Ramadan 2025 | The Power of Prophetic Prayers | Mufti Azeemuddin Ahmed | 03/18

Opening Supplications

The Crisis in Gaza

The situation that we're seeing since yesterday in Palestine and Gaza specifically is something that hopefully everyone is aware of, and it's very heartbreaking. Within just a few hours overnight, while people are sleeping, over 400 people have been murdered and become shaheed. And this is the largest one-day death toll of children in Gaza — 174 children — leading to the largest one-day child death toll. SubhanAllah.

And it's so shocking as we sit here so comfortably in our own homes, in our offices, in our schools, in our masajid. Just 12 hours by flight. It doesn't take much — we're always flying around from here to there. 12 hours by flight. What type of genocide is taking place? And those who become shaheed — they become shaheed while fasting in the month of Ramadan. But then what about those who are wounded? And that is even more painful to think about — not having anesthesia, not having medication, not having anything proper to stitch them up, and anything to stop the bleeding. It is something that you will lose your mind thinking about.

And there are reports — once in a while we should watch and read only that much which is necessary to motivate us to do that which we can do. And watching and reading beyond that will lead to sometimes depression, sometimes feeling overwhelmed, sometimes — Allah forbid — overexposure sometimes leads to apathy as well. "What am I supposed to do? I'm tired of this." So it's not a good idea to sit and be glued all day watching this. But definitely we should watch enough and see enough to understand and feel the pain.

And hopefully, inshallah, at least if something you wanted to do which was not necessary, or which was haram — thinking about what they are going through should make you stop. If someone were to come and say your person is enjoying himself, fooling around outside, making fun of people — and someone were to come say, Allah forbid, there was a car accident and your mother or your father is very seriously injured — how that person would freeze in his tracks. He didn't get hurt, he's fine, you could continue playing or bothering people. But the news that his mother or father is very injured, or his sibling, or his spouse is injured — it brings change within him. It says: I cannot continue to horse around. I cannot continue to just act like nothing is happening. It needs to become apparent on my face that my family is going through trouble, and I need to express it and show it in my actions. And you don't have to fake it — it will come across.

Nabi sallallahu alayhi wa sallam — that's why he said: "udhkuru hādhima al-ladhdhāt: al-mawt" — remember the destroyer of pleasures: death. Death is something that if a person remembers it, it should destroy all his fun and enjoyment. So it's not befitting that a person can see what's happening in the Muslim ummah and then feel that everything is normal.

And so I thought it would be an appropriate time for me to go over the du'a of Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam when the ummah went through difficulty.

Yesterday's Reminder: The Punishment of the Grave and Namimah

Yesterday we did the du'a to protect ourselves from the punishment of the grave, and at the end we talked about how not being protective from urine becomes one of the main reasons for that, amongst many other sins. Another one is: yamshi bil-namīmah — to carry tales, to say "he said, she said," and cause people to fight.

So one basic thing, brothers and sisters: if you don't know — if you don't have the immediate, most up-to-date news about something — don't share it. Don't say, "This person — I heard he doesn't like you." When did he say that? Seven years ago? How is that relevant? By now, his daughter could have married his son and they could have two children. So people say things like this — they pass on remarks that are very old, or that they heard in passing. This is namimah. We should not try to distance any person from another person, any person from the house of Allah, or any person from anyone else.

And I say this because I hear sometimes people come to me and they'll say, "You know, this one said this — did you hear about this?" And I ask the question: what are you trying to achieve by sharing this? As I've heard from my teachers and elders: the one who shares to you what people have said about you is most definitely sharing to others — and maybe about what you have said as well, if you respond to anything — because this is a disease within a person. He simply has to be a so-called pollinator of evil.

Like honeybees — mashallah, they go pollinate and they go to nice, good flowers and they take from there and go to the next flower, and mashallah, they produce that pure drink which is found to be a source of cure. But then there are others who pollinate evil — they take from here and they take from there, and they mix it and they create a poison. So there are times when people will come and say "XYZ said something about you." Understand that more than likely there is no sincerity here. More than likely they're waiting for a response from you to go share it over there. Beware from such people. They can burn down the whole house because of this evil habit of spreading false rumors — or even if something is true, saying it to someone who doesn't need to hear it.

The Permissibility of Tawriyah to Reconcile Hearts

We have been allowed in the Deen to actually not speak the complete truth — to say a white lie, yes. You are allowed to say a white lie when you have the capacity and the ability to bring two hearts together. Two people are fighting, a husband and wife are fighting, and you go and say, "You know, your husband was saying so many nice things about you" — maybe he said it ten years ago, maybe you added a little spice to it — but fine, if it brings two hearts together, do it. SubhanAllah, imagine how much importance the Deen gives to joining hearts, that something as hideous a sin as lying has some leeway when it comes to reconciliation.

And again, I said don't make a complete lie — because then you'll get used to it and you can't stop. That's why it should be something where you add a little spice to reality. It may not be a 100% true depiction of the truth, but we should avoid a 100% lie. You can do tawriyah — what we call tawriyah — where you have one intention and the person in front of you has another understanding.

Like Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, in the night of Hijrah — when people saw him and said, "Who is this?" he said: "hādhā rajulun yahdīnī" — "He's a man who is guiding me." Of course they were trying to arrest the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam — a hundred camels, dead or alive, was the reward. So Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him — what an example! He said, "He's just a man guiding me." Now in the desert, you would actually hire guides to guide you through to the other side, right? So that's what the Quraysh thought — "Oh, he's just a hired tourist guide." But Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, was not speaking falsehood — he actually meant a guide to guide him to paradise, to guide him to Allah, to guide him to the Akhirah. He's a guide — a big guide! This is called tawriyah.

So if a person says something about a wife to the husband or the husband to the wife in order to get them together, this is fine — because it's so important to do so. So imagine how sinful it is to carry tales, to make people fight and argue. And that is why the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said that the one who used to carry tales — kāna yamshī bil-namīmah — this type of sin is punishable immediately with the punishment of the grave.

So beloved brothers, if you cannot do anything good, then please do not do anything bad.

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 6018; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 47) — "Whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day, let him say something good or remain silent."

May Allah protect us and our tongues from ever engaging in namimah, from ever sharing secrets about one person to another. You may have a good intention — but the biggest fires of California started with one match, one cigarette. Hundreds of thousands of acres burnt, thousands of houses destroyed, because of one person's heedlessness — although he may not have intentionally placed his cigarette there to start a brush fire. But the harm is done.

Qunoot al-Nazilah: The Prophetic Prayer in Times of Calamity

So now we wanted to focus today on the du'a of what we call Qunoot al-Nazilah. Qunoot is when you stand for qunūt — those who make ibadah — and qunoot is that du'a that is recited in Witr. But then there is another qunoot, and that is the Qunoot al-Nazilah — meaning when you have a problem and a difficulty, a musibah, to recite at that time.

So let's go over some of the ahadith regarding that specific situation. There are a number of instances where the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam did qunoot. The Hanafi scholars say that qunoot can be done in Salat al-Fajr, after the second rak'ah, before going to sujood. And it seems like the Maliki school is similar to that. And the Shafi'i school has more flexibility — you can do it throughout the day, even in the sirri salah. Again, don't quote me on the fatwa of other madhabs — these are things I'm sharing superficially that I'm aware of. If you need to know the mu'tamad fatwa in each school, refer to the ulama of that madhab.

When it comes to the Shafi'i and the Hanbali schools, there are two opinions. One Hanbali opinion is that qunoot should not be done except by the Imam al-Muslimin, the Amir al-Mu'minin — that's it. And the other opinion is that a person can do it in the salah as well — in the sirri salah and the jahri salah — basically throughout the day. And not only will the imam do it, but every musalli can do it when they're praying alone as well.

First Incident: The Oppressed Muslims of Mecca

So what was the background of this? There are different incidents that happened in the time of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. One instance was when there were a few Sahaba who were not allowed to leave Mecca and were not allowed to make Hijrah. Who were they? Walid ibn al-Walid, Ayyash ibn Abi Rabi'ah, Hisham ibn al-'As — these individuals, who were among the weakened and poor Muslims, were being punished and tortured by the Meccans and were not allowed to migrate.

So the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam could not do anything for them physically — so one day he made qunoot and made du'a for them in the salah. And he made du'a against those who were not allowing them to migrate. When the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam lifted his head from the ruku', he said:

"Oh Allah, save Walid ibn al-Walid. Oh Allah, save them. Oh Allah, give them safety. Oh Allah, protect and help all those who are weakened in Mecca, who are being mistreated and oppressed in Mecca." And then he made du'a against the oppressors:

"Oh Allah, tighten Your noose around Mudar. Tighten Your destruction upon the tribe of Mudar. And oh Allah, bring upon them years of drought the way the nation of Egypt — during the time of Yusuf alayhi salam — they went through great drought." And Allah then — you know the whole story of the dream, and Yusuf alayhi salam coming out of the prison and giving solutions.

And similarly, in the narration of Imam Muslim, the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam — hīna yafraghu min salāt al-fajr min al-qirā'ah — when he would complete his qira'ah, he would do takbir, and then after that he would make this du'a.

Second Incident: The Tragedy of Bi'r Ma'unah

Another incident is that of Bi'r Ma'unah. Bi'r Ma'unah is a location. And in that, what happened is that the tribes of Ri'l, Dhakwan, 'Usayyah, and Banu Lihyan — four tribes — came:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 3064; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 677)

They sought assistance and reinforcements against the enemy. And the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam assisted them with 70 of his Ansar. "We used to call them the Qurra' — those who recite the Quran properly — during their era. They used to gather firewood by day and they used to pray Salah, Qiyam, and recite Quran at night." What beautiful, hardworking people these Sahaba were — these 70 Qurra'.

And in some narrations it comes that these tribes came to the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam and acted as though they had accepted Islam. And they said, "We are looking for someone to come and teach us." So the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam sent them. The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam does not know the future except that which Allah tells him. So he sent them.

Then what happened?

Until they arrived at the location called Bi'r Ma'unah — they killed them, one after the other. The tribes gathered and killed all 70 Sahaba. And they broke their treaty and the truce. And they mutilated their bodies. 70 Sahaba — 70 Qurra'.

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 1001; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 677)

That news reached the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, and he did qunoot for one entire month. In Salat al-Fajr he made du'a against these various tribes of the Arabs — against Ri'l, Dhakwan, 'Usayyah, and Banu Lihyan.

So these are two main incidents that happened. Now a question arises: why are we doing qunoot and du'a for the weakened Muslims and against their oppressors after ruku'? What would be more logically expected? Sujood — because:

"The closest a person is to Allah is while he is in a state of sujood." So why are we not doing qunoot in sujood? The answer — and this is random wisdom shared by the ulema — is that qunoot is supposed to be a collective du'a. A very big aspect of qunoot is that you're supposed to have the ameen of the crowd behind you — of the ummah. It's a collective du'a, like the du'a of Janazah is collective on behalf of the deceased. Qunoot al-Nazilah is also a qunoot done collectively on behalf of the ummah. If a person were in sujood, it would be very difficult for the people behind — without a microphone system — to hear. And hence, this is why the ulema have said more than likely this is the reason why Nabi sallallahu alayhi wa sallam did qunoot after ruku'.

And we learn from here that the qunoot should be done based on the situation — whatever the calamity is, based on that you make the du'a. You also see that if there is an instance where specifically mentioning names is relevant, then you can — as the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam made du'a for the oppressed ones as well as against the oppressors. He named them. He named the oppressors and he named the oppressed ones.

The Story of Shaykh Mabrook: A Lesson in Sincerity and Du'a

I want to share a story — because we love stories, right? SubhanAllah. Many years ago when I was in Denver visiting, I came across community members there who told me about a certain amazing da'i ilallah who was from Libya. And he was a student studying there in Denver in the 80s. He came from a big background and whatnot. But Allah allowed him to get introduced to some other young Arabs and non-Arabs who were involved in giving da'wah. And he got motivated and attached to them. So he began to spend a lot of his time giving da'wah.

When he initially came to this country, he didn't come as a very religious person. But he changed very quickly and made this his main goal — while he was still doing his Masters or PhD. So every single weeknight he would go to different areas. Sometimes just on a weekend from Denver to Los Angeles. Sometimes from Denver to New York — the opposite end of another country. And he really got deep into giving da'wah to the Muslims and bringing a revival within the Muslims.

So I got a chance to meet some of those people who were with him, or who saw him, or interacted with him. And that was very, very moving. They told me that no matter what time of the day or the night, if anyone said there's a Muslim there, he would say: "Let's go. Right now." Like right now, someone has messaged me saying, "Do you know anyone in Florida? There's a young brother who's got some issues — now he's suicidal. It's the month of Ramadan. Can you get someone to assist him?" There are thousands of cases all over our own area — horrific cases that need immediate assistance. Who's going to worry about that? So this brother — he would go. Any time he'd hear of a Muslim in need or a Muslim who needs a little push, he'd show up there.

When he would find out when the flights were coming from the Middle East — bringing young Khaliji men and women — he'd find out, and subhanAllah, act like he was a representative of some of the Arab clubs and meet them at the airport. Because otherwise they'd be going straight from the airport to some other club. So he'd intercept them. The stories are mind-boggling. How would he intercept? They would think this guy is coming from some place of fun or whatnot. "Oh, where's the party tonight?" "Yeah, we got the party, don't worry." And he would literally take them — hijack the whole group — and say, "Yeah, I got you a party, don't worry, we got dinner, we got food." And he would take them to a whole different party. Protect them from the haram and connect them to the house of Allah.

So he made a lot of efforts especially on young Khaliji and Saudi students. He would go in Denver — that time, a lot of snow, cold, in the 80s especially — and no matter what it was, he would always wear his ship-ship slippers. Always wear slippers. Okay, so I can go on till much later after Maghrib telling you the stories, because honestly they were amazing. But let me get to why I'm sharing this story.

The Du'a of Sayyiduna 'Umar

He said, no matter what time of the night or the day he would be in jawla — visiting Muslims — he would make du'a before going to visit, and after visiting on the way back. He said he would always make this du'a — the du'a of 'Umar, may Allah be pleased with him:

"Oh Allah, grant me martyrdom in Your path and death in the city of Your Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam." This is the du'a of Sayyiduna 'Umar, may Allah be pleased with him. And he used to make it. People used to find it very awkward — that this seems to be an oxymoron. You want to die as a shaheed and you want to be buried in Madinah. How is that going to work? Because a shaheed is presumably going to be hundreds of miles from Madinah on the borders. And there are no airplanes to bring the body there — and plus that's against the shari'ah anyway. So how is it going to happen? But you leave it up to Allah how He wants to do it. That's not our problem. Our job is to make the du'a.

SubhanAllah. How much we learn from this. So he made du'a for the unthinkable. And Allah made it happen. While Sayyiduna 'Umar was leading Salat al-Fajr, he was stabbed. And the first question he asked was: "Who stabbed me?" — because he wanted to make sure it was not a Muslim. And as soon as he heard that it was a Zoroastrian, alhamdulillah, he was happy. "At least a Muslim didn't kill me. I'm dying at the hands of a kafir — I'll be a shaheed. And this is a good sign — there's no fitna within the Muslims." That fitna was going to come unfortunately in the next era, in the time of Uthman, may Allah be pleased with him. So Allah made this du'a accepted.

We should all make this du'a. If you don't know it in Arabic, say it in English, in Urdu, in your own language, whatever. "Oh Allah, I ask you for martyrdom in Your path. And I ask you for death and burial in the city of Your Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam."

So our brother — this Libyan da'i — he used to make this du'a. And one person told me this himself. He said, "I used to hear him and I said, 'Brother, you're in Denver, in the middle of the snow, you're a student — why are you always making this du'a?' He said, 'Brother, don't worry about it. This is my du'a. This is my du'a.'"

The Barakah in His Studies

His roommates say that he would go out for khuruj — gone. The semester would start. He'd come for the first day, take the information of what needs to be studied, and then go away. He'd find out when the semester exam was, and he would show up for the exam. At 'Asr time, he'd sit with his roommates and say, "Alright, let's go have a study session today." But he would make sure all the salah happened in the masjid. And in the masjid after 'Asr and Maghrib, he'd still give the adab al-jawla — do one quick visit, go visit a couple of Muslims, give a short reminder, and then come back to the apartment.

That few 12 hours that he's back — in those 12 hours also, he would pray all the salah in the masjid and go visit a few Muslims. So his roommates would say: "Initially we thought, this guy is crazy. Why are you even trying to attempt to pass? You're never going to pass this exam. You come literally the day before and you want to study for the whole semester."

So he'd say, "I don't need much help. Just show me from what page to what page is the exam." They said: "We'd be studying the whole semester, and then we'd go to sleep. Our friend would not go to sleep — the entire night he'd be awake. Of course he'd go for Fajr salah. He'd come back. And we'd go together to the exam — us snickering at this guy, like: 'What a crazy person, trying to attempt to write this exam now.' We go into the exam hall and subhanAllah, before anyone else, he'd be the first one out — not because he didn't know it, but because he aced it. And every single exam he would ace it, after spending just maybe 6 to 7 hours the night before." You could see, definitely, the help of Allah with him. What was he doing? He was saving the lives of thousands of Arabs who had come from overseas to study and had no environment. That's why he would be spending his time.

His Martyrdom and the Acceptance of His Du'a

Fast forward — he went back, during the era of Qadhdhafi, of course, which ended not too long ago. He had become a celebrity of sorts. People loved him. Allah gave him a magical speech, and he had the charisma and the fikr and the concern. So he moved to Dubai. And then one year from Dubai he went to Hajj. And it was in Hajj that he was in Mina.

And in Mina, he was also giving da'wah — going tent to tent. Read the stories of Sahaba in Hayat al-Sahaba; you'll see a detailed description of how the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam in Hajj went giving da'wah from tent to tent. It's very emotional if you read the stories — how the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam was made fun of and mocked. And a companion who was not yet Muslim said: "I walked behind to see what this man was going to do." And he would go to a tent — imagine you're sitting with friends, under the sun, enjoying your food — and some man comes to you and says, "Hey, can I have five minutes?" And then he says, "Everything you're doing, brother — you're going to go to hell if you follow this. You're following idols. You need to believe in La ilaha illallah." How would they listen to him? So they would literally mock and jeer at him. Sallallahu alayhi wa sallam.

And he would go to the next tent, and the next tent. And there was a man walking behind him saying, "He's crazy, he's majnoon — don't listen to him, don't follow him." Like with a loudspeaker behind him. And this was none other than his own uncle. The sahabi says: "I would see the next day, what did the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam do? He would go in order — because at that time they were a limited number of tents — and he would start once again to the very same tent, with the exact same ambition and excitement that he had on the first day when he met them. He would not allow the absolutely horrific way he was responded to and jeered away to come between him and them. He would go with that positive attitude: 'Maybe today — maybe today Allah will guide you.'" SubhanAllah.

When I read that, I was like: honestly, who can do this? We can't do it even when we're begging for ourselves. Imagine the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam begging them for their own akhira.

So this man — Shaykh Mabrook — within the Mina tents, was also giving da'wah. Eventually, the elders of da'wah wa tabligh from Nizamuddin and elsewhere were present in one of the tents. He went to go visit them and speak to them. And then someone came to those ulama and shaykhs and said, "We would like Shaykh Mabrook to come and speak to us in our tent." They said, "Okay, bismillah. If you want to take him to your tent for a talk and a bayan, no problem." So they took him.

They waited one hour, two hours, five hours, six hours. Nowhere to be found. They sent out police searching for him. After a full day or so, they found — in or outside of Mina — a suitcase. And in that suitcase was a plastic bag, and in that plastic bag were the chopped-up pieces of his body. And they could not recognize him — how are you going to recognize him like that? There were no forensic scientists available there. The way they recognized him — SubhanAllah — was with his slippers. That same pair of slippers he would always wear, even in the snow-capped environs of Denver, all the way to his Hajj. The same slippers.

Another person shared this story — he said: "I used to live in the same apartment building in Dubai as this Shaykh. While this was happening in Hajj, I was at home, and I had a dream. In my dream, I saw my neighbor sitting on his bed, surrounded by the most amazing women — who could not be the women of this dunya." And the person said, "I'm seeing this dream, and I know my friend went for Hajj, and I don't know exactly what's going on, but this dream was very ajib." And as he was seeing this dream over here — by the way, I heard this myself from the person who saw this dream — on the other hand, over there, SubhanAllah, he had been made shaheed. In the path of Allah. What was he doing? He was in Hajj, going to give da'wah. While in the state of ihram, probably. What greater blessing of Allah can there be than this?

Now look at how Allah SubhanAllah accepted his du'a, my brothers. He asked: "Oh Allah, grant me martyrdom in Your path" — and then next, what was the second part? To be buried in Madinah al-Munawwarah. Now if you die in Mina, you'd be lucky to get into Jannatul Mu'alla and be buried in the graveyard of Makkah al-Mukarramah — and that's what we'd hope for. But one of the young men whom he had impacted in America — a young Saudi prince — when he heard the news of his death, he was very moved. He attributed the changing of his life to this Shaykh. And he went directly to the king at that time — who was probably King Fahd — and asked him: "I have a favor. I have a person who is very close to me, and he only had one wish: that he should be buried in Madinah. I need you to give an official declaration from the king's palace to change the route of this body — instead of being buried near Mina, he should be transported to Madinah."

SubhanAllah. And lo and behold, that request — that the Shaykh himself didn't make. Look: if you go yourself and say "please move my body," that's different. Look at how Allah allowed this to happen, blame-free. He's not doing anything. It's Allah who created this desire within this prince's heart. And Allah sent him to the king. And Allah allowed the king to soften his heart. And then Allah SubhanAllah made this whole plan for this man to be buried in Jannatul Baqi' — to be from amongst those people who will be raised, inshallah, under the banner of Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam — and will enjoy, amongst the first people to enjoy, the intercession of Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. Wow.

Shaykh is gone, but just listening to the stories of the impact he had — I ask Allah SubhanAllah that He grants myself and every one of us an amazing, impactful life. Whether you're a scholar or not. He was not a scholar. He was a PhD in petroleum engineering. But the fikr and concern he had for Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam's ummah — I cannot imagine how many thousands of people's lives he changed till today. And may Allah grant us all, similarly, this du'a — a death of shahada and burial in the city of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam — to us, and our loved ones, and our children.

The Purpose of Qunoot al-Nazilah

I started this talk today about Qunoot al-Nazilah. And I want you to understand that the purpose of Qunoot al-Nazilah is for us to pray for our oppressed believers and to pray against the oppressors. Do not allow this thought to come to your mind: "Who am I? I can barely keep my eyes away from haram. I can barely come for Fajr to the masjid. Where is my du'a?" Don't allow yourself to think like that. Our job is to pour our heart and cry and make du'a for what's happening. Acceptance is in the hands of Allah.

We don't know — in this Fajr, who's sitting there? In that Isha, who's standing there making du'a? For one innocent young boy who's crying. One old lady who's sick, who's there crying. One elderly person who's crying. Because of their du'a, Allah may accept all of our du'as — and not just accept the du'a on behalf of the oppressed ones, but also change our lives as well.

So I encourage you to make du'a as much as you can — at Maghrib, Isha, daily salah. Right now we have iftar time. Make lots and lots of du'a for the ummah that's suffering. In Gaza there is a huge, huge crisis going on. The highest number of children ever killed in a single day in Gaza has happened today — over 170 confirmed shuhada, and just in one night, 450: men, women, and children. SubhanAllah. People who are fasting and who are praying Tarawih and their Qiyam — while they're sleeping amongst the rubble, amongst the rubble — they have been mercilessly bombarded. And the disbelievers have said that this is not a one-day operation — it's going to be a continuous operation.

So we really need to make lots of du'a, regularly please, and have hope that Allah SubhanAllah will bring change and an end to this suffering. And my beloved friends, listen — the du'a's acceptance does not immediately tell us how it will happen. We don't know. Allah can use nature. Allah can use natural powers. Allah can make people fight amongst themselves. Allah can do all sorts of things. But our job is to leave that in Allah's court. Our job is to make du'a. And we do it earnestly, and we hope Allah SubhanAllah will accept that.

The Du'a — Qunoot al-Nazilah

"Oh Allah, we ask You to guide us as well — because of all the suffering they are going through. Oh Allah, we ask You to awaken the sleeping ummah. Oh Allah, we beg You — from all the horrific crimes happening right now across the globe and specifically in Gaza — Oh Allah, those 170 children that were butchered last night, Oh Allah, and those hundreds of others that were butchered this morning — Oh Allah, we ask You, as that innocent blood is being spilled — the blood of those who are fasting, Oh Allah, and those who are spending the nights in qiyam amongst the rubble, amongst the rubble — in masajid that are just mere pieces of cement. Oh Allah, we ask You — through that shahada and the barakah of their martyrdom, and through the barakah of their blood being spilled on the ground, and through the barakah of the immense du'as that they must have made last night and this morning, and the immense du'as that the mothers of those children are making, and the fathers of those children are making, and the husbands and wives who are seeing their entire families being wiped out — Ya Allah, Ya Allah — we ask You in the name of those du'as: awaken the ummah.

Oh Allah, allow all of those who are leading a life of ghafla — a life of absolute heedlessness, a life away even in this month of Ramadan from the masajid, away from fasting, simply indulging in eating excessively — even if they may be fasting, but partying all day and all night in all sorts of gatherings, in all sorts of restaurants, in all sorts of places — Ya Allah, guide that sleeping ummah, guide that heedless ummah back to the Deen.

Oh Allah, do not allow — do not allow — all of this mujahada of our brothers and sisters of Gaza to go to waste. Most definitely it cannot go to waste. Most definitely it will never go to waste. Oh Allah, most definitely they are going to reap the benefits of it — but allow all of us, and the entire world, to also reap the benefits of that. Oh Allah, allow an awakening to happen across the globe. Oh Allah, allow an awakening to happen in our hearts and in the hearts of the Muslims across the globe.

Oh Allah, we ask You to accept all of our du'as and accept their du'as that they are making right now. Oh Allah, grant special, special hidden assistance. Ya Allah, allow all of us to earnestly make du'a for the entire ummah every single day throughout the day. And Oh Allah, allow our du'as to be accepted — on our behalf and on their behalf."