Question 1142: Can one repeat a prayer to compensate for the lack of presence of heart in the prayer?
Answer
✅Answer: Please pay attention to the following narrations:
1 عَنْ أَبِي جَعْفَرٍ وَ أَبِي عَبْداللَّه أَنَّهُمَا قَالا إِنَّمَا لَكَ مِنْ صَلَاتِكَ مَا أَقْبَلْتَ عَلَيْهِ مِنْهَا فَإِنْ أَوْهَمَهَا كُلَّهَا أَوْ غَفَلَ عَنْ أَدَائِهَا لُفَّتْ فَضُرِبَ بِهَا وَجْهُ صَاحِبِهَا
📚Al-Kafi, Vol. 3, p. 363
Imam Baqir and Imam Sadiq (peace be upon them) said: Verily, from your prayer, you only get that part of it to which you pay attention, and if one is deluded about all of it or neglects its performance, it is folded up and struck back at its owner's face!
✅The presence of heart and attention in prayer is a very important and recommended matter, to the extent that it has been said that only the part of the prayer where there was heartfelt attention is accepted. However, repeating the prayer is not recommended to compensate for the lack of heartfelt attention. The following instructions have been received to compensate for this important matter:
2 From Abu Ja'far (Imam Baqir), he said: Indeed, for the servant, half, one-third, one-fourth, or one-fifth of his prayer is elevated, and nothing is elevated for him except what he has paid attention to with his heart. And indeed, we have been commanded to perform supererogatory prayers to complete with them what they have lacked in the obligatory prayer.
📚Al-Kafi, Vol. 3, p. 363
Imam Baqir (peace be upon him) said: Indeed, from the prayer of the servant, half of it, or one-third of it, or one-fourth of it, or one-fifth of it is raised, and nothing is raised from it except the amount that he attends to with his heart. And indeed, we are commanded to perform supererogatory prayers so that what they have lacked in the obligatory prayer is completed for them with them!
2 From Abu Basir, from Abu 'Abdullah (Imam Sadiq) in a hadith, he said: O Abu Muhammad, indeed, for the servant, one-third of his prayer and half of it and three-fourths of it and less and more is raised, according to his forgetfulness in it, but it is completed for him with the supererogatory prayers! Abu Basir said to him: In that case, I see that supererogatory prayers should not be abandoned under any circumstances! Imam said: Yes! They should not be!
📚Al-Kafi, Vol. 3, p. 268
Abu Basir said: I heard Imam Baqir (peace be upon him) say: Every forgetfulness in prayer diminishes it, unless Allah completes it with supererogatory prayers!
📚Ilal al-Shara'i, p. 329
3 أَبِي بَصِيرٍ قَالَ سَمِعْتُ أَبَا جَعْفَر يَقُولُ كُلُّ سَهْوٍ فِي الصَّلَاةِ يُطْرَحُ مِنْهَا غَيْرَ أَنَّ اللَّهَ يُتِمُّ بِالنَّوَافِل
Imam Baqir (peace be upon him) said: Indeed, the supererogatory prayer has been established so that what has been corrupted and damaged in the obligatory prayer is completed with it!
📚Khisal, p. 517
4 زُرَارَةَ عَنْ أَبِي جَعْفَر قال: إِنَّمَا جُعِلَتِ النَّافِلَةُ لِيَتِمَّ بِهَا مَا يَفْسُدُ مِنَ الْفَرِيضَة
Imam Baqir (peace be upon him) said in a hadith: Indeed, only the part of the servant's prayer that he has paid attention to with his heart is accepted! So a man said: We are ruined! Imam said: Never! Indeed, Allah completes it with supererogatory prayers!
📚Ilal al-Shara'i, p. 360
5 عَنْ أَبِي جَعْفَرٍ في حديث قَالَ إِنَّ الْعَبْدَ لَا يُقْبَلُ مِنْ صَلَاتِهِ إِلَّا مَا أَقْبَلَ عَلَيْهِ مِنْهَا بِقَلْبِهِ فَقَالَ رَجُلٌ هَلَكْنَا فَقَالَ كَلَّا إِنَّ اللَّهَ مُتِمُّ ذَلِكَ بِالنَّوَافِل
Imam Reza (peace be upon him) said: The prostration after the obligatory prayer is a thankfulness to Allah, the Exalted and Glorified, for what He has granted the servant success in performing the obligatory prayer, and the minimum amount of speech that suffices in it is to say three times: Shukran lillah... until he said: And thankfulness causes increase, so if there is a deficiency and shortcoming in the prayer that has not been completed by the supererogatory prayers, it will be completed by this (prostration of) thankfulness!
✅Based on the above narrations and others, the forgetfulness and lack of heartfelt attention that we experience in prayer are completed by performing the daily supererogatory prayers, and if a deficiency still remains, it is completed by the prostration of thankfulness. Therefore, to compensate for the lack of presence of heart, we must pay attention to the daily supererogatory prayers and the prostration of thankfulness, and there is no tradition of repeating the prayer in this case.
6 عن أَبِي الْحَسَنِ الرِّضا قال: السَّجْدَةُ بَعْدَ الْفَرِيضَةِ شُكْراً لِلَّهِ عَزَّوَجَلَّ عَلَى ما وَفَّقَ لَهُ الْعَبْدَ مِنْ أَدَاءِ فَرْضِهِ و أَدْنَى مَا يُجْزِي فِيهَا مِنَ الْقَوْلِ أَنْ يُقَالَ شُكْراً لِلَّهِ شُكْراً لِلَّهِ شُكْراً لِلَّهِ ثَلَاثَ مَرَّاتٍ...و الشُّكْرُ مُوجِبٌ لِلزِّيَادَةِ فَإِنْ كَانَ في الصَّلَاةِ تَقْصِيرٌ لَمْ يَتِمَّ بِالنَّوَافِل تَمَّ بِهَذِهِ السَّجْدَة
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
Prostration of Thankfulness
Special supplications for the prostration of thankfulness:
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