Wa Alaikumussalam wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh,

Khushoo’ (humility, attentiveness, solemnity etc.) is an essential part of prayer and one that we as Muslims should constantly be striving to improve or attain, for if Salah is the body, then Khushoo is the soul, so this is a reminder to myself as well as to others insha’Allah.

You must ask yourself how much privilege we give to our prayer, it should be an essential part of our daily routine, and it should be guarded. One of the Salaf would go pale when doing Wudhoo for Salah and it was said to him “We see that when you do wudoo’ a change comes over you.” He said, “I know before Whom I am going to stand.”

So we must remember that we aren’t just standing in front of anyone, we are talking to Almighty Allah, and we must give Him our undivided attention as we worship Him through Salah. When we are going out somewhere to meet someone, we spend a while getting ready-in the same way, or even more so we should get ready to stand in front on Allah (swt).

“For example:

•   By repeating the words of the adhaan after the muezzin; (except when the Muezzin calls ‘Hayya Alas Salah and Hayya Alal Falah’, then we should say ‘La Hawla wa la quwwata illah billah’.)

•  By pronouncing the du’aa’ to be recited after the adhaan: “Allaahummah Rabba haadhihi’l-da’wati’l-taammah wa’-salaati’l-qaa’imah, aati Muhammadan il-waseelata wa’l-fadeelah, wab’ath-hu’l-maqaam al-mahmood alladhi wa’adtah  (O Allah, Lord of this perfect call and the prayer to be offered, grant Muhammad the privilege (of interceding) and also the eminence, and resurrect him to the praised position that You have promised)”;

• Reciting du’aa’ between the adhaan and the iqaamah;

• Doing wudoo’ properly, saying Bismillaah before it and making dhikr and saying the du’aa’ after it, “Ash-hadu an laa ilaaha ill-Allaah wahdahu laa shareeka lah wa ash-hadu anna Muhammadan ‘abduhu wa rasooluhu (I bear witness that there is no god except Allaah alone, with no partner or associate, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His slave and messenger)” and “Allaahummaj’alni min al-tawwaabeena waj’alni min al-mutatahhireen (O Allaah, make me of those who repent and make me of those who purify themselves)”;

• Using siwaak to cleanse and perfume the mouth that is going to recite Qur’an in a short while, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “Purify your mouths for the Qur’an.” (Reported by al-Bazzaar, who said: we do not have it with any better isnaad than this. Kashf al-Astaar, 1/242. Al-Haythami said: its men are thiqaat. 2/99. Al-Albaani said: its isnaad is jayyid. Al-Saheehah, 1213);

• Wearing one’s best and cleanest clothes, because Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): “O Children of Adam! Take your adornment (by wearing your clean clothes) while praying…” [al-A’raaf 7:31]. Allah is most deserving of seeing us “take our adornment” for Him. Clean, pleasant smelling clothes are also more comfortable and relaxing, unlike clothes for sleeping or working in.

We should also prepare ourselves by covering our ‘awrah properly, purifying the spot where we are going to pray, getting ready early and waiting for the prayer, and making the rows straight and solid, without any gaps, because the shayaateen come in through the gaps in the rows.” (From ‘Developing Khushoo’ in Salah’ by Muhammed Salih Al-Munajjid)

One of the best ways is remembering death. If one thinks about death, everything else in life is put into perspective; small problems seem insignificant, but something as crucial as prayer becomes important to us. Our hearts become empty and all we think of is Allah (swt), His Mercy and Forgiveness, so get into the habit of doing so. This world is but a moment, on Judgement day we will want to salvage even seconds of our lives so that we may worship Allah (swt), so don’t let your Salah go to waste. You have begun praying, so fulfill the duty and do it to your utmost ability.

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “Remember death in your prayer, for the man who remembers death during his prayer is bound to pray properly, and pray the prayer of a man who does not think that he will pray any other prayer.” (al-Silsilat al-Saheehah by al-Albaani, 1421. It was reported from al-Suyooti that al-Haafiz ibn Hajar classed this hadeeth as hasan).

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) also advised Abu Ayyoob (may Allah be pleased with him): “When you stand up to pray, pray a farewell prayer.” (Reported by Ahmad, 5/412; Saheeh al-Jaami’, no. 742) – meaning the prayer of one who thinks that he will not pray another prayer. The person who is praying will no doubt die, and there is some prayer that will be his last prayer, so let him have khushoo’ in the prayer that he is doing, for he does not know whether this will be his last prayer.

Furthermore, one should truly understand what they are reciting during Salah. I would read the tafsir of every Surah you usually recite, and if possible, begin to learn other Surahs so that you do not fall into a repetitive pattern, and every time you utter an ayah, ponder upon it’s meaning, it’s significance and praise Allah (swt).

Of course there are many other ways and I would highly recommend reading the book linked above as well as others if time permits, but truly strive to be humble and to worship Allah (swt) as best as you can, and may Allah make it easy for you and for all of us. The key here is to constantly try to improve this concentration, as it is not something that can come about quickly, but rather pay attention to your heart and in softening it and strive to keep the good traits you develop during Salah.

• ‘The Humility in Prayer’ by Ibn Rajab al-Hanbali
• Khushoo in Prayer by Imran Hussein

Hope this helps insha’Allah.