In ṣalāh, you are conversing with your Lord. As you talk to Him, He responds to you. Being mindful of this will increase your khushūʿ in ṣalāh.
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “Indeed, when one of you stands to pray, he stands up and privately converses with his Lord. Therefore, he should be careful in how he converses with Him” (Ḥākim).
Allāhu Akbar! Ṣalāh is your chance to privately converse with your Lord, your Master and your Creator.
This is demonstrated beautifully in the following ḥadīth:
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “Allah, the Most High, said, ‘I have divided the prayer (i.e. the Fātiḥah) between Myself and My slave equally and My slave shall have what he asked for.’ Therefore, when the slave says, ‘All praises and thanks are due to Allah, the Lord of the worlds,’ Allah says, ‘My slave has praised Me.’ When he says, ‘The All-Merciful, the Very Merciful,’ Allah says, ‘My slave has extolled Me.’ When he says, ‘Master of the Day of Judgement,’ Allah says, ‘My slave has glorified Me.’ (In another narration, he says, ‘My slave has entrusted his affairs to Me.’). When he says, ‘You Alone we worship and You Alone we ask for help,’ Allah says, ‘This is between Me and My slave and My slave shall have what he asked for.’ When he says, ‘Guide us to the Straight Path, the Path of those whom You have favoured, not of those who incur [Your] anger, nor of those who have gone astray,’ Allah says, ‘This is for My slave and My slave shall have what he asked for’” (Muslim).
Imagine this! Each time you read an āyah, Allah responds to you. Though you may be a weak, sinful and broken slave, Allah (ʿazza wa jall) listens to you! Not only does He listen, but He responds. Continuous awareness of Allah being present, listening and responding will increase your khushūʿ in ṣalāh.
Ibn al-Qayyim (raḥimahullāh) said, “How extreme is the delight and happiness of the slave when his Lord says ‘My slave’ three times. By Allah, if the hearts were not clouded by the smoke of desires and lusts, they would erupt from joy and delight when their Lord, Creator and God says, ‘My servant has praised Me, My servant has extolled me, My servant has glorified Me.’”
Once, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said to Ubayy b. Kaʿb (raḍiy Allāhu ʿanhu), “Indeed Allah has commanded me to recite the Qur’ān to you.” Ubayy asked him, “Did Allah mention me to you by my name?” The Messenger ﷺ replied, “Allah mentioned you by your name.” Upon hearing this, Ubayy started crying (Bukhārī). On hearing that Allah had mentioned him by name to His Prophet, Ubayy was overwhelmed with joy. Similarly, you should feel deep happiness and privileged to have Allah call you “My slave”.
To be in direct conversation with the King of kings is truly a privilege. Bakr b. ʿAbdillāh al-Muzanī (raḥimahullāh) said, “Who is like you, O son of Ādam? If you wish to enter upon your Master without permission, you can do so.” He was asked, “How so?” He replied, “By perfecting your wuḍū and entering your place of prayer, you have entered upon your Master to speak to Him without any intermediaries.”
“It is disliked for a person to stand up for prayer whilst he is feeling lazy. Rather, he should stand up for it happily, eagerly and enthusiastically, as he is conversing with Allah. Truly, Allah (ʿazza wa jall) is in front of Him, forgives him and responds to him when he asks from Him.”- ʿAbdullāh b. ʿAbbās (radiy Allāhu ʿanhumā)
