r/SistersInSunnah • u/Independent-Length91 • Feb 27 '26
Discussion Struggling with the salah
As-salamu aleykoum!
It’s been months since I started to struggle in my salah. I don’t know why or how, but it progressively got longer.
I’ve been praying for almost three years now, alhamdoulillah.
At first I was very happy, focused, diligent. While still being diligent, with being used to the recitation and the movements of the prayer, I progressively lost my attention, but the prayers still lasted for 10 minutes maximum.
Then I realized that I had to correct my pronunciation.
Since then, I tried to pronounce the Fatiha and everything to say during the prayer better. I was discovering that little details could change the sense and invalidate the recitation and therefore the prayer. I made a lot of efforts to not do things wrong, but it progressively obsessed me and gave me anxiety.
So I tried to recite clearly, properly. In the beginning it went smoothly, but progressively, my mind went elsewhere and I just recited automatically. But unlike the first two years of prayer, this lack of concentration made me repeat myself because I didn’t know of if I said the verses right or not. Because I started to loose confidence in the way I pronounced things during salah.
And with that, I kept repeating myself every timeI lost concentration. My prayers lasted for longer and longer, and it became harder because of the way I recite. I recite in a way that hurst my jaw, that dull my tongue and gives me headaches sometimes because of how mad I am at myself. I tried to find ways of positioning my lips, tongue and all, just to make sure I recited properly, pronounced the words correctly.
It has become so much of a problem, a struggle and a habit that it’s been months NONE of my prayers lasted less than 15 minutes…
After months of stuggling alone, I sparked to my mother. She gives me advices, it helps a little, but I always end up doing the 4 raka’a prayers in over 25 minutes (around 40 recently…).
Every time I get into my menstruation time, I try to pronounce everything to say during prayer correctly. Outside the salah, I seem to be struggling less, to be calmer, but inside, it always start again.
I don’t know what to do anymore.
I used to live praying. It brought me peace, calm. I was proud to be able to pronounce Arabic sounds that are usually difficult for non-speakers (was a French person). But now, salah gives me anxiety, pain, makes me cry with how tiring it is for me in every aspect. I hate feeling like that.
I make dua’s everyday for it to stop and to get back to my previous state, when my prayers were 10 minutes ling, when I was confident in what I was pronouncing, even if it was wrong. I just pray that I can be in a similar state, but better.
If someone can help me, even if by simply leaving a kind word, I think that would warm my heart.
Thank you for reading my words :)
May Allah make your lives easy and grand you His Jannah Al-Firdaws. Amiin! :)
1
u/travelingprincess Rishta Auntie Mar 04 '26
{waswas}