The conditions that make one’s salah to be sound are many.
Amongst them are;
♦ Consciousness
It means for one to cast away his heart off worldly affairs and devote his heart completely to Allah, the Most High.
Firstly, one need to have a decisive intention and to devote the heart to Allah alone. For one who has a decisive intention to do something, he would occupy his heart with it.
Therefore, there is no way one can have consciousness in salah except through devotion and mindfulness. And this depends on the strength of Imaan that one possesses regarding Hereafter and the way he considered the worldly affairs.
If one sees that he lacks consciousness in salah, he should know that it is due to the weakness of imaan and his strong attachment to the dunya. Therefore, one should hasten to strength his imaan and shun away from the luxuries of the dunya.
♦ Reflection on the words.
This follows after consciousness. But it is possible for one to have consciousness in his salah but without knowing or grasping the meaning of what he is reciting.
Thus, one should try to pay attention to the meaning of the words and reflect on it.
And this cannot be attained unless by shunning away from those things that distract him in salah. And those things may be apparent or hidden. The apparent things are those things that he hears or sees while praying and the hidden things are those things that occupies his heart while in salah and this is more difficult to cure. This is because it needs a lot of effort. Anyway, one should strive hard to do what is possible.
Furthermore, he should avoid anything that may occupy his heart before starting the salah.
And he should remember the Hereafter and his standing in front of Allah on the day of Resurrection.
lastly, he should know that what he is thinking about of worldly affairs are worthless issues and they will no benefit him when he stand in front of Allah except his good deeds.
♦ Glorification and fear of Allah.
These comes from two facts:
Knowing the Majesty of Allah Ta’ala and looking down upon one’s self, which result in humility and consciousness.
Having hope from Allah is also an important factor which assist one to fear in Allah.
The one who offers salah should hope for the reward from Allah and fear His punishment due to his weakness in obeying Allah.
In addition, the one who is praying should always make his heart present in every act of the salah.
When he hears the call of a muadhin, he should remember the call on the Day of Resurrection, and prepare himself for the day.
When he covers his private parts from people, he should remember his concealed vices which no one knows except Allah and this can only be cleansing through regretfulness, humbleness and fear of Allah.
When he faces to the Qiblah, indeed he has turned his face away from other things and he his now directing his face towards the House of Allah.
However, directing his heart towards Allah is better than that. The way it is not possible for him to turn his face towards the House of Allah except he turns his back to all other directions, likewise, he cannot turn his heart completely to Allah except he turns away from everything besides Allah.
Oh you beloved worshipper, when you make takbir in your salah, your heart should not belie your tongue. For if you think about something apart from Allah, is as if your heart does not Concord with your words.
Thus, beware so that your desires will not be greater and beloved to you compared to the obedient of Allah
When you make istia’zah from shaitaan, know verily that, Al-istia’zah is for you to resort to Allah, Most High alone. In this case, if your heart is not in tune with your tongue, then your statement will be like play and irrational.
Then, try to grasp the meaning of what you are saying in salah. When you say: Alhamdulillahi Rabbil A’lameen, try to ponder over the meaning of these words. Also reflect on Allah’s mercy when you read: ”Arrahmaanir Raheem”.
Think about Allah’s power when you say: “Maaliki Yaumiddin”.
It is reported that zararah Ibn Abi Awfa Radiyallaahu anhu read in his salah the verse that says: “Finally, when the trumpet is sounded ” . Al – Muddathir verse 8. And he fell dead immediately after reciting the verse.
Allahu Akbar! This is due to his imagination of this horrible scene and thus, it has a great impact in his heart which leads to his death.
In addition, when making rukuu’, try to show humility to your lord in it and be more humble in your sujud since you have placed yourself in its proper position and you have set yourself to its original position( I.e the earth from which have been created).
Finally, one should know that performing salah with all these conditions purifies the heart from its diseases and enlighten the heart, which, in turn, could behold the Glory of Allah.
However, whosoever performs salah without observing its requirements and conditions would not grasp its significance.
Such a person may even exceed the limit and deny its existence.
Allaahu A’alam
