What is Du’a?
Allah (S.W.T) says in the holy quran, in Sura Baqarah, ayat 186,
"Wa idha sa alaka ibadi anni, fa inni qareeb. Ujeebu da’watad daa’ee idha da aaani, fal yastajeebu lee, wal yu’minu bee, la allahum yarshudoon."
This translates as:
" And when my servant asks you concerning me, then surely I am very near; I answer the du’a of the caller when he/she calls me; so they should answer my call too, and believe in me, so that they may be guided aright."
We, are made up of a physical body, a nafs and the ruh, which binds the body to the nafs. The battle between the body and the nafs is greater today than it has ever been. The physical body is prosperous, whilst the nafs is starving for nourishment. We need to feed our nafs and strengthen it. Du’a is the nourishment which the nafs needs.
People often complain that their dua’s are not answered. Allah promises us in the Qur’an to answer us if we call, as is shown in the ayat that I read before you from Sura Baqarah. Allah (S.W.T.) also says, in Sura al-Mu’min ayaat 60 :
"Call to Me, I will answer you."
Then why do we sometimes feel that we are not getting an answer?
The following things prevent dua’s being accepted.
Firstly, sins.
In Du’a-e-Kumayl, we say to Allah,
"Allahummaghfir liyadh dhunoo ballatee tah bisud du’a"
"O Allah, forgive me the sins which hold back supplication"
Every sin is a barrier between us and Allah and certain types of sins prevent our duas being answered.
Secondly, that what we are asking for, is not good. In Du’a-e-Iftitah we say to Allah:
"Fa in abta anni atabtu bijahli alayk.
Wa la allalladhi abta a anni huwa khayrulli li ilmika bi aaqibatil umoor."
"Then if there was a delay in Your answer, I would blame You, due to my ignorance, and perhaps the delay was best for me, for You know the outcome of all affairs"
This verse talks about how disappointed we get when our prayers are not answered, but Allah knows best whether or not what we asked for was good for us.
Lastly, our dua’s might not be answered because we do not pray with total sincerity or because we lack trust in him.
There was once a pious family whose town was flooded. The council sent a truck to rescue them, but they refused help saying that they had prayed to Allah and HE would save them. As the flooding increased, they move to the second floor of the house. The council sent a boat this time. Again they refused help, saying that Allah would save them.
The floods rose even further, and now they were on the roof of the house. The council sent a helicopter but they refused with the same answer. Eventually, they drowned and it is said that they complained to Allah saying they had relied on Him to save them.
The answer came down ~ "I sent you a truck, a boat and a helicopter. What more did you want ?"
Either an answer to the prayer.
Or the du’a will bring a blessing for the reciter.
Or the du’a will ward off a difficulty or calamity.
Thus we should never feel that if Allah does not answer our prayer there is no use of du’a. We may be getting one of the other benefits without realising it.
Well, in the Qur’an Allah is talking to us whilst when we recite du’a, we are talking to him. One IMPORTANT thing we should understand is that when we listen to the words of Qur’an, we automatically get sawaab.
However, there is no sawaab in listening to the words of du’a. We must recite it as well. When a young boy or even an adult is reciting du’a in the front, HE is the one who is asking Allah and HE is the one who will benefit. For us to benefit as well, it is our duty to recite with him.
There are dua’s for the night, for the day, for Sehri, for Iftar. We should try and recite all these duas, or at least as many as we can during this Holy month, and our duas will be accepted even faster.
The Holy Prophet in his sermon welcoming the month of Ramadhan said,
"Do supplicate with your hands raised…as these are the best of times, during which the Almighty looks at his servants with mercy, answers if they supplicate, responds if they call, grants if they ask AND accepts if they plead.
The most valuable thing a believer can pray for during this month, is for forgiveness. Ramadhan is a glorious chance given to man to have his sins erased and gain a higher position in the eyes of Allah. So many people are forgiven in this month, that it is only the unfortunate that are deprived.
The Prophet in the same sermon said, "Indeed miserable is he who is deprived of Allah’s forgiveness in this great month."
The first deals with man’s relationship with Allah. This relationship is indeed a strange one. Although it is the human who needs Allah, and should strive towards Him, it is Allah who invites and encourages the human to come showing him his love and mercy.
In this du’a, we say:
"Ya rabbi. Innaka tad uuni fa uwalli ank. Wa ta ta habbabu ilayya wa ata baghadhu ilayk. Wa ta ta waddadu ilayya fa laa aqbalu mink, ka anna liyat tatawwula alayk"
"My Lord, You call me and I turn way from You, You show me affection and I show hatred towards You, You display your love for me and I do not respond, as though I am above You."
We then go on to say:
"Fa lam yam naka dhaalika minar rahmati lee wal ihsaani ilay. Wattafadhulee alayya bi joodika wa karamik."
"But this does not prevent you from having mercy on me, being good to me, and favouring me through your generosity."
The second part of this dua talks about divine leaders, particularly the role of our Twelfth Imam. Praying for help and victory for the Twelfth Imam reminds us that we are waiting for him, and need to prepare for his coming.
Near the end of this du’a, we ask:
"Ishfi bihi sudurana wa adh hib bihi ghaydha quloobina. Wahdina bihi limakh tulifa feehi minal haqqa bi idhnik. Innaka tahdee man tashaa’u ila siraatim mustaqeem."
"Through our 12th Imam, purify our chests, remove the stains of anger and hatred from our hearts, and guide us to the truth, by Your permission, surely You guide whom You wish to the right path."
If only we are able to understand the beautiful words of the dua’s we recite daily, will we truly appreciate du’a itself. When one knows what they are reciting, du’a does not only become a daily ritual, but a sincere desire from the heart.
My elders, brothers and sisters, SALAAMUN ALAYKUM
Du’a in Arabic means call, request, supplication or prayer. Du’a builds up a collective discipline that can be used to set up the ideal society based upon love, peace, justice and freedom.
Du’a must be accompanied with action. Imam ALI (as) has said:
"One who merely does du’a and fails to act is like one who wishes to shoot an arrow with a string-less bow."
Every du’a that is said receives one of the following three things:
How is Du’a different from Qur’an?
Ramadhan is the season of du’a. In the Holy Quran, verses 183-187 in Sura Baqarah talk about the month of Ramadhan. In between these ayats, verse 186 talks about du’a. Commentators believe that this shows how important du’a is in this Holy Month.
One of the most beautiful dua’s we recite every night is Du’a-e-Iftitah taught by our Twelfth Imam, Imam Mehdi (as). It is divided into 2 parts:
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6
Part 7
Part 8
