Khushu'

"The one who has khushu' for the sake of Allah is a servant , in the breast of whom the flames of desires have abated and then smoke has dissipated replacing in their stead radiance," said the Moon when her light had set up on that evening, after greeted with Basmalah and Salaam.

"Ibn Rajab, rahimahullah said that the basic meaning of khusu' is the softness of the heart, its being gentle, still, submissive, humility, and yearning. Our beloved (ﷺ) said,

الْحَلاَلُ بَيِّنٌ وَالْحَرَامُ بَيِّنٌ، وَبَيْنَهُمَا مُشَبَّهَاتٌ لاَ يَعْلَمُهَا كَثِيرٌ مِنَ النَّاسِ، فَمَنِ اتَّقَى الْمُشَبَّهَاتِ اسْتَبْرَأَ لِدِيِنِهِ وَعِرْضِهِ، وَمَنْ وَقَعَ فِي الشُّبُهَاتِ كَرَاعٍ يَرْعَى حَوْلَ الْحِمَى، يُوشِكُ أَنْ يُوَاقِعَهُ‏.‏ أَلاَ وَإِنَّ لِكُلِّ مَلِكٍ حِمًى، أَلاَ إِنَّ حِمَى اللَّهِ فِي أَرْضِهِ مَحَارِمُهُ، أَلاَ وَإِنَّ فِي الْجَسَدِ مُضْغَةً إِذَا صَلَحَتْ صَلَحَ الْجَسَدُ كُلُّهُ، وَإِذَا فَسَدَتْ فَسَدَ الْجَسَدُ كُلُّهُ‏.‏ أَلاَ وَهِيَ الْقَلْبُ

''Both legal and illegal things are evident but in between them there are doubtful (suspicious) things and most of the people have no knowledge about them. So whoever saves himself from these suspicious things saves his religion and his honor. And whoever indulges in these suspicious things is like a shepherd who grazes (his animals) near the Hima (private pasture) of someone else and at any moment he is liable to get in it. (O people!) Beware! Every king has a Hima and the Hima of Allah on the earth is His illegal (forbidden) things. Beware! There is a piece of flesh in the body if it becomes good (reformed) the whole body becomes good but if it gets spoilt the whole body gets spoilt and that is the heart.' [Sahih Al-Bukhari]

When the heart is humble, so too is the hearing, seeing, head, and face; indeed all the limbs and their actions are humbled, even speech. This is why the Prophet (ﷺ) would say in his bowing (rukuk'), 'My hearing, sight, bones, and marrow are humbled to You.' [Sahih Muslim]. In another narration has, 'and whatever my foot carries.' [HR Imam Ahmad; Sahih by Ibn Khuzaymah]

Ali, radhiyallahu 'anhu, said, 'Khushu' refers to the humility of the heart and that you do not look left and right.'

Mujahid, radhiyallahu 'anhu, said, 'The foundation of khushu' is in the heart and quietude in prayer.'

In another narrtion, Mujahid said, '‘Part of it is that the limbs be subservient and the gaze be lowered. When the Muslim would stand for prayer, the fear of his Lord would prevent him from turning left and right.'

'Ata' al-Khurasani said, 'Khushu' refers to the humility of the heart and the subservience of the limbs.'

Qatadah said,‘The khushu' of the heart refers to fear and lowering the gaze in prayer.'

Allah, Azza wa Jalla, has stated that voices have khushu' in His words,

وَخَشَعَتِ الْاَصْوَاتُ لِلرَّحْمٰنِ فَلَا تَسْمَعُ اِلَّا هَمْسًا

'... and [all] voices will be stilled before the Most Merciful, so you will not hear except a whisper [of footsteps].' [QS. Taha (20):108]

The source of the khushu' that takes place in the heart is the gnosis of Allah’s greatness, magnificence, and perfection. The more gnosis a person has of Allah, the more khushu' he has.

The hearts vary in their khushu in accordance to the gnosis they have of the One they have humbled to, and in accordance to the hearts’ witnessing the Attributes that lead to khushu'. Some hearts are humbled by the strength of their perceiving His closeness to His servants and His seeing their innermost secrets which leads to being shy of Him, Azza wa Jalla, and constantly being aware of Him in every state of motion or stillness. Some hearts are humbled through their perceiving the magnificence of Allah, His greatness, and His grandeur which leads to being in awe of Him and magnifying Him. Some hearts are humbled through perceiving His perfection and beauty which leads to drowning in the love of Him and the desire to meet and see Him. Some hearts are humbled through perceridng the enormity of His seizure, vengeance, and punishment which leads to fearing Him.

He, Subhanahu wa Ta'ala, is the mender of hearts that have broken for His sake. He comes close to hearts that are filled with humility to Him in the same way that He comes close to one who is standing in prayer, privately discoursing with Him. Al-Hakim records on the authority of Abu Hurayrah that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, 'When any one of you stands to pray, he is conversing with his Rabb, so let him pay attention to how he speaks to Him.' [Sahih by Al-Hakim, with Dhahabi and Albani agreeing]

And in the same way that He comes close to one who rubs his face in the dust when prostrating. Muslim records on the authority of Abu Hurayrah that the Prophet (ﷺ) said, 'The closest a servant is to his Rabb is when he is prostrating.'

And in the same way that He draws near to the throngs of people visiting His House standing in abject humility at 'Arafah, drawing close and boasting about them to the angels. Ibn Hibban records on the authority of Jabir that the Prophet (ﷺ) said, 'No other days are better to Allah than the first ten days of Dhul-Hijjah.'

The narrator said, 'A man asked, 'O Allah's Messenger! Are these days better or a similar number of days of fighting in the way of Allah?' The Prophet (ﷺ) said, 'These days are better than a same number of days of fighting for the sake of Allah. No other day is better with Allah than the day of 'Arafah when He descends to the lowest heaven and boasts of the people on earth to the inhabitants of heaven, saying, 'Look at My servants who have come with grown hair, covered with dust, exposed to the sun, to perform Hajj. They have come by every distant road hoping for My mercy though they have not seen My punishment.' So there is no other day than the day of 'Arafah when more people are released from the Fire.”

Muslim records on the authority of 'A'ishah that the Prophet (ﷺ) said, 'There is no day on which Allah releases more servants from the Fire than the Day of 'Arafah. He comes close and then boasts to the angels saying, 'What do they want?'"

And in the same way that He comes close to His servants when they invoke Him, ask of Him, and seek His forgiveness in the early hours of the morning, and He answers their supplications and grants their requests. Al-Bukhari and Muslim record on the authority Abu Hurayrah that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, 'Every night, when the last third of the night remains, our Lord, descends to the lowest heaven and says, 'Is there anyone who invokes Me that I may respond? Is there anyone asking of Me that I may give it to him? Is there anyone who asking My forgiveness that I may forgive him?”

Allah, Subhanahu wa Ta'ala, has legislated different types of worship that would allow khushu' to develop on the bodies, which in turn arises from the khushu of the heart, its meekness and brokenness.

The greatest action of worship which manifest the khushu' of the body to Allah is the salah. Allah has praised those who have khushu' in the prayer with His words,

الَّذِيْنَ هُمْ فِيْ صَلَاتِهِمْ خٰشِعُوْنَ

'They who are during their prayer humbly intent.' [QS. Al-Mu'minun (23):2]

i.e. those who are humble and meek in their prayer, not knowing who is standing on their left or right, and neither looking here or there due to their humility before Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala.

Amongst the actions that are conducive to having khushu', subservience, and brokenness in the prayer is to place one hand on the other when standing. It is reported that Imam Ahmad, rahimahullah, was asked about this action and he replied, ‘It is to be subservient before the Almighty. Ibn Hajr in his Fathul Bari, said, 'The scholars said: the significance of this posture is that it is that taken by the humble petitioner, it is more likely to prevent fidgeting and is more conducive to khushu'.'

The servants’ facing forwards to Allah, Azza wa Jalla, and is not turning away to any other. His heart not turning away from the One he is discoursing with, and being totally devoted to the Rabb. He is not looking left and right, instead restricting his gaze to the place of prostration. This is one of the necessary outcomes of the khushu' in the heart and its not turning away.

Submissiveness is completed in the bowing through the hearts’ submitting to Allah and its being subservient to Him. As such the servant fulfils internal and external submissiveness to Allah.

Khushu' in the prostration (sajdah), comprises the greatest outrward manifestation of the servants subservience to his Rabb. The servant places his highest and most noble limb in the lowest position it can be in; he places it in the mud.This conduces the breaking of the heart, its meekness, and humility to Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala.

Amongst the actions of worship that are conducive to subservience and khushu' to Allah Azza wa Jalla is the du'a. Khattabi, said, 'The meaning of du'a is the servants asking his Rabb for His help and continued support. Its essence is that a person shows his need of Allah and expresses his inability to change any matter himself or having any power and ability.This characterise the mark of servitude and exemplifies it. Du'a also carries with it the meaning of praising Allah and attributing to Him generosity and grace.'

Allah says,

اُدْعُوْا رَبَّكُمْ تَضَرُّعًا وَّخُفْيَةً ۗاِنَّهٗ لَا يُحِبُّ الْمُعْتَدِيْنَۚ

'Call upon your Lord in humility and privately; indeed, He does not like transgressors.' [QS. Al-A'raf (7):55]

One of the deeds that displays subservience in du'a is raising the hands. It is authentically reported that the Prophet (ﷺ) raised his hands when supplicating on many occasions, the most significant of which was the supplication for rain in which he raised them till the whiteness of his armpits was visible." Similarly he (ﷺ) would raise his hands high on the eve of 'Arafah, when at 'Arafah.

Subservience is also displayed through the tongue in its actual request and supplication, and in its persistence therein. Awza'i, rahimahullah, said, ‘It was said: The best du'a is the one in which one is persistent and humbly entreats Him.’

It was narrated that Abu Sa’eed Al-Khudri said, 'Love the poor, for I heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) say in his du'a,

اللَّهُمَّ أَحْيِنِي مِسْكِينًا وَأَمِتْنِي مِسْكِينًا وَاحْشُرْنِي فِي زُمْرَةِ الْمَسَاكِينِ

'O Allah, cause me to live miskin and cause me to die miskin, and gather me among the miskin (on the Day of Resurrection).’ [Tirmidhi on the authority of Anas and he said it was gharib, Ibn Majah on the authority of Abu Sa'id, and Tabarini, on the authority of 'Ubadah ibn al-Samit, all with da'if isnads. It was also recorded on the authority of Abu Sa'id by Al-Hakim who said it was Sahih with Dhahabi agreeing, it was also ruled sahih by Suyuti and Al-Albani]

The word 'miskin' in this hadith, and those alike, refers to one whose heart is needy of Allah, submissive and humble to Him, and his after shows this. This state is frequently found amongst those who are poor in terms of monetary wealth, for wealth often causes the person transgress.

According to Ibn al-Qayyim, there are true Khshu' and hypocritical khushu'. The difference between true khushu' engendered by faith and the hypocritical khushu is that the former takes place in the heart to Allah and is conduced by veneration, magnification, sobriety, dignity, and shyness. The heart breaks for Allah, combining dread, bashfulness, love, and shyness with the perception of Allah ’s blessings and one's own transgressions. This necessarily engenders khushu' in the heart which is then followed by khushu limbs.

Hypocritical khushu', on the other hand, appears on the limbs; it is a mere pretence, the person affecting something that is not there since the heart is void of khushu'. One of the Companions would say, ‘I take refuge with Allah from hypocritical khushu'. When asked what it was, he replied, 'That you see the body humble and submissive while the heart is not.’

The Moon was about to leave, she said, "O my brothers and sisters, one gains khushu' comes from taqwa of Allah and Ihsaan, the sense that He is always watching. It means that one’s heart stands before its Rabb with humility and submission. The site of khushu is in the heart, and its effects are manifested in the physical body. And Allah knows best."

It's time to go, the Moon left while chanting,

Kau seperti nyanyian dalam hatiku

[You're like a song in my heart]

Yang memanggil rinduku padamu

[Who calls my longing for you]

Seperti udara yang kuhela

[Like the air I breathe]

Kau selalu ada

[You're always there]

Citations & References:
- Abu'l Faraj Ibn Rajab, Humility in Prayer, translated from the original Arabic by Abu Rumaysah, Daar Us-Sunnah
*) "Dealova" written by Opick

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