20161223-2nd Khutba - Shaykh Arsalan--Importance of Dua

Khutbah: The Importance of Du'a

All praise is due to Allah. We praise Him, we ask His help, we ask His forgiveness and we ask His guidance. And we seek refuge in Allah from the evil of our souls and from the evil of our deeds.

Whomsoever Allah guides, none can misguide him. And whosoever He misguides, none can guide him. And I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, alone, with no partner.

And I bear witness that our master Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, was a servant and a messenger and a pure one and a friend. He conveyed the message and fulfilled the trust and advised the ummah. And he strived in the way of Allah for the truth of his Jihad until the certainty came to him.

O Allah, send blessings and peace upon our master Muhammad, and upon his pure good people and his righteous companions, and upon those who followed them with good till the Day of Recompense.

Indeed, the truth of the speech is the Book of Allah and the best guidance is the guidance of our master Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him. And the worst of things are its innovations, and every innovation is a bid'ah, and every bid'ah is a misguidance, and every misguidance is in the Fire.

O you who have believed, fear Allah as He should be feared, and you will not die except as Muslims.

O you people, fear your Lord, Who created you from one soul, and created from it its mate, and He spread among them many men and women. And fear Allah, to whom you ask for help and mercy. Indeed, Allah is ever watching over you.

The Purpose of Our Creation and the Essence of Du'a

Brothers and sisters, Allah tells us in the Qur'an the purpose for which He created us all, when He says:

That I have only created the jinn and the human beings for a single purpose, which is to fulfill عبودية to Me — لِيَعْبُدُونِ — so that they perform 'ibadah to Me.

And Rasulullah ﷺ says in an authentic hadith:

(Sunan Abu Dawud, Hadith 1479; Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 2969 — graded authentic)

Du'a is the form of 'ibadah. Brothers and sisters, if Allah has created us for 'ibadah, and du'a is the ultimate form of 'ibadah, then that tells us how much and how frequently we need to be in du'a of Allah. And that tells us that when we turn to Him in du'a, we are actually not wasting time, but we are fulfilling the very purpose for which Allah created us.

What is du'a? Du'a is an Arabic word which means to call out or to summon. Du'a is a plea that emanates from the heart of a believer through his tongue. It emanates from the heart, from the قلب, through the tongue.

Du'a is my confession before my Lord that, Ya Allah, I am weak, that I am helpless, that I am in need of You, that I am a poor created being who does not have control over anything. Du'a is my acknowledgement and admission before my Lord that, Ya Allah, I cannot achieve anything without Your help, that I am an 'abd, I am a lowly, humble servant who needs his Rabb, who needs his master.

Du'a is my confirmation that Allah is my master, that He is my Lord, that He is capable of everything, that He controls everything, and sustains everything, and hears everything, and sees everything, that He is the greatest, and the most generous, and the most merciful. So du'a is an affirmation of all of that. And that is why it is the essence of 'uboodiyyah — that is why it is the essence of servitude to Allah — and that is why it is the essence for which we were created.

Excuses We Make for Not Making Du'a

Now many of us know all of this. All the reminders are beneficial to those who have faith, but this is not new to most of us. And yet, if we think and reflect, and are honest to ourselves, we will realize that we turn to Allah in du'a very infrequently. We do not turn to Allah in du'a enough. And some of us make excuses for not doing so. Sometimes we express those excuses verbally, and sometimes we don't express it, but we harbor it inside of us. And I would like to spend a few minutes in this khutbah talking about some of the excuses that we make for not making du'a to Allah, and try to reflect on how to answer some of those excuses.

Excuse 1: "Allah Already Knows My Need"

Sometimes some of us, when we are reminded to turn to Allah in du'a, we say either to ourselves or to someone else: why should I make du'a? Allah already knows my need. Allah is fully aware of my need, or our need. If He wants to fulfill this need of mine, He will. And if He doesn't want to, He won't. What's the point of me turning to Allah in du'a?

Brothers and sisters, du'a is not to inform Allah of our need. That is not the purpose of du'a. Indeed, Allah does know our need better than we do ourselves. That's not why we turn to Allah in du'a. The reason why we turn to Allah in du'a is because that is an expression of my admission of who I am. I am admitting before Allah that I realize that I am not self-sufficient, that I recognize that I need Him, that I fully acknowledge that He is in control of everything. As an 'abd, as a servant of Allah, I need to express that, I need to show that. And the proof of that is when I turn to Allah with humility and extend my hands up like a beggar and ask Allah for my need.

Allah knows my need, but He wants to see me recognize my identity — that I am not a proud, self-sufficient human being who thinks that he has the resources and talents that are necessary to achieve what I want in life, but that I am a needy, humble servant of Allah who needs Him for the smallest of things and the biggest of things. That is why I turn to Allah in du'a.

And Allah indicates to us that when we don't do that — when we don't turn to Allah and express that with humility — then that is a sign that we are arrogant, and that is a sign that we are proud. Allah says in Surah Ghafir:

Your Lord says: Call upon Me — this is a command from Allah, it is an imperative command — make du'a to Me, call upon Me, I will respond to your call. It's a promise from Allah. And then He says: Verily, those who are too arrogant to worship Me — and we already said that du'a is the form of worship — verily, those who are too arrogant to worship Me will enter the Fire of Hell humiliated.

So it is a command from Allah. And when we turn to Allah in du'a, knowing that He knows our need, we are fulfilling His command. We are obeying His imperative. And we are expressing our identity — who we are: nothing but an 'abd of Allah, who needs Him.

If we look at the life of Rasulullah ﷺ, if we just look at one incident in his life — the night before the Battle of Badr, after he had planned out the battle, and held meetings with his companions to talk about strategy, and placed camp, and everyone had gone to sleep — what did he do during that night? Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, says that Rasulullah ﷺ spent that entire night in du'a, begging and imploring his Lord to help the Muslims on the following day. He didn't rely on his strategic prowess, or the physical might of Hamza, or Umar, or Zubair, or Ali. He did not rely on the fact that this battalion was led by himself — Allah's final and most beloved prophet. He implored his Lord the entire night, while Abu Bakr was standing there in amazement.

Why did Rasulullah ﷺ do that? Didn't Allah know his need and the need of the Muslims? Why did he do that? Didn't he have enough at his disposal to defeat the army in the form of the great Sahabah, and in the form of him as Rasulullah? He did that, brothers and sisters, because he knew that he was an 'abd of his Lord, that he could not do anything without His help.

And if that is how he conducted his wars, then what does that say to us? I ask you — think about it. Are we like that before our da'wah projects? Are we like that before our exams? Are we like that before our job interviews? Are we like that before some great political event is about to happen locally, or nationally, or internationally? What are we doing? It is not enough to make a meme on Facebook — "pray for blank" — or a hashtag — "pray for blank" — and just leave it at that. Do we actually pray for blank? And how many seconds or minutes do we spend praying for blank? On how many days? How frequently? Where are we when it comes to the sincere du'a to Allah?

Excuse 2: "Allah Has Already Decreed the Outcome"

Another excuse that people make is: Allah has already decreed the outcome. We believe in al-qadha wal-qadr, that everything is predestined. Everything that happens on this earth and this universe is predestined — Allah has already decreed that in pre-eternity. So if everything is predestined, if the outcome is already decreed, then what's the point of me making du'a?

Brothers and sisters, that's like saying that I won't eat and drink, or take medication, because the outcome is already decreed. If I am decreed to be satiated, I will be satiated — why should I eat? If I am decreed to get better, I will get better — why should I take medication? But none of us does that. Allah decrees things along with their means. And du'a is part of the means that is part of the decree of Allah. It is a means to achieve an end. That's one.

And number two, the Prophet ﷺ said:

(Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 2139; also reported in Musnad Ahmad — graded hasan)

That nothing averts the decree of Allah except du'a. Du'a actually has the power to avert the decree of Allah, if it comes out from a sincere persistent heart, brothers and sisters.

Excuse 3: "I Am Too Sinful for My Du'a to Be Answered"

Some of us make another excuse. We say: well, I don't think that my prayers will be answered because I am asking for something that is very very unlikely to happen. Or because I am too sinful — because I have lived a life of sin. So I don't think that Allah will listen to my du'a. Why would He listen to my du'a?

Now, brothers and sisters, there is an element of truth in this. Because Rasulullah ﷺ did mention in a hadith that when a person stretches out his hand and asks Allah for his need, while the person is consuming haram, and earning haram, and wearing haram, and eating and drinking haram — while a person is living a life of disobedience to Allah — and he does that, he implores Allah, the Prophet ﷺ said:

(Sahih Muslim, Hadith 1015)

How will the prayers of such a person be answered? So there is an element of truth in that. When we live a life of disobedience, and we are running away from Allah and neglecting His commands, then that does become an obstacle in our du'a being answered by Allah. That is true.

However, brothers and sisters, that doesn't mean that we should stop making du'a. What that means is that we should begin our du'a with a sincere repentance, and then put forward our request. We still turn to Allah in du'a, but before we ask Him for our need, we ask Allah for forgiveness for what we have done.

And even though our sins can become an obstacle in our du'a being answered, Allah out of His mercy and compassion sometimes even answers the du'a of the sinful. In fact, He even answers the du'a of a disbeliever. In fact, Allah even answered the du'a of Iblis. When Iblis requested from Allah:

My Lord, please, give me time until the Day of Resurrection. Allah said: I give you time until then. Sometimes Allah will even respond to the du'a of a sinful person. And therefore, brothers and sisters, yes, we are all sinners, but that should not prevent us from turning to Allah in du'a. In fact, that should propel us more to ask Allah so that He helps us overcome our weaknesses and forgive us our sins and help us change for the better.

And the Prophet ﷺ also said: supplicate to Allah with certainty that He will respond to your du'a, and know that He does not accept the du'a of a heart which is heedless of Him. If we have a good opinion of Allah, then Allah will treat us that way. But if we have a bad opinion of Allah, then Allah will treat us that way. If we turn to Allah in du'a believing that He is merciful, that He is kind, that He will accept my du'a, then He will. But if I turn to Allah in du'a but in my heart I don't really believe that He will accept it, then He won't.

Allah says: I am to My servant as he thinks of Me. If you have a good expectation from Allah, Allah will fulfill that expectation. And if you have a bad expectation from Allah, then Allah will fulfill that expectation as well.

Second Part of the Khutbah

All praise is due to Allah, Lord of all the worlds. The best of prayers and most complete of peace be upon our master Muhammad and upon all his family and companions.

Excuse 4: "I Have Already Made Du'a and It Doesn't Work"

Brothers and sisters, another excuse that many of us make — and like I said, sometimes we verbalize it with our tongues and sometimes we harbor it inside of ourselves — another excuse that we make for not making du'a to Allah is: I have already made du'a, it does not work. I have asked Allah for so long for this thing and Allah is not giving it to me. So it doesn't work, and that's why I no longer ask Allah.

Before I say anything, I'd like to mention a hadith of Rasulullah ﷺ in which he said the following:

The du'a of a servant is answered as long as he does not ask for evil and as long as he is not hasty. So a companion asked him: Ya Rasulullah, what does hastiness mean? So he replied: it means when a servant says, I made du'a to my Lord again and again but I did not see him responding to me — and then he loses hope and abandons his du'a. So Rasulullah ﷺ warned us about this. That's number one.

Number two, brothers and sisters, du'a has certain etiquette, certain prerequisites that have to be fulfilled in order for the du'a to be accepted by Allah. And so when we are asking Allah, we should try to fulfill as many of those etiquette as we can, and there are certain things that we can do to increase the likelihood of our du'a being answered. For example, when we turn to Allah in du'a, to begin with the praise of Allah, and then to send salawat on Rasulullah ﷺ, and then to admit my weakness and ask Allah for forgiveness of my sins, and then I put forward the need that I have. I don't jump directly to the need as if I have no time — as if the time is so short that I only have 30 seconds to make du'a. No, du'a is something that I need to take time out for and fulfill these etiquette of du'a. And then after I put forward my need, I again send salawat on Rasulullah ﷺ and I end again with the praise of Allah. These are beautiful etiquette that we need to observe in our du'a.

Why Is the Response Sometimes Delayed?

But it is true that despite all of this, sometimes the response is delayed from Allah. Sometimes Allah does not respond to the du'a immediately, and there are reasons for that. There are many reasons that can be listed. Among the reasons is that Allah knows that granting the request at this time will not be in the best interest of the person who is making the du'a. Allah knows the unseen and He knows that a delayed response will have a better outcome for the person making the du'a, and therefore He delays the response. Sometimes a person is asking for something and he is not ready for it — he needs more time to become ready.

Sometimes the ummah is asking for victory over the oppressors, but the ummah is not ready to become leaders of the world. Because if they become the leaders of the world, they will commit the same type of oppression, because they have not rectified their own affairs, they have not rectified their own relationship with Allah, their own character, their own akhlaq. And Allah wants to give the ummah more time to rectify themselves, to become ready to take on the victory from Allah. Allah did not give victory to Rasulullah ﷺ for more than a decade because the ummah was not ready. So a delayed response from Allah is in our interest.

And the Prophet ﷺ said:

(Sunan Abu Dawud, Hadith 4278; also reported in Musnad Ahmad)

He ﷺ said: This ummah is constantly enveloped in the rahmah of Allah. No matter what is going on in the world, this ummah of Rasulullah ﷺ is constantly submerged in the rahmah of Allah. It will not be punished with an eternal punishment in the hereafter — its punishment comes in this life in the form of temporary things, such as natural disasters, such as political upheavals and turmoil, such as bloodshed and killing. These are ways in which Allah purges the ummah and elevates the ummah and makes it ready to receive the victory from Allah. But it requires an insight to see that — to see beyond what is near and to be farsighted.

So when there is a delayed response from Allah, we shouldn't stop making du'a. We should continue making du'a, believing in the promise of Allah to be true.

A Beautiful Narration: Why Allah Sometimes Delays

And I close with this, brothers and sisters. It is related by Thabit al-Bunani that when Allah hears the du'a of His servant whom He loves, the servant calls Allah while He loves him, and He says: O Jibreel, delay the need of My servant, for I love to hear his voice. And the servant calls Allah while He hates him, and He says: O Jibreel, accept My servant's need, for I hate to hear his voice.

The next time your du'a is delayed — the response to your du'a is delayed — think about this statement of Thabit, in which he said that when Allah hears the du'a of His servant whom He loves, He says to Jibreel: O Jibreel, delay the fulfillment of My servant's wish, for I love to hear his voice. Because most of us, when the du'a is answered, we stop making du'a. Allah knows that we're going to stop making du'a. So if He loves for us to be turning to Him, sometimes He tells Jibreel: delay the fulfillment of his request, because I love to hear his voice. And it continues: when Allah hears the du'a of His servant whom He hates, He says to Jibreel: O Jibreel, fulfill My servant's wish, because I hate hearing his voice.

Closing Du'as

May Allah make us among those who listen to the words of admonition and follow the best of them. May Allah make us among those who turn to Him in sincere and persistent du'a repeatedly and often and frequently. May Allah answer our du'a. May Allah answer the du'a of this ummah. May Allah bring relief to those who are in need. May Allah take care of the oppressors. May Allah lift the trial from this ummah. May Allah forgive us our sins.

Rise to your prayer, and may Allah have mercy upon you.