5 TIPS TO

FOCUS IN
SALAH
SHAYKH A MMAR ALSHUKRY
 The Salah is the cornerstone of our faith. It’s the most
spiritually enriching act of our day, and that’s why it’s the
number one target for the Shaytan.

He’s using every kind of tactic, every kind of distraction, to

take you away from your Salah little by little, until you
abandon it all together.

‘Ammar ibn Yasir reported: The Messenger of Allah ‫ﷺ‬, said,

“Verily, a man may return from his prayer and nothing good
is written for him but a tenth of his prayer, or a ninth, or an
eighth, or a seventh, or a sixth, or a �ifth, or a fourth, or a
third, or a half.”
Sunan Abi Dawud

While perfecting your prayer can be a life-long journey,

there’s actually some concepts you can implement right away
to elevate the quality of your Salah.

Here’s 5 small but powerful steps toward achieving

mindfulness (khushu’) in your Salah.

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1 SHAKE THINGS UP
When you’re on your daily commute, whether it’s work, school
or anywhere you visit on the regular. However you get to that
place, do you actively think about the journey?

Probably not, because it’s so ingrained in your mind that going

there and back is instinctive, like muscle memory.

But what happens when you encounter a roadblock?

If you’re on the phone with someone you tell them,

“I have to call you back.”

What you’re saying is that the break from the routine has
thrown off your auto-pilot, and you must now focus on the
road in front of you.

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 That’s what we need to do with our salah.

When you get used to reciting the same surahs and going
through the same motions over and over then your brain
switches off, because you’re too settled into the same routine
with your prayers.

Switching things up within the realm of acceptability will force

you to be present and mindful in your Salah.

Instead of reciting the same surahs, recite one you haven’t

read in a long time. Instead of just reciting the same adhkar in
your bowing and prostration, change up the number of times
you recite them, or choose a different du’a or form of dhikr in
those positions.

If you feel like you don’t know many surahs or adhkar for the
Salah- then learn some more!

By making an active effort outside the Salah- memorizing

more of the Qur’an and learning about the nature of worship-
you’re making the Salah a greater part of your day than you
realize, and that will mean you’re ready to take the wheel of
your prayers again without relying on autopilot.

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2 BRING YOURSELF BACK

Abu Hazim at-Tammar from al Bayadi that the Messenger of

Allah ‫ ﷺ‬came out to the people while they were praying and
their voices were raised in the recitation. He said, "When you
pray you are talking confidently to your Lord. So look to what
you confide to Him, and do not say the Qur'an out loud so that
others hear it."

Muwatta Imam Malik

It’s a simple exercise with regards to attention. That you

become aware of distraction.

As you are thinking even now, right now your mind is probably
going in different directions.

So practice bringing yourself back and being present.

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 In your conversations, when someone is talking to you, don’t
let your mind wander.

Focus on being present with your parents, your family, your

friends.

And everytime your mind begins to wonder, bring it back.

This is important work that will not only help you be more
present in the salah, but increase the quality of your
conversations with everyone you interact with.

We miss out on quality time because at the heart of it, we take

it for granted.

If I knew that the last conversation that I had with my father,

may Allah have mercy on him, was going to be the last
conversation I ever had with him, I would have been more
present than anytime I ever was in my life.

That’s why the Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬told us:

“When you stand for your prayer, pray as if

you are saying farewell…”
Sunan Ibn Majah

Pray as if it’s your last.

Because one day it will be.

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3 TAKE THINGS SLOW
One of the main reasons why people lack mindfulness in their
Salah is because they’re rushing it.

When we have countless engagements and tasks waiting at

the door, praying with diligence can be daunting.

When you look at the Salah as a hurdle to the rest of your day,
then you won’t get the most out of it.

Overcoming this challenge requires patience and acceptance

of one hard fact:

You don’t control time, Allah controls time.

That brief moment you invested in speaking with your Lord,

that moment defined the outcome of those events.

When you turned to Allah before going back to your studies,

when you worshiped Him before catching your flight, when
you called upon Him before entering your exam, that act is
what put barakah in those events.

So take things slow, because the Master of time won’t let your
investment go to waste.

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 Like stopping to soak in the sights on your daily commute, or
savoring every bite of your meal, slowing down in your Salah
will open your senses to the practice itself.

When you say Allahhu Akbar (God is Greater) take a moment

to ponder all the things He (S.W.T) is greater than. When you
recite the Fatiha, know that Allah is responding to you for
each and every verse you recite:

“Allah Almighty said: I have divided prayer between Myself

and My servant into two halves, and My servant shall have
what he has asked for. When the servant says, ‘All praise is
due to Allah the Lord of the worlds,’ Allah says: My servant
has praised Me. When he says, ‘The Gracious, the Merciful,’
Allah says: My servant has exalted Me. When he says, ‘The
Master of the Day of Judgment,’ Allah says: My servant has
glorified Me and my servant has submitted to Me. When he
says, ‘You alone we worship, You alone we ask for help,’ Allah
says: This is between Me and My servant, and My servant will
have what he has asked for. When he says, ‘Guide us to the
straight path, the path of those whom you have favored, not
those who went astray,’ Allah says: This is for My servant, and
My servant will have what he has asked for.”

Sahih Muslim

Take things slow, and savor the flavor of your Salah.

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4 THE PERFECT PRAYER STARTS
WITH THE PERFECT WUDHU
This is a step that most people ignore.

Not as in they don’t do it, but as in they don’t pay any

attention to it.

Wudhu isn’t just a warm up, it’s actually an act of worship

itself that erases sins..

Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) reported:

Messenger of Allah (‫ )ﷺ‬said, "Should I not direct you to
something by which Allah obliterates the sins and elevates
(your) ranks." They said: "Yes, O Messenger of Allah". He said,
"Performing Wudu' properly, even in difficulty, frequently
going to the mosque, and waiting eagerly for the next Salat
(prayer) after a Salat is over; indeed, that is Ar- Ribat".

[Muslim].

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 Here’s a few tips to maximize the quality of your wudhu:

Don’t rush just to get things over with, make sure you’re
reaching every part of the body required for a perfect
wudhu.

Visualize your sins falling off of every limb as you wash and
wipe over them. Remember it’s a spiritual cleansing first
and foremost.

Remember how much Allah loves this action that He made

the prayer unaccepted without it.

Remind yourself why you’re doing this. In the same way you
want to be as presentable as possible when you go for an
interview, meet a potential spouse or visit an important
figure, you should be even more meticulous in preparing to
meet the Lord of all creation.

Remember, the name of the game here is mindfulness. Your

wudhu is where you put yourself in the right state of mind,
body and soul for your Salah.

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5 REMEMBER THE STAKES
If you don’t understand the value of the Salah then you won’t
be mindful in your prayers.

A powerful tool for maintaining khushu’ is reminding yourself

of the stakes; what is the reward for perfecting your Salah and
what do you stand to lose by being negligent with it.

There is an enemy who does not want for you to have an

accepted prayer, because it is so important and because it is
valuable.

The prophet ‫ ﷺ‬told us that there is a devil whose intent is to

steal from your prayer.

Narrated `Aisha:
I asked the Prophet (‫ )ﷺ‬about one's looking here and there
during the prayer. He replied, "It is what Satan steals from the
prayer of any one of you."
(Bukhari)

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 And so everytime you and I enter into the prayer, Shaytan
attacks. The prayer is the most important vehicle that you and
I can use to travel down the straight path..

And Shaytan has promised that he will be waiting for us there.

[Satan] said, "Because You have put me in error, I will surely sit in
wait for them on Your straight path. Then I will come to them
from before them and from behind them and on their right and on
their left, and You will not �ind most of them grateful [to You]."
(Surat Al-A’raaf v. 16-17)

He is waiting for you, the person who prays. He is not

concerned about the one who is already going down wrong
paths, his focus is on the one who is trying to journey to Allah.

That’s you.

Don’t let him win.

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