1. The Advice of the Lord of the Universe

Who can guide us better that the creator of the universe, the Lord of the Humans, the jinns, the angels and all the creation, Alhamdulillah!

Allah commands in the glorious Quran to seek refuge in Him from Satan.

{And if there comes to you from Satan an evil suggestion, then seek refuge in Allah. Indeed, He is the Hearing, the Knowing.} (Quran 41:36)

2. Follow the Prophet’s Advice to Focus in Prayer

One of the companions complained to the Prophet (peace be upon him) about waswas (Satan’s whisper) during prayer, and he said:

“The Shaytan comes between me and my prayers and my recitation, confusing me therein.”

The Prophet said:

“That is a devil called Khanzab. If he affects you, seek refuge in Allah from him and spit drily to your left three times.” He (the Sahabi) said, I did that and Allah took him away from me.” (Narrated by Muslim, 2203)

3. Strive hard to Ponder

Strive hard to contemplate, ponder and reflect on the meanings of what is being recited in the prayer. For non-Arabs it is highly important and recommended to learn the Qur’anic Arabic.

The more we feel the sweetness of our prayers, the more we will be inclined towards them.

Imagine the greatness of Allah, focus on the keywords even if you don’t know Arabic. Imagine and feel the happiness of being with the prophets in Jannah when their names are recited. Try to focus completely using all your senses, your heart, your body, your mind.

4. Zero Distractions

There should not be anything that distracts the person while praying. All the images/adornments/sounds must be removed; especially sounds such as singing and music must have no place in the salah premises.

Wandering whilst praying reduces the rewards. We must avoid both the wandering of the mind as well as physically looking around during the prayer.

Al-Bukhari (751) narrated that ‘Aisha said: I asked the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) about looking around whilst praying, and he said:

“That is something that the Shaytaan steals from a person’s prayer.”

According to another hadith:

“Allah is turning towards His slave so long as he does not look around, so when you pray, do not look around.” Narrated by Ahmad (17800); classed as saheeh by al-Albaani inSaheeh al-Jaami‘ (1724).

Therefore one must control one’s mind as well as gaze.

5. Remind Yourself of Death

You never know if this one is your last prayer. Giving your best shot in this prayer may get you the ticket to Jannah. The one that you are praying now is the farewell prayer.

This thought will help you be concerned about your hereafter and will insha’Allah be helpful in avoiding any distraction whatsoever.

Ad-Daylami narrated in Musnad al-Firdaws from Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said:

(“Remember death when you pray, for if a man remembers death when he prays, he will strive to make his prayer good.

Pray the prayer of a man who does not think that he will ever pray another prayer, and beware of any matter that may require you to offer an apology.” Classed as hasan by al-Haafiz as it says in al-Maqaasid al-Hasanah (p. 226); classed as hasan by al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Jaami‘ (849)).

In the end, we pray to Allah to help us increase focus in our salah and accept our prayers.

Ameen

Republished from Understand Quran.