# How to Master Your Focus in Salah | Dhul Hijjah 2025 | Deep Dive | Dr. Omar Suleiman #Khushoo

**Author:** Dr. Omar Suleiman
**Series:** Secrets of Salah | Dhul Hijjah 2025
**Published:** 2025-05-21
**YouTube:** https://youtu.be/Ou8uFCGhfRw
**URL:** https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/secrets-of-salah-dhul-hijjah-2025/how-to-master-your-focus-in-salah-deep-dive-dhul-hijjah-series-2025
**Topics:** Acts of Worship, Faith

## Description
You bow. You rise. You whisper words you’ve said a thousand times. But what if every motion of salah held its own key to khushoo’? In this series, go deeper into the language, the postures, and the presence of salah. Join Dr. Omar Suleiman to spend the 10 days of Dhul Hijjah exploring the most...

## Transcript
**[0:00]** Bismillahir Rahmanir Raheem. Alhamdulillah wa salatu was salamu ala rasulillah wa ala alihi wa sahbihi wa man wala. Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu.

**[0:15]** So there's a scholar by the name of Hatim al-Assam, rahimahullah ta'ala. This scholar is actually originally a Persian scholar, one of the great sages in Islamic history. SubhanAllah, anytime I start any discussion about salah, I go back to his story.

**[0:31]** Because he was someone who was famous for the khushu' that he had in salah. And that's something so beautiful to be famous for that when you looked at him in his prayer, it was as if he was in another world altogether. And you wanted to have what he had. And subhanAllah, his name is actually very interesting.

**[0:46]** Al-Assam means the one who can't hear. And the thing about him is that he actually was not deaf. He actually could hear. And the story of that nickname is that one day he was giving khutbah. And he was a very famous scholar. So when he finished giving the khutbah, he came down.

**[1:02]** And there was an old woman that wanted to meet him outside. So he went out to meet her. And when she saw him, she was so excited that she actually passed gas. And she did it in a very loud way. And because he didn't want to embarrass her, he acted like he was hard of hearing.

**[1:17]** So he acted like he was almost deaf. So he asked her to raise her voice so that she wouldn't be embarrassed. And the people around understood what he was doing. And she thought that because of the way that he had presented himself as being hard of hearing, just to spare her of embarrassment that he was actually almost deaf.

**[1:36]** And subhanAllah, he carried on this way for years, pretending that he was hard of hearing, just so that woman would be spared of the embarrassment of that one interaction. So it shows you the beauty of his akhlaq, the beauty of his character. And there are many stories about this man, rahimahullah, in that regard.

**[1:52]** And subhanAllah, there's a question that's asked to him. You know, you're watching him pray. And I want you to imagine seeing this man in his salah, completely immersed still. And this is the description of many of the pious predecessors. When they entered into their salah, they were like poles.

**[2:09]** They would not move. So you walk in the masjid, you see him and you say to him, yes, shaykh, how is it that you pray? Tell me about the preparation that you have when you enter into your salah. So he said that when the time of salah comes, I make my wudu' perfectly.

**[2:25]** So I start with my wudu' and I make it perfectly. And then he said, I go to the spot that I intend to pray, which would be the masjid, right? Or of course, if it is at home, one of the voluntary prayer, I go to the spot that I intend to pray. And then I sit there until my limbs and my organs completely settle,

**[2:44]** meaning my body completely settles in that place. So I make everything still. And he said, after that, I stand up to perform my salah. And before I start my salah, I put the Ka'bah between my eyes. So imagines himself standing right in front of the Ka'bah.

**[3:01]** And I want you to imagine as I'm sharing the narration that you are like him. So imagine you just walked into the haram and you're looking at the Ka'bah right between your eyes and you're about to pray. And he said, and I put the Sirat, the bridge over hellfire under my feet.

**[3:19]** So the visualization just got stronger. I'm standing in front of the Ka'bah, beholding the Ka'bah with my two eyes, and I'm standing on the Sirat. So imagine if you're standing on the Sirat, which is thinner than a hair, and you're on top of that Sirat. So he says, I put myself on that Sirat.

**[3:36]** I put Jannah to my right, paradise to my right, and I put hellfire to my left. Understanding that the way that I perform the salah is going to decide whether I fall off of that Sirat and whether I move to the right into paradise

**[3:52]** or I moved to the left of hellfire. And he said, all the while, I imagine that the angel of death is standing behind me, ready to take my soul at any moment. And no one of us knows at what point Malak al-Mawt, at what point the angel of death is going to take our souls.

**[4:09]** And so the implication of that is that this is my final salah. Can you imagine if every time you went into salah, you created that visual and you put yourself in that type of a scenario? You know, subhanAllah, so much of what's happening right now in the world around us

**[4:25]** is that we've gone from ghaflah to ghaflah. We've gone from heedlessness to another set of heedlessness. Around us, we're already surrounded by deception. The Quran tells us that this world is not real, that the material that's around you is not real, that you have to see through the deception of this world,

**[4:41]** that there is a layer of deception, of ghurur, that exists with this dunya, this layer of delusion. And now we have devices that put another layer of deception. You know, people immerse themselves in virtual reality. You put glasses on to make it seem like you're in an entirely different environment.

**[4:58]** We are so boggled in terms of our senses that we can't tell what's real or not real anymore. We're in the world of AI. So we don't know what we're looking at anymore. We don't know where we are anymore. And so it's ghaflah upon ghaflah, heedlessness upon heedlessness upon heedlessness. How can I begin to peel back the layers of this dunya

**[5:16]** when more layers are being placed upon the existing layer of dunya that generations of believers have had to deal with and try to visualize that connection with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. The Prophet (ﷺ), in the famous hadith of Jibreel alayhi salam,

**[5:32]** what is ihsan, what is excellence? To worship Allah as if you can see him. If you can't see him, then you know that he sees you. And so this entire process of connecting to al-ghayb, connecting to the unseen, there is no act of worship on a daily basis that forces you to peel the layers like salah.

**[5:51]** The whole point of salah is to connect you to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and to everything that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has made praiseworthy. And so before we talk about the practical tips of khushu' and how to have humility and how to immerse yourself in prayer,

**[6:07]** next time you go into your salah, imagine if you did what Hatim al-Assam did and we will see the secrets of the righteous. And so many of the scholars of the past have written about the inner dimensions of salah. Imam al-Ghazali rahimahullah ta'ala has his chapter on the inner dimensions of salah.

**[6:23]** Ibn al-Qayyim rahimahullah has this beautiful risalah, this beautiful short book on the inner dimensions, the secrets of the prayer. Imam Ibn Rajab rahimahullah ta'ala, all of these scholars as if they were collecting their personal reflections on how they managed to penetrate these layers so that we could connect to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala

**[6:41]** because otherwise the salah becomes just as superficial as everything else we do in life. It becomes just as mechanical and robotic as everything else we do in life. And there are so many times that when I go to a place, someone comes up to me and says, how do I connect to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala? How can I have khushu' in my salah?

**[6:57]** How can I make this a meaningful prayer? And bi-idhnillahi ta'ala, as we start to dig deeper into these meanings and reflect on these meanings, then these small actions that maybe you're not thinking too deeply about will start to make a lot more sense. And in fact, when you go to the very meaning of the word salah, salah comes from the word silah,

**[7:17]** which is a connection, right? So when you think silat al-rahim, the ties of kinship, it's what connects us to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, not just to each other, it connects us to each other, especially when we pray in jama'ah and it connects us to a deeper existence and a deeper reality. But beyond that, it is silah, it's a connection to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

**[7:36]** Okay, but there are so many layers between us and Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala that have distanced us from our Lord. One of the other meanings of the word salah is to take something back to its origin. So one of the words is silah, which is connection. A second connotation is to take something back to its origin, to actually peel back the layers.

**[7:55]** So the Arabs would say silat al-'ud, that I have taken the stick and I have peeled back, I shaved the layers and taken it back to its origin. And so you go back to your origin with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, you connect back to the fitrah.

**[8:10]** In the Arabic language, the fitrah being your original disposition, in the Arabic language, salah also means du'a. Salah in the most simple expression actually means du'a, means a supplication. And you'll notice that depending on who is performing the salah, there's a different connotation.

**[8:29]** And so for example, did you know that Allah does salah upon you? What does it mean that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala does salah upon you? Right? Allah prays upon you. How does Allah pray upon you? The way that Allah prays upon you, as he says in the Quran, wa ula'ika alayhim salawatun min rabbihim wa rahmah,

**[8:44]** that upon those people is the prayer of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. When Allah is the one who is doing the salah, what it means is, al-dhikr wa al-sana' fil-mala'il a'la. That Allah remembers you and mentions you and praises you in a higher gathering. So Allah's prayer upon you is his praising you amongst the angels.

**[9:03]** That's what Allah's prayer upon you means. When the angels pray, the angels are mentioned as doing salah. As it relates to you, that means that the angels are making du'a for you. The angels supplicate for you.

**[9:18]** So when Allah azawajal refers to their salah as it relates to him, then it is ibadah, it's worship. As it relates to us, the angels praying upon us, it means that they're making du'a for us because the angels also pray upon us. When humans are the doers, when human beings are the ones who are praying,

**[9:34]** then they are fulfilling the most essential purpose and foundational purpose of human existence, which is what Allah azawajal created us for, to worship him. And so human beings praying means that they are worshiping Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala

**[9:51]** and that is the connotation that exists for us as human beings. So depending on who is doing the salah, then it can take on different connotations in the Arabic language and in the technical sense. Now what I want you to do is I want you to imagine this image of the heavens.

**[10:06]** The Prophet (ﷺ) said, inni ara ma la tarawna I see what you don't see. wa asma'u ma la tasma'un I hear what you don't hear. And he said that the heavens are creaking and there's a reason why they're creaking. And he says there is not a single hand span in the heavens, except that there is an angel that is in qiyam, ruku' or sujud.

**[10:25]** I'm going to use the terms of salah here so you can actually visualize it. Standing in prayer, bowing in prayer or prostrating in prayer, doing nothing but praising Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala in that situation. And you can imagine an angel that has been created solely for the purpose of that ibadah.

**[10:42]** There are angels that have been created to do nothing but qiyam. There are angels that have been created to do nothing but ruku'. There are angels that have been created to do nothing but sujud. And imagine when Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala raises them on the day of judgment, because everything will end and then they too will be resurrected.

**[10:59]** And that angel who lifts his head from sujud after how many years? Billions, trillions, Allahu a'lam, right? But the angel lifts his head from sujud and the first words that come out of that angel's mouth are,

**[11:14]** Subhanaka ma 'abadnaka haqqa 'ibadatik. How perfect are you? We did not worship you as much as you deserve to be worshipped. Meaning that there is no one that ever prays to Allah enough or worships Allah enough. But why do I give you that visual?

**[11:30]** Because remember the purpose of the human being is different from the purpose of the angel. The purpose of the human being is to choose Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala over everything else. We don't worship Allah out of compulsion. We have desires. The angels don't have desires. And if we choose devotion over desire,

**[11:47]** then we rise in rank to where we are greater than the angels in the sight of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. If we choose desire over devotion, especially if we become predatory and wicked and evil, we can descend lower. Lower than animals and even descend lower than shayatin.

**[12:02]** We can become lower than devils. And so human beings have this range of rank where you could rise above that angel or you could become even lower than that devil. But your purpose is to choose Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, to choose devotion over desire.

**[12:17]** And when you are in salah, when you're in prayer, you are manifesting every single form of those angels. You're manifesting the angel in qiyam. You're manifesting the angel in ruku'. You're manifesting the angel that is in sujud. Salah is a perfect combination of all of those different forms of worship

**[12:36]** so we can connect to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala in different ways. And they all have a different ingredient and a different outcome to them. Every component of prayer. Some of this won't make sense to you until we finish inshallah ta'ala the full lesson, but I'll give it to you for your notes inshallah ta'ala

**[12:52]** so that you can come back to it and it will make sense to you. When it comes to qiyam, qiyam, which means to stand, usually shows up in the Quran in the context of effort. Qum al-layla illa qalila, stand up the night,

**[13:07]** even if it is for a short time or leaving only a short time where you're not standing in prayer. Qumu lillahi qanitin, stand up in the sight of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, worshiping Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala with devotion.

**[13:22]** So qiyam usually relates to effort. So that part of the prayer is referred to usually to speak to a person's necessity to stand up and worship their Lord. Qira'ah, recitation is also a part of our prayer.

**[13:38]** And usually when recitation is mentioned, it's mentioned in the context of witness. Inna qur'an al-fajr that verily the recitation of the day is witnessed, witnessed by whom?

**[13:53]** By the angels, right? So there's effort, there's witness that these other creatures from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala are witnessing your recitation. And then you have al-ruku', ruku' which is bowing. Usually ruku' is mentioned,

**[14:09]** warka'u ma'a al-raki'in, bow with those who bow, bow with those who bow. Exert yourself in that beautiful act of devotion, bow with those who bow. So you have effort, you have witness, you have company, bow with those who bow. And then you have sujud, prostration.

**[14:27]** And when Allah talks about prostration, he talks about it in the capacity of closeness to the Lord. Sabbih bihamdi rabbika wa kun min al-sajideen. So glorify the praises of your Lord, be amongst those who prostrate. Prostrate and come closer to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, right?

**[14:46]** So sujud usually refers to the idea of closeness, proximity to the Lord, right? Be amongst those who prostrate and be amongst those who come close to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And then there is dhikr, which is the remembrance of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala,

**[15:02]** the component of remembrance which shows up in the prayer. And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala mentions, Idha noodiya li-salati min yawm al-jumu'ati fas'aw ila dhikr Allah. Wa dharu al-bay'. When you are called to the prayer on the day of Friday, rush to the remembrance of Allah and leave behind al-bay',

**[15:19]** trade and the marketplace, because that can take you away, right? So you're leaving behind something. Also Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says, la tulhikum amwalukum wa la awladukum 'an dhikr Allah. Do not let your wealth and your children distract you from the remembrance of Allah.

**[15:34]** And here dhikr is referring to salah, it's referring to the prayer. So when dhikr is referred to in terms of prayer, it's talking about prioritizing, right? Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala over everything else. So it is coming close to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala,

**[15:49]** so it's referring to focus, focus. So each one of these different components of the prayer brings out something different from us in regards to our connection to Allah, allows us to manifest an angelic posture with our creator, with our Lord,

**[16:06]** and to connect with him in ways that no class, no book will ever be able to fully encompass, because only Allah knows all of the benefits that he has put in this wonderful act of devotion, which is the most practiced pillar that we have in our religion on a daily basis.

**[16:23]** Why do we pray? What do we pray out of? There is salah out of his remembrance subhanahu wa ta'ala, salah out of his remembrance. Aqim al-salata li-dhikri. Establish the prayer out of my remembrance, like when Allah spoke to Musa alayhi salam, to Moses, peace be upon him, right?

**[16:38]** Aqim al-salata li-dhikri. There is salah out of gratitude. What drives you to your salah is a sense of gratitude as well, that you're grateful for the blessings that Allah provides to you on a daily basis. And so as you're becoming more aware of the blessings that Allah provides you,

**[16:55]** you find yourself driven to pray, driven to thank him and to praise him. There is salah that prevents sin. And sin is a manifestation of ingratitude. You disobey Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala out of ingratitude,

**[17:14]** not recognizing that the faculty that you are using to disobey him with is a blessing that you are abusing, right? And so there's a connection. How much do you remember Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala? How much are you connecting your day-to-day blessings,

**[17:29]** the things that have been bestowed upon you to the bestower subhanahu wa ta'ala? And if you are not connecting those blessings to the bestower, then you are naturally abusing those blessings and those faculties and not bringing them back to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

**[17:45]** But when Allah azawajal says that, that verily the prayer prohibits immorality and wrongdoing. And the remembrance of Allah is greater.

**[18:00]** And verily Allah is ever aware of that which you do. Shows you that prayer is driven by something and then the outcome is felt in every aspect of our lives. There's no way that a person can meaningfully connect with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala

**[18:15]** and then go back to their everyday lives in the exact same way. And so if it doesn't stop you from having an abusive tongue, then what are you really gaining out of your salah? If it doesn't stop you from, you know, descending into all forms of immorality

**[18:30]** and wasting away and transgressing against yourself or others, then what are you actually gaining from that salah in the first place? So salah prohibits sin. It prevents you from sin. It does away with those sins. It also does away with the effect of those sins because salah has within it a tawbah,

**[18:47]** it has within it repentance. And so it beautifies you, beautifies your thoughts, beautifies your priorities. Uthman (رضي الله عنه) narrated that the Prophet (ﷺ) says that if the time for a prescribed salah comes and a Muslim performs their wudu' properly,

**[19:04]** and then they offer their salah with humility and with bowing, that it will be an expiation for his past sins, so long as he doesn't commit a major sin and that is applicable to all times. So salah is a form of expiation from salah to salah, purifying the sins.

**[19:22]** It is as the Prophet (ﷺ) described, a river outside of your home that you bathe in five times a day and you remove everything between those two prayers in the process of your devotion to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And it doesn't just guard you against sin and heedlessness.

**[19:37]** It's the first thing that comes to your defense in the grave. It's the first thing that you're asked about on the day of judgment. And it's also the first gate of the gates of Jannah that are mentioned. When the Prophet (ﷺ) mentioned the named gates of Jannah, the first gate that he mentioned is the gate of salah that people will be called through,

**[19:53]** the gate of prayer that people will be called through. May Allah azawajal allow us to be called through all eight gates. Allahumma ameen. So how can a person appreciate the need for salah without knowing Allah's greatness, without knowing his own smallness, without knowing the many blessings that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has bestowed upon him

**[20:11]** and without being aware and mindful of all the sins that he has sent back in return to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. So it's all connected to hope and fear, to appreciation and awareness. There's a great man by the name of Zayn al-Abidin, Ali ibn Husayn (رضي الله عنهما),

**[20:29]** the beauty of worshipers, his great grandson of the Prophet (ﷺ). And once a fire broke out in his house where he was praying and he didn't move from his sujud even though the fire broke out in his home and we see some of these images come out of Gaza.

**[20:44]** We see some of these images from different parts of the world where something crazy is happening and someone is remaining still in their salah, still in their sujud. And when he was asked about this, he said that the other fire kept my mind busy. I was too busy thinking about the other fire to even notice this fire.

**[21:00]** Hammad ibn Salamah rahimahullah said, I never stood up for prayer without imagining that Jahannam is right before my eyes. So we have to go into the strong sense of visualizing what's around us, what's happening in order to deeply connect. Al-Fudayl rahimahullah said that I once saw Sufyan al-Thawri rahimahullah go into sujud while he was praying

**[21:19]** and I performed tawaf around the Ka'bah seven times and from the time that I started my tawaf until the end, he still had not raised his head from the sujud. What is he saying? What are these righteous people actually connecting to and tapping into in these moments with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala?

**[21:35]** And is it just this or that, the very distracted salah or a person that is completely able to remove themselves from the material world and connect to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala? No, just like everything else, there are degrees. And you have to see where you fall on the spectrum.

**[21:52]** And Imam Ibn al-Qayyim rahimahullah said there are five degrees of prayer, five categories of people in regards to the performance of their prayer. The first one he says, this is a person who is negligent and huwa zalim li-nafsihi, he wrongs himself.

**[22:08]** So this is a person who wrongs his soul. And he says this is a person who doesn't perform the wudu' properly. This is a person who doesn't pray on time. This is a person who doesn't fulfill the essential pillars, right? So you get the idea. This is a person who's very reckless, even with the bare minimum, the outward expectations of the salah.

**[22:29]** And he said this is a person who will be punished, right? This is not a person who can expect that they will be forgiven for their salah. Of course, Allah azawajal is the one who passes the ultimate degree, but this is the salah of one who is punished, right? Because you are forgoing the essential pillars.

**[22:45]** And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala mentions about Bani Isra'il, fa khalafa min ba'dihim khalafun ada'u al-salah that there came after them a people that lost the prayer. And that was through delaying the prayer beyond its time, right? And in the process, fa-sawfa yalqawna ghayya

**[23:00]** that they would find a valley in Jahannam for themselves in return. And so the salah of the one who wrongs their soul is the salah of one who can expect consequences for the negligence of their prayer on the day of judgment. May Allah protect us. Allahumma ameen.

**[23:16]** The second level, he says, is someone who prays on time. They pray with the specified limits. They fulfill the essential pillars. They do their wudu' properly. So they're doing the external right.

**[23:31]** But when they go into salah, they are completely preoccupied by everything but Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. So the externals are fine. Technically speaking, they did everything they were supposed to do with their wudu'. Technically speaking, they entered into their salah and on the outside,

**[23:46]** it looks like it's a valid prayer, but everything is lost on the inside to the preoccupations of this world and to paying attention to everything but Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And he said. This is the salah of a person who will be held accountable and may or may not be forgiven, meaning they're relegated to the mercy of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala on the Day of Judgment.

**[24:07]** Allah might overlook their shortcomings, their inward shortcomings, but you don't want your salah to be at a category two to where it's hanging in the balance in that regard. Right? The most important thing that you'll be asked about on the Day of Judgment and the internal quality is all lacking.

**[24:25]** You don't want that to be the case, especially since the Prophet (ﷺ) mentioned that a person will get from their prayer what was put into it. Right? So there's only the amount of focus that you have that will determine what actually transcends and transfers on the Day of Judgment for your account.

**[24:42]** So the second person is someone who is, you know, in this gray area. They may or may not be punished by Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala on the Day of Judgment. He says the third level is someone who guards all of the external.

**[24:57]** So just like category two now, they do ablution properly, they pray on time, they fulfill the pillars. And this is a person who spends the salah busy struggling against the distractions of the shaytan, but they never actually get focus. So they're not actually tasting the sweetness of salah because they're too busy fighting with their distractions, fighting with their thoughts, fighting with the shaytan.

**[25:22]** And so in the capacity that they are in, they are engaged in both salah and jihad. Okay, because they're striving against themselves. So this is someone who is doing jihad al-nafs. I'm trying and I'm frustrated because I'm not tasting the sweetness of my salah, but I did everything right.

**[25:39]** I'm struggling against my thoughts. I'm struggling against the whispers of the shaytan, but I'm not quite tasting the sweetness of the salah. He says this is the salah of a person who's forgiven. All right, so this person, because they were trying, that is what at the end of the day, you want to present to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala at the bare minimum that I was trying.

**[25:58]** And so this is a person who will be forgiven. The fourth level, and you can see every level now is building on the one before, so I don't have to repeat everything. So does everything right externally, fulfills the pillars, does the proper wudu', and they have crossed the threshold to where they're actually now devoting their concern towards the salah when they are in the salah.

**[26:21]** So they're in the salah and they're paying attention to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. They're paying attention carefully to the meanings of the words that they're reciting, to the various motions, and they're careful to not lose the internal quality of the salah.

**[26:37]** Okay, so they've crossed that threshold. And he said, this is a person who will be rewarded for their salah on the day of judgment. Right, so it's not just that I won't be punished, that I passed an obligation, but this is a person who can expect the ajr on the day of judgment, the extra reward for their salah.

**[26:53]** That all that they did within the performance of their prayer will also yield some sort of a reward from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. So what would be the fifth one? That seems like the best one, right? He says the fifth one is just like the fourth one, but there's a key difference.

**[27:11]** This is a person who looks towards the salah with a heart full of anticipation. Whose salah has become their greatest relief in life. Whose salah is their joy. And so when they go into their salah, all of the preoccupations and the thoughts and the distractions, they melt.

**[27:29]** They vanish in this conversation between that 'abd and Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, between that slave and Allah. May Allah grant us this prayer. Allahumma ameen. The veil between that person and the Lord has been lifted. And he says that the difference between this person and the others in respect to their salah, meaning category five versus the others, is like the distance between the heavens and the earth.

**[27:49]** Because this person is not just someone who's busy with the Lord. This person is delighted by the Lord. And this is of course most manifested by the Prophet (ﷺ), who said that the coolness of my eyes was placed in salah.

**[28:06]** And we'll talk about the statement going forward inshallah. Ariha biha ya Bilal. Comfort us with it, O Bilal. He loved his prayer. He longed for his prayer. So the difference, he says, is that this person is rewarded in the hereafter and they are tasting the sweetness of the reward in this life as well.

**[28:21]** Salah is not a burden. Salah is the ultimate relief from any burdens that they have in life. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala allow us to be amongst those people. And whoever enters into the Jannah, the paradise of yaqin, of certainty in this life, will enter into the Jannah of na'im, the paradise of the next life.

**[28:42]** This is Jannah al-yaqin. This is the paradise of certitude, that I know where I am. I know I'm in connection with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and I'm enjoying this connection with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And if you make that conversation with Allah, the pleasure of your eye in this life, then Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will delight your eye with something far greater in the next life.

**[29:02]** So this is a person who goes fully into their salah and who now can appreciate their salah and who is fully benefiting from their salah. May Allah make us amongst them. Allahumma ameen. But the point is, is that you start with the external before the internal.

**[29:18]** And you'll notice that in these categories, there is no excuse for outward neglect. No excuse for outward neglect, right? We will all struggle with our khushu' and that's okay because as long as you're in that state of mujahadah, you're in that state of striving, that means you're already on the green side, right?

**[29:34]** You're already moving towards a better place. But you don't want to find yourself in a position to where you're becoming negligent of the external. And if a person is not even trying with the internal, then the salah will become a burden for them and naturally they'll start to be amongst those who Allah describes as qamu kusala.

**[29:50]** They get up lazy. They drag their feet like, oh, we have another prayer. I have to get this done. I have to get that done. So the salah will always feel like a burden. It won't feel like a joy and a person will end up losing themselves in the process. So how do I start to experience the internal khushu'?

**[30:06]** Well, first and foremost, I have to perfect the external. And so that means when the Prophet (ﷺ) says the most beloved of deeds to Allah is al-salat li-waqtiha, prayer on time, awwal awwal waqtiha, in the beginning of its time.

**[30:21]** That you prioritize the salah and you always pray it early, right? Early within its window of time. You're not amongst those that delay the prayer until it is sinful, until they are just about to miss that prayer. But you always think as soon as the adhan comes in, you're always thinking about performing that prayer.

**[30:40]** And you know, and I know, the difference between a prayer that is performed in the early hours of it or in the early hour of it or in the beginning of it versus a prayer that you're rushing to get out of the way. You know the difference in that quality. It is immediately felt, right? When you have put it forward and you say I'm going to get it done within the first minutes of the prayer, whether that's in jama'ah or otherwise, depending on my circumstances.

**[31:03]** But you know the difference between those two things, right? And so you plan your schedule around your salah. You plan your schedule around your salah. And it's really interesting. You look at the companions of the Prophet (ﷺ). When the Prophet (ﷺ) talked about al-Masih al-Dajjal, the fitnah of Dajjal, and all of these terrible things happening in the world when Dajjal comes.

**[31:22]** SubhanAllah, what came to their minds when the Prophet (ﷺ) mentioned that time will be ruptured when Dajjal comes, right? Because the first of his 40 on earth will be like a year. Then it'll be like a month. And so they're thinking to themselves, wait a minute.

**[31:39]** How are we going to pray? SubhanAllah, the first thing that comes to their minds is not what's going to happen to our age. What's going to happen to my goods, my belongings, what's going to happen to my crops? How are we going to function or how is that scientifically possible? The first thing that comes to their minds is, Ya Rasulullah, how do we pray?

**[31:57]** And the Prophet (ﷺ) said at that time you calculate, right? You'll have an estimation that you will have to make so that you can fit in your prayers. So SubhanAllah, that's where their minds were. The believer in the grave, as soon as the believer wakes up in the grave, despite the terrifying circumstances of the angels right in front of them,

**[32:15]** they'll see what appears to be the sun setting and they'll say, let me pray. Let me pray. Because they'll think that maybe they're missing 'Asr or something like that, right? Because the believer, when they wake up at an odd time during the day, they immediately think that I miss a salah, that I miss a salah, right? So the salah is always the first thing that's on their mind.

**[32:32]** You build your life around the prayer. Everything else should come after the prayer. You build your work schedule around your prayer. As the Prophet (ﷺ) mentioned to the companions about working early, Burika li-ummati fi bukuriha, that there's blessing in the early hours.

**[32:47]** And so one of the companions started to get started with his business early on and he found the barakah, the blessing of that from what the Prophet (ﷺ) mentioned. You plan your work schedule, your earning, your studying, whatever it is, your family life, your physical fitness, you plan it all around the schedule of salah.

**[33:06]** You prioritize the salah in that regard. We also see that handling all of your needs prior to the prayer is a prerequisite to experiencing its sweetness. Abu al-Darda' (رضي الله عنه) said that it's from a person's knowledge and understanding that he sees to his needs first in order to turn to his prayer with a heart free of distractions.

**[33:25]** And so if a person needs to use the bathroom or if a person needs to get something done or if a person is very hungry, right, and they haven't eaten for a long time and they'll be distracted by their hunger, whatever it is, so long as it's reasonable and within time, you clear your distractions so that you can come to the prayer free of any of those distractions overtaking you.

**[33:48]** And this is from the fiqh of a person. This is from the understanding of a person and someone that truly wants to find something deeper in their salah. At the end of the day, as the scholars mentioned, uqbil 'ala Allahi bi-qalbika qabla bi-hadik You turn to Allah with your heart before your body.

**[34:06]** Before you turn to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala physically, you should have already had an emotional and a spiritual turn towards Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. There's a famous narration from the Prophet (ﷺ) where he gives three advices. Number one, pray as if it's your last prayer.

**[34:23]** You hear it sometimes from the Imam, sallu salat muwaddi', pray as if it's your last prayer. And then he said (ﷺ), and don't say something today that you'll have to apologize for tomorrow. Don't say something today that you'll have to apologize for tomorrow.

**[34:38]** And the third thing he says (ﷺ) is lose hope in what other people possess. These were his three advices. Now, why do I want to mention the whole narration as it relates to khushu', as it relates to finding that peace in prayer and finding that meaning in prayer?

**[34:54]** Let's take the other two categories before we come back to the prayer. When you say something today that you'll have to apologize for tomorrow, that means that you say something very hurtful because you're making the assumption that I can just say sorry tomorrow. So if you have an abusive tongue to your family or to your friends, you say the most hurtful thing possible with the expectation that at the end of the day, I'll be able to say sorry for it later on because that's what I'm used to.

**[35:18]** You're reckless with your tongue because you anticipate an opportunity to make up for it. If you have hope in what other people possess in this dunya, think about someone that is so obsessed on getting that house, on getting that car, on getting that position or whatever it may be in this dunya.

**[35:34]** It consumes them. It's their whole concern. And in the process of trying to attain that thing, they are pushing off the thoughts of death and pushing off the thoughts of the hereafter because they're so obsessed with something that someone else possesses. I want what that person has.

**[35:49]** I want this position. I want that possession. And the idea is that you don't know that you're actually going to be alive to get it, but you will end up in the grave and that person will end up in the grave as well. So connect this back to salah. When you go into your prayer, especially in the busy world that we live in right now,

**[36:05]** where we don't take breaks from anything, especially now with our smartphones and everything like that, that are making us dumber, right? More distracted. You're constantly scrolling. You're constantly planning the next thing, looking at the next thing. Salah becomes the only quiet time that you have. And so you go into your salah and what are you thinking about? You're planning the rest of your day.

**[36:23]** You're planning what you're going to say in that next meeting. You're planning what you're going to do tomorrow. You're planning what you're going to do next week because you're thinking ahead of the prayer. And so when the Prophet (ﷺ) says, pray as if it's your last prayer, it's that you actually shut off the idea that there is anything beyond this prayer,

**[36:41]** that there's any future prayer, that this is the last prayer that I'm going to meet Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala with. Imagine this is the last time you get to talk to Allah in this dunya, that you have that interview with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And it could indeed be the case that it's the last time that you go into that salah.

**[36:59]** And so it connects to a greater idea of dunya. And here's what I want you to think about. You can't pray as if it's your last prayer without treating every day as if it's your last day. And so in general, the way that you view life is the way that you view prayer. The way that you view death is going to inform the devotion or lack of devotion that you find in your salah.

**[37:19]** So pray as if it's your last prayer means live as if it is your last day. So how you prioritize prayer is how you prioritize the akhirah over dunya in the general sense, and how you prioritize Allah over the people in the general sense.

**[37:34]** And it's important to also understand that you're not going to be able to dismiss everything except Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala when you enter into the salah, if you're not already prioritizing Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala over everything else when you're not in salah.

**[37:49]** So it speaks to your overall priorities. And this is why the scholars mention that as you enter into the prayer, you are either amongst the muhibbin, you're amongst the lovers coming back to that domain of love,

**[38:04]** or you're amongst the muqassirin, you're amongst the deficient, who are coming back to apologize, the mudhnibin, the sinners, to apologize, and to come back to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala with all of the ways that you've forgotten him between those two prayers.

**[38:20]** Ibn al-Qayyim rahimahullah says that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala allows you to experience the external desires out of his mercy. But in his mercy, he invites you to his banquet of salah five times a day. And he uses what Ibn Mas'ud (رضي الله عنه) described the Quran as the banquet of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, right?

**[38:38]** That you are invited to a banquet of the Lord at least five times a day. And when you come in, every salah has this different ingredients. It has a different amount of rak'at. It has the prayer being recited out loud or silently.

**[38:55]** It has different components. And all of that is meant to inform you in a certain way. He says, and if you look at the different ingredients of the prayer, the recitation of the Quran is the best recitation. So the best to hear and the best to recite is the Quran.

**[39:10]** Du'a is the best way to ask for something. And you have that. You have qiyam and ruku' and sujud. And these are the best motions of the body. And you're bringing light in the process to every single part of your existence, even physically.

**[39:25]** You're bringing nur to yourself. Nur in the heart, light in the heart, light on the tongue, light to the ears and light to every single one of your limbs. He says that the angels, the earth, the mountains, the rivers, they all rejoice at your prayers. And you're inspired towards righteousness in a way that your loved ones rejoice at your prayer as well.

**[39:45]** Because they see that the salah is generating a meaningful prayer, is generating a meaningful change in your character. And just like fasting has farhatan, has two joys. When you break your fast here and you meet Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala with it, you meet Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala with your salah in complete joy.

**[40:03]** Because the standing before Allah on the day of judgment is going to be determined by the standing before Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala in this dunya. And so you think about Allah calling you to a banquet, inviting you to a banquet, how you come to that banquet, how clean are you, how respectful are you,

**[40:20]** how attentive are you to that banquet, where are you sitting at that banquet, how much are you paying attention? All of that is important. And Uthman (رضي الله عنه) said that if our hearts were right, that they would never get enough of the word of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

**[40:35]** And he gives us example, rahimahullah ta'ala Ibn al-Qayyim. He says, imagine a starving person who comes to a feast and all they do is they take one handful of food and they just put it in their mouths and they leave. So this is the example of a person that is completely in ghaflah, completely in heedlessness.

**[40:53]** And Allah azawajal calls them to an act to where they could completely immerse themselves in something beautiful, transformative. But they only take a handful and they abandon that table. And so the drought of the heart is called ghaflah, it's heedlessness.

**[41:09]** And that's being distant from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And salah is the purification of ghaflah, the ultimate purification of heedlessness. Aqim al-salata li-dhikri, establish the prayer for my remembrance. And when the heart is watered with the mercy of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala,

**[41:25]** then the branches become moist and they produce all sorts of fruits and vegetables and beneficial things. Allah azawajal also says in the Quran, alam ya'ni lilladhina amanu an takhsha'a qulubuhum li-dhikr Allah wa ma nazala min al-haqq. Isn't it time for those who believe to humble their hearts through the remembrance of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala

**[41:45]** and what he has revealed of the truth. Abdullah ibn Mas'ud (رضي الله عنه), he says about this verse, he says the time between us becoming Muslim, accepting Islam, and the revelation of this verse was four years.

**[42:00]** Meaning Allah rebuked us after four years of being Muslim, that your hearts are becoming rusty, your hearts are becoming hard. Do not let your hearts become distant from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And Allah azawajal admonished us to come back and to immerse ourselves in khushu'.

**[42:15]** And so we're past the condemnation of alladhina hum 'an salatihim sahun, those who are forgetful with their prayers. And we're now to the admonishment of, isn't it time to humble your heart to the remembrance of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and the truth that he has revealed.

**[42:30]** And so in that, what does khushu' mean? When someone says, I want khushu', what exactly are they asking for from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala? So let's go through some of the terms. There's the word khashyah, khashyah.

**[42:46]** Khashyah refers to internal reverence, the awe of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Okay, so khashyah is one ingredient. Then there is khudu', and khudu' refers to external reverence.

**[43:01]** Okay, so the external reverence of the limbs. Khushu' is the combination of external and internal reverence of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. It's when the internal reverence of Allah produces

**[43:17]** the external reverence of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala as well. And if there is a definition for the word khushu', I know that sometimes we define it as humility. The definition of khushu' would most accurately be silence. Silence, stillness, quiet.

**[43:35]** But it's not just an external quiet. Now someone could be listening to me speak and their minds are everywhere else, not you all of course, but someone could be listening to someone speak to them and their minds are completely preoccupied with something else, right?

**[43:50]** Khushu' is when what is ahead of you is so great that you're silent on the inside as well. That you're not thinking about anything else. That everything is focused on the matter that's ahead of you. And what do we take this from?

**[44:06]** It's like when Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says about the Day of Judgment, wa khasha'at al-aswatu li-Rahman fa la tasma'u illa hamsa That all of the voices are silenced in the presence of al-Rahman So you wouldn't even hear, barely hear a whisper.

**[44:21]** Can you imagine on the Day of Judgment when Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala carries out the proceedings in front of us? May Allah azawajal make us amongst those that are safe. Allahumma ameen. Is anyone standing on the Day of Judgment and thinking about anything of this dunya?

**[44:36]** Thinking about what's the last meal that they ate in dunya? Thinking about that dream that they never got to fulfill in this dunya? Thinking about something of this world? Unless it relates to something they're afraid of being held accountable for. No one's thinking about anything else.

**[44:51]** Everyone is completely preoccupied with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and the proceedings of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala on the Day of Judgment. wa khasha'at al-aswatu li-Rahman Allah azawajal also says, khashi'atan absaruhum tarhaquhum dhillah

**[45:06]** That their eyes are lowered, right? So there's the internal silence, but it produces what? It produces a very visible eyes being lowered in humility to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Allah azawajal mentions in Surah Fussilat that the earth trembles. Allah mentions in Surah Al-Hashr

**[45:23]** law anzalna hadha al-qur'ana 'ala jabalin la-ra'aytahu khashi'an mutasaddi'an min khashyat Allah That if the Quran was to be revealed on a mountain, it would crush that mountain. But that mountain would be in complete khushu', complete awe of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

**[45:38]** So before it is shattered, it is humbled. And so that's the humility of khushu'. And we ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala that that be our condition that we have such awe of Allah azawajal in our prayer on the inside that it produces a very visible outside.

**[45:54]** And that's why there's a narration. It's not an authentic hadith. There's a lesson to be learned from it, right? There's a narration that you'll read in some of these books that the Prophet (ﷺ) saw someone playing with his beard in the prayer and distracted. And he said that if his heart was humble

**[46:10]** then his limbs would follow. If his heart was humble, his limbs would follow. And of course, Ibn al-Qayyim rahimahullah describes this idea of the heart being the general and the limbs being the soldiers. That if the heart has khushu', there's no way that a person is going to be yawning

**[46:28]** and you know, fiddling around the entire time or whatever it may be, looking around, doing this, shaking, you know, you see these different types of things. That's a sign that a person is not paying attention, that a person is not actually humble in their prayer.

**[46:44]** And so there's inward humility that's supposed to produce outward humility as well. Now many of the salaf, they said that if the outward is humble, it's a sign of inward humility. But like everything else, there could also be nifaq.

**[47:01]** There could be hypocrisy in that process. And we find that Hudhayfah ibn al-Yaman (رضي الله عنه), the companion of the Prophet (ﷺ), who was most famous for being the secret keeper of the messenger of Allah (ﷺ), who knew the names of the hypocrites. He used to seek refuge in Allah from the khushu' of the hypocrites.

**[47:19]** So there's hypocritical khushu', a nifaq form of khushu'. And you're like, what is a nifaq form of khushu'? And that is a person who shows themselves to be humble in their prayer, but their hearts are completely lost in the process. But they're masking that lost and distracted heart as they enter into their prayer.

**[47:37]** They're performing for other than Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And he said something deeply profound. He's narrated to have said that the first thing the ummah will lose is khushu' and the last thing the ummah will lose is salah. The first thing the ummah loses is khushu', the last thing is salah, salah altogether.

**[47:54]** So he mentions that there will come a time soon. And he's talking about, of course, his generation. That you would walk into a large masjid and find a masjid full of people in prayer, but not a single one of them has khushu'. May Allah protect us. So in the same way that he mentions that there would come a time as the Prophet (ﷺ) said that amanah is lost, that trust is lost, to a point that Hudhayfah narrates, the Prophet (ﷺ) said that you would have to go somewhere and say that

**[48:20]** inna fi bani fulan, that barely in that town, there's a person who's trustworthy, there's a person who's amin. The lens of Allah and the angels, Allah and the angels of the believers, is that there would barely be a person who has khushu' in the jama'ah, in the congregation, until what is lost is not just the internal quality, but the entire external form of salah as well.

**[48:43]** May Allah protect us and may Allah make us from al-qalil, may Allah make us from the few who truly turn to him in khushu', subhanahu wa ta'ala. And so when Allah azawajal says, qad aflaha al-mu'minun, that verily the believers are successful, alladhina hum fi salatihim khashi'un, those who have humility in their prayer, then that is referring to a very particular type of internal quality.

**[49:08]** That usage of mu'minun, people of iman, people of iman are people of khushu', focus on having that deep connection with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, and connect that to hayya 'ala al-falah, come to success. qad aflaha al-mu'minun, verily the believers have succeeded, not just for praying, but for praying with khushu' as well.

**[49:28]** In conclusion of this section, he mentions that of the secrets of salah, the greatest secret is how attentive the heart is. And imagine yourself like a person who is visiting a king to apologize for their own mistakes and to beseech him for mercy.

**[49:43]** If the heart becomes not attentive, then it shows in the body language. So you might still physically be there, but the king may notice the absence of your heart, the absence of your attention. And in that process, he might excuse you because you're still physically present.

**[50:02]** But at the end of the day, there's a big difference between someone who wins a prize and someone who's credited for participation. wa li-kullin darajatun mimma 'amilu, as Allah azawajal says in Surah Al-Ahqaf, that everyone will be rewarded according to their degrees.

**[50:17]** And so you want to be not like the people of A'raf, as he mentions in another example, the people that are on the middle path in that regard, or the people that are more accurately, right, stuck in the middle on the day of judgment and waiting for the mercy of Allah to push them over.

**[50:35]** But you want to be like 'ibad al-Rahman, the servants of the most merciful who are completely immersed in their salah. So in conclusion of this, just practical tips to summarize khushu'. Number one, change your priorities.

**[50:51]** Change your priorities. How do you change your priorities? You learn about the importance of your salah. You remind yourself frequently or listen to reminders about the importance of salah. You contemplate on the relationship between your prayer and this world.

**[51:09]** And you contemplate on the relationship of the quality of your salah with the depth of your relationship with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. So number one, knowledge is part of changing your priorities. So change your priorities. You have to adjust your priorities. Number two, you have to change your deeds, your deeds themselves.

**[51:28]** So you have to leave off the sins that serve as a barrier between you and Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. If the sins don't allow us to benefit from the Quran and the sins don't allow us to benefit from our dhikr and the sins don't allow us to immerse ourselves in du'a,

**[51:44]** then what is salah except for a physical exercise? If we're not willing to leave off those sins that serve as a barrier between us and Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. So leave off those sins. Change your deeds. Increase instead in good deeds because increasing in good deeds will increase the quality of your prayer as a whole.

**[52:02]** Number three, give the salah its attention, meaning its times, its places. So preparing for the salah sufficiently in advance, trying to pray in jama'ah, in the masjid, thinking about your environment at all times.

**[52:19]** Give the salah its attention, right? And that is a huge emphasis that we find here. We really have to do away with this idea that there is such thing as instant khushu'. You don't enter into salah, press a button and then suddenly you have khushu'.

**[52:34]** Even if you're someone who has amazing abilities to focus on tasks that are important and that are ahead of you, you just can't immediately immerse yourself in salah. The way that I want you to think about it is disconnecting before you connect.

**[52:49]** You know, if you think about like opening a tab, right? Or there's a download that's taking place. So you're not able to actually download something new, right? You have to disconnect to connect. So if on your way to the prayer, you're on a phone call or you're listening to something that's not related to salah, you're not listening to the Quran or something like that.

**[53:11]** You're having a conversation and then you enter into your salah. Whatever it is that you were just doing, you're going to need a few minutes to try to pause the download. And by the time you even start to try to pause the download, you're already into your second or third rak'ah and it's gone.

**[53:26]** Your whole salah has been wasted. So you have to give the salah its proper attention. That means planning for it. That means carving out the right time. That means carving out the right environment. Because there's no way to suddenly invoke khushu'. It's an entire process to enter into a meaningful conversation with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

**[53:44]** Number four, immerse yourself within your salah. So that means learn the meanings of what you are saying, which is going to be inshallah ta'ala, the particular focus of the series. It means pay attention to every single placement of your limbs.

**[54:01]** Where are your eyes during the salah? Are they looking up and around or are you looking at the place of your sujud? SubhanAllah, which is, you know, the ultimate place where you're going to fall into your sajdah and really have the deepest connection in your salah. Are your eyes in the right place?

**[54:16]** Are your hands in the right place? Are your legs in the right place? Are you understanding, taking the time to understand the meanings of what you are reciting? The last thing is to layer your salah with sunnah. To layer your prayer with the sunnah prayers.

**[54:33]** What do I mean by that? Prophet (ﷺ) said that on the day of judgment, the first thing you'll be asked about is your prayer. And if it is deficient, and we all know that we have deficiencies in our prayers, then Allah azawajal will call and ask for any voluntary prayers that you put forth.

**[54:51]** And Allah will start to fill in the deficiencies of your fard with your sunnah. You know, subhanAllah, think about this. We know a famous narration where the Prophet (ﷺ) said, whoever prays 12 rak'at, Allah azawajal will build them a home in paradise.

**[55:07]** So we think about sunan al-rawatib, the sunan that we pray. Two before Fajr, four before Dhuhr, two after Dhuhr, two after Maghrib, two after 'Isha, or any 12 rak'at throughout the day. But I want you to think about this. You have 17 fard rak'at throughout the day.

**[55:24]** You know, it's something to aim for. If you do those 12, but you also pray two rak'at of Dhuha, and you aim to pray three rak'at of Witr, that's 17 rak'at of voluntary prayer a day. Right? So 12 plus another five.

**[55:40]** You aim to have 17 for 17, right? To patch up your 17 fard rak'at with your 17 voluntary rak'at. Because that is the mercy of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala that he's given us that. And we know that shaytan will steal a portion of our prayer at any point, right?

**[55:56]** That none of us are at a hundred percent. And if we were to assign percentages to ourselves, like if you really ask yourself, how much of the salah am I actually paying attention to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala? I think all of us would know that we'd be pretty disappointed with that answer.

**[56:12]** So we come to inshallah ta'ala the actual practices now, and the focus of our series will be to do a snapshot of every single act that relates to the prayer and just high level, so that you can have a deeper connection to what this represents of the other side,

**[56:30]** what it represents of the akhirah, what it represents of a deeper connection to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, so that you're not stuck in emotions. And we could spend hours with every single aspect of our prayer. But what I want you to do inshallah ta'ala is to just have enough,

**[56:45]** so that when you are carrying out every motion of the salah, you know enough about what it represents inshallah ta'ala to connect to Allah azawajal at a deeper level, and to have that connection to the akhirah.

**[57:07]** Al-Fatihah.

## Other Episodes in "Secrets of Salah | Dhul Hijjah 2025"
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