Du'a : The Weapon of the Believer - Shaykh Abu Abdillah Yunus

Du'a: The Weapon of the Believer

إِنَّ الْحَمْدَ لِلَّهِ نَحْمَدُهُ وَنَسْتَعِينُهُ وَنَسْتَغْفِرُهُ وَنُؤْمِنُ بِهِ وَنَتَوَكَّلُ عَلَيْهِ وَنَعُوذُ بِاللَّهِ مِنْ شُرُورِ أَنْفُسِنَا وَمِنْ سَيِّئَاتِ أَعْمَالِنَا مَنْ يَهْدِهِ اللَّهُ فَلَا مُضِلَّ لَهُ وَمَنْ يُضْلِلْ فَلَا هَادِيَ لَهُ وَأَشْهَدُ أَنْ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ وَحْدَهُ لَا شَرِيكَ لَهُ وَأَشْهَدُ أَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا عَبْدُهُ وَرَسُولُهُ أَمَّا بَعْدُ

Allah said:

My dear brothers and sisters, we find that in the Quran in more than one place, Allah has commanded us and instructed us to call out to Him during difficult times and during good times, and He has promised us that He will answer us.

The Boundless Kingdom of Allah

In fact, my dear brothers and sisters, we find in the hadith — the hadith Qudsi, the hadith of Abu Dharr in Sahih Muslim — where he mentions that Allah said:

(Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2577)

Allah Himself says: if the first of you and the last of you — those from mankind and those from the jinn — all stood in one plane, and they asked Me for everything that crossed their mind, everything that a person wants, they asked and I gave it to them, I gave every single one of them everything they asked — مَا نَقَصَ ذَلِكَ مِمَّا عِنْدِي — nothing would decrease from that which I have of My kingdom, إِلَّا كَمَا يَنْقُصُ الْمِخْيَطُ إِذَا أُدْخِلَ الْبَحْرَ — except like a needle if it was placed in an ocean. Meaning it's not going to affect the kingdom, the abundant kingdom of Allah the Almighty, whatsoever.

The Practice of the Pious — Returning to Allah First

The people of the past, my dear brothers and sisters — from the prophets and their nations, and then after that the Sahabah and those who came after — you would find them always making du'a. They had a need, a person would make du'a immediately. That's the first thing that would cross their mind, or even if it didn't cross their mind, this is what they would be directed to.

The Du'a of Abu Umama for Debt

Like the narration of Abu Umama in the Sunan — although there is a dispute in its authenticity — where he was in the masjid and he was quite upset and felt down. The Prophet came to him and asked him, and he told him that he felt down because he felt burdened by the amount of debts that he had — he owed a lot of people money. So then the Prophet told him to make the du'a:

Now this narration, although there is a dispute in its authenticity regarding Abu Umama, and it was said in that narration that Abu Umama recited it and then the sadness as well as his debts were paid off in a very short space of time — the wording of this du'a is in the Sahihayn, in Bukhari and Muslim.

One of our teachers in Medina told us that a person came to his house — similar to Abu Umama's case — and told him that he feels really down, that he has hundreds of thousands, if not millions, in debt. So the sheikh told him about this du'a, to recite it. Then the person came back to the sheikh a few days later and said, "When you told me to make this du'a, SubhanAllah, Shaytan whispered to me — how on earth can all of this debt be paid off? But I said no, this is what the Prophet told us to say. Let us believe that this is the truth and this is from the Almighty, this is from Allah." So he said, "I recited the du'a," and he said in a few days all of his debt was paid — all of his debt was paid.

So a person struggling, a person who owes a lot of people money — and SubhanAllah, I've seen this multiple times — your job, my dear brother and sister, is to make the du'a. As for how it's taken care of, if there's something that you can do, if you can tie your camel you do so. Otherwise, that's not your job. Your job now is to have faith in the Almighty and He takes care of the rest.

Imam al-Bukhari's Restored Eyesight

Or you find some of them — like Imam al-Bukhari. His father passed away when he was extremely young. Imam al-Bukhari's mother found that he had lost his eyesight, as Imam al-Dhahabi tells us in Siyar A'lam al-Nubala', that he lost his eyesight when he was very young. So what did she do? She used to cry and cry and make du'a after du'a after du'a. One night she had a dream where she saw Ibrahim, upon whom be peace, the prophet, who said to her: "O so-and-so, Allah has restored the eyesight of your son due to du'a" — and in some of the narrations, due to the amount he used to cry profusely and the du'a that he used to make. They woke up in the morning, went and searched for Imam al-Bukhari, and found that his eyesight was restored. And then after that, the rest of the story — meaning in terms of Imam al-Bukhari becoming the person who he became.

But the point is, my dear brothers — this was an innocent lady, an innocent lady who wasn't known to be a female scholar or anything close to that, but yet she had a very good connection with the Almighty, such that the first person she returned to was the Almighty. The first person.

Because a lot of the time, my dear brothers and sisters, even in our times, there are multiple examples where a person has been wronged, and they try to contact people and make lots of phone calls and this and that, for months upon months upon months, and no result. And SubhanAllah, then they realize — they say, "Okay, let's stop all of this stuff. Let me just perform two rak'ah, let me do some fresh wudu, and let me make some du'a." And a person either makes du'a, or it's in their prostration in the salah, and SubhanAllah, by afternoon time — if the du'a was made in the morning — you find that they're relieved. Because they've forgotten — they've forgotten who is the one who can relieve you.

Who is the one who answers the caller who is in distress and removes them from that evil state, that difficult state? Who is it except the Almighty? My dear brothers and sisters, let us start to try our best to seek comfort in the source — the one who can give us this relief.

Umm Salama and the Du'a of the Afflicted

Or you find, for example, Umm Salama. The Prophet mentioned that no Muslim goes through a difficulty and then recites the du'a:

— "To Allah we belong and to Him we shall return. O Allah, reward me for this calamity that has struck me and compensate me with something better than it" — except that something better will be replaced for that calamity. Meaning they'll be compensated.

So Umm Salama, may Allah be pleased with her, was very happily married. She had children, and she and her husband were from the couples who would help one another to do good and remind one another to do acts of obedience. Then her husband passed away. Her source of comfort in her marriage — her husband — now he's gone. She remembers the du'a. She recites it, and then she starts to think, "I believe that what the Prophet is saying is correct, but who is better than Abu Salama? Who is better than my husband Abu Salama?" And then the Prophet himself proposed to her — and this hadith is in Sahih Muslim. Then she realized: the du'a has been accepted, and she was granted someone who is better than Abu Salama.

Contemporary Examples of Du'a Being Answered

My dear brothers and sisters, a person goes through a calamity in their health, their wealth, debts, a death — they need to know the source of comfort. And these are all examples of the past. We find many examples in the present as well.

The Paralysed Man at the Ka'ba

There was one individual — a man who was extremely rich, extremely wealthy. But after some time he was struck by an illness in which he became paralysed — almost the entire body was paralysed. He narrates his story himself. He said he went to England for treatment; it wasn't successful. Then he went to America — the same happened. He said then he was sitting at home, watching satellite TV, and all of a sudden they switched the channel to Mecca. So he sees the Ka'ba. He tells his son: "I want to go visit the King." His son is gobsmacked — shocked. "What king?" He said, "I want to go visit the King of Kings" — meaning he wants to go to Allah's house, that's what he means. He wants to go to the Ka'ba.

His son said, "How are we going to get you there? You're completely paralysed — the only thing you can do is speak." He said, "Even if you have to book me a private jet, I'm going to go there." So they sorted it out, they got him to the Mataaf, next to the Ka'ba. He said for about an hour or so he's just shouting out: "O Malik, O King, cure me!" He said, "I'm not going to leave this place — either I'm going to leave this place and go to the graveyard, or I'm going to leave this place on my feet." The man is determined.

As a person who goes to Mecca — specifically during summer times but even the rest of the year — they find that it's extremely hot, and a person can't spend too much time there during the day. He does that for about an hour, making du'a, saying: "O Malik, O King, cure me. I'm not going to leave here — either I'm going to be going to the graveyard, or I'm leaving here cured." No doubt, maybe he could have done it in a better way, but this is a person in distress — this is how people normally react.

He said he became so hot he couldn't take it any longer, so he fell unconscious — he fell asleep for a little bit. And then he heard a voice saying: قُمْ وَامْشِ — "Stand and walk." Then a second time: "Stand and walk." Then a third time: "Stand and walk." And this time he literally gets up — it wakes him up — and he starts to walk. He calls out in tears: "O Malik, O King, You are the one who never fails the one who calls out to Him in distress."

This is an example of a person who has certainty — a person who knows that at the end of the day, the one who paralysed you, you're paralysed because He willed for you to be paralysed, and if He wills to cure you, He can cure you.

The Old Man in Masjid al-Haram

Or there was another incident that a sheikh narrated from the Arab world. He went into Mecca, he entered into Masjid al-Haram next to the Ka'ba, and he found an old man who was making du'a with humility, and he seemed to be in extreme distress. The sheikh was amazed by him, so he performed two rak'ah beside him and then just watched him in amazement. The person was just making du'a, du'a, du'a — he was in his own world, not paying attention to his surroundings.

After some time, a person came by — from one of the Gulf countries — and tried to call the person who was making du'a, but that person was in his own world. Then he placed his hand in his pocket, took out a large amount of cash, threw it in the lap of the person making du'a, and walked off. The person making du'a looked down at his lap, smiled, and continued — smiled, and then he continued making du'a for some time. After that he got up and walked off.

The sheikh followed him and said, "Please explain to me what has just happened. You're making du'a like that, and then all of a sudden this person throws something, you smile — please explain what has just happened." The old man said, "Don't worry about this, nothing happened" — he didn't want to discuss it. So the sheikh broke down and said, "Please — teach me. I want to know what has just happened." He felt sorry for him and explained.

He said: "O my son, I entered into the house of Allah in a state of distress. I had a lot of problems. I refused to ask anyone other than Allah, so I said, let me come to His house." He said, "I made du'a, and no one knows the distress that I was in other than Him. And right now I have three times the amount that I needed. The amount that he was given — I have three times the amount that I needed."

Proactive Du'a — Not Only in Times of Need

All of these examples, my dear brothers and sisters, are du'as that you would call reactionary. There's nothing wrong with them — it's praiseworthy that a person returns back to the Almighty. But they're du'as that are in times of need. As Muslims, my dear brothers and sisters, we need to be people who make du'a at times when we need something, but also we're in need of Allah at all times.

Ibn Mas'ud's Du'a for Firm Iman

Like Ibn Mas'ud in the authentic narration in the Musnad of Imam Ahmad — when he would perform the sajdah, from the du'as that he would make during the lifetime of the Prophet:

"O Allah, I ask You for iman where I don't apostate, I don't leave the religion. O Allah, I ask You for iman where I don't flip." Many people you see them practising one day, and half a year later they're not practising. The heart — a person's heart is with Allah. If it's flipped one way, a person's guided; flipped the other way, a person's not guided. Meaning, in brief, it's all with Allah. So a person, this is from proactive du'a — a person needs to always make du'a, and one of the most important things is for the iman, for Allah to grant them the sweetness in the prayer, when they're connecting that divine link — to taste the sweetness, for Allah to give them the ability to enter into the jannah of this dunya before the jannah of the next life. A person needs to make du'a proactively.

Abu Hurairah's Du'a for Lasting Knowledge

Or like Abu Hurairah, may Allah be pleased with him — in some of the narrations that some of the scholars authenticate, in the Sunan — he used to make du'a:

"O Allah, I ask You for knowledge that I don't forget." Because obviously, my dear sisters, there are things that are not beneficial that you learn — there's no point memorising them or remembering them — but when it comes to beneficial knowledge, one of the problems with it is that a person needs to repeat it a lot, otherwise they forget. So Abu Hurairah used to ask for that.

Umar's Du'a for Martyrdom in the Prophet's City

Or another example — Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, at the end of his life. When Umar knew that he was going to die, what did he ask the Almighty? He said — in the narration in Sahih al-Bukhari and elsewhere:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 1890)

"O Allah, I ask You for martyrdom in Your way, and I ask You for death in the land of Your Messenger." Now, the land of the Messenger is a Muslim land — there's no war going on, there are no battles or anything like that. So Hafsa, may Allah be pleased with her — in some of the narrations outside the Sahih — Umar's daughter asked him: "How is that possible? You're asking for martyrdom — to become a shaheed — where? In the Prophet's city, and there's no war going on." So Umar thought for a second, he paused, and he said: "If Allah wills for this to happen, He'll make it happen."

That's how it works. And this is a very key aspect when you're making du'a — to acknowledge that there's no limit when you're connecting with the Almighty. If He wills to make something happen, it's completely possible. Just think about yourself: most of your life, a lot of what we have with us — have we made du'a for it? Allah blesses you and He gives you that which you ask for and that which you don't ask for. Imagine a life where you're only granted that which you ask for — that would be a difficult life. But He knows, my dear sisters, what's beneficial for you and what's not, and He gives you that which you ask for and that which you don't ask for.

When Du'a Seems Unanswered

My dear brothers and sisters — if something is most probably not good for you, don't think that He's not giving it to you for other reasons. It could be that either a person is rewarded, or a person will see it in the next life, or some harm is being removed, as found in the other narration in the Musnad and elsewhere.

Key Points on the Etiquettes of Du'a

What we want to conclude with, my dear brothers and sisters, is a few points to finish off with the topic of du'a.

The first one — for a person to learn the etiquettes of making du'a. That a person praises Allah saying الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ, or even if they don't know that, they say it in English. They send peace and salutations upon the Prophet. They don't ask for something which involves sin. When they ask Allah for something, they say it — and they're not hasty for an answer, meaning they don't get impatient. They don't keep saying, "I keep making du'a but Allah doesn't answer me," because you don't know. Sometimes we think something's good for us at this moment in time — maybe it's not good whatsoever. Maybe it's good for us in one year's time, but not right now. It will actually stunt your growth as a Muslim, stunt your growth as a human being, stunt your progress in your profession or whatever you're doing. So a person does it with certainty, but they're not in a rush. If they don't get an answer, they know that Allah knows best — Allah is doing whatever is best for you. Doing it with certainty, you're doing your bit and you leave the rest to the Almighty.

And also, regardless of whether a person has done wrong or not — it doesn't matter how big something is, it's very minuscule and very small in the sight of the Almighty. And if Iblis, after he disobeyed Allah — when Allah told him to prostrate to Adam and he, out of arrogance, disobeyed — yet he's asking Allah:

"My Lord, give me respite until the Day of Resurrection" — and Allah answered him. Like Sufyan ibn Uyayna, from the scholars of the past, said: if Iblis was answered, don't you think your du'a is going to be answered, my dear brother and sister? Of course, your du'a, by the will of Allah, will definitely be answered.

Times When Du'a Is Most Likely to Be Accepted

Another thing that will really help is knowing the du'a acceptance times. Like the last third of the night, before Fajr — that's a golden time every single day to make du'a. And another time which is every Friday, my dear brothers and sisters. According to a large number of the scholars, they authenticate the time before Maghrib — a person makes du'a before Maghrib.

Make Du'a with a Present Heart — The Lesson of Surah al-Fatiha

But one thing that is vital, my dear brothers and sisters — when you make the du'a, don't just make it with your lips and your tongue while your heart is not present. Let me give you a small point. You know when we recite al-Fatiha — which is also a du'a? Al-Fatiha is a du'a. الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ، الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ، مَالِكِ يَوْمِ الدِّينِ, till the end — it is a du'a. That's why when a person recites اهْدِنَا الصِّرَاطَ الْمُسْتَقِيمَ — "My Lord, guide us to the right path" — which is only emphasising the guidance, guidance like this and not guidance like that — then some of the scholars say, because of the hadith Qudsi in Sahih Muslim where Allah says: "This is for My servant, and My servant will be granted what he asks for" — they say: how is it possible that a person recites al-Fatiha that often, and then we find some people going off track, being misguided?

Some of the scholars answer that by saying: because when they recite al-Fatiha, their heart is not in the Fatiha. They're just reciting with their lips, but they're not paying attention, they're not concentrating, they're not focusing on what they're reciting. So that plays a role in the acceptance of that du'a. For Allah does not answer a heart that is absent-minded.

My dear brothers and sisters, we have to genuinely believe and focus when we're making du'a. It can't just be with the lips and the tongue — we have to focus when we make the du'a. And we ask Allah the Almighty to grant us the ability to make du'a regularly — both du'as when we're at times of need, and generally always making du'a as much as possible, with our hearts that are fully awake.

Al-Fatiha.