Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.  (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)

One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

This is regarding deviation of thought during Prayers.

when i am performing prayers, my thought are not under my control. That means..., while doing prayer I start thinking about world matter like thinking about other activities , thinking about what to do next after namaz, think about some romanatic moments in life.... etc. I try to contol my mind, but after some time again it deviate from the prayers. These thought come to me, unintentionally.

1) How to avoid such throught when performing Prayer?
2) If bad thought come ( romantic or sex), do that prayer becomes invalid?
4) As we all know Allah only know whether our prayer are accepted or not. So if any prayer is not accepted by allah, do ALLAH punish us for doing such unconcentrated prayers.

5) how to gain more control on this matter.

6) while doing wadu ( cleaning face and hands and legs with water before performing prayers) also i get these kind of thought. Does these throughts invalidate cleaniness.

ALLAH ... forgive me and make me pray regularly. I donot pray regularly but try my best to perform the prayers. Most offen i do pray when i need help of ALLAH, when i am going start some important work and when i was depressed/in problem.

1) Doing prayer and remembering ALLAH only when needed is wrong attitude.

I donot know a arabic langauge, I momemorised few suras ( five suras). I do prayer with these suras which i know. If i did not pronouces properly the word in suras, do that prayer get invalidated.

In this busy software life stlye, where every one is busy with worldly work. I would like to know how best i can remember ALLlAH and executive my responsibilites and duties in easest possible way...

Please kindly guide me and help me out. Please answer these queries as early as possible

(There may be some grammatical and spelling errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from questions, comments and statements received from our readers for circulation in confidentiality.)

Answer:

Thoughts during prayer

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is no one (no idol, no person, no grave, no prophet, no imam, no dai, nobody!) worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

Q-1: How to avoid such throught when performing Prayer?
Beloved brother in Islam, no matter how pious and God-fearing a believer is, very very few amongst the believers can control their flow of thoughts in their prayers, for our avowed enemy, the Shaitaan, always tries to put thoughts into our minds when we offer our prayers.

There are a few basic things one can do to minimize these thoughts:

• Seek the refuge in Allah Subhanah from the accursed Shaitaan, before starting the prayer.
• Understand the simple and basic meaning of the prayers, so that one may try to concentrate on the meanings of what one is beseeching his Merciful Lord when in prayer.
• Remember that when one is in prayer, he is actually in audience of the Lord of the Worlds; and try to bring himself to a state as if he is reciting his prayers in the Presence of his Lord.
• If one cannot bring himself to that state while in prayer, he should at least try to remember and know for sure, that his Lord is watching over him; for indeed, Allah Subhanah is All-Seeing, All Knowing.

Sahih Al-Bukhari Hadith 6.300 Narrated by Abu Huraira

Hadrat Jibrael (a.s.) (who came in the form of a human being) asked the Messenger of Allah (saws) : , "O Messenger of Allah, what is Ihsan (i.e. perfection or benevolence)?" The Prophet (saws) said, "Ihsan is to worship Allah as if you see Him, and if you do not achieve this state of devotion, then (take it for granted that) Allah sees you."

Beloved brother, this feeling and pain of yours, and your ardent desire to remove the worldly thoughts when you are in state of prayer, is in itself a sign of your ‘emaan’ and your love for Allah Subhanah and His devotion! And it is your this ‘emaan’ and love for Allah Subhanah, that the evil Shaitaan is trying to negate, for the cursed Shaitaan hates nothing more than when he sees a believer worshipping his Lord with humility and devotion! The Shaitaan is the avowed enemy of the believer, and if he cannot hold back the believer from his prayers, he will try to put thoughts into the believer when he prays, and tries to despair the believer of Allah’s Worship!

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 114 Surah An-Naas verses 4-5:

4 (Say, I seek refuge in Allah) from the mischief of the Whisperer (of Evil), who withdraws (after his whisper)

5 (The same) who whispers into the hearts of mankind.

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 7 Surah Aaraaf verses 16-17:

16 He (Shaitaan) said: "because Thou (Allah) hast thrown me out of the way; Lo! I will lie in wait for them (the believers) on Thy Straight Way.

17 "Then will I assault them; from before them, and behind them, from their right, and their left: nor wilt Thou find in most of them gratitude (for Thy mercies)

Abu Hurairah reports that the Prophet (saws) said: "When the call to prayer is made, the Satan takes to his heels... and when it is finished, he returns. He flees again when the iqamah is made, and when it is finished, he returns until he comes between the man and his thoughts, saying: 'Remember this and remember that,' which he had not recalled, until the person does not know how much he has prayed, [i.e.,] three or four rak'at.”

(This is narrated by al-Bukhari and Muslim.)

Thus, my beloved brother in Islam, don’t let the thoughts bother you, and as soon as you realize that this is a ploy and tactic of the Shaitaan to take you away from your prayers, try your best to concentrate on your prayers and continue your supplications to the Merciful Lord in humility and in sincere devotion; it is expected that your Lord Most Merciful will accept your prayers.

Such thoughts also came into the hearts of some of the most noblest of companions of the Messenger of Allah (saws), and he (saws) advised them thus:

Sahih Muslim Hadith 5463 Narrated by Uthman ibn Abul'As

Uthman came to Allah's Messenger (saws) and said: “OAllah's Messenger (saws), the Satan intervenes between me and my prayer, and my reciting of the Qur'an and he confounds me.” Thereupon Allah's Messenger (saws) said: “That is (the doing of the Satan) who is known as Khinzab, and when you perceive its effect, seek refuge with Allah from it, and spit three times to your left.” I did that and Allah dispelled that from me.

Sahih Muslim Hadith 6623 Narrated by Hanzalah Usayyidi,

I met AbuBakr. He said: “Who are you?” I (Hanzalah) said: “Hanzalah has turned out to be a hypocrite.” He (AbuBakr) said: “Hallowed be Allah, what are you saying?” Thereupon I said: “I say that when we are in the company of Allah's Messenger (saws), we ponder over Hell-Fire and Paradise as if we are seeing them before our very eyes. When we are away from the Messenger of Allah (saws) we attend to our wives, our children, our business; and most of these things (pertaining to the After life) slip out of our minds.” AbuBakr said: “By Allah, I also experience the same.” So AbuBakr and I went to Allah's Messenger (saws) and I said to him: “ O Messenger of Allah (saws), Hanzalah has turned to be a hypocrite.” Thereupon Allah's Messenger (saws) said: “What has happened to you?” I said: “O Messenger of Allah (saws), when we are in your company, we are reminded of Hell-Fire and Paradise as if we are seeing them with our own eyes, but whenever we go away from you and attend to our wives, children and business, many of these things go out of our minds.” Thereupon the Messenger of Allah (saws) said: “By Him in Whose Hand is my life, if your state of mind remains the same as it is in my presence and you are always busy in remembrance (of Allah), the Angels would shake hands with you in your beds and on your paths. However, Hanzalah, time should be devoted (to the worldly affairs) and time (should be devoted to prayer and meditation).” He (the holy Prophet (saws)) said this thrice.

Q-2: If bad thought come ( romantic or sex), do that prayer becomes invalid?
Thoughts by themselves during prayers do not negate one’s prayers, unless of course the thought results in some emission from one’s private parts; for that would indeed negate one’s wudu and thus the prayers. But if the Shaitaan causes one’s mind to wander during prayers, the thought by themselves do not invalidate the prayers.

If one tries to the best of his ability to concentrate on his prayers, and tries to bring himself to realize that when in prayers he is actually in audience with the Supreme and Majestic Lord of the Universe, it is expected that the wandering of his mind will diminish and he will be able to concentrate on his prayers.

Q-3: As we all know Allah only know whether our prayer are accepted or not. So if any prayer is not accepted by allah, do ALLAH punish us for doing such unconcentrated prayers.

Beloved Brother in Islam, our Lord is the Most Merciful of all those who show mercy; and it would not behove the Merciful and Gracious Lord to negate or invalidate the worship, leave alone punish the one who sincerely devotes and submits himself to him.

It is the accursed Shaytaan who whispers these evil thoughts in one’s mind that since he is not able to fully concentrate on his prayers, his prayers are invalid; and he tries to despair the worshipper of the Lord’s Mercy.

If a believer sincerely tries to fulfill his prayers to the best of his ability, it is expected that he will have his full reward with his Lord Most Gracious, Most Merciful.

Q-4: while doing wadu ( cleaning face and hands and legs with water before performing prayers) also i get these kind of thought. Does these throughts invalidate cleaniness

Sahih Muslim Hadith 1812 Narrated by Amr ibn Abasah Sulami

I asked: ‘O Messenger of Allah (saws), tell me about ablution also.’ The Prophet (saws) said: ‘He who uses water for ablution, rinses his mouth, snuffs up water and blows it out, the sins of his face, his mouth and his nostrils will be washed away. When he washes his face, as Allah has commanded him, the sins of his face are carried away from the end of his beard with the water. Then (when) he washes his forearms up to the elbows, the sins of his arms are carried away with the water from his finger-tips. When he wipes his head, the sins of his head are carried away from the ends of his hair with the water. And (when) he washes his feet up to the ankles, the sins of his feet are carried away from his toes with the water. And if he stands to pray and praises Allah, lauds Him, glorifies Him with what becomes Him and shows wholehearted devotion to Allah, his sins will depart, leaving him (as innocent) as he was on the day his mother bore him.’

Only if one were to bring himself to realize the rewards the Lord Most Bounteous has promised the believers who sincerely devote themselves to Him and worship Him, one would try to concentrate on all his acts of worship.

Beloved brother, provided all the obligatory actions of wudu are fulfilled, the thoughts by themselves do not negate or invalidate the wudu in the least.

Your Question: ALLAH ... forgive me and make me pray regularly. I donot pray regularly but try my best to perform the prayers. Most offen i do pray when i need help of ALLAH, when i am going start some important work and when i was depressed/in problem.

1) Doing prayer and remembering ALLAH only when needed is wrong attitude.
One whole life is a test ordained by the All-Knowing, All-Wise Lord; and He tests his slaves in two ways:

Test 1: Allah provides his slave with abundance to see whether he is grateful or not,

Test 2: At times, the Lord withholds or takes away something (be it one’s health, or wealth, or loved one, etc.) to see whether the person is patient or not.

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 10 Surah Yunus verses 22-23:

22 He (Allah) it is Who enables you to traverse through land and sea; so that ye even board ships they sail with them with a favorable wind and they rejoice thereat; then comes a stormy wind and the waves come to them from all sides and they think they are being overwhelmed: they cry unto Allah sincerely offering (their) duty unto Him saying "If Thou dost deliver us from this we shall truly show our gratitude!"

23 But when He delivers them, Behold! They transgress insolently through the earth in defiance of right! O mankind! Your insolence is against your own souls!; an enjoyment of the life of the Present: in the end to Us is your return and We shall show you the truth of all that ye did.

Most people when they find themselves in distress and can see a route of escape from their predicament, turn to their Lord Most Gracious and make all kinds of promises that if their Lord helps them and delivers them from their distress, they will truly became grateful. But no sooner than Allah Subhanah delivers them from their distress, they tend to forget their promises and go back to their averse ways. Such an act of remembering Allah only in distress and adversity does not befit and behove a true believer and slave of the Lord Most Merciful.

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 3 Surah Ale Imraan verses 191-195:

191 Men who celebrate the praises of Allah standing, sitting, and lying down on their sides and contemplate the (wonders of) creation in the heavens and the earth (with the thought): "Our Lord! Not for naught hast Thou created (all) this! Glory to thee! Give us salvation from the penalty of the fire.

192 "O Our Lord! Any whom thou dost admit to the fire truly thou coverest with shame and never will wrong-doers find any helpers!.

193 "O Our Lord! We have heard the call of one calling (us) to faith `Believe ye in the Lord' and we have believed. O Our Lord! Forgive us our sins, blot out from us our iniquities, and take to Thyself our souls in the company of the righteous.

194 "O Our Lord! Grant us what Thou didst promise unto us through Thine Messengers and save us from shame on the Day of Judgment: for Thou never breakest Thy promise."

195 And their Lord hath accepted of them and answered them: "Never will I suffer to be lost the work of any of you be he male or female: ye are members one of another; those who have left their homes or been driven out therefrom or suffered harm in My Cause or fought or been slain, verily I will blot out from them their iniquities and admit them into Gardens with rivers flowing beneath; a reward from the presence of Allah and from His presence is the best of rewards."

The true believers of Allah remember their Lord in prosperity and adversity alike, grateful when their Lord provides them with abundance, and patient and hopeful when they are afflicted by some calamity. They call upon their Lord standing, sitting and lying down on their sides, conscious that whatever happens in their lives is no more than a test from their Lord; and they believe with conviction that on One Inevitable Day they will all be gathered in the Presence of their Majestic Lord to give a full accounting of all their deeds.

Your Question: I donot know a arabic langauge, I momemorised few suras ( five suras). I do prayer with these suras which i know. If i did not pronouces properly the word in suras, do that prayer get invalidated.
If Arabic is not one’s first language, but he tries to the best of his ability to memorize some parts of the Glorious Quran and exerts his utmost in trying to pronounce the words as best as he possibly can, and in spite of his best efforts he unintentionally makes a mistake in the pronunciation of the Quran….not only will his efforts and his striving be accepted, the Lord Most Merciful Who has promised such a person who recites the Quran with great difficulty a double reward.

Sahih Al-Bukhari Hadith 6.459 Narrated by Aisha

The Prophet (saws) said, "Such a person as recites the Qur'an and masters it by heart, will be with the noble righteous scribes (in Heaven). And such a person who exerts himself to learn the Qur'an by heart, and recites it with great difficulty, will have a double reward."

Thus my beloved brother, try and strive your utmost to pronounce the words of the Glorious Book of Allah to the best of your ability; and if after your best striving you still unintentionally make a pronunciation error, rest assured that not only your Lord Most Merciful accept your striving, He will bestow a double reward upon you for your difficulty.

Your Question: In this busy software life stlye, where every one is busy with worldly work. I would like to know how best i can remember ALLlAH and executive my responsibilites and duties in easest possible way...
Please kindly guide me and help me out

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 79 Surah Naziat verses 34-41:

34 Therefore when there comes the Great Overwhelming (Event, The Day of Judgment!)

35 The Day when Man shall remember (all) that he strove for

36 And Hell-Fire shall be placed in full view for (all) to see

37 Then for such as had transgressed all bounds

38 And had preferred the life of this world

39 Their Abode will be Hell-Fire;

40 And for such as had entertained the fear of standing before their Lord's (tribunal) and had restrained (their) soul from lower Desires

41 Their abode will be the Garden.

Beloved Brother, the only way to success in this life and the Hereafter is to realize the true importance and significance of the two life periods; and strive to prefer the life of the Hereafter to the life of this world. Then and only then can one truly balance one’s life and fulfill one’s responsibilities.

If one strives only for the life of this world, and joins and runs the ‘rat-race’ of the disbelievers; he may succeed in accumulating some material in the transient life of this world, but will be bankrupt in the eternal and everlasting life of the Hereafter.

But the one who realizes that success in the life of the Hereafter is dependant on the deeds one does in the life of this world, will treat the life of this world according to its merit and at times will try to prefer the life of the eternal Hereafter to the transient life of this world; such a person will be content with his lot in this world, and will be a success in the Hereafter.

Beloved Brother, the only way to comprehend and understand the true nature of the two periods of life, one needs the guidance of the Glorious Quran in their lives. The closer you get to the understanding and acceptance of the guidance of the Quran, the easier it will be to fulfill and balance your responsibilities regarding each of the lives.

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me alone. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

Your brother and well wisher in Islam,

Burhan