Abstract
BACKGROUND: Mindfulness during prayer, characterized by focused attention and present-moment awareness in worship, is linked to improved psychological and spiritual well-being. In Islamic practice, mindful engagement in prayer (Salah) is a core spiritual concept. To assess this construct in the Iranian context, a culturally and linguistically validated instrument is required. This study aimed to adapt the Mindfulness during Worship Scale (MWS) into Persian and evaluate its psychometric properties among Iranian university students. METHODS: The MWS was translated into Persian following a standard forward-backward translation procedure. A sample of 170 Iranian university students completed the Persian MWS and the Spiritual Well-Being Scale (SWBS). The scale's factor structure was examined using a measurement model assessment within a Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) framework. Reliability was evaluated using Cronbach's alpha and composite reliability (CR), while criterion-related validity was assessed by examining correlations with spiritual well-being. RESULTS: The original three-factor structure (Concentration, Presence, Absorption) was confirmed. Two items exhibited factor loadings below 0.5. The Persian MWS demonstrated satisfactory internal consistency, with composite reliability (CR) values ranging from 0.76 to 0.85 for the subscales. Convergent validity was supported, with Average Variance Extracted (AVE) values above 0.50 for most subscales. A significant positive correlation was found between the total MWS score and spiritual well-being (r = .37, p < .01). CONCLUSION: The Persian MWS is a valid and reliable tool for assessing mindfulness during worship in a Persian-speaking Muslim population. Its strong psychometric properties support its use in research settings to explore the role of mindful prayer in health psychology and spiritual well-being. Future studies may refine the scale further to enhance its applicability.