Khusyu' in Practical (2 out of 3)

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Bismillah,

Assalamualaikum warahmatullah wabarakatuh,

Less than a week we are going to enter to the month of Ramadhan where we get the chance to wipe our sins and elevate our good deeds. So, this post is a continuation from the previous post and I am going to give some tips on how to obtain khusyu' in the prayer. This time, it is going to be about during the prayer.

Tips:

1) Realize that YOU ARE TALKING DIRECTLY TO ALLAH when you are indulging yourself in the Salat.

Go through this hadeeth and ponder of its beauty. Click to this link for the Hadith Qudsi regarding recitation of Surah Al-Fatiha in Salat. http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=233056373380811

2) Understanding what you say along with emotions (meaning) - Explanation by Syeikh Yaser Birjas.

These are some explanation on each segments of prayer that we do 5 times a day.

Zikr: Allahu Akbar - Akbar here has superiority meaning. It can be translated as greater than/important/greatest. Here, one should be humble already as we are saying that Allah is The Greatest. If before that we are doing homework, or working , or sleeping, think that all of that is with no match to Allah Greatness. And if we are thinking other than Allah at that time, think again that Allah is The Greatest. Remind yourself frequently that you are meeting with the Greatest being compare to anything that fill the heaven and the earth.

Physical: The position of Sujud is an example that I want to mention about. As a human, head is one of the noblest part of our body. We are putting our noblest part to the lowest part of the earth (the floor). We only do this for Allah SWT and we recite' Subhan Allahu Rabbiy Al-A'laa' we are exalting and glorifying Allah the Highest when we are at the lowest position. Subhan Allah!

Supplications: A dua before tasleem (giving salam) that I really recommended us to remember it, understand it and ponder upon it and it is from a nasihat from Prophet SAW to Abu Bakar R.A.

‘O Allah I have been extremely unjust to myself and none grants forgiveness against sins but You, forgive me, with the forgiveness that comes from You and have Mercy, upon me. Verily You. are the Forgiver, the Merciful.'

Degree of our sins: Zhulman here has an esclamation mark and kathiran shows that it is happening over and over again in this context. In other words, we are doing so much sins over and over again.

Tawakkul: illa anta here shows that the one and only. It is showing how desperate we are in asking forgiveness from Allah as only He can forgive us!

Asking forgiveness: Maghfiratan here is asking for a complete forgiveness and irhamnii is not only asking for mercy from Allah but we are seeking the closeness to Allah as if we are close to Him, our repeated sins will be forgiven as He is the Most Merciful.

3) Understand the frequently recited Surahs especially from the Juzu' Amr.

Listen and read about the tafsir of the short surahs that we usually recite them through Bayyinah, Understand Quran, Tafsir Ibn Kathir or Noble Quran by Dr Mohsin Khan.

4) Thoma'ninah - This action is an obligation in the Salat.

Pray slowly and calmly with sufficient pauses. Hadith in Bulugh Al-Maram #210 and #211 where at every movement in salat, it is narrated that we remain calmly in that position for a moment.

5) Khusyu' - Being solemn, submissive and humble to Allah the Almighty.

I would like to share with you the explanation of Khusyu' by Brother Imran Hussein from Islamhouse.com as it comprehends the importance of khusyu' at it best. When a soul departs a body, is there any good to the body? Will people do whatever it takes to take care of the body? or for some, the bodies will be used for experiment and etc. BUT, when there is a soul in the body, even if the body has lost its eye, or ear, or hand or could not stand up properly, people around it will take care of it and will feel sympathy.

It is the same thing to the Salat. If the movement of the body i.e, ruku', sujud, standing and recitations were acted without no soul in it, then it is like a dead body. However, if there is a soul presents along with the movements, then we can call it as Salat or a living body.

6) Pray as the Prophet SAW pray.

Undoubtedly, the Prophet SAW did not leave the utmost perfect ways of worshiping Allah other than what he had thought us. So go and learn the description of the Salat through books of hadith like Riyadhus Solihin, Sahih Bukhari or Bulugh Al-Maram.

"Also perform your prayer just as you see me perform my prayer." (Bukhari Vol. 1, p. 1076)

Wallahu Ta'ala A'lam,

Jazakamullahu khairan kathiran.

p/s: Insya Allah, before we start the month of Ramadhan, I will post the 3 out of 3 post!