How to focus in salah: 10 tips for khushu
Khushu is the presence of the heart in prayer: knowing whom you are standing before and what you are saying. Everyone's mind wanders sometimes. These steps help.
Why it matters
قَدۡ أَفۡلَحَ ٱلۡمُؤۡمِنُونَ ﴿١﴾ ٱلَّذِينَ هُمۡ فِي صَلَاتِهِمۡ خَٰشِعُونَ ﴿٢﴾
Qad aflaha almuminoona Allatheena hum fee salatihim khashiʿoona
Certainly will the believers have succeeded They who are during their prayer humbly submissive
Quran 23:1-2 · Surah Al-Mu'minun
There is no Muslim who performs wudu and does it well, then stands and prays two rakats, focusing on them with his heart and his face, except that Paradise becomes due for him.
Sahih Muslim
10 tips
- Prepare. Make wudu calmly and arrive a few minutes early.
- Remove distractions. Phone on silent and out of sight, nothing in front of you.
- Do not pray when very hungry or needing the toilet (Sahih Muslim).
- Learn the meaning of what you recite: al-Fatiha, the adhkar of ruku and sujud, and the surahs you use.
- Vary the surahs you recite so you do not go on autopilot.
- Recite slowly and pause at the end of each verse.
- Look at the place of prostration.
- Remember that Allah responds to al-Fatiha verse by verse (Sahih Muslim, hadith qudsi).
- Stay still in each position. The Prophet ﷺ called rushing the prayer stealing from it (Ahmad).
- Make dua in sujud, the moment you are closest to Allah (Sahih Muslim).
When your mind wanders, simply bring it back. That effort is itself rewarded.
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