4 – It is recommended—and indeed strongly urged—for the worshipper to have his heart present during the prayer, letting nothing distract him from its meanings and inward states. Rather, he should empty his mind and gather his thoughts so that he is conscious of every word he utters and every movement he performs. Al-Bukhārī (1199) and Muslim (538) relate on the authority of Ibn Masʿūd that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “In the prayer there is full occupation.”
5 – Someone might imagine that this ḥadith conflicts with the ḥadith of “the man who prayed badly,” for the Prophet ﷺ ordered that man to repeat his prayer three times until he performed it correctly, whereas he did not command Muʿāwiyah ibn al-Ḥakam to repeat his prayer, even though Muʿāwiyah had spoken deliberately while praying.
The two reports may be reconciled in one of three ways:
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The man who prayed badly omitted something obligatory in the prayer, whereas Muʿāwiyah committed an act that is forbidden therein. Neglecting what is commanded is more serious than committing what is prohibited; therefore the one who leaves a required act is not excused by ignorance or forgetfulness, while the one who performs a forbidden act is excused when it is done out of ignorance or forgetfulness.
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The man who prayed badly left out what had already been firmly established as essential, whereas Muʿāwiyah acted on the original permissibility of speaking during the prayer—something indicated by the forthcoming ḥadith of Zayd ibn Arqam.
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In Muʿāwiyah’s narration he says, “I had only recently emerged from the age of ignorance,” and the religious obligations do not become binding upon a Muslim until they have reached him. Shaykh al-Islām Ibn Taymiyyah (d. 728 AH) said, “Divine laws are not binding until one has knowledge of them; hence a person is not required to make up what he did before learning of their obligation.”
6 – The prayer was established for the remembrance of Allah, as He the Exalted says: “Establish the prayer for My remembrance” ⦗Tā Hā, 20:14⦘. Accordingly, the worshipper is fully occupied during it with remembering Allah, moving from the recitation of His Book to other forms of remembrance—declaring His transcendence, glorifying Him, exalting Him, praising Him, and magnifying Him;