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Is it permissible to compel oneself to perform a supererogatory act after an increase in worldly worries and the difficulty of performing it, or is it better to abandon it and confine oneself to the obligatory duties until the heart becomes clear?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

A Muslim should increase their voluntary acts of worship (nawafil) due to the saying of Allah the Almighty in a Hadith Qudsi: "My servant continues to draw near to Me with supererogatory deeds until I love him." There is no harm in performing voluntary prayers even if one's heart is preoccupied with worldly concerns, for devotion (khushu') is not a condition for the validity of prayer. Indeed, worldly concerns are not an excuse for abandoning voluntary prayers; they might even be among the stratagems of Satan.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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