My dear respected brothers and sisters! The topic of my khutba today is: “Concept of Du’a.” Generally, people seem to have forgotten the power of du’a or supplication. Overwhelmed by the advances made in science and technology, people begin to believe that they have become masters of their own destinies, and start to feel independent of their Creator–Allah (SWT).
Once the Prophet Muhammad (SAW) passed by a community that was going through a distressful condition. He advised, “Why don’t they make du’a to Allah for assistance?” With all the suffering and disasters Muslims are facing in various parts of the world, this question can be directed to all of us today.
It is not that we have forgotten du’a completely, but our attitude, and practices regarding du’a have become somewhat distorted. The problem is that du’a for many people has become a ritual and a final option after all options and means have been exhausted. In the proper scheme of things, du’a should be the first and last course of the believer, with all his plans and actions coming in between. A verse in Surat al-Ghafir tells us:
وَقَالَ رَبُّكُمُ ادْعُونِي أَسْتَجِبْ لَكُمْ
“And your Lord said: Call on me. I will respond to you”(al-Ghafir, 40:60)
Du’a is an act of worship. The Prophet (SAW) said,
الدُّعَاءُ هُوَ الْعِبَادَةُ
“Indeed du’a is worship.” In another hadith he said,
الدُّعَاءُ مُخُّ الْعِبَادَةِ
“Du’a is the essence of worship.”
While there are certain opportune times, places and circumstances when dua’s are accepted, there are hardly any restrictions or specifications on the act of du’a. It can be made at any time, in any place, in any language, and in any state; even in the state of janabah or ceremonial impurity.
Du’a is conversation with Allah (SWT). This act itself is of great significance. It is the most uplifting, liberating, and transforming conversation a person can ever have. We turn to Allah because we know that He alone can lift our sufferings and solve our problems. We feel relieved after describing our difficulties to our Creator. We sense His Mercy all around us after talking to the Most Merciful.
As human beings, our life in this world is characterized by fluctuating conditions making us happy and sad. Our conditions of health and sickness, our affluence and poverty, our joys and sorrows, our apparent successes and failures, our gains and losses; all of them are just a test. Life by its very nature is a test.
وَنَبْلُوكُمْ بِالشَّرِّ وَالْخَيْرِ فِتْنَةً وَإِلَيْنَا تُرْجَعُونَ
We test you all through the bad and the good, and to us you will all return” (al-Anbiya’, 21:35).
In this worldly life, people are constantly put to all types of test. As believers we ought to believe that every condition is a manifestation of the Will of Allah. What has passed us was not meant to befall us and what has befallen us was not meant to pass us. Our faith and belief are tested when we undergo difficulties. These difficulties may be physical, emotional, financial, psychological or otherwise. This is borne out by the following verse:
وَلَنَبْلُوَنَّكُمْ بِشَيْءٍ مِنَ الْخَوْفِ وَالْجُوعِ وَنَقْصٍ مِنَ الْأَمْوَالِ وَالْأَنْفُسِ وَالثَّمَرَاتِ وَبَشِّرِ الصَّابِرِينَ
“We shall certainly test you with fear and hunger, and loss of property, lives, and crops. But, give good news to those who are patient” (al-Baqarah, 2:155).
الَّذِي خَلَقَ الْمَوْتَ وَالْحَيَاةَ لِيَبْلُوَكُمْ أَيُّكُمْ أَحْسَنُ عَمَلًا
“It is He who created death and life to test which of you is best in action.” (al-Mulk, 67:2)
Pleasant and favorable conditions demand us to be grateful and humble. Adverse conditions require us to be patient and to seek Allah’s help. Our ultimate success of failure in the hereafter will depend on how we acted in the different circumstances that Allah chose for us.
Du’a can change our life, our outlook, and even our fate. It is the most potent weapon of a believer. The Qur’an and hadith literature tell us about the extraordinary importance of praying to Allah for all our needs.
وَإِذَا سَأَلَكَ عِبَادِي عَنِّي فَإِنِّي قَرِيبٌ أُجِيبُ دَعْوَةَ الدَّاعِ إِذَا دَعَانِ فَلْيَسْتَجِيبُوا لِي وَلْيُؤْمِنُوا بِي لَعَلَّهُمْ يَرْشُدُونَ
“When My servants ask you about Me, say that I am near. I respond to the call of one who calls, whenever he calls to Me: let them, then, respond to Me, and believe in Me, so that they may be rightly guided. (al-Baqarah, 2:186)
We learn from a hadith that the Prophet (SAW) said, “Anyone of you for whom the door to du’a has been opened, the door to mercy has been opened for him. And the thing that Allah likes most to be asked for is ‘afiyah” (i.e., health, security, protection, well-being…etc). Another hadith tells us that Allah is angry with those who do not make supplications to Him. There is also a hadith that says, “Du’a is beneficial regarding calamities that have fallen and calamities that have not fallen. So servants of Allah, devote yourselves to du’a.” This means that du’a can prevent a disaster that was going to happen as well as lift the one that has already happened. Also, the Prophet SAW said: “Ask Allah for everything, even the lace of your shoes. So, my dear brothers and sisters! Make du’a for everything you want, no matter how big or small.
Man is prone to haste and ignorance, and at times he may think something is good for him, but if the thing is given, it may prove disastrous and evil for him in the life of this world, or the life of the hereafter. Allah is the All Knowing, All Wise, and He knows perfectly well the condition of each and every one of His slaves. Allah knows and we do not know.
The Prophet (SAW) said, “Nothing is dearer to Allah than one’s supplication to Him.” He also said, “Your Lord, the Blessed and the Exalted One, is modest and generous, and He is shy to turn away His servant empty-handed when he raises his hands to Him in supplication.”
Our attitude to du’a should be in line with what is taught to us in the Qur’an and various Prophetic traditions.
ادْعُوا رَبَّكُمْ تَضَرُّعًا وَخُفْيَةً إِنَّهُ لَا يُحِبُّ الْمُعْتَدِينَ
“Call on your Lord humbly and secretly. Surely He does not love those who exceed the limits. (al-A’raf, 7:55)
We should make du’a with great hope and conviction. A hadith tells us: “Pray to Allah with the conviction that you will be answered and know that Allah does not answer a supplication that comes from a careless and inattentive heart.”
Another hadith tells us: “Any Muslim who makes a du’a, provided the du’a contains nothing which is sinful or which involves breaking family ties, Allah will give one of three things: He will quickly grant him what he asked for, or save the reward for him for the hereafter, or turn away from him a similar hardship.” This means that the hardship would have hit him in the absence of that du’a.
So we must make du’a to Allah, then be patient, have faith in his unquestionable decision, and trust His absolute wisdom. Never have this impression that Allah Almighty has opened the door of making du’a but has closed the door of answering it. Sometimes, Allah delays answering the du’a to give a better reward and a better blessing than that asked for. May Allah help us remember Him, thank Him, and worship Him in the best of manners; ameen.
أَقُولُ قَوْلِي هَذَا وَأَسْتَغْفِرُ اللَّهَ لِي وَلَكُمْ وَلِسَائِرِ المُسْلِمينَ وَالمُسْلِمَاتْ فَاسْتَغْفِرُوهْ إِنَّهُ هُوَ الْغَفُورُ الرَّحِيمُ
الحمد لله رب العالمين والصلاة والسلام على سيد المرسلين وعلى آله وأصحابه أجمعين
Brothers and sisters! Please note that response to a du’a is unlikely for the one who eats drinks and wears haram things, for we learn through a hadith that the Prophet (SAW) mentioned a man who, undertakes a lengthy journey and is disheveled and covered with dust, and he spreads out his hands to the sky saying, “O Lord! O Lord!” while his food is haram, his drink is haram, his clothing is haram, and he has been nourished with haram, so how can his supplication be answered?”
Many times, there is some sin that we commit which acts as a road block in having our du’as accepted. So we need to examine ourselves and see if there are any sins that we’re persistently committing, and resolve to abandon them lest our du’as are not accepted. Allah is ready to respond to our du’as. He is waiting for us to ask Him so that He can fulfill our du’as. But, we should ask ourselves, “Are we worthy of His response while we continue to lead disobedient and sinful lives?
Also, for our du’as to be accepted, we have to engage ourselves in enjoining good and forbidding evil. The Prophet (SAW) said, “I swear by Him in whose Hands is my soul; enjoin good and forbid evil, or else Allah will certainly soon send His punishment to you. Then you will make supplication and it will not be accepted.”
Another hadith tells us: “Whoever likes Allah to answer his du’as in hard times and periods of worry, he should abundantly make du’as in good times.” We need du’as in all circumstances and at all times. But in troubling times, we need them even more.
While we should make du’as for ourselves and others, we should also request others to pray for us. Umar ibn Khattab (RA) narrates: “I asked the Prophet (SAW) for permission to perform ‘Umrah and he gave me permission saying, ‘Dear brother, include us in your du’a and do not forget us.’ This expression (‘dear brother’) that he said, I would not be willing to exchange it for the world.”
Brothers and sisters! Do we seek Allah’s help when we need His help or are we too arrogant to ask? Do we show gratitude for His blessings or are we too proud of our own achievements? We should pray to Allah because He alone can give. Allah gave us life and everything that we possess.
وَمَا بِكُم مِّن نِّعْمَةٍ فَمِنَ اللَّهِ
“Whatever blessing you have is from Allah.” (al-Nahl, 16:53)
We cannot even count His favors and blessings upon us for the Qur’an tells us:
وَإِن تَعُدُّوا نِعْمَةَ اللَّهِ لَا تُحْصُوهَا إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَغَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ
“If you tried to count Allah’s blessings, you would never be able to count them. Surely, Allah is ever forgiving and most merciful.” (an-Nahl, 16:18)
Allah is not answerable to any authority and everyone is answerable to Him. He has power over everything and none can overpower Him. His knowledge is infinite while ours is insignificant compared to His. He is the Lord. We are His slaves.
يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ أَنْتُمُ الْفُقَرَاءُ إِلَى اللَّهِ وَاللَّهُ هُوَ الْغَنِيُّ الْحَمِيدُ
“O mankind! It is you who stand in need of Allah. Allah is self-sufficient, and praiseworthy.” (Fatir, 35:15)
I will conclude with a hadith qudsi in order to get a glimpse of the vast treasures of the One Whom we should ask, for the Prophet (SAW) said that Allah (SWT) said: “O my servants, were the first of you and the last of you, the human of you and the jin of you, to rise up in one place and make a request of me, and were I to give everyone what he requested, that would not decrease what I have any more than a needle would decrease the ocean if put into it.”
