for.’[/i] [Saheeh Muslim [Eng. Trans. 1/215 no. 775]] To learn more about the virtues of Umm al-Quraan (surah faatihah), check this link: [url]http://www.sunnahonline.com/ilm/quran/0018.htm#5[/url] Peace. |
| 04/06/03 at 11:35:49 |
| A_Stranger |
| Re: concentration during salat |
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| Rameeza |
| 04/06/03 at 16:05:44 |
| [slm] Jazaka Allahu Khair to the Stranger. ;D ;D I read that article and its a great help. Hope it works. [] |
| Re: concentration during salat |
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| paula |
| 04/06/03 at 22:13:47 |
| [slm] [size=2][font=Verdana][color=Navy][quote]The_Original :-): btw, did I mention motivation is a myth?? You can't hope for the magical day when you will be automatically motivated to concenrate in prayer, because motivation does not breed action, action breeds motivation. Besides, motivation doesn't even exist...it is a combination of discipline, encouragement, and inspiratation. I'm sorry...I tend to come up with these theories during the exam period at 3:00 am....it's an unpolished idea :)[/quote] I believe someone on this site has stated that The Original is too cute..... (smile)....... soooo very very true (smile) I want to thank "the Original Sister" for the additions here... Jazak Allahu Khairan....smile -------------- [quote] ;-)Khalid: One piece of advice I heard recently was to go through the actions of prayer reading in English only. [/quote].......... Jazak Allahu Khairan Brother Personal Testimony Here: Actually, I faced this one head on. Of course when performing Salat in Arabic, I found that I just didn't feel comfortable enough to just perform with the Arabic, since it is not my native tongue by choice of Allah(SWT). I Love the Arabic Language, but didn't feel the strength I felt I should feel with performing Salat, and just knowing what I was saying, in memory, didn't really seem to do it. So I thought to myself, in my heart, & to Allah (SWT), waiste of time or not, I will perform additional Salat in English... go through the motions be it for not, for the intention to strengthen my connection and concentration. My testimony... it worked for me ... Alhamdu lillah... I believe my Salat in Arabic increased in strength at least 10 fold. Even to hear the Arabic I can feel in my heart so much stronger than before...... All praise to Allah (SWT)...... Allahu Akbar. Nice additional link brother stranger. Excellent topic for discussion sister kandahar Jazak Allahu Khairan everyone [/color][/font][/size] [wlm] |
| 04/07/03 at 00:06:09 |
| paula |
| Re: concentration during salat |
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| Ameeraana |
| 04/07/03 at 01:00:15 |
| [slm] Arabic is not my native tongue either and the only languages I am fluent in are English and Japanese. I recite my prayers in Arabic but at the same time in my mind I recite them in English. This way it is most beneficial for me. It just wouldn't feel like its from the heart if I just said the words in Arabic since I still have to translate the Arabic I know into Enlish in my head. Inshallah I will become fluent soon though!!. Ameera |
| Re: concentration during salat |
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| A_Stranger |
| 04/07/03 at 14:06:05 |
| [slm] [quote]Nice additional link brother stranger. Excellent topic for discussion sister kandahar[/quote] lol..no problemo, sister. ;D |
| Re: concentration during salat |
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| se7en |
| 04/07/03 at 15:06:14 |
| as salaamu alaykum, a great book I would recommend is [url=http://store.yahoo.com/islamicbookstore-com/b3330.html]Inner Dimensions of Islamic Worship[/url], by Ghazali, translated by Muhtar Holland. It is a really deep, beautiful book that goes into some detail on the spiritual aspects of the prayer and other acts of worship, that will give you an appreciation for them beyond the mechanics. wasalaamu alaykum :-) |
| Re: concentration during salat |
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| paula |
| 04/07/03 at 21:52:20 |
| [slm] [size=2][font=Verdana][color=Navy] :D ooops...lol...oooooh..... ya allah smile...... did you catch a little confidence in that one Stranger ...... lol [quote]Nice additional link brother stranger. Excellent topic for discussion sister kandahar [/quote] ...... and stranger doesn't even bat an eyelash ;) ... Or does he?? ;D ________ Thank-you too sister Se7en for the addition :) ((very nice)) .......... yours I'm always typing in wrong too :) sister "seVen" :) .... forgive me Jazak Allahu Khairan [/color][/font][/size] [wlm] |
| 04/07/03 at 21:53:35 |
| paula |
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