The Islamic prayer, Salat, is a spiritual act that shows an expression of humility, submission and devotion before Allah. Established within its physical form and spiritual guidance lies a deep understanding of human psychology.
One example of this is the practice of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (sa) to keep his eyes open during prayer and to fix one’s gaze upon the place of prostration. (Al-Mustadrak ala al-Sahihayn, Kitab as-saum, Hadith 1761, Dar al-Kutub al-‘Ilmiyyah, 1990, Vol. 1, p. 652) He also strongly advised Muslims not to let their eyes wander upwards during prayer. (Sahih al-Bukhari, Kitab al-adhan, Hadith 650)
Far from being merely a correct method of prayer, this guidance reveals a deep insight into the nature of attention, concentration and the human mind – an insight that modern science has only recently discovered.
The problem of the wandering mind
One of the greatest challenges faced during prayer is the loss of concentration through wandering thoughts. Despite sincere intention, the mind often drifts towards worries, memories of events or external stimuli. These are all part of natural human difficulties and Islam addresses them practically.
Hazrat Mirza Bashir-ud-Din Mahmud Ahmad (ra), Khalifatul Masih II, explains that when one of the senses is completely focused, the other senses become disengaged. (Remembrance of Allah, p. 91) Hazrat Musleh-e-Maud (ra) analysed the human senses to explain why sight is a tool for achieving concentration in prayer. He explains that the senses of hearing and smell are often involuntary. A person cannot easily control what they hear, just as smell is dependent on external conditions and if people or objects with different scents are in one’s vicinity, attention could be diverted. (Ibid.)
Sight, however, is fundamentally different. A person can intentionally direct their gaze, withdraw it from what they do not want to see and fix it upon a single point. This makes vision the most controllable and disciplined sense. Thus, the sense of sight is one of the means through which concentration in prayer can be achieved. (Ibid.)
Clearing distractions
Keeping this in mind, it is necessary to look deeper into the life of the Holy Prophet (sa) to understand how he employed this method. For example, the Holy Prophet (sa) once offered prayer wearing a cloak that had patterns on it. He glanced at its patterns once and when he had finished the prayer, he asked for a plain cloak without patterns since it had proven to be a distraction.
The Holy Prophet (sa) said, “I kept seeing its patterns while I was in prayer, and I feared that it might take place in trial.” (Sahih al-Bukhari, Kitab as-salat, Hadith 373)
Hazrat Khalifatul Masih V (aa) recently explained this in a Friday Sermon as well. Huzoor (aa) stated that even clothing should be simple and free from such adornment that diverts attention by distracting the eyes. Huzoor (aa) said:
“Prayer requires complete concentration. (That is, prayer can only truly be counted as a prayer when a person is wholly absorbed in it and offers it with full concentration.) Therefore, the customs and teachings of Islam have disapproved of the presence of anything in the worshipper’s environment that draws his attention towards itself. From this, it becomes clear how deeply and attentively the Holy Prophet (sa) wished to worship Allah Almighty – to the extent that even the slightest glance at anything that could divert attention from Allah was not tolerated.
“Accordingly, various ahadith mention that there should be no pictures, no clothing with images in front of a person, and no curtains bearing images, because all such things can become a cause of distraction in prayer. For this reason, they have been prohibited. While offering prayer, there should be no curtains or images in front of a person that divert attention by facing them, and such things should not be in the direction of the Qiblah.” (Sahih al-Bukhari [Urdu translation], Vol. 1, p. 479; Friday Sermon 6 February 2026)
Modern science and visual attention
Modern neuroscience strongly supports this practice of the Holy Prophet (sa). Research on attention shows that the brain possesses limited cognitive resources. (“The Restless Mind”, Psychological Bulletin, November 2006, 132(6):946-958) When visual attention is tightly focused, fewer resources remain available for unrelated thoughts. This reduces activity in brain networks associated with mind-wandering and idle thinking. (Christoff, K et al., “Mind wandering and attention networks during focused meditation”)
In cognitive science, this phenomenon is often described as attentional capture or sensory gating – where focused sensory input suppresses competing mental processes. (Desimone, R & Duncan, J, “Neural mechanisms of selective visual attention”) Fixing the gaze at one point stabilises attention, quiets internal noise and enhances mental presence. (Christoff, K et al.) In effect, the eyes act as an anchor for the mind.
Modern findings in environmental psychology show that minimalistic environments support sustained attention and reduce cognitive overload. (Kaplan, R & Kaplan, S, The Experience of Nature: A Psychological Perspective, 1989)
By fixing the eyes, other senses gradually become suppressed. As external distractions reduce, irrelevant thoughts decrease and one’s mind begins to become stable. Concentration is no longer forced or distracted but controlled naturally through sensory discipline.