❖ Looking Around During Salah is Prohibited ❖
Written by: Imran Ayyub Lahori
✦ Hadith on Prohibition of Looking Around During Prayer
It is narrated from Hazrat ʿĀ’ishah (رضي الله عنها) that:
“I asked the Messenger of Allah ﷺ about looking here and there during the prayer, and he said:
هو اختلاس يختلسه الشيطان من صلاة العبد
‘It is a snatching which Shayṭān snatches from a person’s prayer.’”
📚 [Bukhārī: 751, Kitāb al-Adhān: Bāb al-Iltifāt fī al-Ṣalāh; Aḥmad: 6/70; Abū Dāwūd: 910; Nasā’ī: 3/8; Ibn Khuzaymah: 484]
✦ Explanation
❖ Looking around or glancing sideways during Salah is an act that diminishes the quality of one’s prayer.
✔ The Prophet ﷺ described it as a spiritual theft — an attack from Shayṭān who snatches concentration and humility from the praying person.
✔ The worshipper should maintain full focus, khushūʿ (humility), and presence of heart during prayer, avoiding all unnecessary movements or distractions.
✦ Conclusion
✔ Looking here and there during Salah is impermissible, as it detracts from the spirit and reward of the prayer.
✔ One must strive to maintain full concentration and stillness, recognizing the gravity and sanctity of standing before Allah ﷻ.
