قَالَ رَسُولُ اللهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: لَا صَلَاةَ لِمَنْ لَا يَتَخَشَّعُ فِي صَلَاتِهِ. (كنز)
Rasūlullāh (sallallāhu alayhi wa sallam) said:“There is no [perfect] salāh for a person who does not have khushū‘ (submissiveness and peace) during his salāh.” (Kanz al-‘Ummāl)
Khushū‘ means that a servant of Allāh knows Allāh Ta’a’la is aware of all his actions and state and thus regards himself to be faulty in the spiritual presence of Allāh. Khushū‘ is a great blessing (of Allāh) and the manifestation of the true īmān (faith)
The virtue of Khushū‘ is not merely confined to salāh. Therefore, the ulamā (Scholars of Islam) who have been blessed with the ni‘mah of Khushū‘ have always cared to have Khushū‘ and humbleness in all occasions and places.
Fard (obligatory) acts are instrumental for salvation from the hellfire, and the nāfilah (optional) acts for attaining closeness to Allāh Ta‘ālā. Therefore, if a musallī (performer of salāh) lacks mindfulness in his heart and Khushū‘ in both fard and nāfilah prayers, he cannot obtain the expected benefit out of salāh. The heart of the musalli should consciously follow what the tongue recites during salāh so that he may achieve the promised thawab (reward) and merits.
Our master, Muhammad (sallallāhu alayhi wa sallam) said: “Whoever is able to perform two rak’ahs of salāh without having any worldly thoughts in their heart, their past sins will be completely forgiven.”
Reportedly, a group of Israelites used to pray following their prophets, but they did not pay attention to what their imam was reciting. Allāh Almighty said to their Prophet, “Tell your people that their bodies and tongues are present before Me (they physically pray and recite), but their hearts are far from Me, and they turned away from Me. This is not the way ibādah (act of worship) is performed. Their ibādah performed in this way will not benefit them.”
The message that may be deduced from this narration is that even if the salāh of those who are negligent in the performance of their salāh may be sahih (valid), its virtue and merits will be low.
Rasūlullāh (sallallāhu alayhi wa sallam) said: “Verily, a person may return from his prayer and nothing good is written for him but a tenth of his prayer, or a ninth, or an eighth, or a seventh, or a sixth, or a fifth, or a fourth, or a third, or a half [depending on what he neglected of the pillars, conditions and Khushū‘ of salāh].”
Mon, January 29, 2024 Fazilet Calendar