Learning From The Prophets' Supplications

The Prophets as Guides for Mankind

Time and again, throughout time, Allah sent Prophets to teach mankind how to be, how to live as human beings, how to inhabit the earth, how to deal with one another, how to get along with one another, how to resolve disputes, etc. The last of these Prophets being our beloved Messenger, Rasulullah ﷺ. And they taught mankind throughout time various different lessons. Many of these lessons, many of their stories have been preserved in the Qur'an.

And Allah after listing out various different Anbiya ﷺ in Surah Al-An'am, He says:

These are the ones who Allah has guided. So take lesson from their guidance. Live your life as they lived theirs.

Now, we can examine their lives and we can go over the different stories. We can read Surah Yusuf, we can read about the story of Musa alayhi salam. And there will be various different lessons that a person will be able to derive and inculcate in his life.

One of the things that we can take benefit from, one of the things that we can take lesson from are the different du'as that Allah has preserved in the Qur'an — the du'as of those Prophets. What was so special that they asked for, that mankind should also take lesson and also should ask for.

The Du'a of Ibrahim Alayhi Salam After Building the Ka'bah

If you look at Ibrahim alayhi salam, after he built the Ka'bah, then Allah talks about the du'a that he made. After accomplishing such a noble task, after being informed that all of mankind afterwards is going to migrate and is going to perform their ritual prayers around this house known as the Ka'bah — after building this, he made du'a to Allah.

And it is preserved in Surah Al-Baqarah, in the first juz of the Qur'an:

The first du'a that they made was: O Allah, accept us. إِنَّكَ أَنتَ السَّمِيعُ الْعَلِيمُ — Accept us as Your servants. Allow us to also play a part in preserving the true faith, in guiding mankind towards Your happiness and Your pleasure.

Then he continues:

He made du'a: O Allah, وَاجْعَلْنَا مُسْلِمَيْنِ لَكَ — make myself and my son true Muslims. Make us true Muslims.

وَمِن ذُرِّيَّتِنَا — He didn't just suffice in making du'a for himself and for his progeny that was currently alive. But he also went beyond that and he made du'a for all of those to come. And O Allah, from my progeny, make them such individuals that they are all true Muslims.

وَأَرِنَا مَنَاسِكَنَا — And teach us our rituals, the way that we are supposed to worship You. وَتُبْ عَلَيْنَا — And also forgive us, overlook our shortcomings. إِنَّكَ أَنتَ التَّوَّابُ الرَّحِيمُ — Certainly, You are the most forgiving, You are the most relenting, the most merciful.

The Du'a of Yusuf Alayhi Salam

If you look at the story of Yusuf alayhi salam, then you will see something similar at the very end of his life. The man who had it all — he had name, he had fame, he had the love of his family, he had the deen of Allah, the knowledge of how to worship his Creator. What didn't he have? So at the very end of his life, Allah preserved the du'a that he made. What is so special? What does that individual who has it all still make du'a for?

He said: Ya Allah, You have granted me such a vast kingdom, so many treasures. وَعَلَّمْتَنِي مِن تَأْوِيلِ الْأَحَادِيثِ — You have taught me so much knowledge, such knowledge that very few are blessed with. فَاطِرَ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ — You are the Creator of the heavens and the earth — continuously praising Allah. أَنتَ وَلِيِّي فِي الدُّنْيَا وَالْآخِرَةِ — You are my guardian, my friend in the worldly life and also in the hereafter.

He praised Allah, praised Allah, praised Allah for all the various different bounties. And then he asked for two things: تَوَفَّنِي مُسْلِمًا وَأَلْحِقْنِي بِالصَّالِحِينَ — Grant me death as a true Muslim. SubhanAllah. Grant me death as a Muslim. And keep me with the righteous.

The Du'a of the Magicians of Firawn

This is such an amazing thing, SubhanAllah. If you look at the story of Musa alayhi salam, you'll find something similar. Those magicians who accepted the faith of Islam, they followed Musa alayhi salam — before they were about to die, their last words were:

O Allah, grant us patience and grant us death as true believers.

So time and again in the Qur'an, the du'a which is being preserved from these different Prophets and these righteous people is: O Allah, keep us as true Muslims. We ought to ask ourselves — when was the last time we made du'a to Allah: O Allah, keep me as a true believer? SubhanAllah.

What Does It Truly Mean to Be a Muslim?

How valuable is the deen of Islam? It is extremely valuable. And what does it mean to be a Muslim? What does it truly mean to be a Muslim?

Allah mentions that the true faith, the only faith which is accepted and acknowledged in the court of Allah is the deen of Islam. Every single Prophet that came, came with a version of Islam. And it was refined, refined, refined, refined, until finally Rasulullah ﷺ — the version of Islam which Rasulullah ﷺ provided to the world is the perfect, it is the best version, the best way that a person can live their life.

Allah is addressing all of mankind: Today I completed the faith and I have completed My favor over you. I have bestowed My favor to you now completely. The entirety of the religion and exactly how a person should live their life from A to Z — everything now is with you.

The Two Components of Islam: Iman and Righteous Deeds

This deen of Islam which every single Prophet brought comprised of two things. Allah talks about the mission of the Prophets. What is mankind's purpose? What is success? Allah says:

He's not just addressing the Muslims. Sometimes Allah addresses the Muslims alone in the Qur'an — يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا — O my beloved servants, O you who believe. But sometimes Allah addresses all of mankind. And here Allah is addressing all of mankind in Surah Al-A'raf:

O children of Adam, O mankind — if messengers from amongst yourselves come to you — and all of the Prophets were from their nation, their very own nation. Rasulullah ﷺ came from Quraysh and he was sent to Quraysh. And like that, all the different Prophets came to their own respective nations. If messengers come to you and they share with you My verses, they share with you My instructions, My injunctions, My advices — then those who do two things, there will be no fear upon them, they will never have to worry about anything, nor will they ever regret.

What are these two things? Number one: فَمَنِ اتَّقَىٰ — that person who adopts fear of Allah, he lives such a life now where he acknowledges his Creator. In another ayah, Allah says:

We only send messengers for the following reason — we only send them as bearers of glad tidings and also as warners. فَمَنْ آمَنَ وَأَصْلَحَ — That person who believes, he recognizes Allah as his Creator.

That's one aspect which alhamdulillah all of us here today are already doing. But the next portion — وَأَصْلَحَ — Iman is not sufficient enough; belief is not sufficient enough for eternal salvation with everlasting protection and bliss. We are taught as Muslims that if a person has iman, ultimately he will enjoy. But in order for a person to truly maximize on his investments and to truly benefit and to truly live a life of bliss and everlasting enjoyment and peace, there is more than just iman which is required. There is more than just accepting Allah as a Creator which is required.

وَأَصْلَحَ — That you mend your ways, that you rectify your life, you take lesson from the way the Prophets lived their lives, you take lesson from the ayat of the Qur'an, you take lesson from the advices of Rasulullah ﷺ, you live in accordance to the instructions and you protect yourself lest you commit those infractions.

فَمَنِ اتَّقَىٰ وَأَصْلَحَ — That person who accepts Allah as a Creator and lives a righteous life and mends his ways — فَلَا خَوْفٌ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلَا هُمْ يَحْزَنُونَ — those are the individuals who will never have any fear, nothing to worry about, nor will they ever grieve in the hereafter.

Huquq Allah and Huquq al-'Ibad

When it comes to our faith, Rasulullah ﷺ throughout the various different ahadith, and if you look at the Qur'an, the scholars of Islam mention that Islam comprises of two things. You have Huquq Allah — the rights of Allah upon us — and you have Huquq al-'Ibad — the rights that others have upon us.

The Rights of Allah

Allah mentions in the Qur'an:

Safeguard your prayer, safeguard your salah. This is a right of Allah. How many of us are performing five daily prayers? We believe in Allah. وَأَصْلَحَ — How many of us have reformed our ways? Is it really something which is important? Is it a matter of importance in our lives or not? Let us ask ourselves — have we reformed our ways?

Fasting has been prescribed upon you in the month of Ramadan — we have to fast. Can't just make excuses that, oh, I'm studying for an exam, so I can't fast, I'll fast a different time. Allah has provided the excuses — that individual who is traveling, that one who is too sick — he can't fast, so on and so forth. There is a list of excuses that a person is given. But if that is not on the list of excuses, then we have no right to omit fasting.

Similarly, وَأَقِيمُوا الصَّلَاةَ وَآتُوا الزَّكَاةَ — to discharge our Zakah, to recite the Qur'an:

Those people who recite the Qur'an as it ought to be recited — those are the ones who truly believe in it, those are the ones who are the true believers. How much Qur'an are we reciting? The month of Qur'an is coming.

Du'a is also a right of Allah:

(Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 3371)

Rasulullah ﷺ mentioned that that person who doesn't ask Allah — it is a right that you ask your Creator for things. Allah gets angry with that individual, because if you're not asking Allah, you're asking someone else. So these are rights of Allah. Are we truly fulfilling the rights of Allah? Are we giving them preference in our lives or not? This is a question for you and I.

The Rights of Others

And then number two — Huquq al-'Ibad — the rights that others have upon us. Allah also talks about these rights in the Qur'an. Rasulullah ﷺ also shared various different instructions and advices of how we're supposed to deal with one another.

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 13; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 45)

That we are to live in such a way that we love for our brothers what we love for ourselves. Allah talks about this in the Qur'an:

If you take a promise, you have to fulfill your promise. Fulfill your words.

Why do you say things and then go against it?

Speak the truth.

Stand up for justice. We have to look after the rights of one another. It's not that we shortchange one another at the first chance that we get. If we can save a few bucks here and there, we deprive someone else — we are depriving them of their rights. نَعُوذُ بِاللَّهِ مِن ذَلِكَ.

Each one of us, we have to examine our lives. Are we falling short? Are we depriving others of rights? A Muslim would never do that. Because a Muslim understands: I may get away with it in this world. I may get away with it. But in the hereafter — in the hereafter — I will never get away with it. That person who wants everlasting bliss, فَمَنْ آمَنَ وَأَصْلَحَ فَلَا خَوْفٌ عَلَيْهِمْ — that person will have no fear, no regret.

The Hadith of Istiqamah

In a hadith, Rasulullah ﷺ was once asked by a Sahabi:

(Sahih Muslim, Hadith 38)

O Messenger of Allah, tell me something about Islam that I do not require afterwards to ask anyone else. Rasulullah ﷺ said: Say, I believe in Allah, and then remain steadfast.

The scholars mention — what do you mean remain steadfast? There is istiqamah — consistency — and it is in two ways:

One is Istiqamat al-Qalb — remain steadfast in your faith, in your belief. That you believe Allah is your Creator. You believe Rasulullah ﷺ is the final messenger. That any action that you do, you do it for the sake of Allah. You do not do it to show off or to gain someone else's pleasure.

And on the other hand, Istiqamat al-'Amal — that you remain steadfast in carrying out the injunctions of deen, carrying out the instructions of Allah, protecting yourself from the prohibitions.

That person is the one about whom Allah mentions in the Qur'an:

Those people who say, our Rabb is Allah, and then remain steadfast in pleasing their Creator, in abiding by these injunctions, these instructions, the prohibitions — when they are passing away, when they are transitioning from this temporary abode to their everlasting abode in the hereafter, the angels will begin descending. And they will say: Don't fear, don't grieve. You have been remaining consistent in the teachings of Allah and His Rasul ﷺ. Don't fear, don't grieve. Don't worry about what you are leaving behind — there is only everlasting pleasure ahead for you. Glad tidings to you — enjoy this paradise!

The same paradise which you were being promised your entire lives. We are your guardians — we were there with you all the time in the worldly life and we will accompany you in the hereafter. For you in this paradise, whatever you desire, whatever you call for — it is for you now. SubhanAllah. This is just the beginning — this is the initial hospitality of Allah. SubhanAllah.

Striving for Jannatul Firdaus

When we ask — and I'll end with this — if you look at all the ayat of the Qur'an, Allah addresses the believers and talks about them. And we may have heard this multiple times. One thing that we all aspire for is paradise. We all aspire for paradise and we ask for Jannah. Rasulullah ﷺ taught us: you ask for the best. Like in this world, we don't just suffice on medium things, but we always ask for the best, we go for the best.

We want Jannatul Firdaus. We ask for Jannatul Firdaus. Allah tells us: those people who believe — number one, we believe, alhamdulillah — وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ — and they do righteous deeds, they are consistent in pleasing Allah, in living righteous lives — كَانَتْ لَهُمْ جَنَّاتُ الْفِرْدَوْسِ نُزُلًا — those are the individuals for whom Jannatul Firdaus, the highest level of Jannah, will be their abode.

May Allah grant us all the ability to live righteous lives, pleasing Allah, looking after the rights of Allah, and looking after the rights that we owe unto one another.