01: Importance of Dua - Shaykh Zakaullah Saleem

The Importance of Dua

أَمَّا بَعْد

My dear respected brothers in Islam, our Nabi ﷺ has said in a hadith that is reported by Imam At-Tirmidhi rahimahullah:

(Jami' at-Tirmidhi, Hadith 3370)

There is nothing more beloved to Allah, there is nothing that is more noble in the sight of Allah Dhul Jalal Ikram than dua.

He ﷺ has also said in another hadith that dua is truly the worship — the true worship, or the best form of worship of Allah Dhul Jalal Ikram, is dua.

(Jami' at-Tirmidhi, Hadith 3372; Sunan Abi Dawud, Hadith 1479)

Allah's Promise to Answer Our Duas

Allah says in the Quran: your Lord has said to you — you make dua, this is your responsibility, this is your duty; you ask Him and you supplicate to Him, you beg Him Dhul Jalal Ikram. And He says:

أَسْتَجِبْ لَكُمْ — "I will answer your duas." This is the promise of Allah in the Quran. And after giving this advice and making this promise, Allah Dhul Jalal Ikram says: those who are so arrogant to the level that they do not want to raise their hands and ask Allah, or they intentionally or unintentionally believe or think that they are not in need of Allah — they do not need to beg Allah, they do not need to make dua to Allah — then such people are classified as arrogant. Those who are arrogant to worship Allah and to make dua to Allah, soon they will enter into the fire of Jahannam, humiliated.

So according to this ayah, it is clear that there are only two categories of people, and you need to ask yourself which category you need to fall — or you want to fall — in. Either you make dua to Allah, or you are amongst the arrogant. This is as simple as that.

Dua Must Be Constant — Not Only in Times of Hardship

You have to beg Allah Dhul Jalal Ikram not only when a calamity hits you, when you are afflicted by any hardship or difficulty. No — this is not the sign of Iman, or this is not the sign of strong or good Iman. Rather, the actual and true sign of your Iman is that you continue begging Allah Dhul Jalal Ikram. You make dua to Allah continuously, persistently, frequently — all the time, every single day, every morning and evening, every single day you make dua to Allah.

Allah Dhul Jalal Ikram has said in the Quran in many verses about the state of mankind. He Dhul Jalal Ikram says: when We bless mankind, when We bless the insan, he turns away and he does not ask Us, he does not make dua to Us. And when he is afflicted by any hardship or any evil or calamity, then he makes a long, lengthy dua. Ask yourself if you do this — if you do this, then this is not a good sign.

Allah says in the Quran in Surah Yunus:

And Allah also says in Surah Yunus:

When man is afflicted by any hardship or any calamity or evil, دَعَانَا لِجَنبِهِ أَوْ قَاعِدًا أَوْ قَائِمًا — he continuously makes dua to Us. When he is in difficult times or a difficult situation, he makes dua to Us. How? He makes dua while sitting down, and while even standing, and even while lying down. He makes dua: "O Allah, remove this hardship, O Allah, make it easy for me." He continuously — for students throughout the year, the student does not make dua, and when the exam is very close then he makes dua, and then he requests everyone: "Please make dua for me." Where have you been throughout the year?

Allah blesses you with good health and Iman, security and safety — you never bother and you do not make dua to Allah. And as soon as you have a headache, or any calamity, or any illness, then you say: "O Allah, remove this hardship."

Allah says: فَلَمَّا كَشَفْنَا عَنْهُ ضُرَّهُ مَرَّ كَأَن لَّمْ يَدْعُنَا إِلَىٰ ضُرٍّ مَّسَّهُ — We still accept his dua. We still accept his dua. Just imagine — you are in need, and you are in need of Allah every single day, but you act as if you are not in need of Allah. You do not make dua to Allah. But when you are afflicted by any hardship, difficulty, and calamity, you make dua to Allah. Allah still accepts your dua. And Allah says: and when We remove his hardship and his calamity, then he walks on this land, on this earth, كَأَن لَّمْ يَدْعُنَا إِلَىٰ ضُرٍّ مَّسَّهُ — as if he has never made dua to Us. This is the state of mankind. نَعُوذُ بِاللَّهِ مِنْ ذَلِكَ.

Make Dua in Times of Ease

So my dear brothers in Islam, we are in need of Allah all the time, so dua must be part of our daily routine. Every single day we must be making dua to Allah. And the Prophet ﷺ has said:

(Jami' at-Tirmidhi, Hadith 3382)

Whoever loves that Allah answers his dua immediately in times of hardships and difficulties, فَلْيُكْثِرِ الدُّعَاءَ فِي الرَّخَاءِ — then let him increase his dua in times of ease. Unfortunately our state is completely opposite — we increase our dua when we are in difficult situations. But Rasulullah ﷺ has instructed us and advised us to make more dua when we have no problem, no issue, no calamity, no evil.

And Rasulullah ﷺ has also said:

(Jami' at-Tirmidhi, Hadith 3373; Sunan Ibn Majah, Hadith 3827)

Whoever does not ask Allah, whoever does not make dua to Allah, يَغْضَبْ عَلَيْهِ — Allah gets angry at him.

The Benefits of Dua

So this is one of the reasons, and inshallah in the next few khutbahs I will continue with this topic, because this is a lengthy topic. There are manners of dua, etiquettes of dua, and there are certain things that prevent your dua from being accepted by Allah. But in today's khutbah I would like to highlight only one basic point — the importance of dua, the significance of making dua to Allah.

And if you continuously and regularly make dua to Allah, there are many benefits. One of them is what is mentioned in the hadith of Rasulullah ﷺ that is reported by Imam At-Tirmidhi rahimahullah. He ﷺ said: whoever amongst you has the door of dua open for him — meaning whoever is given tawfiq by Allah and Allah allows him to make dua — then he should know that the doors of the mercy of Allah are open for him.

(Jami' at-Tirmidhi, Hadith 3548)

And he ﷺ said: there is nothing more beloved to Allah to be asked for except al-'afiyah. Al-'afiyah means to be in the state of good health, Iman, security, and protection — this is the best thing that you can ask Allah. And he ﷺ then said: verily dua benefits towards the calamities that have afflicted you and also the calamities that have not fallen on you yet. So dua — any calamity, any hardship that you are going to face in the future — if you make dua today on a regular basis, Allah will remove that calamity in the future easily and immediately. And he ﷺ then said: O the slaves of Allah, make dua to Allah on a regular basis — constantly, regularly, make dua to Allah.

The Hadith Qudsi: Allah Deals with You According to Your Thoughts

And he ﷺ also said in a hadith that is known as a Hadith Qudsi, recorded by Imam Muslim rahimahullah. He ﷺ says, Allah says:

(Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2675; Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 7405)

I deal with My servant according to his thoughts about Me. According to your thoughts about Allah — for example, if you do not make dua to Allah and you think that you are not in need of Allah, then Allah leaves you alone. And even when you make dua to Allah — you are raising your hands, you are begging Allah, you are making dua to Allah — but within your heart, Shaytan continues whispering in your mind and your heart that you never know whether Allah is going to accept your dua or not. Then in this case, Allah is not going to answer your dua. Allah deals with you according to your thoughts about Allah. And Allah also said in this Hadith Qudsi: My mercy, My help, My assistance is with My servant as long as he continues making dua.

The Most Incapable Person

So the whole point is, my dear brothers in Islam, that we are in need of making dua to Allah all the time. Rather, in fact, we are more in need to make dua to Allah in times of ease and prosperity than making dua to Allah in times of hardships and difficulties.

May Allah give us tawfiq and ability to make dua to Him Dhul Jalal Ikram all the time.

Dear respected brothers in Islam, Rasulullah ﷺ says:

(Sahih Ibn Hibban, Hadith 870; also reported in Musnad Ahmad)

The most incapable person, the most powerless person, is the person who is unable to make dua. If Allah allows you and gives you tawfiq to make dua, then you have all the power, because you are directly linked and attached and connected to your Lord — the Lord of all powers, the Lord of all assistance. So if you make dua to Allah on a regular basis, then you are not powerless. But if you do not make dua to Allah, then you are the most incapable person. And this is the hadith of Rasulullah ﷺ.

Closing Du'a

May Allah give us tawfiq and ability to make dua to Him Dhul Jalal Ikram — for ourselves, for our families, for our children, for our parents, for our relatives, for our friends, and for the whole Ummah. We need to make dua that Allah grants us security and safety throughout our life. May Allah bless us with good health. May Allah keep us safe from all types of calamities, hardships, and illnesses. May Allah bless us, our children, our families, and our parents. May Allah forgive our sins. May Allah shower His mercy upon those who have left this dunya from amongst our parents, our relatives, our friends, and the people of our community. May Allah increase our wealth. May Allah grant us barakah in our health, in our wealth, in our family, in our children, and in everything that Dhul Jalal Ikram has bestowed on us. May Allah bless us. May Allah bless us.