Importance of Presence of Heart in Salah
Presence of heart means that in every moment in prayers, one’s heart is dedicated to God and he is fully aware in all words and movements what they mean and what he wants. He is aware why he is saying prayers, in whose presence he is standing and who he is praising, glorifying and praying to.
If one’s mind and thoughts wander and every sound, view, and movement distracts his attention during Salah, it means he does not have presence of heart.
One way to enhance the presence of heart in Salah is knowing the meaning and (if one’s language is not Arabic) the translation of the words uttered in prayers.
Another point to remember is choosing a place for performing Salah that is quiet and has little elements and cause distractions.
One can also do the Mustahabat (recommended actions) before and during Salah as they help us have more presence of heart and remember God more.
When you go to meet a prominent person, you wear your best clothes and sit or stand before him or her politely. You avoid doing anything that might be considered impolite. You listen to him or her very carefully and pay close attention to what is said.
God is the Most High and the existence of every being depends on Him. We are servants of God that have received His blessings and perform Salah to thank Him.
Paying close attention to these will help us have more humility in Salah.
Salah is remembrance of God and the more we have presence of heart in Salah, the more contrastive our Salah will be.
We should remember that our Ruku is bowing to the greatness of God, our Sajdah (prostration) is harmony with the entire world of existence, and so is our Tasbih (praising God). We are not alone in glorifying and praising God but it is something that every being in the entire world of existence does.
