Description
The Humility in Prayer
This treatise focuses on Khushu, the humility in prayer, and the breaking of the heart before the Lord. The essence of Khushu is the softness of the heart—being gentle, still, submissive, broken, and yearning. When the heart is humble, so too are the actions of the body. The hearing, seeing, head, face, and all limbs become humbled in submission to Allah, even speech. This is why the Prophet ﷺ would say in his bowing (ruku), “My hearing, sigh, bones, and marrow are humbled to You,” and another narration adds, “and whatever my foot carries.”
One of the Salaf remarked on a person fidgeting in their prayer, saying, “If the heart of this person was humble, so too would their limbs be.” The source of Khushu, which originates in the heart, is the recognition (gnosis) of Allah’s greatness, magnificence, and perfection. The more a person knows Allah, the more Khushu they have.
The greatest act of worship that manifests the Khushu of the body to Allah is prayer (salah). Allah praises those who possess Khushu in their prayer. al-Hasan, may Allah have mercy on him, said, “When you stand in prayer, stand in due obedience as Allah has ordered you. Beware of negligence and looking around; beware that Allah is looking at you while you are looking at something else, asking Allah for Paradise and seeking refuge from the Fire, yet your heart is heedless and unaware of what your tongue is saying.”
Hudhayfah said, “The first thing you will lose of your religion will be Khushu, and the last thing you will lose will be prayer. It is well possible that there will be no good left in a person who prays, and soon a time will come when you enter a large masjid and not see a single person with Khushu.”
This treatise explores the true meaning of Khushu in prayer and includes three highly beneficial appendices that delve deeper into this essential quality of worship.
