🕌 Increasing Salah
Strengthening Your Connection with Allah
Salah is more than a duty that we complete five times a day. It is our daily opportunity to stand before Allah, remember Him, ask for His help and renew our relationship with our Creator.
Rajab can be a valuable time to look honestly at our salah and ask ourselves: Am I giving my prayers the attention they deserve?
There is no special Rajab prayer that is required. Rather, use this sacred month as a reminder to strengthen the prayers Allah has already prescribed for us.
🌙 Salah Is an Appointment with Allah
The Qur'an reminds us that salah has appointed times. Allah says:
“Indeed, performing prayer is a duty on the believers at the appointed times.”
Surah An-Nisa 4:103
Every salah is an appointment that should matter to us. When we stop what we are doing to pray, we are reminding ourselves that Allah comes before the distractions of this world.
💚 The Importance of Praying on Time
The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ was asked which deeds were best. He mentioned prayer at its proper time, followed by kindness to parents. This is recorded in Sahih Muslim 85.
This teaches us something beautiful: improving our relationship with Allah does not always begin with doing something extraordinary. Sometimes it begins with something we already know we should do — praying on time and giving the prayer its proper place in our day.
Protect your salah, and your salah will become a source of strength.
🌿 Start by Improving One Prayer
If your five daily prayers are already strong, continue strengthening them.
But if you are struggling with salah, do not become overwhelmed by thinking you must change everything overnight.
Start by identifying where you struggle most.
- Do you regularly delay Fajr?
- Do you become distracted during Dhuhr?
- Does Asr sometimes get forgotten because of work?
- Is Maghrib rushed?
- Do you become too tired for Isha?
Choose one area and work on improving it. Then build from there.
🕊️ Preparing for Salah
One way to improve salah is to prepare for it before the prayer actually begins.
💧 Make Wudu
Take your time and remember that you are preparing yourself to stand before Allah.
📵 Remove Distractions
Put your phone aside and give the prayer your full attention.
🧠 Remember Allah
Pause for a moment before beginning and remind yourself Who you are about to stand before.
📖 Understand What You Are Saying
One of the best ways to improve concentration in salah is to learn the meaning of what you recite.
When you say Alhamdulillahi Rabbil-'Alamin, remember that you are praising Allah, the Lord of all worlds.
When you say Ar-Rahmanir-Rahim, remember His mercy.
When you say Iyyaka na'budu wa iyyaka nasta'in, remember that you are declaring that you worship Allah alone and seek His help.
The more you understand the words of salah, the more meaningful the prayer can become.
إِيَّاكَ نَعْبُدُ وَإِيَّاكَ نَسْتَعِينُ
“You alone we worship and You alone we ask for help.”
Surah Al-Fatihah 1:5
🌱 Improve Your Khushu'
Khushu' refers to humility, attentiveness and reverence in worship.
Everyone experiences moments of distraction during salah. The goal is not to become discouraged, but to keep bringing the heart back to Allah.
When your thoughts wander, gently return your attention to the words you are reciting.
Do not rush the prayer. Give each movement its proper attention. Remind yourself that these few minutes belong to Allah.
⏰ Build Your Day Around Salah
Instead of trying to fit salah into your day after everything else has been completed, try building your day around the five prayers.
🌅 Fajr: Begin your day with Allah.
☀️ Dhuhr: Pause from your worldly responsibilities and reconnect with Allah.
🌤️ Asr: Renew your focus before the day becomes too busy.
🌇 Maghrib: Thank Allah as the day comes to an end.
🌙 Isha: End your day by returning to Allah before sleep.
✨ Small Improvements Matter
Do not think that improving your salah requires making huge changes all at once.
The Prophet ﷺ taught that the deeds most beloved to Allah are those that are done consistently, even if they are small. This principle can help us when strengthening our worship.
A small improvement that you maintain is better than a burst of enthusiasm that disappears after a few days.
- Pray a little earlier.
- Learn the meaning of one more part of salah.
- Reduce distractions.
- Improve your wudu.
- Spend a little longer in sujood when appropriate.
- Make sincere du'a after your prayer.
🤲 Let Your Salah Change You
Salah should not remain something that happens only on the prayer mat. Its effect should enter our everyday lives.
If we stand before Allah five times a day, we should gradually become more conscious of Him when we leave the prayer.
Our speech should improve.
Our behaviour should improve.
Our patience should improve.
Our treatment of our families should improve.
Our honesty should improve.
Salah should help us remember who we are and why we are here.
🌙 Strengthening Salah During Rajab
Rajab is a good time to make a personal commitment to strengthen your salah before Ramadan arrives.
Do not look for a special prayer that is unique to Rajab. Instead, strengthen the prayers that Allah has already commanded.
If your salah is already consistent, work on your concentration.
If you often delay your prayers, work on praying them on time.
If you struggle with Fajr, prepare for it the night before.
If you have become distant from salah, make tawbah and begin again.
🕌 Make Salah Your Anchor
When the world becomes busy, salah gives you a place to pause.
When your heart becomes troubled, salah gives you a place to turn.
Return to Allah, five times a day.
📋 A Simple Salah Improvement Challenge
☐ Pray each salah within its appointed time.
☐ Put your phone away before beginning.
☐ Learn the meaning of something you recite.
☐ Take your time with wudu.
☐ Slow down and avoid rushing through salah.
☐ Make sincere du'a to Allah.
☐ Ask Allah to increase your khushu'.
☐ Continue these improvements beyond Rajab and into Sha'ban and Ramadan.
💚 Final Reflection
Imagine entering Ramadan with your five daily prayers already strong.
Imagine that when the first night of Ramadan arrives, your heart is already accustomed to standing before Allah.
That preparation begins now.
You do not need to wait for Ramadan to become closer to Allah.
Begin with the next prayer.
When the time comes, leave what you are doing, make wudu, face the qiblah and stand before your Lord.
“Indeed, prayer restrains from shameful and unjust deeds.”
Surah Al-Ankabut 29:45
Qur'an References: Surah Al-Fatihah 1:5; Surah An-Nisa 4:103; Surah Al-Ankabut 29:45.
Hadith References: Sahih Muslim 85 — prayer at its proper time; Sahih Muslim 783 — deeds done consistently, even if small.
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