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:

As-salaam Alaikum,
I am college student and I am facing a problem in praying. Actually, I don`t know why from the past few months, i`ve started praying very slowly which means I take a lot of time to pray and i was never like that before. I take about 5-7 mins to pray 2-3 rakaas. When i pray, i tend to repeat certain lines doubtfully or as we say "gumaan" in urdu. Normally, i see people finishing prayers much much faster than me.
I would like you to find a solution for my problem as soon as possible. And Please do send me the reply personally and don’t display it on the site.

Jazak-Allah

(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:

Praying too slow

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.

Sahih Al-Bukhari Hadith 1.759 Narrated by Abu Huraira

Once the Prophet entered the mosque, a man came in, offered the prayer, and greeted the Prophet (saws). The Prophet (saws) returned his greeting and said to him, "Go back and pray again, for you have not prayed." T he man offered the prayer again, came back and greeted the Prophet (saws). He said to him thrice, "Go back and pray again for you have not prayed." The man said, "By Him Who has sent you with the Truth! I do not know a better way of praying. Kindly teach me how to pray." He (saws) said, "When you stand for the prayer, say Takbir and then recite from the Qur'an what you know, and then bow with calmness till you feel at ease, then rise from bowing till you stand straight. Afterwards prostrate calmly till you feel at ease, and then raise (your head) and sit with calmness till you feel at ease, and then prostrate with calmness till you feel at ease in prostration, and do the same in the whole of your prayer."

Beloved sister in Islam, praying slowly with concentration and sincerity is considered a virtue in Islam; whereas praying fast is not. Thus if you find that people around you are praying faster than you, don’t let that bother you at all; and continue praying your prayers with concentration and sincerity, regardless of how long it takes to offer the prayers.

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

Your Brother in Islam,

Burhan