Du’a: The Reliance of the Believers
لا حول ولا قوة إلا بالله ( There is no power and no strength except with Allah.) This is one of the most repeated statements of Islam. It is not used only to turn away Satan; it is used to express our trust and reliance on Allah. It means that only Allah is in control of everything. Only Allah has all the power to change. None can change anything against the will of Allah. Allah can bring light out of darkness and darkness out of light. People may think that they are high, but Allah can bring them down and people may think that they are down, but Allah can raise them up high. Believers must turn to Allah in every situation.
We know that the Ummah is facing many challenges in different parts of the world. As believers, we must trust in Allah and we should know that we have a way out of distress and difficulties. Muslims of Uyghur are suffering. More than two million are sent to concentration camps. Muslims of Kashmir have been suffering for about seventy years. For the last few months, they are in great difficulty. Two hundred million Muslims of India are receiving threats of alienation and persecution. Muslims of Palestine are under occupation for a long time. There is suffering, pain, and destruction in Yemen, Libya, and many other places. We should do our duties to help them. We should do things in the right way with wisdom and understanding. We should turn to Allah and pray for us and for all those who are in difficulties. Du’a will not be effective unless we do our duties and we cannot do our duties fully and properly without du’a. We should always make du’a.
Du’a is the key. It is the reliance of the believers. It is their source of strength and confidence. It is a great resource available to every believer. We should not ignore it; we should never think little of it. Du’a has power to move the mountains and remove the difficulties by the will of Allah. Allah says in the Qur’an:
أَمَّنْ يُجِيبُ الْمُضْطَرَّ إِذَا دَعَاهُ وَيَكْشِفُ السُّوءَ وَيَجْعَلُكُمْ خُلَفَاءَ الْأَرْضِ ۗ أَإِلَٰهٌ مَعَ اللَّهِ ۚ قَلِيلًا مَا تَذَكَّرُونَ {النمل 62}
Who answers the one in distress when he calls upon Him and removes the harm and who makes you successors in the earth? Is it another god besides Allah? Little notice you take. (Al-Naml 27:62)
Du’a means ‘calling, supplication, invocation, prayer.’ Du’a is our special conversation with Allah. Allah has honored human beings so that they can speak to Him at any time. We do not need an intermediary to speak to Allah. We do not need to wait for an appointment, we can talk to Him directly at any time. Allah says,
وَإِذَا سَأَلَكَ عِبَادِي عَنِّي فَإِنِّي قَرِيبٌ ۖ أُجِيبُ دَعْوَةَ الدَّاعِ إِذَا دَعَانِ ۖ فَلْيَسْتَجِيبُوا لِي وَلْيُؤْمِنُوا بِي لَعَلَّهُمْ يَرْشُدُونَ {البقرة 186}
If My servants ask you about Me, I am near. I respond to those who call Me, so let them respond to Me, and believe in Me, so that they may be guided . (Al-Baqarah 2:186)
Du’a is part of our faith and it is an act of worship and devotion. The Prophet - peace be upon him - also said,
عن النعمان بن بشير رضى الله عنه أن النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم قال "الدعاء هو العبادة" رواه الترمذى
The du’a is worship . (reported by al-Tirmidhi)
Allah loves those who seek His help and pray to Him. Allah’s messengers and prophets used to pray to him. The Qur’an has given us the du’as of many prophets and messengers of Allah. Adam, Nuh, Ibrahim, Daud, Yunus, Zakariya, Ayub, Musa, Isa, and the last Prophet Muhammad – peace be them all - prayed and their beautiful du’as are mentioned in the Qur’an, to teach us how to pray to Allah in any situation.
الدعاء سلاح المؤمن ( Du’a is the weapon of the believer.) is a popular Hadith, but according to many scholars of Hadith, it is a weak (da’if) Hadith. Its meaning, however, is correct. It means that du’a is the believer’s source of strength. We should take full benefit of it in our struggles in life and in our battles against oppression and injustice. Those who are in difficulty should turn to Allah with sincere devotion. Allah is near those who make du’a and He responds to them. وَقَالَ رَبُّكُمُ ادْعُونِي أَسْتَجِبْ لَكُمْ ۚ ( Your Lord said, ‘Call me and I shall answer you.’ Ghafir 40:60). But there are some rules and manners of du’a that should be observed.
- Sincerity : Pray to Allah most sincerely. There should not be any shirk in du’a. Du’a should be only to Allah, not to any angel, prophet, saint, or any person. The Prophet – peace be upon him - advised his young cousin Abdullah ibn ‘Abbas,
... إِذَا سَأَلْتَ فَاسْأَلْ اللَّهَ، وَإِذَا اسْتَعَنْتَ فَاسْتَعِنْ بِاللَّهِ .... (أخرجه الترمذي في سننه)
Whenever you pray for something, pray to Allah; whenever you need help seek help from Allah… (Sunan al-Tirmidhi)
- Full attention and devotion : When you make du’a, you should pay full attention to what you say. During du’a your heart, mind, and soul should all be focused towards Allah. The Prophet – peace be upon him - said,
أدعوا الله وأنتم موقنون بالإجابة واعلموا أن الله لا يستجيب من قلب غافل لاه (رواه الترمذى والحاكم)
Make du’a and be sure that Allah will respond. And know that Allah does not respond to the du’a of a person who has a distracted and inattentive heart. (Al-Tirmidhi and al-Hakim)
It is good, though not required, to raise your hand with palms open towards heaven when making du’a. The Prophet – peace be upon him - said,
إن الله تعالي حيى كريم يستحي إذا رفع الرجل إليه يديه أن يردهما صفر خاليين ( رواه أحمد وأبو داود والترمذى وابن ماجه والحاكم )
Allah is shy and generous. When a person raises his hands begging Him, He feels shy to return them empty. (Reported Ahmad, Abu Daud, al-Tirmidhi and al-Hakim)
- Good opening : Begin your du’a with the praise of Allah and with Salat and Salam on Prophet Muhammad, his family, and followers. It is recommended:
إذا صلى أحدكم فليبدأ بتحميد الله تعالي والثناء عليه ثم ليصل على النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم ثم ليدعو بما شاء ( رواه أبو داود والترمذى وابن حبان)
When you pray, begin with thanks and praise of Allah and then with salat on the Prophet, and then ask whatever you wish to ask. (Abu Daud, al-Tirmidhi, and Ibn Hibban)
- Blessings here and in Hereafter : When you pray, pray for good things of this life and for the life to come. Do not pray only for the good things of this life. Allah says,
فَمِنَ النَّاسِ مَنْ يَقُولُ رَبَّنَا آتِنَا فِي الدُّنْيَا وَمَا لَهُ فِي الْآخِرَةِ مِنْ خَلَاقٍ {200} وَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ يَقُولُ رَبَّنَا آتِنَا فِي الدُّنْيَا حَسَنَةً وَفِي الْآخِرَةِ حَسَنَةً وَقِنَا عَذَابَ النَّارِ {201}أُولَٰئِكَ لَهُمْ نَصِيبٌ مِمَّا كَسَبُوا ۚ وَاللَّهُ سَرِيعُ الْحِسَابِ
{ البقرة 200-202 }
Among the people there are some who pray, ‘Our Lord, give us good in this world,’ and they shall have no share in the Hereafter. There are others who say, ‘Our Lord, give us good in this world and in the Hereafter, and protect us from the torments of the Fire. They will have the share they have worked for. Allah is swift in reckoning. (Al-Baqarah 2:200-202)
- Du’a with good deeds : The du’as done after doing some good deeds and the acts of charity are always very effective. It is good to give some sadaqah before making du’a.
Ask Allah for everything. There is nothing too big for Allah and there is nothing impossible for Him. Always ask him for Halal and good things, never ask Allah for that which is Haram, sinful, corrupt, and oppressive. Among the etiquettes of du’a is that you pray to Allah always in all situations. Do not pray to Him only at the time of difficulties and troubles; pray to Him when you are happy, healthy, and prosperous as well as when you are sad, sick, and poor. Those who remember Him in the situations of prosperity and comfort, He also remembers them when they are in pain and difficulty.
All prayers are beneficial. The Prophet - peace be upon him - told us that some of our prayers come as we ask immediately. Some are kept for us for our future benefit in this world or the hereafter and some help us by averting evils and harms from us. Let us all make special du’as at this time of difficulties and distress for the Ummah. We should pray with utmost humbleness and devotion. We should pray not only for ourselves but for all those who are in difficulty, all those who are distressed due to sickness, poverty, discrimination, hate, or violence. Let us ask Allah to remove the difficulty of all those who are in difficulty and guide humanity to live in peace and harmony. Ameen.
( Khutbah at ISOC – Jumada I 19, 1441/ January 17, 2020)
