The document summarizes an event on embracing prayer using cognitive psychology and Islamic principles. It includes an agenda for the event with talks and activities. The basis and challenges of prayer from an Islamic and cognitive perspective are discussed. An exercise on mindful prayer recitation and reflection on the meaning of Al-Fatihah verses is described to help attendees apply the concepts in their daily prayers.

1. Embracing Prayer
Using Cognitive Psychology and Islamic
Principles
Intan Aidura Alias
23 November 2018

2. About the program
• 8:45am -9.00am Registration
• 9:00am - 9.15amTa’aruf
• 9.15am – 10.00am Talk
• 10.00am - 10.30am Cognition Exercise
• 10.30am -11.00am Application of concepts in
Dhuha prayer (Practical)
• 11.00am-11.30am Sharing session
• 11.30am Disperse
• Discussion-based
• Feel free to ask and comment

3. Taaruf
• Name, program/Kulliyyah, problem,
expectation
• Myself – came to IIUM to find religion, found
beauty of Islam

4. Introduction
• What this workshop is about - sharing ideas
on the processes involved to embrace prayer
• Knowledge of cognitive psychology and
Islamic principles – khusyoo’ process relates to
attention, memory, working memory,
perception
• KPI solat – to connect with Allah swt and the
Prophet saw – mindful solat – reset the mind,
emotion; ikhlas
• Cannot guarantee the khusyoo’, benefit, based
on our effort; Allah decides the outcome

5. • Article at Dept’s blog -
https://psychologyiium.wixsite.com/website/s
ingle-post/2018/08/30/Embracing-al-Fatihah-
using-cognitive-and-Islamic-principles
• Research project - recording

6. Basis
• َ‫ِين‬‫ذ‬َّ‫ال‬ِ‫ر‬ْ‫ك‬ِ‫ذ‬ِ‫ب‬ ‫م‬ُ‫ه‬ُ‫ب‬‫و‬ُ‫ل‬ُ‫ق‬ ُّ‫ن‬ِ‫ئ‬َ‫م‬ْ‫ط‬َ‫ت‬ َ‫و‬ ‫وا‬ُ‫ن‬َ‫م‬‫آ‬َ‫م‬ْ‫ط‬َ‫ت‬ ِ َّ‫اَّلل‬ ِ‫ر‬ْ‫ك‬ِ‫ذ‬ِ‫ب‬ َ‫َل‬َ‫أ‬ ۗ ِ َّ‫اَّلل‬ُ‫وب‬ُ‫ل‬ُ‫ق‬ْ‫ال‬ ُّ‫ن‬ِ‫ئ‬
-13:28
• Hadith – non-mindful prayers are not heeded
• Attention – ready, selective, sustain
• Working memory = PC RAM - executive function
works based on goals
• Memory – LTM - retrieve the stored learned
information – meaning of verses; procedural
memory - steps
• Using emotion to check the perception

7. Main challenges in solat
• Automatic recitation
– load theory of attention (Goldstein, 2015), the resources need
to be utilised fully else they will be occupied by other things,
a.k.a distractors.
– Reduce speed of recitation to ensure retrieval of information
• Maintaining focus
– Broadbents' filter model (Reed, 2013), I know that we have the
tendency to attend to physical characteristics of the stimulus
– Syaitan’s whispers - spreading activation model (Reed, 2013)
• Remember – encoding properly, specifically; to add rakaa’
and sujood sahwi

8. Cognition Exercise
• Mindful wudhu’ – prayer at every step; prayer after wudhu’
• Know your solat problem - supplication before prayer –
recitation of an-naas
• Invoking love and respect for Allah swt and Prophet saw –
in verses, takbir, syahadah, selawat
• Find relevant meaning of the verses – meaningful - invoke
feeling/emotion – set as goal – aim to achieve goal, use
emotion as indicator
• E.g. Bismillahirrahminarrahim
– In the name of Allah the Most Compassion, Most Merciful
• Perceived meaning of the takbir, tasbih (ruku’, sujood),
I’tidal
• salam

9. Al-Fatihah
• In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful (1)
Praise be to Allah, Lord of the Worlds, (2) The Beneficent, the Merciful.
(3) Owner of the Day of Judgment, (4) Thee (alone) we worship; Thee
(alone) we ask for help. (5) Show us the straight path, (6) The path of
those whom Thou hast favoured (Prophets, shuhada’, solihin). Not (the
path) of those who earn Thine anger nor of those who go astray (the
Jews, Christians, Syaitan). (7)
• Dengan nama Allah, Yang Maha Pemurah, lagi Maha Mengasihani (1)
Segala puji bagi Allah, Tuhan yang Memelihara dan Mentadbirkan
sekalian alam. (2) Yang Maha Pemurah, lagi Maha Mengasihani.
(3) Yang Menguasai pemerintahan hari Pembalasan (hari akhirat).
(4) Engkaulah sahaja (Ya Allah) Yang Kami sembah dan kepada
Engkaulah sahaja kami memohon pertolongan. (5) Tunjukilah kami
jalan yang lurus. (6) Iaitu jalan orang-orang yang Engkau telah
kurniakan nikmat kepada mereka, Bukan (jalan) orang-orang yang
Engkau telah murkai dan bukan pula (jalan) orang-orang yang sesat.
(7) Terima kasih, Allah.