How do inward attentiveness and physical stillness affect prayer?
2026-09-20
F11 · Selected fatwas
Shaykh Ibn Bāz
الشيخ عبد العزيز بن عبد الله بن باز
Original Q&A · Full displayed answer
The full answer distinguishes deficient inward attentiveness from failure to observe the required physical stillness. Both the invalidity condition and the final valid-but-deficient case are preserved. The Arabic retains the official transcript’s spoken wording; ‘ما اطمئن’ is understood in its negative spoken context.
النص العربي
السؤال الأصلي
إذا صلى المصلي الصلاة بدون خشوع، وجاء بالأركان، والواجبات، والسنن، فهل الصلاة مقبولة؟
الجواب
صحيحة لكن ناقصة، وليس له منها إلا ما عقل منها، أو خشع فيها، لكنها صحيحة إذا كان ما نقرها، إذا كان ما اطمئن، بل نقرها ما تصح تكون باطلة، أما إذا اطمئن فيها، ولكن عنده وساوس، عنده أوهام، عنده شيء من التفكير، صلاته صحيحة وناقصة.
English translation
English rendering prepared for SalafAlSalih.com from the cited complete Arabic answer; not an official translation.
Original question
If a worshipper prays without inward humility and attentiveness, but performs the pillars, obligatory acts and Sunnah acts, is the prayer accepted?
Answer
It is valid but deficient, and he receives from it only what he was conscious of or performed with humility and attentiveness. It is valid, however, if he did not rush through its movements. If he did not observe the required stillness and instead rushed through them, it is not valid: it is void. If he observed that stillness but had intrusive thoughts, imaginings or other thoughts on his mind, his prayer is valid but deficient.
Source and editorial notes
Official Ibn Bāz website, fatwa 2628
حكم الإتيان بالصلاة دون خشوع
Ruling on Prayer without Khushu
Full original question and entire answer collated; replaces the historical selected excerpt. Entire substantive official question and answer compared from their opening through the final answer words. Navigation, category labels and editorial footnote markers excluded. Source references remain attributed to the official site; print scans not separately collated. F11 retains the spoken negative expression ما اطمئن without silently changing the Arabic.