Avoiding Distractions in Salaah
Have you ever felt you are not giving enough concentration while offering Salaah? Yes, at times we all tend to be in that situation and sometimes are not aware of the distractions that affect our Salaah. It is important to avoid distractions in Salaah. Allah (SWT) says in the Quran:

قَدْ أَفْلَحَ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ
الَّذِينَ هُمْ فِي صَلَاتِهِمْ خَاشِعُونَ
Certainly will the believers have succeeded: They who are, during their prayer, focused. (Surah Muminoon:1-2)

From this verse we understand the importance of remaining focused and avoiding distractions in Salaah. But what are these distractions that could possibly ruin our Salaah, and how do we tackle them?

1. Not Clearing your Mind Enough
As we move into Lockdown level 2, more pieces of information will bombard our brains. Thoughts of picking up and dropping the children at school and Madressa and thoughts of other routine activities will start to play in our heads. We need to give the brain time to organize all this info, label and put them into specific drawers. In short, we need to give our brains time to think.
Shayataan tries his best to bring up these thoughts when we start our Salaah. How many times it happens that on the way to Masjid or while preparing for Salaah, we don’t think of anything but as soon as we start our Salaah we start thinking of what we need to do tomorrow or later on in the day etc.

Of course, Shaytaan facilitates this during Salaah and so our mind is completely elsewhere while we’re standing in front of Allah (SWT). In order to avoid this scenario, plan out some time for thinking during the day. Just take a break from everything and sit back; writing a diary maybe if that works for you. The aim is to get rid of those thoughts so that they don’t muffle up in your mind during Salaah.

2- Sense of Urgency
During our Salaah, Shayaan also tends to remind us of things we forgot to do. For instance, you lost the key to your cupboard and search the whole house restlessly. No matter how much you stress thinking, you just can’t seem to remember. But just as you recite Takbir (Allahu akbar), you suddenly remember that it’s in the kitchen. What are you tempted to do? Of course you will quicken your Salaah and rush to the kitchen before you forget the location.

First of all, you need to realize that it is Shaytaan’s wicked trick to spoil your Salaah. Secondly, remind yourself that knowledge comes from Allah (SWT), and if He wills, you will remember whatever it is no matter how long your Salaah might be.