Deal with any distracting matters beforehand

To offer salah with humility and sincerity, make sure of the following:

*    Before starting salah, you deal with any matters that will distract you and make you heedless of remembering Allah Almighty.

*    The place you pray in should be quiet.

*    Make sure there are no images, embroidery, etc., on the curtains in front of you or on the salah mat. These will distract and prevent you from attaining humility and concentration.

*    Take measures to protect yourself against severe cold or heat.

*    If you are hungry, or need to relieve yourself, etc., address that first.

A point of intelligence

Sayyidunā Abū al-Dardāˈ رَضِىَ اللّٰهُ عَـنْهُ said: “It is from the intellect of a person that he deals with his important affairs first, so his heart is not occupied at the time of salah.”^[1]

Sayyidunā Masrūq رَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ عَـلَيْه would say to his family, “Tell me of all of your needs before I start salah.”^[2]

27 points on attaining humility in salah

May Allah Almighty grant us the ability to offer salah with humility and focus! Mawlana Ilyas Attar al-Qadiri دَامَـتْ بَـرَكَـاتُـهُـمُ الْـعَـالِـيَـهْ mentions the following points in this regard:

1. If you are hungry or thirsty, deal with this first.
2. Relieve yourself if you need to first.