Worship acts as a channel towards developing a healthier physical as well as mental health. One such practice is Salah; a physical act of worship performed by Muslims five times a day as an obligation as per the command of Allah. It aces the physical aspect, but how would it help mentally? Let’s take a look.
In Salah, one must stand before the Creator in submission, with humility in heart, which is termed as Khushu (mental state of being). Its significance can be observed by the following statement of Allah in which:
Allah (SWT) says [1] –
Successful indeed are the believers, who are humble in their salah.
Khushu is generally translated as ‘Attentive Humility’ accompanied by inward attentiveness to Allah and outward stillness of limbs [2]. However, it is a much deeper concept. Khushu is not only a matter of actions or words, but an inner attitude of humility and sincere devotion. It demonstrates the presence of the heart in the act of worship; here, Salah. It reminds us that humility is the heart’s recognition of our place before Allah, which develops true respect and obedience by making us aware of the greatness of Allah and the helplessness we possess in front of Him.
Ibn Al Qayyim described Khushu as: [3]
A sincere heart standing before the Lord in submissiveness, subservience, and focusing on Him.
Developing Khushu can help us build a more sincere and emotional relationship with Allah and motivate us to behave with humility in our everyday actions and contacts.
What Value Does Salah Without Khushu Encompass?
What are the parameters to check whether you have Khushu in your Salah or not? Let’s take a look. Performing Salah, which is full of distractions, at high speed, with improper postures, void of concentration, in autopilot mode, not understanding a word of recitation, would be of no good. If any of the above symptoms align with your Salah routine, then you should become aware of the below-mentioned Hadith.
The Prophet ﷺ said: [4]
Indeed a person may pray for sixty years, yet not a single ṣalāh of his will be accepted. Perhaps he perfected the rukūʿ but not the sujūd, or he perfected the sujūd but not the rukū.
This reflects the importance of Khushu in Salah; Khushu is to Salah as soul is to body. Just like the body becomes dead without the presence of a soul, Salah in its entirety also stands nowhere without Khushu, even if its obligation is lawfully met with fulfillment. In reality, it holds no value in the eyes of Allah. He neither accepts nor rewards it.
Khushu is not just developed during the span of Salah but also by actions, an individual involves himself in, outside the practice of Salah. Basically, the major component of installing goodness and humility is determined by the state of heart. The heart needs to be cleansed from time to time as it is a vessel which needs to be purified to sustain space for goodness. One can achieve this by actively being mindful and conscious of Allah’s presence all the time, which creates Taqwa in the heart and, thereby motivating the individual to perform very less to null sinful acts.
The Concept of Nafs : Its Nature and How it’s affected by the Dynamics of Khushu.
The nature of Nafs (Self/Soul) is neutral. However the absence or presence of humility and God’s consciousness shape it.
Presence of consciousness along with humility creates the heart a perfect vessel for pouring goodness which fuels the self towards the embodiment of Nafs Al Mutma’innah (quiet soul). It is a tranquil state in which the self itself becomes habitual of rejecting sins, and it naturally finds peace in what Allah has asked from them [5]. A soul which has reached the state of Mutma’innah is ideal for achieving the condition of Khushu.
Whereas, two other mental conditions exist as every Muslim can not reach the state of Mutma’innah. They are namely: Nafs Al Ammarah bil sui (tends towards evil) and Nafs Al Lawwamah (the reproaching soul).
The absolute absence of humility and consciousness results in intensifying the self, which is pleasure-driven, responsible for acting impulsively without taking any consequences into account i.e., Nafs Al Ammarah bin sui [6].
To create a balance between these two, there exists Nafs Al Lawwamah, the practical approach which is in constant state of up righting one’s soul and is responsible for freeing an individual from all kinds of corruption and evil-doings to achieve the state of Mutma’innah – the inner serenity [7].
Khushu can be achieved with the attainment of a calmer soul as Khushu is nothing but a state of soul, which can be reflected in the body in the form of calm.
Practical Approaches to acquire Khushu in Salah.
There’s one universal principle, which is [8],
The more tremendous value an action offers, the more it is difficult to attain it.
To strive for Khushu is one such act. To achieve it, one must do justice to its immense level of virtue. For this, some of the key methodologies are listed below, following which one can achieve this honour: –
Make Supererogatory (Nafl) Prayers your habit especially at night-time
Away from the masses, one should connect with his Creator in absolute silence and isolation; this condition perfectly matches with the late-night timeline as most individuals have already gone to sleep. At that moment, one needs to pour out his heart out in front of his Lord and fully delve into the realm of spirituality without any nuance of disturbance to achieve sincere connection with the Divine.
Praying supererogatory prayers at night fills one’s Salah with Khushu, and it also increases one’s chances of delving into the proper state of Khushu in obligatory prayers as well, thereby eventually making it a habit with persistent efforts.
Take time to comprehend what you are reciting.
Increase the number of dhikrs said in ruku and sajdah, it is permissible to say them in an odd multiple, contrary to the rigid belief people have that it should be said three times only. In that time gap, try to be mindful of what you are saying and focus all your concentration on the communication that is being held from this earth to up above the heavens.
Prepare yourself outside Salah by giving extra time to understand the meaning and essence of the surahs and dhikrs which need to be recited. After that, you can prolong your Salah and comprehend every word recognizing its gravity as the body shows a positive response, resulting in healthier energy levels and robust immune responses while doing so [9].
Start being conscious from the very start.
To bring the concept of Khushu into lived reality, one is advised to willingly initiate from the very act of wudhu itself, while reciting the first word i.e., Bismillah before wudhu (ritual ablution) in order to open the divine channel of communication between the creation and the Creator.
Similarly, it is recommended to deliberately put supererogatory prayers before the obligatory ones to gradually enter the state of being conscious of all the words uttered during the prayer.
The human mind takes time to free itself from distractions. Once it reaches the state of consciousness, it is much easier for it to strive from that state of being mindfully present in the moment in later stages of prayer. That’s why one should start entering the state of Khushu from the very beginning [10,11].
Concept of Ihsan: Pray as if you see Him. If not, indeed He sees you.
Stand in Salah while keeping in mind that you are physically present in front of Allah and you are physically standing before Him. Who can avoid the Magnificent or deny His magnificence? No one, so be aware of Him as if He is watching you, which, in reality, is true.
Remember, there will be no mediator between you and Allah on the day of judgment. Assume that situation as your present scenario while performing Salah and see how it affects the quality of your Salah. The graph of Khushu will go up only after applying this practice into your Salah routine.
In the span of doing so, one should reflect upon his own feebleness, that he is not able to even focus while interacting with his Master, who is the one who blew soul into him. His Master is still sustaining him yet without asking anything in return, thereby increasing one’s humbleness and modesty needed for the sustenance of Khushu in Salah.
How to Avoid Being Distracted?
First up, you should perceive every Salah as if it were your last.
Iblis has his own way of spawning distraction into the minds of Insan (Human), he can manipulate any individual as he is aware of everyone’s soft spot and fragility. He knows who would get distracted by which means. An individual interested in football will be driven by thoughts about recent matches and current scores. Likewise, another individual who is a good cook, will ponder upon his recipes and so on. So, he diverts the attention to such things. To prevent this, one should say,
I seek refuge in Allah from Satan, the accursed.
three times while slightly blowing towards the left to regain attention.
Another way to avoid slipping into such an overwhelming yet interesting chain of thoughts, one should make a determined belief in his mind to perceive every prayer as if it’s his last one, after which he would not get another chance to stand in front of his Master in submission. This belief, when accompanied by a determination to upright oneself, results in building Khushu. But it requires patience, one should strive for it as it is quite a long process.
Conclusion
Salah pertains innumerable benefits. One such is the calmness a soul withholds, termed as Khushu. The word Khushu is mentioned 17 times in the Qur’an, highlighting its relevance and value. Khushu comes from the root word خشع, meaning “humble submission” [10].
To sum it all,
A Salah which lacks Khushu not only loses its value but also nullifies the obligation even if it seems to be achieved outwardly. Thus, one should strive for it with a lot of patience, perseverance and determination. Sustaining it is more difficult than achieving it, so one should become even more considerate of its sustenance, once achieved.
References
- The Quran (23:1-2)
- Islam Channel. (2022, October 31). Khushu — the essential quality of prayer.
- Seifeddine-M. (2013, April 5). Imam Ibn al-Qayyim (RA) on Khushu.
- Life With Allah. (n.d.). The importance of Khushu in Salah.
- Fachrunisa, R. A., & Chizanah, L. (2020). Al-Ghazali’s Psychological Construct of Nafsu.
- Rothman and A. Coyle, “Toward a Framework for Islamic Psychology and Psychotherapy: An Islamic Model of the Soul“.
- Rahmanto, S. W., Fachrunisa, R. A., & Suseno, B. (2023). Khushoo in Salah An overview of Nafs (Islamic psychological perspective)
- Scholarly Subtitles. (2018, March 11). How can I attain khushūʿ in my prayer? By Shaykh Sulaymān al-Ruhaylī حفظه الله [Video].
- Usman, N. (2012, October 17). Khushu: Humility in Salah (Part 1)
- H. Ibrahim et al., “A Psychological Measure of Islamic Religiousness: Development and Evidence for Reliability and Validity”.
- M. S. Munsoor and H. Munsoor, Well-Being and the Worshipper: A Scientific Perspective of Selected Contemplative Practices in Islam (2017).