Chapter on Devotional Humility in the Prayer
Devotional humility (khushuʿ) in the prayer is its spirit and core. The reward attached to it grows or diminishes in proportion to the attention and understanding the worshipper brings to it. Hence Allah, exalted is He, praised those “who are humble in their prayer … those are the inheritors who will inherit al-Firdaws; they will abide therein forever.”
There are several means of bringing the heart to life during the prayer:
• seeking refuge from Satan, pondering the Qur’anic recitation, and reflecting on the various remembrances within the prayer;
• placing a sutrah (a screen), fixing one’s gaze on the place of prostration; and
• entering the prayer only after freeing oneself from whatever distracts—such as drowsiness or the desire for food and drink—for these are among the strongest aids to presence of heart.
For this reason it is forbidden to pray while food is served or while struggling against the urge to relieve oneself, because such states distract from the prayer.
The majority of scholars maintain that the prayer of a person beset by intrusive thoughts remains valid, though its reward is diminished. Abū Ḥāmid al-Ghazālī and Ibn al-Jawzī, however, judged it invalid.
Hadith (1)
ʿĀʾishah (may Allah be pleased with her) reported that the Prophet ﷺ prayed in a khamisah that had patterns on it. He glanced at its designs, and when he finished he said, “Take this khamisah of mine to Abū Jahm and bring me the anbijāniyyah of Abū Jahm, for its patterns have just distracted me from my prayer.”
Glossary of the hadith:
- Khamisah with markings: a square cloak woven in various colours. Ibn al-Athīr said it is a garment of brocade or wool that has designs; some added that it is only called a khamisah if it is black with markings.
- Anbijāniyyah: a thick cloak without patterns. The word is pronounced with hamzah open, nūn silent, bāʾ kasrah, followed by an alif, a nūn with kasrah, a doubled yāʾ, and the feminine tāʾ. It is ascribed to a place called Anbijān. The form with a fatḥah on the bāʾ is an irregular attribution to Manbij, the well-known town in Syria; similarly one may say manbijānī. It is a woollen garment with a nap, no designs, and is regarded as one of the coarser, less-expensive cloaks.
- Ānifan: meaning “just now.”