The Balance Between Motivation And Sincerity For Prayers.

What should be my motivation to pray?

In the name of Allah The Most Merciful The Most Gracious:

Now a way to see this is by asking an important question. What is your motivation for loving your mom or any loved one? I’m sure your answer will be because this person is special to me, so I will obviously love them. Do you need any motivation to love this person? Do you get anything out of loving this person? Do you even get paid to love this person or people? No right? The idea is simple to love that person you don’t need motivation. You love them for who they are and want to see them happy, and that’s sufficient enough right?

Like you never wake up every morning with the intention that I need to love them, but more so out of your own will. The same can apply to prayers. When you love someone you don’t need to go out of your own will to be with that person or people. You do that naturally because it’s all out of the goodness of your heart. If we approach prayer this way it naturally becomes easier. The mindset behind it is that you’re praying to Allah SWT because He wants to hear from you. It is not just about fulfilling the numbers or quota system. You praying because The Most Merciful is calling you.

Allah SWT loves His servants and He waits for you to ask whatever you want. He waits to hear what you have to say. He cares for everyone and is especially Merciful.

The hadith below helps us understand this part a bit better.

As Prophet Muhammad PBUH said, “Verily your Lord is Generous and Shy. If His servant raises his hands to Him (in supplication) He becomes shy to return them empty.” (Ahmad, Abu Dawud, Tirmidhi).

Here’s another way to see it. Imagine you meet someone you truly love with all your heart how would a conversation look with this person or people? Would you enjoy every minute of what is being said? The prayer is something similar because it’s a conversation with Allah SWT. At the moment that you are on the prayer mat, remember that you are talking directly to Allah SWT. He is there to listen to you. He has the whole universe in his hands but as soon as you say Allah Akbar you have His full attention. He is there in front of you waiting to hear what you have to say. Even if you and a group of friends just finished the prayer and are waiting for the next one he boasts about that gathering to the angels!

Abdullah ibn Amr reported: We performed the sunset prayer with the Messenger of Allah, peace, and blessings be upon him. Some people left and some people stayed. The Prophet came back in a hurry, out of breath and holding his cloak above his shins. The Prophet said, “Rejoice! Your Lord has opened a gate to the heavens and He boasts to the angels, saying: Look at My servants! They have completed a prescribed prayer and they are waiting for another!” Source: Sunan Ibn Mājah 801

He listens!

Now here’s another question, if you have a concern and you tell it to Allah SWT don’t you think he knows what you are worried about before you even mention it to Him? The thing is that Allah SWT loves you so much to the point where He knows what you are going to say yet He still takes the time to listen to you. He wants to hear you grieve, laugh, and call upon Him. He loves it when His servants call upon Him and ask Him for his bounty. He loves his servants and cares for them with more compassion than one could ever dream of.

Narrated By ‘Umar bin Al-Khattab: Some Sabi (i.e. war prisoners, children, and women only) were brought before the Prophet, and behold, a woman amongst them was milking her breasts to feed and whenever she found a child amongst the captives, she took it over her chest and nursed it (she had lost her child but later she found him) the Prophet said to us, “Do you think that this lady can throw her son in the fire?” We replied, “No, if she has the power not to throw it (in the fire).” The Prophet then said, “Allah is more merciful to His slaves than this lady to her son.” (Sahih Bukhari 5999)

Another way to understand prayers is through the Quran which is more than just texts and scripture that we recite to feel religious. The Quran is the words of Allah SWT that He uttered to Angel Gabriel who then passed the message to our beloved Prophet Muhammed PBUH for who? Us. Allah spoke to us about how to live our lives in every avenue that we could have ever imagined. He told us about the nature of this world and taught us that which we did not know of. He is The Most Merciful and the Especially Merciful. Where the Quran wouldn’t have been possible unless knowledge was granted to us from Him. Hence why He sent us the Quran, which became a source of guidance for mankind, there is a verse that helps us understand this.

“Recite, and your Lord is the most generous, who taught by the pen, taught man that which he knew not.” (Al-Quran 96:3-5)

The words that you read above are what Allah SWT said to you. At this moment He is addressing mankind and jinn, however, when you read any verse privately understand that Allah SWT is speaking directly to you! When you recite all your recitations in the prayers understand that what you recite is only because it’s Allah who taught it to you. If He didn’t send the surah above then would you be reciting it? The idea is all knowledge starts with Allah SWT and through His mercy, it is sent to you. Your words are valued so never take them for granted.

Allah SWT has everything you ever said in a clear register and takes the time to make sure that you are heard. Take some time to understand the Quran and see what your Lord has to say. The Quran is more than just a book of orders. It has history, philosophy, religion, ethics, poetry, and so much more. It teaches us much about what Allah loves, and what he would like for us to do. Take some time to understand the words of Allah SWT and what he expects of his servants. The Quran holds so many gems of wisdom that a person tears up just from the recitation of it.

Also, one more way to understand the Quran is to practice what Allah SWT is preaching. There is a hadith that will help us understand this point.

Qatadah reported: I said to Aisha, “O mother of the believers, tell me about the character of the Messenger of Allah, peace, and blessings be upon him.” Aisha said, “Have you not read the Quran?” I said, “O course.” Aisha said, “Verily, the character of the Prophet of Allah was the Quran.” Source: Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 746

The best way to understand something better is to follow the example it preaches. Be the light in the dark for the sake of your creator and strive to give it everything you got out of love for him. Now if you follow the first two steps know that this will help you tremendously with your faith. If you see yourself praying only in times of need and not when the time is of ease then here is some advice that can help if Allah SWT wills. Remember that when it comes to prayers we are praying to please Allah SWT and to worship him. We are praying because we love to meet with Allah SWT and tell him about our day. We want to pray and complain to him about what we fear and are excited about.

He understands you even when you can’t understand yourself

The prayer is more than just empty-minded requests, it’s a conversation with the Irresistible to tell him what we truly feel. Sometimes when we are on the prayer mat, we cry tears when no words come out. At this moment Allah SWT understands what we feel far better than anyone and knows what we are going through. Make your prayer area a safe zone where you can heal and recollect your thoughts. Understand that you’re with The Most Merciful at that moment and He’s your comfort that you seek. He hears and sees and never is unaware of that which you do. When you pray for these reasons you then start to actively seek out the prayer time to go meet with your Lord and take a break from this world.

You will notice that even if you wind down without praying Isha you won’t be able to sleep because you will feel incomplete. Tell Allah SWT about your day, talk to him about the secrets of your heart, and ask to be close to him. Here’s a way to see this.

Allah, the Exalted, says: “A servant of Mine continues to draw near to Me with supererogatory works until I love him. Thus when I love him, I will be his ears which he hears with, his eyes which he sees with, his hands which he holds with, and his feet which he walks with. If he asks Me, I shall grant him his request, and if he seeks protection from me, I shall protect him.” (Source: Al-Bukhari)

Would you ever turn your back on someone who supported you through your times of hardship when the times of ease show up? No right, then how can we not be close to Allah during times of ease when He was so close to us during times of hardship? Think about it. This ties to the last part where one’s intention is based on the idea that one is seekings Allah’s love and the more one strives for His love the more He will try to be sincere to prove it. The best way to be sincere to Allah SWT is to first try your best to love Him the way He deserves. After that, the answers will unfold to you if He wills them to be. We hope this helped.

Allah SWT knows best from here.