"Khushoo" - Strengthening The Connection

LECTURE NOTES

Lecturer: Yasir Birjas

Source: Al Ghurabaa.org http://www.alghurabaa.org/lectures/yasir-birjas/

Topic: Khushoo

Time Duration: 1 hour

How do you know you are in full khushoo?

•  When you say Allahu Akbar (Allah is Great) you're fully aware of your intention. The Takbeer i.e. the testimony of Allah's Greatness has a profound impact on you. Ali ibn Hussain (a.s.) used to shiver when he said Allahu Akbar. Realize you are before Allah (swt)
• You are focused on your Salaah. Not on your clothes, your shoes etc.
• Your eyes are lowered; not looking around.
• Your hands are folded– sign of humility. You are humiliating yourself in front of Allah. Like a child folds his hands while saying “please please please” to his mother for something. And your neck is lowered down. Be reminded of your sins. Down in submission. For what? Show that you need Allah (swt)
• When you make rukooh; when you bow down, you do it with the feeling that you are putting your intellect and ego down in front of Allah (swt) the one who deserves it and through this humiliation you will gain dignity. 

Means Of Focusing In Your Salaah: Developing Khushoo

• Make wuzoo and sit for a while in praying sunnah and dhikr. If at a mosque, go early and indulge in dhikr
•  Repeat the Azaan with the Muaz’zin
• Prepare for Salaah ahead of time. Focus on what would you be reciting.
• Make your wuzoo and made it thorough. Don’t hasten it.
• Select a place where there are no distractions. If at home, stay away from the TV! “That match can wait!
• Dress nicely for Salaah SPECIALLY for Salaat al Fajr. Show Allah some respect! Believe that He is before you
• Pray the Nafil. Even if not Wajib – increase your reward.
• Read some Quran if you have time. Preferably read what you would recite in your Salaah.
• Make some dua’a and dhikr after you are done. Raise hands and make dua’a.
• Don’t talk too much before Salaah.
• Don’t look around in the masjid – focus on the Salaah that is about to happen.
• Pray at front of the Jamaat – fill front
• Before you start Salaah, straighten your lines. You would be focused more. In rukooh and sujood would not be disturbed.
• Contemplation – about the greatness of Allah whom you would be standing before. This is part of al-ehsaan. He is watching you
• Remember stories of pious predecessors like Ali ibn abi Talib and Hussain ibn Ali
• Remember always the excellence and virtue of khushoo. Before you raise hands remember
• If you’re hungry or in need of toilet do that first. That is hadith. Do not pray in urgency. Plan your day. When you eat don’t have a heavy meal or you would be burping
• If you feel sleepy don’t start Salaah specially Qayam ul Layl and Taraweeh. Take a nap first. Plan for it. If you wish to pray Qayam ul Layl sleep early.
• Compete to stand in the first line of the Jamaat
•   Try to pray as close as possible behind the Imam because when you hear his voice aloud you stay focused.
• As the hadith goes: "count the Salaah as your final Salaah"

How can we keep our khushoo IN Salaah?

• Contemplation – the word Allahu Akbar. Realize it is not just a habit but a submission. Remember the meaning
• Consider the status of ehsaan in your Salaah i.e. the feeling that you are in front of allah and He is watching you. Angel Gabriel (Jibreel) (a.s.) said worship Allah as if you are seeing Him. If you are not at that level then believe that He is watching
• Fold hands and look down to express your humiliation in front of Allah
• Observe the right etiquette of Salaah. The Sunnah way.
• Bring traquility and peace to your Salaah. Slow the speed of recitation. When we pray alone we finish 2 raka’ah in 2 minutes. The same 2 raka’ah behind the Imam are longer. People pray the shortest surah. Invest time.
• Duaa – make duaa and dhikr of beginning Salaah. Subhana kallummah wa bihamdika ...
• Contemplate – over the ayah that you recite. Focus on the meaning of Qul hu Allahu ahad for instance
• Beautify the Quran with your voice it is the instruction of Rasool Allah (saww). Tajweed would add to the beauty
• Remember! Allah divided this Salaah b/w you and Him. Part of it is solely for Allah and part is your supplication. 
• Focus on position of prostration. Look at one place
• Vary your adhkaar of Salaah. In sujood – subhan rabbi al ala … there are other words learn them
•  Never look up when you come back from rukooh – at rabanna lakal hamd – rasool Allah (saww) forbid doing so.
• Don’t get distracted by minor things e.g. the designs of the rug
• Duaa : SUPPLICATION – Rasool Allah (saww) said the closest you would be to Allah in your sujood. Increase your duaa in your sujood.

AFTER YOU ARE DONE

• Do not move right away from your position. Rasool (saww) said the malaika (angels) would be doing duaa for you. Stay! Finish your duaa and dhikr
• Do your tasbih. Rasool (saww) grabbed the hand of Mua’ad and said I love you for sake of Allah. He advised subhan allah, alhamdulillah, allahu akbar
• Do dhikr and duaa
• Just before you move evaluate your Salaah. How much do you need to make up for it
• Pray salat ul nafil to make up for what you missed out
  
  REMEMBER: 
• Closing eyes is not Sunnah but if you find focusing really difficult then you may close them.
• Khinzab is the Shaitaan who distracts in prayers and makes you think of the oddest things. Say azubillah 3 times and blow three times to the left should Khinzab be bothering you 

Mother - The Shepherd of Allah's Flock

A mother is the most beautiful relationship gifted to humankind by Allah. She has been exalted by Allah as a great human being. A woman’s status changes from the ordinary to divine when she conceives her first child. The 9 months of nourishing a new life in her womb; the divine sanctuary, exalts her to the most blessed of people. She automatically becomes entitled to innumerable rights and responsibilities. Of course, Allah has chosen a mother as a portal of bringing new life – a new Muslim – to the world.

In the words of the Holy Prophet Mohammad (peace be upon him & his progeny): "The word "Ar-Rahm" (womb) derives its name from "Ar-Rahman" (i.e. Allah). So whoever keeps good relations with it (womb i.e. kith and kin), Allah will keep good relations with him, and whosoever will sever it Allah too will sever His relations with him. (Sahih Bukhari Vol.8)

               A mother is most definitely superior in rights to a father – this is the beauty of motherhood, it raises a woman’s importance. This beautiful relationship is blessed with the only form of pure, unconditional love that you are going to get.

A man came to the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and said, ‘O Messenger of Allaah, who among the people is most deserving of my good companionship?’ He said, ‘Your mother.’ The man asked, ‘Then who?’ He said, ‘Your mother.’ He asked, then who?’ He said, ‘Your mother.’ He asked, ‘Then who?’ He said, ‘Your father.’

One Way Ticket To Heaven

Islam regards a mother as a one way ticket to Heaven! How could one not serve a woman so exalted as to win him/her merits of Paradise? She has been gifted by Allah such that our services to her – to care for her, to make her smile and to attend to her needs and obey her – would evict us of our sins. 

The Prophet Muhammad said, may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him: Your Heaven lies under the feet of your mother (Ahmad, Nasai).

A man came to the Prophet (peace be upon him & his progeny) and said, "Messenger of Allah, I have committed a serious sin. Can I do any act of penitence?" He asked him if had a mother, and when he replied 'no', he asked if he had a maternal aunt. On his replying 'yes' he said, "Then do kindness to her."

A Mother's Pain

We cannot even begin to imagine the kind of pain a mother goes through in raising her child. As my own mother narrates, "From the day that she becomes pregnant, a woman bears pain."

Allah stresses in the holy Quran that a mother bears hardship for her child in giving him birth and then in raising him. And we could only understand these hardships when we become mothers ourselves InshAllah. And the miracle of motherhood is that a woman does not nag and complain when she stays the nights awake nursing her infant, when she bears the pain of breastfeeding him or when she attends to his dirt and filth.

Both parents have been entitled the highest respect and rights. Allah forbids in the holy Quran to even whisper a single word of disrespect towards your parents. It is one of the 70 major sins listed by Allah in the glorious Quran – to disrespect your parents. 

Imagine how much we sin everyday? We find it convenient to back answer the woman who writhed in pain and still cried tears of happiness when she was giving us birth. We find it okay to disregard the man who nourished us and sheltered us when we were young and provided for our expenses and our character building.

A mother’s status is divine. If she commands you for something; provided it is not a sin, you are to obey as strictly as you obey you Allah. The stance of this woman has been glorified to such merits that if she forbids her son for holy struggle (Jihad), he is to obey because his first Jihad (as narrated by the holy prophet peace be upon him & his progeny) is towards his parents. A mother’s vows are to be honored even after her death!

It was reported from Ibn ‘Abbaas (may Allaah be pleased with them both) that a woman from Juhaynah came to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and said: “My mother vowed to go for Hajj, but she died before she did so. Can I perform Hajj on her behalf?” He said, “Yes, perform Hajj on her behalf. Do you not think that if your mother owed a debt that you would pay it off for her? Fulfil her debt to Allaah, for Allaah is more deserving that what is owed to Him should be paid.” (narrated by al-Bukhaari, 1754).

Mother - The Shepherd of Allah's Flock

A woman who has been blessed with motherhood is no longer an ordinary human being. She is now a woman of great responsibility and is more closer to Allah than she was before. As the words of the holy prophet (saw) go:

‘Each of you is a shepherd and each of you is responsible for his flock. The imaam is a shepherd and is responsible for his flock. A man is the shepherd of his family and is responsible for his flock. A woman is the shepherd of her husband’s house and is responsible for her flock.’

Sometimes people find it very easy to scream back at their parents, especially mothers, to not interfere in their matters. They disregard the voice of Allah in the holy Quran which mentions that it is a responsibility of the parent to look after the kind of company their children keep since friends contribute towards building the personality. Our parents have the right to know whom we choose to be.

“A man will follow the way of his close friend, so let each of you look to who his close friends are.” (Narrated by al-Tirmidhi, 2387; Abu Dawood, 4833. This hadeeth was classed as hasan by al-Tirmidhi and as saheeh by al-Nawawi, as stated in Tuhfat al-Ahwadhi, 7/42).

Unfortunately, some of my Muslim friends choose to bond with the most wrongful of people – adulterers, drug-addicts, liars, etc. and they do not let their parents see the true colors of their friends circle. Alhamdulillah, I am very positive about the fact that I have always kept my mother aware of the true characteristics of the people in my environment. She knew the likes of everyone. And because of the insight that I provided her, she was able to look out for me – advising me which gatherings to attend and which ones to avoid. Of course I got called names by the social circle. ‘Mamma’s Baby’ was a very famous one! But I have always experienced that hiding something from my mother is as guilt-provoking as committing a sin in the darkness thinking I am hidden when I know Allah is watching me!

Dua’as For Parents

The least we could do to repay the massive debt we have on our shoulders of the immense, uncnditional love, care and support that our parents and in particular the mother gives us, is to pray for them. One must make it a routine practice to recite dua'as asking Allah to forgive and be kind to our parents

"Rabbighfir lii wali-waalidayya walilmum-iniina yauma yaquumul hisaab, Rabbirhamhumaa kamaa rabbayaani sag-hiiraa"

 "O Lord, forgive me, my parents and Muslims in the Hereafter. O Lord, show mercy on them as they have nourished me when I was young."

"Rabbi aj'alni muqeemas salaati wa min zurriyyatti rabbana wa taqabbal dua'aye. rabbana aghfirli wa li walidaiyya wa lil momineena yauma yaqoom-ul-hisaab"
"O my Lord! Make me one who establishes prayer and also (raise such) among my offspring. O our Lord! And accept Thou my prayer. O our Lord! Cover us with Thy forgiveness. Me, my parents and all believers on the Day that the reckoning will b established." (14:40-41)

Mothers of the Faithful (Umm ul Momineen)

Allah in the glorious Quran, regards the wives of the holy prophet Mohammad (peace be upon him & his progeny) as the "mothers of the faithful". It is the duty of every Muslim and Muslimah to know them, take lessons from their pious lives and to send salaam on them as they are part of the ahl-al-bayt. Click here to read a brief description about them

Their blessed names are:
Khadija
Sawdah
Aisha
Hafsa
Zainab
Umm Salama