How Do I Get over the Feelings of Boredom during Prayer?
Answered by Mawlana Ilyas Patel
Question
I know the meaning of what I am saying during prayer yet I feel tired after a few rakat and get less mindful in the prayer.
How do I get over the feelings of boredom and monotony during prayer?
Answer
In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate
It is a good sign of your faith that you have concern about your prayer.
I would like to suggest a few important guidelines:
Try to eliminate the possible distracting factors, like any emotional stress or falling in sin before prayer, and to perform repentance if one has.
Learn the how to perform the entire prayer with its conditions, integrals, obligations, sunnahs and etiquettes once again. Ideally with someone who performs his prayer with complete devotion, like your Imam, any learned scholar or devoted person who will direct you.
Learn the meaning of the supplications, Quranic suras of the prayer. Concentrate on the meaning as you recite each supplication and word of the Quran, it will slowly develop an inner spirituality and will become apparent in you.
Perform your daily prayers in congregation, ideally in the masjid or wherever you can but in congregation. You will feel a sense of belonging and the loneliness will be eliminated.
Keep in mind the numerous virtues of performing the prayer and the worldly and Next-life benefits, like the following Quranic verse, states that prayer stops a person from doing evil.
Indeed, ‘genuine’ prayer should deter one’ from indecency and wickedness.
[Quran, 29:45]
And this hadith shows one will be in the company of angels:
The Messenger of Allah said, “The angels supplicate in favor of one of you so long as he remains in the place where he has performed prayer in a state of wudhu.’ They (the angels) say: ‘O Allah! Forgive him, O Allah! Have mercy on him. [Bukhari]
I advise you to stay in the company of the righteous, remain attached to local reliable scholars, taking guidance from them, always, and attending the daily prayers in congregation as much as you can, along with attending any local study circle in your area.
Watch the following video by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani, on the ‘Nine Keys to Presence in Prayer’ and read the well written article and notes. I pray and hope it will help you to bring about change in your prayer, insha’ Allah.
SeekersNotes: Nine Keys to Presence of Heart in Prayer – Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
I pray and hope this helps you, amin.
[Mawlana] Ilyas Patel
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
Mawlana Ilyas Patel is a traditionally-trained scholar who has studied within UK, India, Pakistan, Syria, Jordan and Turkey.
He started his early education in UK. He went onto complete hifz of Qur’an in India, then enrolled into an Islamic seminary in UK where he studied the secular and Alimiyyah sciences. He then travelled to Karachi, Pakistan.
He has been an Imam in Rep of Ireland for a number of years. He has taught hifz of the Qur’an, Tajwid, Fiqh and many other Islamic sciences to both children and adults onsite and online extensively in UK and Ireland. He was teaching at a local Islamic seminary for 12 years in the UK where he was a librarian and a teacher of Islamic sciences.
He currently resides in UK with his wife. His personal interest is love of books and gardening.
