as well as hypocrisy, weak sincerity, scant certainty, scattered resolve, motives still entangled with the soul’s whims, and failure to carry out the deed in the manner that would please your Lord—together with every other flaw of the soul and corrupter of works.
Khushuʿ is perfected when the heart is cleansed of seeking people’s notice and stripped of any vision of its own merit. Accordingly, one strives to conceal his spiritual states from others, for none is truly protected except the one whom Allah protects. Nothing benefits the truthful servant more than realizing his own destitution, poverty, and lowliness. In this respect I witnessed from Shaykh al-Islam what I never observed from anyone else—may Allah sanctify his soul.
The editor writes: As for khushuʿ in the prayer, it is its very life-breath; the reward of the prayer rises or falls in proportion to how much the worshipper comprehends of it. Allah has praised those who have khushuʿ, saying: “Successful indeed are the believers, those who are humble in their prayer” (Qur’an 23:1–2).
Shaykh al-Haddad said: Part of safeguarding the prayer and establishing it properly is to perform it with fine khushuʿ: a present heart, reflection upon the recitation and understanding of its meanings; a sense of humility and submissiveness to Allah during bowing and prostration; a heart filled with veneration and glorification of Allah when uttering the takbir and tasbih and throughout every part of the prayer; shunning worldly thoughts and imaginings and turning away from the inner chatter of the self. Rather, one’s sole concern must be to establish the prayer and perform it as Allah has commanded. A prayer offered with heedlessness, devoid of khushuʿ and humility, yields no harvest and brings no benefit. Hence the rigorously authenticated hadith: “A servant receives from his prayer only what he was mindful of; a person may perform a prayer of which only one-sixth or one-tenth is recorded for him.” Reported by Ahmad (18415) and Abu Dawud (796). That is, only the portion during which he was present with Allah and humble is recorded for him—little or much, according to his heedlessness or attentiveness.
Thus, the one who is present and humble throughout obtains the full reward of the prayer, whereas the heedless, distracted person whose whole prayer is absent-minded has nothing of it recorded. End of his words.