Which factors cause a person to lose the spirituality gained through worship and prayers?

Question: Which factors cause a person to lose the spirituality gained through worship and prayers?

Answer: There are a lot of activities that we carry out every day. This spiritual state should drive us to carry out these activities in such a manner that we are motivated to carry out the mandatory acts and abstain from the prohibited ones. Therefore, we should be cautious throughout the day to not let any bad traits develop within us.  Not paying attention to our daily affairs, actions and thoughts is the main reason why we lose our spirituality.

Because of this, we should have a regular routine regarding these acts of worship, ensuring that we never neglect them. Such actions include praying on time and in congregation, reading Quran and supplications, and attending religious gathering and majalis where the merits of Ahlulbayt (peace be upon them) are mentioned. These acts should be regularly performed so that the spirituality of a person develops. It is not enough to rely on a mere few days of spirituality.

Another reason why we lose this state is because of our spiritual weakness. When we gain a little bit of spirituality, we are overcome with feelings of pride and self-adoration. Allah warns us that this spirituality is not from us but, rather, it is a blessing from Him. Similarly, it is only due to the blessing of Allah that we perform good acts. Allah sometimes temporarily takes these blessings away from us, so that we become aware of these harmful traits of pride and self-adoration, and fight to remove these; by reminding ourselves that all these blessings are from Allah and that we should always ask Him to keep us in this state of carrying out spiritual acts and inculcating good traits within us. Furthermore, we should continuously do tawassul with the Ahlulbayt (peace be upon them), morning and evening, as they are the source of Allah’s blessings. We may ask them to bless us to carry out spiritual acts and to continue performing them, as well as to help us attain their rewards and benefits and preserve them in our lives.