Praying Attentively

“I heard Abu ‘Abdillah (a.s.) saying, ‘Allah, the Most Majestic, the Most Holy, does not accept an inattentive prayer. Whenever you may pray and plead before Allah for help, do it with an attentive heart and with certainty in its acceptance.’”

“Amir al-Mu’minin, Ali ibn abu Talib (a.s.) has said, ‘Allah, the Most Majestic, the Most Holy, does not accept the prayer from a thoughtless heart. Ali (a.s.) would say, ‘Whenever any of you may pray for a dead person, he must not do it frivolously but must strive to be serious in his prayer.’”

“Abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.) has said, ‘Whenever you pray and plead before Allah for help, do it whole-heartedly and consider that what you have asked for has arrived at the door.’”

“Abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.) has said, ‘Allah, the Most Majestic, the Most Holy, does not accept a prayer coming superficially from a hardhearted attitude.’”

“When the Messenger of Allah prayed for rain, people were drenched so much that they thought they might be drowned and the Messenger of Allah made hand gestures to scatter the cloud, saying, ‘O Lord make it to rain around us, not on us.’ The Imam said, ‘The clouds scattered and people asked, “O Messenger of Allah, how is it that once you prayed for rain it did not rain, then you prayed for rain and it rained?” The Messenger of Allah said, ‘I prayed but 1 did not have much intention, then I prayed and I did.’”