Class01-Dua
Class 1
‘Dua’a’
All praise is due to Allah. We praise Him, seek His aid, and ask His forgiveness.
Verily, man has been created for a noble and great purpose — in fact, the most noble and dignified goal that can exist — and that is that he may worship Allah alone, without any partners. Allah has said in the Qur’an: “And I have only created jinn and mankind to worship Me”.
And amongst the most noble form of worship is du a. It is a plea from the very heart of a believer directed towards Allah — the Hearer of all things, the Knower of all secrets. It is a confession that emanates from the heart of a believer that he is weak and help- less, that he cannot achieve anything without Allah’s help and aid. It is an implicit affirmation of every single Name and Attribute of Allah, for it affirms that Allah is the Creator, the Sustainer, the Controller of all Affairs, the Hearer, the Seer, the Merciful, the Great, the All-Powerful, the Ever-Capable. The concept of du’ a entails complete submission to Allah, and perfect recognition of His right to be worshipped. It also consigns man to his proper status — a poor, created being, who has no control of any matter by himself, but rather he is the one that is controlled. It is a confirmation and attestation from the worshipper that he is in need of his Creator at every instance, and that Allah is independent of any need from him. It shows that man is in a dire state of poverty towards his Lord, and that he cannot live without Him in any circumstance. In fact, his need for his Lord is more than his need for food, drink and air, for it is his Lord that provides him with all this and more. In particular, he is in need of continual guidance from His Lord, and this is, the most important of all his needs, and the most noble of all his wants.
In a way, Dua is the essence of worship. This can be seen by imagining the condition of one making du a – a worshipper repenting from his sins, humiliated in front of His Lord, in a state of fear, submitting himself to the will of Allah, earnestly desiring Allah’s rewards, raising his hands, turning to Allah with the best of hopes from Him, exemplifying the statement of Allah. “Verily, they used to hasten to do good deeds, and they used to make du a to Us with hope and fear, and used to humble them-selves before Us.” (Surah al-Anbiya, 90)
Such a person makes du a, keeping in mind the promise that Allah has given him, hopeful of achieving that promise: And your Lord has said: “Call upon me, and I will answer you!” Verily, those who are (too) arrogant to worship Allah will enter Hell, humiliated!”. (Surah Ghafir, 60)
So when one visualises such a person, and the state that he will be in, one can understand the Prophet’s ﷺ statement: Dua is worship.
So the entire concept of worship, the purpose for which mankind was created, can infact, be summarised in one simple act: that of Dua.
Du a is a noble, spiritual form of worship which allows the created to appreciate the majesty and eminence of the Creator. This is because the worshipper turns to his Lord at his time of need, after all other types of aid have been cut off, and all other sources have been despaired of. He turns to his Lord to obtain from Him contentment, peace and serenity, and he finds Beneficence which will never be found from other sources. And how can this not happen, when he is turning to the Lord of all lords, and the King of all kings, the One Who is Self-Sufficient from all wants, and Who is Praised at all times?
And this is why we get this Amazing feeling of upliftment and renewed hope after a few minutes of an indulging Dua.
Dua is not only for times of distress, but it is also for times of thankfulness, a way of showing that we love Allah and rely on Him more than anything, including our own efforts, to succeed in this life and the Next.
Dua’a
Dua means supplication, which means communicating with Allah. It is an important part of our faith and belief. Dua is a form of prayer and it could be made at any time anywhere there is no fixed time and place of making Dua.
Ibn al-Qayyim defined it as, “Asking what is of benefit to the person, and asking the removal of what is harming him, or (asking) the repelling of it (before it afflicts him)”.
Dua is Worship
Allaah loves to be asked, and He encourages that in all things. He is angry with the one who does not ask of Him and He encourages His slaves to ask of Him. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): “And your Lord said: “Invoke Me [i.e. believe in My Oneness (Islamic Monotheism) and ask Me for anything] I will respond to your (invocation)” [Ghaafir 40:60]
Du’aa’ is very important in Islam, so much so that the Prophet ﷺ psaid: “Du’aa’ is worship.” An-Nu’man ibn Basheer reported: I heard the Prophet, ﷺ, “Supplication is worship.” Then the Prophet ﷺ recited the verse, “Your Lord says: Call upon Me and I will respond to you. Verily, those who disdain My worship will enter Hell in humiliation.” (40:60) (Source: Sunan At-Tirmidhi 3247)
In this verse, Allah has equated du a with worship, for He commanded His servants to make du a to Him, and then stated that whoever is too arrogant to worship Him will enter the Fire of Hell So from this it is understood that the worship referred to in this verse actually means dua.
One of the benefits that are obtained by realising that dua is a form of worship is that the manner and procedure of du a must only be taken from the Qur’an and Sunnah. Just as a person cannot use his mind or whims to decide how to pray or fast, so too must he restrain himself to the texts of the Qur’an and Sunnah when it comes to the manner and etiquette of dua.
To make dua to other than Allah is pure Shirk (associating partners with Allah), which is the one sin that Allah will not forgive. Allah says in the Quran, “Say (O Muhammad): “I make du a only to my Lord (Allah alone), and I associate none as partners along with Him.” (Surah Al Jinn 20) – (Shirk in Dua, Tawassul, Waseela, etc will be studied in detail in classes in Week 2)
Make Dua – He Loves being asked
Allah has named Himself Al-Mujeeb, which means the One who responds. Throughout the Quran, Our Lord encourages the believers to call on Him, He asks us to lay our dreams, hopes, fears, and uncertainties before Him and to be sure that He hears every word. Islam encourages us to make a lot of du’aa’, and not to be hasty in seeking a response. That is because du’aa’ is a great act of worship which is beloved to Allaah.
Sufyan Ath-Thawri used to say: “O You Who love most those who ask of You, and O You Who hate most those who do not ask of You, and there is no one like that apart from You, O Lord.” This was recorded by Ibn Abi Hatim.
Similarly; the poet said: “Allah hates not to be asked, and the son of Adam hates to be asked.”
So we should make Dua as much as possible and we should not only make dua for ourselves but also for our parents, brothers and sisters, spouses and children, relatives and friends, and most importantly struggling Muslims everywhere. We should pray for them for the good in this world as well as in the Hereafter. Holy Prophet ﷺ said: “The Dua of a Muslim for his brother (in Islam) in his absence is readily accepted. An angel is appointed to his side. Whenever he makes a beneficial Dua for his brother the appointed angel says, ‘Ameen. And may you also be blessed with the same.‘” (Sahih Muslim)
Some of the Benefits and excellence of Dua
- It is beloved to Allah
- We understand the Essence of Worship
- Du’a is a Sign of One’s Imaan
- To Make Du’a is To Obey Allah
- Means of getting close to Allah
- Du’a is a Sign of Humility and the loss of arrogance- When we make Dua we submit that Allah alone is the creator and He is The Powerful one and everything is under control Him. We are nothing in front of Him we have to ask from Him.
- Du’a can save us from Allah’s Anger
- Can be a Cause of Being Saved from the Fire
- Dua is the Only Act that Changes Predestination (Qadr)
- Dua is a Characteristic of the Believer
- The Reward of Dua is Guaranteed (Will study more about this in the course)
- Dua is a Sign of Brotherhood
- Dua is a Cure for All Diseases
- Dua Makes a Person More Optimistic
- Dua is One of the Easiest Acts of Worship
May Allah make us amongst those who sincerely ask of Him and those who Please Him.