They who are during their prayer humbly intent

Allah begins to describe who the true believers are: “They who are, in particular, humbly intent during their prayer.”

The word ‎ٱلَّذِينَ‎ begins a description; that is, “Who are they? They are those who…”

Notice the emphasis here: ‎هُمۡ‎, that is, “they in particular,” and specifically ‎فِى صَلَاتِهِمۡ‎, “in their prayer.”

The use of the noun ‎خَٰشِعُونَ‎ instead of a verb is, again, of great significance. It points to permanence; for they have reached a level of maturity at which khushu‘ has become an unchanging quality of their prayer.

For many of us, perhaps performing ablution or facing the qiblah has become constant, but khushu‘ is not yet constant. These believers, however, have made khushu‘ just such a lasting state.

What is ‎خُشُوع‎? In Arabic, this concept expresses a state of fear so intense that it causes the muscles to go numb and stay motionless, almost as if paralyzed.

Think of an animal that sees a hunter and freezes in fear, or imagine someone crossing the road who suddenly turns and notices a truck speeding straight toward him; that look of utter terror and helplessness reflected on that person’s face is “khushu‘.”

We can best understand this by imagining the state of the Bani Isra’il at the moment when Allah, as He sent down the Torah, raised the mountain above their heads like a shadow. Picture the feeling of a mountain hanging over your head like a cloud; that intense feeling of awe and submission is “khushu‘.”

The khushu‘ of the heart is to fear and to be overcome with awe before a powerful person. The khushu‘ of the body is to bow one’s head, lower one’s gaze and lower one’s voice in the presence of such a person. In prayer, both the heart and the body are required to be in khushu‘, and this is the very essence of prayer.

It is narrated that when the Prophet (peace be upon him) saw a man playing with his beard during prayer, he said, “If his heart had khushu‘, his body would show it.”

The true believer experiences something like this feeling while standing in the presence of Allah in prayer.

This ayah shows that khushu‘, although it is not confined to prayer alone, is present especially in prayer. It may not be constant outside of prayer, but at least in prayer it has become a lasting quality.

Here the singular word ‎صَلَاة‎ (prayer) is used, which points to the act of prayer itself (the state they are in, wherever and whenever they pray).

Khushu‘ has become such a fundamental matter that throughout Islamic history scholars have written extensive works on cultivating it. Imam al-Ghazali wrote very valuable works on prayer and khushu‘.

If we do not yet see this quality becoming constant in ourselves, we must ask this question: How can I make this a steady reality in my life?

This is the first item on a checklist: either we can put a check mark next to it, or we can admit that we have not yet acquired this first quality and that we must strive to attain it.