The Top 10... | Supplication, the Best Worship | The Classroom of the Sahaba

The Top 10 Series — Du'a: The Best Form of Worship

Assalamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh, dear brothers and sisters. MashaAllah, I hope you are all able to hear us and see me clearly, inshaAllah ta'ala. Welcome back to one of our sessions — the Top 10 sessions that we're having again this year. Last year we had these same sessions and we were able to speak about 10 qualities, and this year we're speaking about 10 different narrations of the Prophet ﷺ where he speaks about the best of something. Alhamdulillah, I think we've had — if someone can tell us how many sessions we've had so far — six, seven? MashaAllah.

So inshaAllah today I will be joined by Mufti Abdul Rahman. Sheikh Abdullah is actually at a khatm of Qur'an, so inshaAllah Mufti Abdul Rahman will be joining me just in a few minutes. Our taraweeh just finishes at this time — around 12:20, 12:15 — so this is why inshaAllah perhaps tomorrow we'll be starting at 12:30 just to make it easier for us.

So let me ask you all something, if you don't mind. From all these sessions, which hadith do you remember still, and which hadith do you find connects with you the most? Because we did so many different "the best of" — the best dhikr is لا إله إلا الله, the best du'a is Alhamdulillah, the hadith about consistency, the hadith about the one who puts happiness in the hearts of others. So everyone has something different that they took.

Today's Hadith: The Best Form of Ibadah

So today's session will be on a very beautiful hadith. Bismillahir Rahmanir Raheem, nahmaduhu wa nusalli ala rasoolil kareem. This hadith speaks about the best form of ibadah — the best ibadah is something. Anyone want to guess what the best form of ibadah is?

Yes — du'a. The hadith, as narrated by Anas ibn Malik and other Sahabah, states:

(Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 3371; also reported by al-Hakim in al-Mustadrak)

The best form of ibadah is to make du'a.

In another narration, du'a is described as the nucleus — the very core — of our ibadah. Without du'a, we don't have ibadah. We may be doing many things, but without du'a, we haven't truly committed to ibadah.

And it's very interesting when you read this hadith — that the best form of ibadah is du'a, and without du'a there is no ibadah — and then you recite Surah al-Fatihah. Surah al-Fatihah is to be recited in the most important ibadah on a daily basis: our salah. And in that salah, the first thing that we are asking Allah for is du'a:

We recognize that we are Your slaves. We recognize that You are the Most Merciful. We recognize that You are the Owner of the Day of Judgment. And after recognizing all of this — Ya Allah, we seek Your help, we seek Your assistance. This is where du'a comes into place.

What is Ibadah?

Ibn al-Jawzi rahimahullah defines ibadah as those actions that bring you closer to Allah as prescribed by the Prophet ﷺ. Something that the Prophet did, or the Sahabah did, and that act brings us closer to Allah — he defines that as ibadah, because it brings us closer to Allah.

Why Du'a is Among the Greatest Forms of Ibadah

Some of the scholars mention — and it is also mentioned by Ibn al-Qayyim rahimahullah — that du'a allows us to experience something very personal with Allah. It is a very personal connection where we are able to speak our mind and our heart to Allah. It is the one time where we are allowed to be vulnerable in front of Allah.

As individuals, we only want to be vulnerable, show weakness, and show our brokenness in front of people that know us, that we can trust, and that are loyal to us. The greatest form of loyalty is found in the relationship that Allah has with us. We've done so much wrong, transgressed so many different sins, and we've walked over so many lines that Allah has set for us — but at the same time, Allah has still hidden our sins.

If this is not loyalty, then what is loyalty? Allah has still covered us. Allah is still feeding us. Allah is still sustaining us. Allah is still providing for us. This is love. Allah loves us.

The Story of the Mother on the Battlefield

One day the Prophet ﷺ was sitting on a battlefield after the battle was completed, and he saw a lady running from one side of the battlefield to the other, looking for her child — her toddler — that had gotten lost in the chaos of the battle. As she was running back and forth, she finally found the child. She grabbed the child, held the child very close to her body, kissed the child, and was crying out of happiness. The Prophet ﷺ and the Sahabah were observing the entire situation.

The Prophet ﷺ then said to the Sahabah:

"Do you think that this lady would ever throw her child into the fire?" And the Sahabah replied: كَلَّا وَاللَّهِ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ — "Never! By Allah, Ya Rasulullah!" The Prophet ﷺ then said that Allah loves His slaves more than this mother loves her child.

Do we think that Allah will throw us into the fire if we turn towards Him?

This is what we call love. So in order to be vulnerable and show weakness to people, we need to trust them. We don't show our weakness to people that we don't trust and are not comfortable around. If we know Allah loves us this much, it will be a disservice to show our weakness and brokenness to anyone else. Rather, our weakness and our brokenness should only be shown to Allah.

This is why Ya'qub ﷺ would say:

"I only complain of my suffering and my grief to Allah." Complaining about Allah is a sin. Complaining to Allah is recommended as a form of ibadah. Complaining to Allah — Ya Allah, I'm complaining to You because I know I can trust You. I know You'll hear it and You will help me from this du'a.

So du'a is a form of showing Allah that we trust Him and that we speak to Him. There is this concept that Ibn al-Qayyim rahimahullah speaks about under this topic of du'a — he says that in order for a person to truly experience the لذّة, the sweetness of worship, he or she must show their brokenness in front of Allah. The term in Arabic is الانكسار — brokenness. Where we show our brokenness in front of Allah and turn to Him and make du'a.

I don't think there is a more important hadith in these last few nights than this hadith. The hadith about turning to Allah in the middle of the night when no one is watching, and just letting our heart speak rather than our tongue speaking. Our du'as are generally du'as where we are always asking Allah for something. But the du'as of the Prophets were such that they just presented themselves in front of Allah.

The Du'as of the Prophets

The Du'a of Musa ﷺ

When you read the du'a of Musa ﷺ — he was all alone in the desert, having helped these two ladies get their water, and he sat under the shade of a tree. The du'a was himself — just him presenting himself in front of Allah:

"My Lord, indeed I am in need of whatever good You would send down to me." Ya Allah, I'm an impoverished person — I'm poor for that which You send my way. Whatever You send my way, I will accept it. I will not complain. Like a person who is extremely hungry — you put anything in front of them, they'll eat it and they won't complain. He is saying: Ya Allah, I'm in such a state that whatever You give me, I will accept it. I have absolutely no say in it. Just give me something good, Ya Allah.

And this du'a — this single du'a — was a source of three major things coming into the life of Musa ﷺ. In this world, we want to have a family, a job, and a nice, safe place to live. This one du'a gave Musa ﷺ all three of these things:

A few moments later, the daughter of an elderly man — whom some scholars say was Shu'ayb ﷺ — came to him. First, he was given a job — working for a Prophet. Second, he got married to the daughter of a Prophet. SubhanAllah. Third, he had a beautiful place to live, and he could choose whether to stay for eight years or ten. He was given a job, married to a righteous lady, and had a beautiful place to live with beautiful company.

Sometimes we ask for such specific things that, because we don't get exactly what we specified, we feel like we didn't get what we wanted. Rather, just present yourselves in front of Allah. Confess to Allah.

The Du'a of Adam ﷺ and Hawwa ﷺ

When Adam ﷺ and Hawwa ﷺ were told to come down to this earth, the Qur'an tells us:

There were some words that Adam ﷺ was connected with. He presented these words in front of Allah, and Allah accepted his repentance. What were those words?

"Our Lord, we have wronged ourselves, and if You do not forgive us and have mercy upon us, we will surely be among the losers." (Quran 7:23). A confession in front of Allah. And once he made this confession, Allah excused him for his mistakes.

The Story of the Sinner Among Bani Israel

There is a narration — mentioned in Al-Bidayah wal-Nihayah and other books of history — about the time of Musa ﷺ. There was a famine and drought that afflicted Bani Israel. They went out to the open on a mountain to perform Salatul Istisqa — the prayer for rain — with Musa ﷺ. Musa ﷺ called out: Ya Allah, please give us rain.

Allah spoke to Musa ﷺ — Kaleemullah — and said: I will send rain, but إِنَّ فِيكُمْ عَبْدًا عَاصِيًا — there is someone amongst you who is a sinner. And because of him and his toxic presence in this gathering, I will not send water down. He has to leave.

Musa ﷺ turned back to his people — some say 70,000 people — and said: There is someone amongst you because of whom we can't move on. You need to leave. Once you leave, water will be sent down.

Imagine this person standing in that gathering, hearing this, and knowing that he is the one being referred to. The first step of making a du'a is confessing ourselves and confessing about our sins — not in front of other human beings, as in Christianity, but only in front of Allah. Allah will hide our sins as long as we don't expose ourselves.

This is why the Prophet ﷺ said:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 6069; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2990)

Every single person in my ummah will be forgiven, except for a person who exposes their own sins. Allah will say to them: You have exposed your own sins — how do you expect Me to hide your sins now? So if we commit a sin, keep it between us and Allah. Use that sin as motivation to seek forgiveness from Allah.

Nonetheless, this man is standing there. He says in his heart — not even with his lips: Ya Allah! I know the person You're referring to — it's me. And I messed up. Ya Allah, if I walk out right now, I'll be exposed in front of all of these people. It will embarrass me and tarnish my reputation. So Ya Allah, I apologize. My heart is full of remorse.

Imam al-Nawawi rahimahullah says: النَّدَمُ تَوْبَةٌ — regret in itself is a form of tawbah. He stood there, speaking to Allah from his heart. His lips did not move, but the sky rumbled with water and rain was sent down from the heavens.

We don't need to speak to Allah in words. Our heart speaks to Allah:

Allah knows what we are going through — the pain that we are living with. What we say to Allah amplifies it, of course, but Allah already knows. That's why even when we sit down and think about the difficulties in our life and ask Allah for help, Allah will send down His help.

So Musa ﷺ, being a very curious person, turned back to Allah and said: Ya Allah, مَا خَرَجَ مِنَّا أَحَدٌ — no one left from amongst us, and You sent down rain! You told me You wouldn't send it down until this person leaves. Allah said: Ya Musa, إِنَّ الْعَبْدَ الْعَاصِيَ قَدْ تَابَ إِلَيَّ فَقَبِلْتُ تَوْبَتَهُ — this slave of Mine who was a sinner sought forgiveness, and I forgave him.

Musa ﷺ then said: Ya Allah, مَنْ هُوَ — who is this person? Allah said: Ya Musa, إِنِّي كُنْتُ أَخْفَيْتُهُ قَبْلَ أَنْ يَتُوبَ إِلَيَّ، فَمَا ظَنُّكَ أَنْ أَكْشِفَهُ بَعْدَ مَا تَابَ — if I was hiding his sins and his identity before I forgave him, what makes you think I will expose him after I have forgiven him? This is between him and Allah. If I hid his sins before he sought forgiveness and I accepted his repentance, what makes you think I will expose him after I have already forgiven this person?

It's just moments that we need. One moment can make it for us. But we have to be prepared for those moments. This is why they say in sports that one moment can define a person's career. But if that person did not prepare for that moment, when it comes, they will not be ready. We need to prepare for those moments.

Making Your Voice Recognized in the Heavens

There is a narration by Abu al-Darda' r.a. and others — it is a munqati' riwayah, so it is not directly connected in one of the six canonical books, but it is a hadith that we can take a lesson from. The narration mentions that Jibreel ﷺ said to the Prophet ﷺ that when there is a slave who turns to Allah at times of ease — not only in difficulty — his or her voice becomes familiar to the inhabitants of the heavens. His voice is a voice that people in the heavens recognize, because it comes so often. It is not a new voice.

You know, even with our family — when we knock on the door, they can recognize the knock. "I know whose knock this is. Open the door." We don't have to check who it is. But if the sound of the knock is different, then you want to know who it is. Similarly, when we're knocking on the gates of Allah's mercy — gates that are always open — that knock needs to become familiar in the heavens.

You know, when you speak to someone so much on WhatsApp, they come up in your most contacted list. WhatsApp already thinks you're going to contact this person because you contact them so much. What this hadith is saying is: make Allah a contact that is contacted very often. Speak to Allah not only in times of difficulty, but also in times of ease. So that your voice becomes known and recognized in the heavens.

Now, when this individual hits a speed bump and goes through a difficulty — when he makes a du'a — the angels say: this voice we recognize. Let's take this voice directly to Allah. We know this person. We recognize his knock. And this du'a goes directly to Allah and is accepted.

The Du'a of Yunus ﷺ — Ayat al-Kareemah

This is why when Yunus ﷺ was in three darknesses — the darkness of the night, the darkness of the ocean, and the darkness of the whale — and he made the famous du'a of Ayat al-Kareemah:

"There is no deity except You; exalted are You. Indeed, I have been of the wrongdoers." (Quran 21:87). The angels said to Allah: هَذَا صَوْتٌ مَعْرُوفٌ — this is a recognized voice. Even though this person is in such a darkness, in such a low point in his life — that voice is recognized. SubhanAllah.

So there is no point in our life that — regardless of how difficult of a speed bump or hurdle we have hit — if this voice was recognized from before, it will still be recognized. And our du'as will become easier to be accepted.

Mufti Abdul Rahman Joins — On the Essence of Du'a

At the core of the human being, we are all dependent on Allah. We are literally fuqara — we have nothing. So we have to understand how a dependent being interacts and gets what they need. Just take a look at a completely dependent being.

If you want to see this in our own life, look at a baby — eight months, one year old — a child that does not know any language. No Arabic, English, Urdu, Farsi, nothing. Doesn't know grammar. But this child who is completely dependent on guardians and parents — you can't leave the child alone for more than a few minutes. The child is dependent on guardians for food, for everything.

When this child needs something, they don't need any words. Because Allah blessed this child the moment they are born with the ability to cry. Allah said: all you need from Me as you come into this world is the ability to cry. And if you can cry right when you come out — not only is it a healthy sign medically, but it is also a healthy spiritual sign if you can continue that throughout your life.

The child cries and everybody starts attending to the child. The mother can decipher between the cries — is this the cry of a child who is sick? Tired? Needs a diaper change? Needs food? The mother, because she loves, can distinguish between the different cries.

Finding Those Who Can Make You Cry

We love to have people around us who can have a good time with us — people that make us enjoy and laugh. But it is equally important to always have someone in your company that can make you cry. Seriously. Always try to find that person who you can sit next to — someone who knows how to make you cry, not in a bad way, but in a good way.

The Sahabah would do that with each other — they would talk about things and make each other cry. It is narrated that if even one person cries in a group of people, every single person gets blessed with the mercy from that person's tears.

Hasan al-Basri rahimahullah said: by one person crying, Allah has mercy on everyone around that person, even if that crowd numbers 20,000 people. He said: all deeds will be weighed and scaled, except for a tear — the tear that comes out of the eyes out of the fear of Allah. That tear will have no scale that can weigh it. There is no measuring stick that can measure how much reward you'll receive for that tear. One tear can be a source of extinguishing oceans of fire.

So, develop this as you make du'a. If you can't cry, try to imitate the act of crying. Find people in your gathering with soft hearts. If there is a speaker that makes your heart softer, pay more attention and watch that person even more. Spend time with those people in your community, because it is through suhbah — companionship — that your heart becomes soft and you start to cry.

There is no better treasure than the ability to completely pour out in front of Allah and then smile in front of people. If someone can do that — just pour out in front of Allah and then just smile all day in front of people — that is the treasure.

A Beautiful Urdu Poem by Hakeem Akhtar Sahib

This reminds me of one of my favorite Urdu poems — by Hakeem Akhtar Sahib rahimahullah:

Basically it says: out of love for Allah, I am voluntarily going to cry to show Allah how much I love Him. It is not a sign of weakness. A person who truly yearns for Allah from the depth of their heart — Allah Himself will be generous and benevolent, and He is going to love us as well. Because He already loves us. He just wants to see a little bit of our effort.

He says: I enjoy as these streams of tears flow down my eyes. Oh ignorant person, don't criticize me and don't think negatively of this, as if I am weak. When you have the depth of love — ishq — in your heart for Allah, why would that not be a source of you crying out of love for Allah? As that love penetrates into your bones and body, it comes out through your eyes. Then he says: I am confident one day these sounds of my crying will reach up to the 'Arsh of Allah. And one day, these streams of love and affection for Allah will bring about some color and change in my life. If people can have so much reliance on their degree and their effort, then I am banking on my tears. I am sure it is going to come and help me and rescue me at a point in my life — maybe not now, but it will definitely happen.

A Broken Heart — The Best Recipe for an Accepted Du'a

I remember our father telling us, after our brother rahimahullah passed away — when obviously we were extremely emotional — one of the first pieces of advice he gave us was: at this moment, use these tears to make du'a for the entire ummah. Don't be selfish. Right now, a broken heart is a perfect recipe for an accepted du'a. So if you have a broken heart, make du'a for everyone, not just yourself. The more people we include in our du'a, the more hope we have that Allah will accept it.

There is a narration by Hudhayfah ibn al-Yaman r.a. where he says that a time will come when a person's du'a will not be accepted except for the person who makes du'a like a person who is drowning. We have to really turn to Allah knowing and understanding that there is nowhere else we can go. This is the only place we can ask.

A Favorite Du'a — Cleansing from Sins

Right now, one of my favorite du'as is:

"O Allah, cleanse my sins with snow water, hail water, and cold water." (Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 744; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 598). That is so descriptive. Sins have this heat — a harara. If you're standing in a masjid and the AC is off, you're very uncomfortable. A believer should feel very uncomfortable from their sins. So you're asking Allah: just cool me down a bit. Get the heat away from me.

The Word 'Ayn — Eyes and Streams

There is an interesting point that Imam al-Ghazali rahimahullah made about the word الْعَيْن. In Arabic, the word al-'ayn has multiple meanings. One meaning is a stream — a flowing spring of water. The other meaning is our eyes. And he says they both share a similarity: a stream is only called a stream because it flows with water. If it doesn't flow with water, it is no longer called an 'ayn. Similarly, the eye is called al-'ayn because it lets water flow — it lets tears stroll down the cheeks. And if it doesn't have tears strolling down the cheeks, in a sense, it is not truly an eye anymore for us.

So, hopefully in these last few nights, we can figure out how to cry in front of Allah and use those tears in du'a.

When You Finally Reach That Level of Crying

Once you reach that level where you can actually cry — while you're crying, make du'a: O Allah, never snatch this from me. Please, don't ever take this from me. It doesn't matter how many sins I do — please let me at least come back to this. Because that is a treasure. If you've finally got it, just beg Allah as your du'a is concluding: Please, O Allah, please don't take it from me.

Hasan al-Basri rahimahullah said: if the people who enjoy and laugh in gatherings of sin knew the pleasure and the sweetness that we get in crying in front of Allah, they would leave all their sins and they would cry in front of Allah. And as someone once said — may these wounds heal but never seal. Hopefully we can exemplify that and live it in our life, inshaAllah ta'ala.

Making Du'a for Others — The Key to Acceptance

If you need something to soften your heart — think about the loved ones that have passed away, remember all those people. And remember those who are suffering all over the world. That should bring softness if you are a human being. It's in our instincts to soften up when we think about those who are suffering. Once you reach that level and you start to cry — make du'a for everyone, and include as many people as possible.

Abdullah ibn Mubarak rahimahullah said: in order to get your du'a accepted, make du'a for people who are suffering.

There is a beautiful hadith that the Prophet ﷺ said:

(Sunan Abi Dawud, Hadith 1488; Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 3556)

Your Lord is very, very kind and gentle. He feels shy — He becomes reluctant — to have His slave raise his hands and then return them empty. Allah doesn't like that. So if we raise our hands, inshaAllah Allah will give something to us and benefit those that we ask for.

Closing Remarks

JazakAllah khair for joining. In these last few nights of the month of Ramadan, hopefully we can remember all the loved ones that have passed away and make du'a for them and for others. Make du'a for the people who are suffering all over the world. Looking at their situation is difficult, but it should mean that we look at it more and make more du'a for them, inshaAllah.

Tomorrow, inshaAllah, we will have brother Zain Bhikha and Sheikh Abdullah Misra joining us. They collaborated on writing something called the Seerah Song — a beautiful nasheed about the Seerah from beginning to end. The session will begin at 12:30 tomorrow night. I encourage everyone to join and share with others. It will be an enjoyable session.

May Allah bless all of you that joined tonight. May Allah accept all of our du'as and make our voices recognized in the heavens. Ameen. JazakumAllah khair. Wassalamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh.