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Fatwa CenterCan not concentrate in prayer
Question
Shaykh, I am ruined! I cannot pray. I don't know how to solve my problem and nothing is working for me. Whenever I pray I become confused; I forget what Salaah I am praying, I forget if I am praying the first Rak'ah or the 4th, I become confused as to if I am reciting Al-Faatihah or Al-Ikhlaas. This is for every Salaah. And Allaah knows these problems only occur in matters to do with religion. Is this because of my sins? What can I do to change this situation?
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad 
is His slave and Messenger.
First of all, you should know, dear brother, that you are Islamicly obliged to perform the prayer, and Allaah did not overburden His slaves with something beyond their scope, and you are able to perform it with the help of Allaah.
Nonetheless, some people find it difficult to perform the prayer for many reasons among which are:
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Not performing the prayer in the mosque with the congregation, in which case the devil whispers to the person in order to spoil his prayer. A prophetic narration reads: “The devil is like a wolf among humans, exactly like a wolf among sheep; it only eats the sheep that stays alone away from the herd." [Ahmad]
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Committing sins: this affects the heart and the person becomes lazy in performing religious obligations.
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Not preparing oneself for the prayer before its time: if a person prepares himself for the prayer when its time starts by performing ablution and the Rawaatib Sunnah prayers (confirmed or non-confirmed supererogatory prayers connected to obligatory prayers) and going to the mosque early, then he enters the obligatory prayers with an attentive heart prepared for performing it. But if he prepares for the prayer late, and goes to the mosque in a hurry, then he hardly left the affairs of this worldly life, and so, he starts the prayer while being confused and having whispers and doubts, in which case he does not know what he recited and how many Rak’ahs he performed.
Therefore, we advise you to observe the obligatory prayer in congregation and think that you are standing before Allaah, and you should endeavour to ponder on the verses which you recite and on the mention of Allaah that are recited at the end of the prayer. In this case, you would find tranquility and peace while performing the prayer, Allaah willing. Besides, you should endeavour to supplicate Allaah to open your heart and repel the whispers of the devil from you.
For more benefit, please refer to Fatwa 82335.
Allaah Knows best.
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