About making du’a
الحمد لله رب العالمين والصلاة والسلام على سيد المرسلين وعلى آله وأصحابه أجمعين
Brothers and sisters! The topic of today’s reflection is about making du’a. There are different ways in which we may remember Allah (SWT), and connect ourselves with His divine presence. One way is through the Noble Book of Allah – al-Qur’an al-Karim. The second is through Salah, for Allah says, أَقِمِ الصَّلَاةَ لِذِكْرِي “establish salah for my remembrance”. Today inshaAllah, we’ll see how we can connect with Allah through du’a or supplication.
Allah says in the Qur’an, لَقَدْ خَلَقْنَا الْإِنسَانَ فِي كَبَدٍ “Verily, We have created man into toil and struggle.” If we are currently living in happiness with nothing to worry about, then it is almost certain that sometimes in the future, sooner than we may realize, we will be faced with problems.
On a daily basis, we have to face challenges, such as earning a living, raising children, and maintaining our sense of connection with Allah (SWT). Sometimes in the chaos, we can become overwhelmed, run down emotionally, frustrated, and even depressed. What can we do if this happens? How do we regain a sense of peace in our lives and return to the state of comfort and happiness from which we feel alienated?
One of the most powerful tools given by Allah (SWT) for reconnecting with Him is du’a or supplication. In the Qur’an, Allah says: ادْعُونِي أَسْتَجِبْ لَكُمْ “Call on Me and I will answer you.” Each of us then has a direct line of communication, and for each of usAllah can be our greatest friend. He never abandons us. He is always there for supportand remains closer to us than we can imagine. Allah says:
وَلَقَدْ خَلَقْنَا الْإِنسَانَ وَنَعْلَمُ مَا تُوَسْوِسُ بِهِ نَفْسُهُ وَنَحْنُ أَقْرَبُ إِلَيْهِ مِنْ حَبْلِ الْوَرِيدِ
“We created man. We know what his soul whispers to him. We are closer to him than his jugular vein.” (Qaf, 50:16)
Allah (SWT) is never stingy with His time, nor does He require appointments. He does not look at how rich or poor we are. Just think of the comfort we receive when, during difficulties, a friend or family member visits us, listens thoughtfully to our difficulties, or offers his time to ease our sorrows. All this can be ours when we connect to Allah through our du’a. The quality of our du’a depends upon the purity of our hearts, for it is with our hearts that we connect to Allah.
We must begin our du’a by first having in our hearts an unshakeable belief in Him, knowing that He hears all of our words and knows all our thoughts and feelings. We must know with confidence that He responds to our du’as. We must also understand that His response can come in a variety of ways. In His infinite knowledge, He knows what is best for us. He might choose to grant us our request in this life, but He might also delay it until the life to come, or substitute something in its place, or remove a calamity that was headed our way.
While making du’a, we should be in a state of complete humility. We can do this by selecting words that remind us of our weaknesses, our utter vulnerability and our need for Him. We must realize that that we are nothing before Allah. He is our sole source of provision. We should emulate Musa (AS) when he prayed, رَبِّ إِنِّي لِمَا أَنْزَلْتَ إِلَيَّ مِنْ خَيْرٍ فَقِيرٌ O my Lord! I am in desperate need of whatever good You send down to me” (al-Qasas, 28:24). We learn from the Qur’an of the many different supplications made in all humility by the prophets and messengers of Allah (SWT).
Another way to increase in humility is to turn to Allah and repent to Him for all our previous sins. We have in Surah al-Tawbah,
أَلَمْ يَعْلَمُوا أَنَّ اللَّهَ هُوَ يَقْبَلُ التَّوْبَةَ عَنْ عِبَادِهِ وَيَأْخُذُ الصَّدَقَاتِ وَأَنَّ اللَّهَ هُوَ التَّوَّابُ الرَّحِيمُ
Do they not know that it is Allah who accepts repentance from His servants and takes charities? He is always ready to accept repentance, most merciful. (At-Tawbah, 9:104)
Next, we should commence our du’a with glorification of Allah’s attributes. It is He who fulfills our needs. In terms of the actual supplication itself, there are times that are more excellent than others for making du’a. According to a hadith, “In the last third of every night, Allah (SWT)) descends to the lowermost heaven and says; “Who is calling Me, so that I may answer him? Who is asking Me so that may I grant him? Who is seeking forgiveness from Me so that I may forgive him?.”‘ Other excellent times include the time between the Adhan and Iqama, on the day of Jumu’ah (Friday), while on a journey, and while prostrating. According to a hadith, the Prophet (SAW) said, “The nearest a slave can be to his Lord is when he is prostrating, so invoke Allah (SWT) much in it. Another meritorious time for making du’a is Laylat al-Qadr during the last ten nights of Ramadan. There are still other times and occasions when du’as are accepted.
By way of caution, it is necessary to mention that we should avoid making negative du’a that ask for unlawful things or injustice upon others. If someone has wronged us, we should ask Allah to guide him or her and to protect us, not to punish him or her. We must also remember that du’a alone is insufficient to change our situation.
We see from the blessed life of our beloved Prophet Muhammad (SAW) that even after he made du’a for the people of Taif to be guided to Islam, he continued to make da’wah. While his day and night was filled with the remembrance of Allah, and with du’as, yet he struggled throughout his life to preach and practice Islam. May Allah (SWT) bless us with the tawfiq to do so, and May He bless each one of us. Allahumma Ameen.
أَقُولُ قَوْلِي هَذَا وَأَسْتَغْفِرُ اللَّهَ لِي وَلَكُمْ وَلِسَائِرِ المُسْلِمينَ وَالمُسْلِمَاتْ فَاسْتَغْفِرُوهْ إِنَّهُ هُوَ الْغَفُورُ الرَّحِيمُ
وصل الله عَلَى خيرِ خَلقه مُحمَّدٍ وعلى آله وأصحابه أجمعين- بِرَحْمَتِكَ يا أرْحَمَ الرَّاحِمِين
