The Tips for Creating a Wonderful Prayer Space in Your Home

Your prayer time affords you the opportunity to bring yourself a step closer to Allah. You have a moment to engage in some quiet self-reflection that allows you to truly appreciate all that Allah provides to you.

Many Muslims have special rooms or spaces in their homes that they reserve for prayer. At Living Islam, we believe that this prayer space should be a reflection of who you are. It should also offer you the peace and quiet that you need to engage in your prayers.

That’s why we’ve compiled a list of great tips for creating a prayer space in your home.

Tip #1 – It All Starts with Your Prayer Mat

Your prayer mat is the most essential item that you need for your prayers. As long as you have your mat with you, it doesn’t matter where you are. You have what you need to conduct your prayers.

However, we believe that having a special prayer mat just for your prayer space lends the space a unique feeling. You’ll have the mat that you take to work or on your other travels. But when you’re at home, you’ll have a more permanent mat in your prayer space that brings with it a sense of familiarity and comfort. Better yet, this mat won’t have to deal with all of the wear and tear that may come with being taken from place to place.

Allow your prayer mat to take pride of place in your prayer room. Ideally, its pattern and colours will also match the design of the room.

We offer a range of prayer mats for your perusal, so please feel free to check out our catalogue.

Tip #2 – Make the Space as Inviting as Possible

There are all sorts of little touches that you can add to your prayer space to make it as inviting as possible. Each of these touches helps to promote a sense of relaxation and calm, which means you’re in a much better place in regards to contemplating your life and the messages that you wish to communicate to Allah.

Here are a few little things that can make your prayer space remarkable.

• Incense helps to create the right atmosphere and can become a part of your prayer ritual. Consider lighting one as you enter the room and allowing the fragrance to wash over you.
• You may wish to keep some small bottles of perfume in the room as reminders to perfume yourself before you pray. Make sure to keep a healthy stock of them so you don’t find yourself running short.
• A set of small, decorative boxes are the perfect places to store your Tasbeeh and Turba. You may also wish to install a set of coat hangers for your Tasbeeh, if you prefer. The key here is that these little touches can add to the ritual of the prayer. Removing the items from their boxes or hangers helps you to prepare your mind for what’s to come.
• Hang a few pieces of Islamic art on the walls. In our opinion, calligraphy works best here. Have these pieces lining the side walls instead of placing them in front of you. They’re intended to add to the atmosphere of the room, but they should not take away from your main focus, which is praying.
• You may wish to buy a small cushion on which your copy of the Quran can rest. If so, we’d recommend placing this at the front of the room, in direct sight of your prayer mat.

Tip #3 – Get Rid of Distractions

A prayer room is not the place to install a television. Ideally, the room will be completely free of distractions, thus allowing you to focus on the true purpose of your visit.

Of course, this applies to any potential distractions that you could take into the room, such as your smartphone. Perhaps you could place a small bowl outside the room in which to place your phone before you enter. Again, this could become part of the ritual of your prayer. It can also act as a great reminder not to take small distractions into the prayer space.

Tip #4 – It Doesn’t Have to be a Whole Room

For many of us, designating an entire room for a prayer space isn’t practical.

The good news is that you can create a prayer space in almost any corner of the house. You may have to scale back on the little touches, but you can still have this space dedicated to your prayers.

Aim to keep this space tidy, no matter how messy the rest of the room might get. You could also hang a curtain so that you separate the space from the rest of the room.

Tip #5 – Teach Your Children About the Importance of the Space

This is less a design tip and more a tip that will help you to keep the space feeling serene and appropriate for prayer.

As much as we all love our little rug rats, they do have a tendency to run around all over the place. And if you’re not careful, they may not understand just how important your prayer space is.

We recommend creating the space with your children, all the while talking to them about how important it is that they respect the space and its purpose. The direct involvement that the children have with the space will give them a sense of ownership that ensures they respect it fully.

You can also make the space welcoming for your children by installing their own prayer mats.

The Final Word

Your prayer space is one of the most sacred areas of the home, so it’s important that you do everything that you can to create an appropriate space that feels comfortable while remaining respectful at all times.

These tips will help you to do just that. And if you spend some time exploring the Living Islam selection, you’re sure to find several items that will suit your new space.