Humility in Prayer

What is the Minimum Acceptable Level?

Dr. Iyad Qunaybi

Brothers in faith, we all complain about the lack of humility in our prayers and fear the sin of that. We become despondent and frustrated because we see the level of humility we desire as distant and almost impossible to achieve. Here, it is important to know the minimum acceptable level of humility that will not incur sin upon us, so that we can strive for it, and then advancing to higher levels of perfection will be easier - by the will of God. Our hearts will be relieved, and we will be somewhat content with our performance in prayer.

However, before I talk about this minimum level, I would like to remind you that humility in prayer is a gift that God grants to the servant who adheres to acts of obedience throughout the day and keeps himself away from the forbidden. His Lord then blesses him with a present mind focused on God in prayer, realizing the greatness of the One standing before him. Understanding this helps with humility: it is a reward achieved through obedience, more than it being an obligation for which one exerts effort.

Ibn al-Qayyim, may God have mercy on him, mentioned in his book "Al-Wabil al-Sayyib" that people in prayer are on five levels, which we will mention here with some simplification:

The first: The level of one who diminishes the integrity of the prayer, its timeliness, or its pillars, such as the one who rushes through his prayer.

The second: One who completes the integrity of the prayer and maintains its timeliness and visible pillars, but does not try to resist thoughts during the prayer. Instead, he follows them, calculates, and plans what he will do after the prayer, for example.

The third: One who maintains the pillars of the prayer and strives against himself and the devil to repel the whispers and thoughts. The devil tries to distract his attention with many worldly matters, but our companion does not let go of the reins. Instead, he tries every time to dismiss these thoughts and return to focusing on what he is reciting. He is in a prayer of struggle.

The fourth: One who, when he stands for prayer, completes all its rights and pillars. His entire concern is to complete and fulfill it. His heart may be engrossed in the matter of prayer and servitude to his Lord, glorified and exalted be He, surpassing the continuous struggle against whispers and thoughts.

The fifth: One who has reached the level of excellence in his prayer, as if he sees God, the Most High.

Ibn al-Qayyim said: The first section is punished, the second is held accountable, the third is forgiven, the fourth is rewarded, and the fifth is brought close to his Lord.

The first is punished because he has violated its pillars or conditions (such as ablution) or tranquility between the prostrations. There is no reward for him, as if he did not pray.

The second has neglected the obligation but is held accountable for following thoughts and not striving against them.

The third, fourth, and fifth have no sin upon them; rather, they have varying degrees of reward.

Therefore, brothers, to be safe from sin, we must complete our ablution, then complete the visible pillars of the prayer without rushing and without excessive movements that contradict humility. Then, we must repel the thoughts that arise during the prayer whenever they occur to us. If we achieve this level (the third), we can then strive to reach the fourth and then the fifth.

May God, the Most High, know best.