Section: Waswasah in Salat
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Abu al-'Ala' said that 'Uthman ibn Abi al-As (RA) came to the Prophet (ﷺ) and said: “Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), Satan intervenes between me and my prayer and my reciting of the Qur'an and confounds me'. Thereupon, the Prophet (ﷺ) said: “That is the doing of Satan, known by the name of Khinzab, so when you perceive its effect, seek refuge in Allah from it and spit three times to your left.' I did that and Allah dispelled that from me". [Recorded by Muslim]Abu Hurayrah (RA) said: “The Prophet (ﷺ) said: "When one of you stands to offer prayer, Satan would come to him to confuse him until he would not know how many raka'at he had offered; if anyone of you has such a thing, he should offer two prostrations of sahu (i.e. forgetfulness) while sitting (i.e. before giving salutations)". [Recorded by al-Bukhari and Muslim]You should know that there are two entrances for Satan into your Salat:The first one is anything regarding the senses; like someone offering Salat while hearing a loud voice or sound which distracts his/her mind, or looking at something that pleases you such as ornaments and decorations, etc. This could be dealt with by removing them before you start Salat; it was narrated by 'Aishah (RA) that the Prophet (ﷺ) once offered prayer while he was wearing a khamis (shirt) that had printed marks. He looked at its marks and when he finished prayer, he said: “Take this khamis to Abu Jahm, for it has just now diverted my attention from my prayer, and bring to me the anbijania (plain thick sheet) of Abu Jahm." [Agreed upon by the scholars]The second one concerns the heart; whoever allows himself to be absorbed by the love of worldly life, he would not be able to free himself from thinking of it, neither in Salat nor in any other situation, because whoever loves something dearly, he is naturally pondering about it excessively. You would see him offering Salat; standing, sitting and prostrating while his heart is fully distracted with his love for life, at the mercy of the devil who is taking him from one river to another, and from one idea to another.By Allah, this is a dangerous entry for Satan, and only those who get the success of Allah can free themselves from it. It's only cure is simply knowledge of the despicable value of this life; and one should increasingly say supplications like: “O Allah, place the earthly concerns in our hands and not in our hearts", and remember the fear of Allah when standing before Him (SWT) on the Day of Judgment; for He is (SWT) the one who destroyed the Pharaohs and tyrants who oppressed the world.