Assalamu ‘alaykum brother Rajab,

The importance of khushu’ (humility) in salah has been practically demonstrated to us by our Beloved Holy Prophet Muhammad Sallallahu ‘alayhi wa Sallam. When he was in prayer, a sound could be heard from his chest which was like the sound of a boiling pot. This is the intensity with which he worshiped Allah, the Glorified and the Exalted, Majestic in His Majesty.

The importance of khushu’ is that your intention is right, you know in your heart that you are in the worship of Allah, the Lord of the worlds; the only One Who is worthy of worship, and the only One before Whom you will prostrate in worship. If the khushu’ is there, InshaAllah, the salah will be accepted by Allah.

To improve khushu’, we need hudur, that is presence of mind, body and soul in the salah. We should know in our heart that we are about to embark on a momentous task in our life. We should feel that we are standing before Allah, the Glorified and the Exalted. The wudu we have done should have washed away our minor sins as well as all the wordly thoughts from our mind. Now we are only concentrating on our prayer. We have to look at our place of sajda. We should try to remember the surahs we are reciting in salah. We should know the meaning of what we pray in salah, and if we don’t know it, then we should learn it. We should know the Power and the Might of Allah and of how insignificant we are in front of Him, as well as about His Mercy and Compassion on us, and all His Creation.

The Sunnah prayers which the Beloved Prophet Muhammad never missed are called Sunnah mu’akkadah. These are

1. Two rak’a before fajr
2. Four raka’at before zuhr and two rak’a after zuhr
3. Two rak’a after Maghrib
4. Two rak’a after ‘Isha

As well, there are four raka’at Sunnah Mu’akkadah before salat u’l Jumu’a and four raka’at after salat u’l Jumu’a.

He also never missed Salât at-Tahajjud, which is the night vigil prayer which can be performed up to Salât al-Fajr. There are a maximum of 8 raka’at, prayed two rak’a at a time.

With many salaams and du’a,
Siddiq