A brother sent this question: “Assalamu alaikum. I am a high school student and had a question about my personal niyyah and how to fix it. So whenever I go to the masjid, the people ask me to lead the Salah and I don’t really want to because in my heart I feel my niyyah is not correct. I am beautifying my voice in Salah so that the people behind me like it and want to listen to it. Is that ok? Also, now I am going late to Salah so I don’t have to lead but I am missing the first rakah or second and it’s not letting my khushoo develop and I can’t focus. I really want to come to the masjid early and pray sunnah, Tahayyatul masjid, listen to adhan, etc. however, I am missing out on this because of coming late. What do you suggest and how can I improve myself”
ANSWER
Wa alaykum assalam, and thank you for sending in your question to our website.
It is heartening to note, brother, that people request you to lead prayers at the mosque. This is a sign of good fortune and the favor of Allah upon you. You are still very young, barely past puberty. Hence, this is even more cause for you to be grateful to Allah! So I heartily congratulate you, and will now try to clarify what you should do.
The entrapments of Shaitan
First of all, a Muslim needs to be wary of Shaitan. There are many ways & means through which he tries to mislead us. The insinuations that Shaitan casts upon a believer with strong faith are different. And the ways he tempts and misleads someone with weak faith are different.
For someone who has a strong faith, but also lacks life experience, Shaitan uses subtle ploys. He knows that He will not be able to make them abandon prayer completely. So he instead focuses on making them lose out on the higher rewards of prayers.
This is what seems to be the case with you. Your concern about the correctness and purity of your intentions is very praiseworthy. Indeed, we all should strive to recite the Quran, or do any good deeds, only for the sake of Allah. Nevertheless, we should train our minds to fight off the fear that we are showing off to impress people.
You can see for yourself the result of Shaitan’s tactics. He has been successful in making you arrive for prayers late at the mosque. Hence, your rewards have been reduced. From being an imam who recited the Quran aloud in prayer, you have started arriving for prayers late. Understandably, your concentration during prayer has been adversely affected.
Instead, you should have persevered and focused on fighting off the fear of showing off whilst leading prayer. And the answer to your first question is yes. It is correct to beautify your voice so that the people who can hear you recite the Quran like it. This is a great service that a reciter is doing for the Glorious words of Allah, and is therefore prescribed.
How to monitor your intentions
You can engage in some exercises in order to train yourself not to doubt your intentions when leading prayer. A method that I would like to suggest is this. Try to practice leading prayers in the privacy of your room, when no one else is around. Recite the Quran aloud confidently during this “practice” prayer session. The best time for doing this is an hour or so before Fajr prayer. The morning hours carry tremendous blessings for a Muslim.
Perform this prayer by reciting the Quran aloud, as if you are leading the prayer at the mosque. Imagine that you are at the mosque, and the congregation is standing behind you. However, since you will actually be alone, your intention will be pure. Because Allah knows that you merely intend to build your confidence, not show off. Try to beautify the words of Allah as you recite them from memory. Know that this action will please Him greatly.
If you do this every day, your confidence whilst reciting the Quran aloud in prayer will increase, insha’Allah.
