I’ve often wondered what it means to pray salah with khushu. I watched many YouTube videos and documentaries about the topic. Yet, I still have no clue what it essentially means. Does it mean, getting the ablution done correctly? or praying in clean clothes with the proper formation? Is it sheer focus on what is being read in the worship? Or is it thinking about what Surah I’m gonna read next? What does khushu mean actually? And why does this specific word have a deep connection with Salah? Let us understand what Khushu is.

Khushu: The essence of Salah

It is one of the actions of the Kalb that is heart. Khushu means to sink, to be low, to be submissive, and to be still. Technically, it refers to the heart that stands with utter humility, lowliness, and full concentration toward our creator Allah. This act of worship is closest to our Lord. It simply means that khushu resides in our hearts and is manifested through limbs and organs.

With khushu, your heart softens, becomes still, and humbles itself to its Lord. Our heart submits and focuses on Allah to such a degree that everything else retreats into insignificance. The Limbs and organs then follow the heart and they too are humbled.

The Messenger of Allah said, “There is a lump of flesh in the body. If it is sound, the whole body will be sound. However, if it is corrupt, the whole body will be corrupt. Truly, it is the heart” (Bukhārī).

A humble heart results in the humbling of the ears, eyes, head, and face.

The Prophet would say in his rukūʿ, “My hearing and sight are humbled to You.” He added, “My mind, bones, and nerves are humbled to You” (Muslim).

Our hearing submits to Allah and you only listen to what He has permitted. Your eyes do not glance at the ḥaram. Every interior and exterior part of our body humbles itself and obeys its Creator.

Khushu extinguishes the ‘fires’ of lust and craving and illuminates the heart with the ‘light’ of Allah’s greatness. We become fully aware that Allah is looking at us, and this fills our hearts with His reverence. The focus of this blog is khushu within Salah. Nevertheless, it is important to note that you should also strive to experience khushu outside of salah. Imam
al-Ghazālī described khushu as the fruit of Iman. It is the result of a firm Taste of the Sweetness of Salah. If we are blessed with this, we will enjoy khushu in and outside of Salah. We will feel it even when alone. It will be present away from others.
Remembering continuously that Allah b sees you leads to a constant state of khushu. Being in awe of His greatness and recognizing your deficiencies contribute significantly.

Khushu is a state where we constantly assess our sins against the greatness of Allah. This state leaves us overwhelmed with humility and a desperate need for Him.
Khushu magnifies and multiplies the rewards of good deeds. Ibn Taymiyyah explains that even though there is a great reward in reciting Sūrah al-Ikhlāṣ. It equates to one-third of the Quran. However, if one reads any other ayah with khushu, the reward would be greater. Khushu is one of the easiest and quickest routes to attaining the pleasure of Allah. One of the pious predecessors said, “I have tried coming closer to Allah. I did this by entering all the doors of worship. Every time I approached a door, it was crowded with people. Thus, I couldn’t enter. I finally approached the door of humility and desperate need for Him.
I found that it was, in fact, the nearest and widest of all doors to Allah. There were no crowds at it. There were no barriers. As soon as I placed my foot inside, He took my hand and admitted me inside.”
“Khushu is the humility of the heart and the subservience of the limbs and organs.”

The importance of establishing Salah with Khushu

“Khushu in salah is only attained by the one who has completely emptied his heart for it. He fully occupies himself with it and does not pay attention to anything else besides it. He prioritizes it over everything else. At that point, it becomes a source of comfort and intense joy.” The use of the word iqāmah (to ‘establish’ the prayer) is significant. The words ‘do’ or ‘execute’ salah have not been used here. This is because it is not sufficient to complete just the outward motions. Yet, when you ‘build’ salah, you
complete both the inner and outer aspects of this noble worship. The outer
aspects involve carrying out its pillars and obligatory acts. They also include prerequisites. The inner aspects refer to attaining the essence of salah, namely, khushu.

These acts should be conducted in tandem with pondering on the meaning of the
utterances and actions during salah. The Prophet stated, “The first thing to be lifted from this ummah will be khushu. You will eventually not find anyone with khushu.” Ḥudhayfah said, “The first thing you will lose of your religion will be khushu. The last thing you will lose will be salah. There may be an individual praying yet there is no goodness in him. Soon, you will enter a large Masjid. You will not see a single person with khushu in it.”
The Prophet said, “Indeed a person may pray for sixty years. Yet, not a single
salah of his will be accepted. Perhaps he perfected the rukūʿ but not the sujūd. Or he perfected the sujūd but not the rukūʿ” (Ibn Abī Shaybah).
Ibn al-Qayyim compared khushu in salah to the soul in the body. When the soul leaves the body, the body dies. Similarly, without khushu, the salah lacks its soul, spirit, and essence. Likewise, praying salah without khushu to gifting a dead servant to a king. He then writes, “Allah will neither accept it. Nor will He reward him for it, even if the obligation (of salah) has been legally fulfilled.”