Salah (prayer) is one of those important daily islamic rituals that unfortunatly many Muslims take for granted. Simply because they don't think they have enough time during the day to dedicate 2 minutes to praising God, or they just don't believe in it's amazing effects on one's life.
Ramadan, is the perfect time to regenerate that connection with God. After all, that is what Salah is all about ; spending a few minutes in deep conversation with God. Personally, after Salah I always feel refreshed and complete. The only times when I don't get that feeling is when I have rushed my Salah or sadly, let other matters get in the way of my concentration. However, this Ramadan I am ready to make a difference in my prayer practise and I'd like you to join me.
Tips for making the most out of your Salah :
1) Before making your Salah, think of this : Have you ever considered the fact that you are praying to the king of kings ? That when you hear the adhan or check your prayer times, you get this overwhelming feeling that your lord is calling you upon him?
2) Rather than considering salah as one of those long daily rituals you have to carry out because it's part of the 'deen' - why not look at it as meanginful conversation with God. A time during the day where you put all your worldly matters in the hands of God and ask him to bless you and help you. You know He can.
3) When you're praying avoid looking up at the sky or around you, no matter how fidgety you can be. This only makes you distracted and will take the worth out of your Salah. How would you like it if you are having a conversation with someone and they keep turning away ? The best way to stop this from happening, is praying in a quiet room away from all the noise and distractions of life.
4) Avoid being paranoid . By that I mean, don't overthink stuff like 'did you carry out wudhu properly' 'how many sajadah have you got left' again that will only distract you. It's also shaytaan's greatest weapons against you to make you stay away from practising the perfect prayer. So whenever you feel paranoid istaeed be Allah from the shaytan .
5) Don't recite your prayers silently and don't recite them too loud. Try to reach a medium. This will stop your thoughts from getting you confused with your recitation and also increase your concentration levels.
6) Give each letter, each movements and each duaa its moment. Just because 'allahu akbar' takes less time and less effort than the 'tashawud' doesn't mean you take it less seriously.
7) Take your time! That soap opera your watching is not going to vouch for you on judgement day. Set your priorities straight.
DID YOU KNOW ?
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Namaaz means Compulsory Prayer. |
A practise that I'd like to do during this holy month is incorperating Sunnah Salah to my daily compulsory salah. I have always wanted to do this however, life tends to get in the way and I never really got the chance. However, this Ramadan is the perfect time to make a new habit.
If you don't know what sunnah salah is, its basically the extra prayers that Prophet Muhammed PBUH used to do along with his compulsory prayers.
The Sunnah Prayers are :
Fajer : 2 extra Rak'ahs before compulsory fajr salah
Dhuhr : 4 extra Rak'ahs before compulsory dhuhr salah and 2 Rak'ahs after.
Maghrib : 2 Rak'ahs after compulsory maghrib salah
Isha : 2 Rak'ahs after compulsory isha salah and 1,3,5,7 or 9 Rak'ahs of Witr.
Let's make our Salah as perfect and as complete as possible during this Ramadan. Inshallah this will become one of the many GOOD habits that we develop this holy month.
Stay Blessed,