101 Ways to Concentrate in Prayer

 Prayer can teach you how to eliminate pride, live a life of inner courage and take you many steps closer to Allah (swt). It can transport you to a higher plane, and make you become aware of a place deep inside you that is absolutely silent and still. However, all this can only be achieved with the presence of the heart and mind during prayer.

Discover 101 ways to achieve the most out of your prayer. Pick and choose the strategies you want to apply, from learning the philosophy behind the movements in ruku' and sujood, to breathing and meditation techniques. 101 Ways to Concentrate in Prayer reveals the secrets and skills to take the first step in the journey towards the Almighty (swt).

Endorsements

“An accurate account of the most important task in the life of Muslims... I am sure that all will learn a lot from this book.”
Ayatollah Dr Sayyid Fadhil Milani, Lecturer at Islamic College for Advanced Studies and Professor of Islamic Law at Middlesex University

“A significant help for those who take their prayers seriously. The present book addresses how to remain focussed during the prayer and introduces techniques for concentration; these are the gifts which this book offers to its readers.”
Shaykh Mohammad Saeed Bahmanpour, Head of Research, Islamic Centre London

“An eloquent rendition of the simple and practical steps one needs to take prior to engaging in prayers, during prayers and even a check list post prayers enabling one to achieve the aspired concentration in prayers. This book makes the path to concentration in prayers much easier.”
Shaykh Mustafa Jaffer, President, KSIMC of London 2013

“Congratulations on bringing out such a useful book for the benefit of the community.
Recently, I was thinking of doing a series of lectures based on this subject of achieving concentration in prayer for Friday Khutbah and, therefore, I started collecting from various sources all the information I could get about achieving concentration in prayer. It was therefore a delightful surprise to have received this book which I found user friendly, compact and covering comprehensively all that you need to know and do to gain the fruits which become apparent when maintaining concentration in prayer or as Dr. Shomali has put it in his Forward that the essence of the proper functioning of 'salat' lies in having the right attitude, 'iqbal' with our heart and mind in prayer. The bibliography is also very useful.
Dr Ali Hilli has done a great service in undertaking such an important task of authoring such an important book. The whole content, style and language of the book is what makes reading a real joy.
This is one of the Best Forwards that I have come across on this type of subject. Just in four pages, Dr. Shomali has compacted pearls of wisdom so enlightening and so inspiring that you would want to read it again and again and digest it.”
Mu'allim Murtaza Bandali, Leader of Friday Prayers, KSIMC of London

About the Author

Dr Ali Al-Hilli is a scientist by profession with a PhD in computational Biology. He currently works for Public Health England, a UK government body that regulates the spread of infectious diseases in the UK. He is also active in the Islamic community where he has worked extensively with the youth and has set up and been involved in running various youth projects. He always encourages the youth to engage in dialogue and not be afraid in challenging the status quo. He played a vital role in establishing a successful young families initiative that regularly organises Islamic events aimed at couples and their children. Dr Al-Hilli also researchers and lectures in various Islamic topics including worship, theology and social affairs. He has made several media appearances discussing both political and Islamic TV issues. He is also currently studying for a MA in Islamic Studies at the Islamic College, UK.

About Shaykh Dr Muhammad Ali Shomali

Dr Mohammad Ali Shomali is a graduate of the Islamic Seminaries of Qum and has also both a BA and an MA in Western Philosophy from the University of Tehran. He has earned his Doctorate in Philosophy from the University of Manchester. His publications include: Self-Knowledge (1996 & 2006, also translated into Malay, Spanish and Kiswahili), Ethical Relativism: An Analysis of the Foundations of Morality (2001, also translated into Malay), Shi'a Islam: Origins, Faith & Practices (2003 & 2010; also translated into Spanish & Swedish), Principles of Jurisprudence: An Introduction to Methodology of Fiqh (2006). He is a co-editor of Catholics & Shi'a in Dialogue: Studies in Theology & Spirituality (2004), Catholic-Shi'a Engagement: Reason & Faith in Theory and Practice (2006) and A Catholic-Shi'a Dialogue: Ethics in Today's Society (2008).