Devotion in Salah Mufti Azeemuddin Ahmed

...of the believers. Those who will enter Jannah. And then, of course, the opening chapter of Surah Al-Mu'minoon, which we're reading, has many other attributes.

But we just have to focus on this aspect today. That khushu' — that these people have khushu' in their prayers.

Why Is the Salah Not Changing Me?

My brothers and sisters, dear friends, coming back to the same question. Why is the salah not changing me? Why is the salah not changing my family? Why is it that salah is there for years — since we're 4 or 5 years old, we know we have to pray, and we've been praying on and off, or on, mashaAllah, all the time. But why is it that we're not at the level where we feel like we should be? Everyone asks himself this question. And one of the answers most definitely is that khushu' is not present.

That concentration, that devotion, that a person is speaking to Allah, and Allah is speaking to him, is not in the minds of most people. Unfortunately, it is such that the Prophet ﷺ already prophesized that one of the first things that is gonna be lifted away — the gift that's gonna be lifted away from this ummah — is gonna be concentration in prayer. Wealth will come, health will come, and all sorts of other material gains will come to the ummah. But they actually may bring more harm than benefit. The greatest harm, the greatest pain here, is that one of the first things to leave this ummah will be khushu' — will be concentration in prayer.

And then the Rasulullah ﷺ painted that very sad picture which maybe we're witnessing today. That you may enter a masjid that is filled to capacity with people praying, yet you will have a hard time finding one individual in the entire congregation who is concentrating in his prayer. The Prophet ﷺ already mentioned that. That an entire congregation in hundreds and thousands are present in prayer. But yet unfortunately, their heart is somewhere else. Their mind is somewhere else. How can that ummah and that person benefit from that prayer if that concentration is missing?

The Blessing of Being Able to Pray

My brothers and sisters, this is of dire importance for those of us who've been blessed with the ability to pray. Yes, I mean that — blessed with the ability to pray. Blessed with the ability to come for Jumu'ah. Because there are millions of people who've been deprived of the blessing of coming for Salatul Jumu'ah. And hundreds of millions have been deprived of praying on a daily basis.

Most of us who've been blessed with this do not realize that there are people — like people who are healthy, who mashaAllah get up in the morning, jump out of bed, brush their teeth, jump into the shower, in and out, five minutes they're out — they don't realize what it means to live with a disability. They don't realize there are a lot of people with disabilities who can't do something like that.

So, alhamdulillah, if you and I have been blessed with the ability to pray, we don't realize that there are people who are Muslims, who come from Muslim backgrounds, who come from Muslim countries, yet year after year, decade after decade, not once have they been allowed to bow down in prostration in front of Allah. Not once for the past 30–40 years have they been allowed to put their head on the ground. The most beautiful feeling of being able to just bow down in front of Allah.

And Allah mentions that in the Qur'an. May Allah protect all of us from sharing this lot. Allah says:

That is the day when Allah will manifest Himself in a manner that only Allah knows. Like when a bright light comes on and everyone has to just look down — like this beautiful sun that is shining in my face, a person has to look down or look away. When Allah manifests Himself on the Day of Judgment in a manner that befits Him, people will be forced to fall down in prostration out of the magnitude and the magnificence of Allah's manifestation.

وَيُدْعَوْنَ إِلَى السُّجُودِ — They will be asked to prostrate. فَلَا يَسْتَطِيعُونَ — Unfortunately, there will be people who will not be able to do so. خَاشِعَةً أَبْصَارُهُمْ تَرْهَقُهُمْ ذِلَّةٌ — They know they're in trouble because millions and billions around them are on the ground. Yet these people stand erect. And obviously they're not supposed to be like that. Everyone's on the ground.

Their backs will become like a solid piece of brick or metal — unable to bend even though they should and they want to bend. Allah says, خَاشِعَةً أَبْصَارُهُمْ — their eyes will be humbled. They will be looking down in shame. تَرْهَقُهُمْ ذِلَّةٌ — Allah didn't say they're just gonna be ashamed of their lot. Shame and disgrace will envelope them from every direction.

وَقَدْ كَانُوا يُدْعَوْنَ إِلَى السُّجُودِ وَهُمْ سَالِمُونَ — Allah says, previously in the world they were asked to pray. وَهُمْ سَالِمُونَ — And they were healthy. Nothing was stopping them from bowing down. Nothing was stopping them from prostrating. Yet they refused to do so.

Today when the whole world will be prostrating — men, women, children, jinn, animals, everything will be prostrating in front of Allah — these unlucky souls, these deprived souls will be unable to prostrate and humble themselves in front of Allah due to the life that they have led in this world.

So the fact that we are praying is one of the greatest blessings of Allah — a blessing that can be second to none.

The Quality of Our Salah

But my brothers and sisters, I'm asking ourselves, let's go to the next aspect. What is the quality of my salah? What is the quality of my salah? Am I able to say that I have performed today's Fajr — if we pray today's Fajr in the masjid, or today's Fajr at home, or Ishraq and Salatul Dhuha — can I say I performed these two raka'ah, from last week till this week, from last month till this month, from last Ramadan till now, in which nothing crossed my mind save Allah? That I am standing in front of Allah and nothing in front of me except for Allah.

My brothers and sisters, when that khushu' is not present, then the salah doesn't give us benefit. Not only that, unfortunately, as some of the ulema have said, it actually is a source of sin. It causes problems. Like how we tell kids — if you open the Qur'an, read. Don't open the Qur'an and speak. Don't open the Qur'an and play games. If you don't want to read Qur'an, close it. Don't we say that to our children?

When we come for salah, that doesn't mean we neglect the salah. Don't take me wrong. By no means am I saying that if a person says, "Oh, today is Jumu'ah, I'm not sure if I'm gonna concentrate, so let me just leave it." Absolutely not. This is not something we have a choice about. We're simply saying that sometimes, such a great fard act, if not done properly, instead of giving us benefit, it will end up harming us.

Why? Because you've seen, you've heard about stories of people going for Hajj and Umrah, which is fard. Hajj is fard. So they fulfilled that fard. But Allahu Akbar, they come back worse than they were before. In five or six months, you see them doing things they previously had never done. And you say, "What? You're a Hajji. What happened?" Some level of disrespect may have taken place in the house of Allah. Some level of disrespect may have taken place in the state of ihram. And those things deprive a person, push a person further than where he was before. Because these things are not acceptable. A person has a chance to speak to Allah and he's looking the other way. It's gonna cause great harm.

The Hadith Qudsi: Who Is the True Prayer?

So Rasulullah ﷺ mentioned in a Hadith Qudsi — a hadith related by Rasulullah ﷺ, but the words of which are from Allah directly addressing us. This is a hadith related by Imam al-Daylami in his Musnad al-Firdaws on the authority of Haritha ibn Wahb. He says, Allah says:

(Musnad al-Firdaws of Imam al-Daylami, on the authority of Haritha ibn Wahb)

Not everyone who prays is actually praying. Not everyone who is praying is actually praying. Just as not everyone who is signed up to a gym with membership is actually becoming healthy. Not everyone who signed up to the gym is actually going and attending. Just because he's paying 10, 20, 30, 40, 50 dollars a month doesn't mean he attends. And doesn't mean if he goes, he's doing the right thing. People go, waste their time, spend time with friends. He may not exert himself the way he ought to.

And let's say he goes and he exerts himself properly every day — but yet he is unhealthy according to his physicians. Why is that? Because what happens outside the gym. If a person eats whatever he wants, drinks whatever he wants, and leads a very unhealthy lifestyle, no matter how much time and how many days a week he goes to the gym, it's not gonna help. It will be definitely better than not going at all. But that desired result of having a healthy body will not be present. Why? Because of all the harmful things the person is consuming. All the bad habits that a person has outside of the gym.

The Conditions for Accepted Prayer

Rasulullah ﷺ in this Hadith Qudsi says, Allah says: لَيْسَ كُلُّ مُصَلٍّ يُصَلِّي — Not every person who is known to be a person praying in the masjid is actually praying.

إِنَّمَا أَتَقَبَّلُ الصَّلَاةَ مِمَّنْ تَوَاضَعَ لِعَظَمَتِي — Indeed, I accept the prayer from the one who humbles himself in front of my grandeur and might. Meaning he doesn't act arrogant outside of the masjid. Not arrogant with Allah, and not arrogant against people. Because arrogance against people in reality is also arrogance against Allah.

What did the Prophet ﷺ say? That Allah says in a Hadith Qudsi:

Greatness and grandeur — this is my upper garment and lower garment. This is just an analogy for us to understand. Like this shirt — if someone can ask me for money, ask for whatever the case may be, okay. But you come and pull my shirt off of me? That is something that's crossing the line. Unacceptable to anyone.

Allah says in this Hadith Qudsi: The grandeur and might, this is my upper and lower garment. Whoever tries to pull it from me, and acts great and full of himself, and arrogant — I will ensure that I drag him into the hellfire. There's no place in paradise for people who have even an iota of arrogance.

So Allah will accept the prayer from such people who are humble in front of Allah outside of salah.

What We Do Before Salah Matters

Before I continue with this hadith, let me explain that analogy. In order to have success in the gym, we agreed that a person needs to lead a healthy life outside the gym. Similarly, what is the number one thing that can assist us in building concentration in salah is what we do prior to coming to salah. If, prior to coming to the masjid and throughout our 24-hour day, I am doing what Allah has asked me to do, and I'm staying away from that which Allah has asked me to stay away from — most definitely Allah will gift me with another gift, which is concentration in salah.

Sometimes we see some brothers, maybe older women — they're praying, they don't know what they're reading. They don't know a word of Arabic, no mubtada', no khabar. But they're sitting there and they're shaking. They're humbled. Tears flowing down their cheeks. And you say, "What is this?" This was not some beautiful qira'ah by the imam. They're sitting in the corner of their house praying. How did they get that when they don't know a word of Arabic? When they don't have the most beautiful voice? When they haven't memorized much?

It's because those women, those children, those men — whoever they may be, these lucky ones — have built up such a beautiful lifestyle. That before they come to salah, they've stayed away from all that which Allah has asked them to stay away from. Hence, they didn't look at impermissible images. Hence, they didn't listen to music. Hence, they didn't think about how to harm this one, how to bite that one, how to steal from that one. They didn't backbite. They protected all of their organs and limbs from haram. So when they come to the masjid, or they stand up for prayer at home, Allah gives them the greatest gift, which is khushu' in salah — which is concentration from Allah.

You know, if a person sends a text message to someone, and that person receives it and replies back to you — a very prominent person, a very famous person — you say you're honored that he received your message and responded back to you. That's exactly what happens. Imagine a very famous politician, a president of the country, gives his phone number. He puts it on the PowerPoint presentation. Everyone is happy — alhamdulillah, I got the phone number of the president. And all of us text and call. But there's one out of this thousand who may get a response. How lucky that person feels.

That's exactly what it is. A person who builds concentration, who has concentration in salah — know very well, Allah is already directly looking at you. Allah is gonna listen to you. Allah is most definitely attentive to you. Because you are attentive to Him. Allah is attentive to you.

Completing the Hadith Qudsi

The Prophet ﷺ in this Hadith Qudsi — let me complete the translation. Allah says: Indeed, I accept the salah from the one who humbles himself in front of my greatness.

Number two: وَكَفَّ شَهَوَاتِهِ عَنْ مَحَارِمِي — And he holds back his lustful desires from everything that I have forbidden.

وَلَمْ يُصِرَّ عَلَى مَعْصِيَتِي — And he does not remain adamant on my disobedience.

وَأَطْعَمَ الْجَائِعَ — And he feeds the hungry.

وَكَسَا الْعُرْيَانَ — And he gives clothing to those who do not have clothing.

وَرَحِمَ الْمُصَابَ — And he feels sympathy and pity towards the one who has been afflicted with problems.

وَآوَى الْغَرِيبَ — And he gives shelter to a person who doesn't have shelter.

كُلُّ ذَٰلِكَ لِي — All that he does, he does it not to become famous in the community. He doesn't do it for anything else — he does it for me. All the humanitarian things he does, he does it to please me.

And the Prophet ﷺ says that Allah says: وَعِزَّتِي وَجَلَالِي أَنَّ نُورَ وَجْهِهِ لَأَضْوَأُ عِنْدِي مِنْ نُورِ الشَّمْسِ — I take an oath by my honor and by my grandeur: the brilliance of his face and the nur on his face is more bright and more brilliant in my eyes and in my court than the light that comes out of the brightest star, the sun.

Allah says, the nur that's gonna come from the face of that individual who stays particular about these issues before he starts his salah — his face is gonna be shiny and radiant. And then Allah says:

عَلَيَّ أَنْ أَجْعَلَ الْجَهَالَةَ لَهُ حِلْمًا وَالظُّلْمَةَ نُورًا ۝ يَدْعُونِي فَأُلَبِّيهِ ۝ وَيَسْأَلُنِي فَأُعْطِيهِ ۝ وَيُقْسِمُ عَلَيَّ فَأُبِرُّهُ

On the condition that instead of becoming harsh with him, I will become forbearing. And you'll see that instead of darkness, it will be replaced with light. And you will see that whenever he calls out to me and supplicates to me — فَأُلَبِّيهِ — he will find me ready to serve him. Labbayk means "I am at your service." He will call out to me and I'll be ready to serve him. وَيَسْأَلُنِي — And he will ask me for anything and I shall give him. And if he were to take an oath on my name — "Wallahi, this is gonna happen" — I will make it happen.

Because outside of the masjid, inside the masjid. Outside of salah, inside of salah. No hypocrisy, no two-faced — but rather one consistency of being an Abdullah.

Du'a

I pray and I beg to Almighty Allah that He grants me and grants all of us here and our family members and those who listen afterwards, concentration in our prayers and khushu' in salah. And then He gives us the ability to pray the way the Prophet ﷺ and his illustrious companions prayed. And allow us not to look here and there and let our mind flow away, but rather prepare ourselves before we enter salah by performing our sunnah properly. Coming prepared early for salah. And every time Shaytan comes into our mind, diverting our attention, we bring it back towards Allah.

May Almighty Allah allow all of us at least to wake up to this reality today. And to allow us to understand what a serious situation this is. May He not leave us leading a life in which we pray by name only — which is ruthless, soulless, and which gives us no benefit in this world or the next.

Ameen, Ya Rabbil Alameen.