DU'A
—
Definition:
Supplication, Invocation,
Prayer
Du‘a is
the most powerful weapon of a believer. It can change fate,
while no action of ours ever do. It is the essence of ‘Ibadah or
worship. With it we can never fail; without it we can never
succeed. With all the suffering and disasters Muslims are facing
in various parts of the world, the question of Du‘a can be
directed to all of us today. It is not that we have forgotten
Du‘a completely; we refer to it regularly. But, our ideas and
practice regarding Du‘a have become distorted. Often it is
reduced to the level of a ritual. It is belittled through
actions and sometimes even with words. Almighty Allah says:
وَقَالَ رَبُّكُمُ
ادْعُونِي أَسْتَجِبْ لَكُمْ إِنَّ الَّذِينَ يَسْتَكْبِرُونَ
عَنْ عِبَادَتِي سَيَدْخُلُونَ جَهَنَّمَ دَاخِرِينَ
“And
your Lord proclaimed, “Pray to Me, I will accept; indeed
those who stay conceited towards worshipping Me, will enter
hell in disgrace.” [Surah
al-Ghafir, Verse 60]
The Almighty Allah
states:
فَلَوْلا إِذْ
جَاءَهُمْ بَأْسُنَا تَضَرَّعُواْ وَلَكِن قَسَتْ قُلُوبُهُمْ
وَزَيَّنَ لَهُمُ الشَّيْطَانُ مَا كَانُواْ يَعْمَلُونَ
“So
why did they not humbly plead when Our punishment came to
them? But their hearts were hardened and the devil made all
their deeds appear good to them!”
[Surah al-An'am, Verse 43]
..:: THE EXCELLENCE
OF DU’A ::..
There are numerous
Ahadith relating to the excellence of Du’a.
HADITH NO. 1
Sayyiduna Rasoolullah
SallAllaho Alaihi wa Sallam states that Almighty Allah says:
أنا عندَ ظنِّ عبدي
بي
I am
as My servant thinks of Me.
[Recorded in Bukhari (Hadith 7239), Muslim, Tirmidi, Nisa’i
and Ibn Maja on the authority of Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah]
This means that as a
servant imagines or has an opinion concerning Allah, the
Merciful Lord accordingly reacts with him. Knowledge and Qudrat
is with everything but there is a special proximity of mercy
with those who make Du’a to Him. What bigger mercy can a servant
ask for than being blessed with the Divine Proximity of the
Sublime Lord? Thousands of acceptances and millions of desires
and intentions may be sacrificed on such Divine Proximity!
HADITH NO. 2
لَيْسَ شَيءٌ أكْرَمَ
عَلَى اللهِ مِنَ الدُّعَاءِ
There is nothing nobler to Allah than Du‘a.
[Recorded in Tirmidi, Ibn Maja, Ibn Habban and Hakim
narrated by Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah. Also cited in Tahzib al-Kamil,
Vol. 4, Page 309]
HADITH NO. 3
The Prophet of Allah
SallAllaho Alaihi wa Sallam narrates from his Lord who says:
يَا ابْنَ آدَمَ إِنَّكَ مَا
دَعَوْتَنِي وَرَجَوْتَنِي غَفَرْتُ لَكَ عَلَى مَا كَانَ فِيكَ
وَلَا أُبَالِي
Oh the children of Adam! Until such time you invoke Me and
have trust and hope in Me, I will continue forgiving your
sins no matter what they are, and I do not care of anything
(i.e. He is Independent.) [Tirmidi
on the narration of Sayyiduna Anas ibn Malik, Hadith 3463]
HADITH NO. 4
The Beloved Habib
SallAllaho Alaihi wa Sallam states:
لا تعجزوا في الدعاء ، فإنه لن
يهلك مع الدعاء أحد
“Do not get fed up with Supplication, for no one will perish
with (continuous) Supplication.”
[Narrated by Ibn Habban and
Hakim, Sahih Ibn Habban, Hadith 872]
HADITH NO. 5
Sayyiduna Rasoolullah
SallAllaho Alaihi wa Sallam states:
الدعاء سلاح المؤمن وعماد
الدين ونور السموات والأرض
“Du‘a is a weapon of a Muslim, a Pillar of Deen and the
light of the skies and earth.”
[Narrated by Hakim from
Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah and Abu Ya’la from Sayyiduna ‘Ali al-Murtudah,
Hadith 6163]
HADITH NO. 6
It is narrated that
Sayyiduna Rasoolullah SallAllaho Alaihi wa Sallam said:
إِنَّ الدُّعَاءَ يَنْفَعُ
مِمَّا نَزَلَ وَمِمَّا لَمْ يَنْزِلْ فَعَلَيْكُمْ عِبَادَ
اللَّهِ بِالدُّعَاءِ
“All those calamities and misfortunes that descends and that
which will descend in the future can be averted and
protected from, by Du‘a. So, Oh servant of Allah! Observe
Du‘a!” [Narrated by
Tirmidi and Hakim from Sayyiduna ‘Abd Allah ibn ‘Umar, Sunan
al-Tirmidi, Hadith 3471]
HADITH NO. 7
It is reported that
Sayyiduna Rasoolullah SallAllaho Alaihi wa Sallam said:
و إن البلاء لينزل فيتلقاه
الدعاء فيعتلجان إلى يوم القيامة
“When some misfortune descends, the supplication intercepts
it and then they both wrestle till Qiyamah.” (i.e.
supplication does not allow the misfortune to descend to the
earth.) [Reported by Bazar,
Tabrani, and Hakim from Umm al-Mu'minin Sayyidah ‘A’ieshah
Siddiqah, Mustadrak al-Hakim, Hadith 1813]
HADITH NO. 8
The Habib of Allah
SallAllaho Alaihi wa Sallam states:
الدُّعَاءُ مُخُّ
العِبَادَةِ
Supplication is the essence of worship.
HADITH NO. 9
It is reported that the
Noble Prophet of Islam SallAllaho Alaihi wa Sallam said:
ألا أدلكم على ما ينجيكم من
عدوكم ويدر لكم أرزاقكم؟ تدعون اللّه في ليلكم ونهاركم؟ فإن
الدعاء سلاح المؤمن
Must I not inform you of the thing which will protect you
from your enemy and increase your sustenance? Make
Supplication to Allah day and night because Supplication is
a weapon of a Mu‘min.
[Narrated by Abu Ya’la from Sayyiduna Jabir bin ‘Abdullah,
Hadith 6164]
HADITH NO. 10
Sayyiduna Rasoolullah
SallAllaho Alaihi wa Sallam states:
مَنْ لَمْ يَسْأَلْ اللَّهَ
يَغْضَبْ عَلَيْهِ
Allah casts His Anger on those who do not invoke Him.
[Reported by Imam Ahmad,
Ibn Abi Shaybah, and Al-Bukhari in Adab al Mufrad, Tirmidi,
Ibn Maja and Hakim on the authority of Sayyiduna Abu
Hurayrah, Hadith 3295]
Such concepts and
meanings are also reported in the Hadith al-Qudsi as follows:
عَنِ النَّبى صَلَى
اللهُ عَلَيهِ وَ سَلَّمَ قَالَ قَالَ اللهُ تَعَالى مَن ْ لاَ
يَدعُو نِى اَغضَب ُعَلَيهِ
One
who does not invoke Me, I will direct My Anger at him.
(Allah save us from this!)
[Reported by Al-Askari in his Mawa’iz]
Oh Beloved!
Supplication is an amazing wealth that Allah I blessed His
servants with, and through it gave them honour. There is nothing
more effective and powerful in fulfilling needs in desperation
besides Du‘as. Likewise, nothing is more potent in removing Bala
than Du‘as. A person benefits from five things of a single Du‘a:
1. He is included
in the category of ‘Abids (worshippers) because Supplication
by nature is ‘Ibadah, in fact, the goal of ‘Ibadah.
2. In supplication
one acknowledges one’s inferiority and dependency in
relation to the Omnipotent Lord and His Divine mercies.
3. Obedience to the
sacred Shari'ah because it has laid great stress in making
supplications - and the danger of Divine Anger on those who
do not supplicate.
4. It is a great
Sunnah of the Prophet SallAllaho Alaihi wa Sallam as he
supplicated frequently and ordered others to do the same.
5. It is a
deterrent of Bala and achiever of goals as mentioned in the
Holy Qur’an. If man seeks security from Allah from
calamities, then the Merciful Lord will give it to him. If
one seeks a desire to be fulfilled, the Sublime Creator will
shower His mercies on him or else blesses him with Thawab in
the Akhirah.
The
Master of the Sinless, Sayyiduna Rasoollulah SallAllaho Alaihi
wa Sallam states:
“A
servant’s supplication is never void of three things:
1) either his sins
are forgiven,
2) or he benefits
in this world,
3) or virtues are
accumulated for him in the hereafter.
When
the servant will observe this reward (Thawab) accumulated
for him in the hereaftr in compensation for that which was
not fulfilled in the Duniyah, then he will desire that none
of his desires should have been fulfilled in the world, but
rather be accumulated for the hereafter.”
This desire and benefit
is for him who desires so in this Duniyah when supplicating. It
is advised that when making Du‘a, this ethic should be
considered seriously.
— — —
Extracted from
aHsan al-Wiyah li Aadab
al-Du'a by Imam Naqi Ali al-Qadiri
Translated by: Shaykh Abd
al-Hadi al-Qadiri [Durban - South Africa]