To continue our series of ways to purify our salaah, a very important aspect is to take some time and to actually reflect and think about the ayaat being recited.
Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says in the Qur’an:
(This is) a Book (the Qur’an) which We have sent down to you, full of blessings that they may ponder over its Verses, and that men of understanding may remember.”
– Surah Saad 38:29
Now the word ponder has strong implications in this translation of the verse quoted above. The reason for that is because for one to ponder over the verses of the Qur’an, as a prerequisite he/she must have ilm of the meaning of what he/she is reciting. Looking at that, we realize that to be able to ponder upon the verses of the Holy Qur’an we must take the initiatve to gain ilm of the verses through various channels: learning the Arabic language, tafseer of the verses, the translation of the verses, seerah of our beloved Prophet (صلي الله عليه وسلم), and more.
Another way to really help in the thinking process is to repeat the ayah being recited. By repeating a certain ayah, you will be able to really think deeply about the words of Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) and you will begin to feel that connection within your heart. This was a practice of our Prophet (صلي الله عليه وسلم) as it is reported that he spent an entire night repeating the following ayat until the morning (reported by Ibn Khuzaymah 1⁄271, Ahmad 5⁄149, Sheikh Alabani’s Sifat al-Salaah):
“If you punish them, they are Your slaves, and if You forgive them, verily You, only You are Al-Aziz, Al-Hakim (the All-Mighty, the All-Wise).”
– Surah al-Maa’idah 5:118
Another way to get your thinking caps rolling and to get those eyes shedding with tears is to interact with the ayat being recited.
It is reported by Muslim (#772) that Hudayfah (رضي الله عنه) said:
“I prayed with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) one night … he was reciting at length. If he recited an ayah that mentioned tasbeeh, he would say subhanallah; if it mentioned a question, he would ask a question; if it mentioned seeking refuge with Allah, he would seek refuge with Allah.”
Surely these actions are amongst the greatest means of increasing ones khushoo in salaah as our Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says:
“And they fall down on their faces weeping and it adds to their humility [khushoo’]”
– Surah al-Isra’ 17:109
O Allah! Giver of Peace, grant us slaves of yours the highest level of khushoo and help this ummah attain the highest levels of Jannah. O Allah! Bring victory to this ummah, and let the believers who firmly testify in La Illaha Illallah attain Your Blessings and Your Love in this life and in the hereafter.
Lets all work together to build a relationship with Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) and a perfect way to begin is with Salaah.