[BREAKING] Ramadan Talk Day 15: Have you developed more ‘Khushu’ this Ramadan?

Khushu means attentive humility in your prayer. It’s an ‘action’ of the heart by which we become more present, serious and subdued before Almighty Allah. It shows itself in the stillness of our bodies and the lowering of our gazes during the days of fasting and outside prayers.  

The Holy month of Ramadan brings with it immense opportunities to amend our relationship with Allah (SWT) and re-establish broken bonds. This blessed month is all about ibadah with bountiful rewards like we never had in other months. Yes, in other months, we fast,  give alms, recite Qur’an as well as night prayers or Qiyamu-lail, but one of the ibadah that is exclusive to Ramadan is Taraweeh. 

It is a 10 Rakah or more superrogatory prayers performed after Ishai. They are not just to be rushed over, take your time to pray behind imam in the Masjid and if you must pray at home, ensure that you do your Taraweeh with khushu just like you do in every other obligatory prayers. 

By standing focused in a state of Khushu or piety for that long can be challenging, but longer prayers also provide the opportunity to correct and calibrate those Khushu levels every time our minds lose focus.

Taraweeh prayers are not about merely to stand behind the Imam while he finishes the Quran in melodious recitations. Rather, you must follow the imam in his recitation so that you understand what is being recited and to become closer to Allah. To achieve this, you need Khushu, total submission and humility.

By perfecting khushu levels during Taraweeh prayers, we can extend this benefit to other prayers as well. After all, the reward for each prayer is proportional to the quality of our prayers.

The Prophet (s.a w) is reported to have said “Whoever stands praying with the Imam until he is finished, it is recorded for him that he prayed the whole night.” (Tirmidhi Sahih)

He also informed us of the virtues of standing in prayer, particularly in this month, be it Taraweeh or Tahajud, when he said “Whosoever stands in the nights of Ramadan, with faith and in hope of receiving Allah’s reward, his past sins will be forgiven” (Bukhari).

Taraweeh is one of the many blessings that Ramadan brings. It has great benefits and virtues. Offering this prayer for entire month of Ramadan provides spiritual development as well as medical benefits.  Although offering this prayer is not compulsory but the virtues and benefit it holds leave no reason for skipping it.