Dua during the Good & Bad

In the name of Allāh, Most Gracious, Most Merciful. All praise is due to Allāh, and sufficient is the prayer, and peace be upon the Messenger of Allāh.

Allāh, the Exalted, said in the Glorious Qur'ān, after I seek refuge with Allāh from the accursed Satan: In the name of Allāh, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.

And when My servants ask you about Me, I am near. Respond to the supplication of the supplicant. When he supplicates, let him respond to Me and believe in Me, that they may be guided. God Almighty has spoken the truth.

(Related by Nu'man ibn Bashīr, transmitted through various collections)

The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said: The supplication is worship. Or as he, peace and blessings be upon him, said.

Respected friends, elders, and brothers, mothers, and sisters: Peace, mercy, and blessings of Allāh be upon you.

In the name of Allāh, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.

Almighty Allāh, the Exalted, has made a system in this world that a person who utilizes the means of happiness and the means of bliss—Allāh, the Exalted, will bless him with that. And the one who adopts the means of failure and brings about the wrath of Allāh, the Exalted—then that's exactly what will meet him. Meaning the way we choose to lead our life, that is how Allāh, the Exalted, will treat us.

Allāh says: Is there any reward for goodness besides goodness? If a person leads a life, an upright life, then there can be no doubt that Allāh, the Exalted, will grant that person happiness and success in both the worlds.

And on the other hand, Allāh, the Exalted, says that whoever does an iota of evil, whoever commits evil, then he will be punished or have to face recompense for it and will not find anyone who will protect him against Allāh, the Exalted, and will not find any helper or protector against Allāh, the Exalted.

So however we choose to lead our life, that's exactly what we should expect from Allāh, the Exalted.

(Sahih al-Bukhārī, Hadith 7405)

As a famous hadith mentions: I treat a servant based on his expectations from me. So when will a person expect good from Allāh? When he's led a good life. If you lead a good life, a righteous, upright life, you will expect good from Allāh and you will find what you're expecting. And if I lead a bad life, then it's foolish for me to expect anything good. And then exactly what will happen?

That's why Nabī ﷺ mentioned that the intelligent person is the one who prepares himself for the hereafter. And he always is looking after his nafs. Always has a very, a very strong suspicion of himself or herself—to see, maybe I have a wrong intention, maybe my motives are incorrect, maybe I didn't do something as well as I should have. So always looking after, the way a person looks after the business, the way a person looks after his bank account to make sure there's nothing suspicious. This person, a true Muslim, will be looking at his nafs, always keeping it in check and being preparing for the day he or she will meet Allāh.

And a fool is the one who does whatever his ego and lustful desires demand from him or her and then has false hopes that Allāh will do this for me and Allāh will do that for me, when they haven't led a life that would bring any good anyway in the first place.

So one of the great actions or a'māl and blessings that Allāh ﷻ has given us—a beautiful, powerful method whereby we can enjoy a life of bliss in both worlds—and it will become a means of us gaining proximity and closeness to Allāh ﷻ, spiritual proximity to Allāh ﷻ. And it will make it easy for us to withstand any type of calamity, difficulty, and unforeseen circumstances that may afflict us or the ummah.

One of those gifts that Allāh has given us is du'ā and supplication. Du'ā is that very powerful tool that is always beautiful, it's always amazing, it's always great to have. But more so when we are going through these difficult times, when ummah collectively and individually is going through rough times, people at home are suffering, people at a national level and at an international level—nations, large nations together are suffering.

Whatever is happening here is obvious, but we know that this is—the life doesn't revolve around us, the world does not revolve around us. There are so many other horrendous things that are happening. It doesn't even make it to the news of where fifty to sixty people at a shot in one time get killed, subhanallah. In two Muslim countries just yesterday, fifty to sixty people in various suicide bombs and what not. These are calamities that don't even make it to the news anymore. They don't even make it to our attention. We are so perplexed about our own simple little issues that we may be faced with. We don't realize what is going on to the entire ummah.

So what helps us? What gets us out of this mess? We realize it is du'ā.

(Jāmi' al-Tirmidhī, transmitted from Nu'mān ibn Bashīr)

The Prophet ﷺ mentioned in a hadith that I mentioned at the beginning, related by Nu'mān ibn Bashīr: He says that supplication is worship. You want to know how to become an 'ābid? You want to know how to become a worshipper? You would like to become a dutiful worshipper? Hold on to du'ā. Du'ā is a method of becoming an 'ābid.

(Jāmi' al-Tirmidhī, Hadith 3371, related from Abū Hurairah)

The Prophet ﷺ mentioned in another hadith, related by Abū Hurairah, where he says that there is nothing more honorable to Allāh ﷻ than supplication. Meaning that if you want to—if I may say in my own words—you want to grab Allāh's attention, you want Allāh to pity you, you want Allāh to sympathize with you, you want Allāh ﷻ to look at you and you want Allāh ﷻ to respond to you. The method is du'ā.

There is something that Allāh won't refuse. In one hadith it also mentions that Allāh ﷻ feels shy that a person raises his hand to Him and to send it back empty handed—especially someone who's worked hard, someone who's old in Islām, all his years has been putting into Islām. Now he raises his hand and says, Yā Allāh, please give this to me. Give this. Allāh ﷻ has this connection with each and every one of us.

Just like as parents, you get upset at your children—of course sometimes they definitely deserve that anger—but when a child, however old the child may be, even older, son or daughter, begins to beg you, that's something. There's something in the mother, there's something in the father that can't refuse the begging of the child. They cave in. This is something they can't handle. They won't be able to simply give a blind eye or a cold shoulder to a child, a son or daughter that is requesting, that is begging. That can you please do this? This is something, it means a lot to me.

There's nothing more honorable to Allāh ﷻ than supplication. When a person sends his supplication to Allāh ﷻ, you can be sure that Allāh ﷻ will fulfill your needs. Now what type of needs, brothers and sisters?

Sometimes a person thinks that du'ā is a method for fulfillment of only spiritual problems. We don't realize that—no. Where have we come up with this clause that du'ā is there only for the fulfillment of certain types of problems? Instead, du'ā is the antidote and a solution to all types. Whether it's personal, whether it's communal, whether it's related to our worldly life, whether it's related to our life in the hereafter, whether it is related to one need or many needs, du'ā is a solution to all of those types of needs that Allāh ﷻ has put.

Because why? These problems, these difficulties, these needs have come from Allāh. So when you have an exam—when you have an exam here in the school here. We have a student. A teacher may prepare an exam and administer it. Sometimes the person who's administering it is other than the teacher. So the students will come and ask: What does this mean? What exactly is meant? And the administrator will say: The one who's administering the exam, you know, actually I didn't write the paper. I'm not the one who designed this. You need to go to that teacher and ask. I'm not exactly sure what was intended. He has a solution. He has the answer still. He'll be the one who's grading it. He made it. He knows the answers.

That's exactly how it works. These masā'ib, these calamities, these difficulties, these obstacles in our obstacle course have come from Allāh. And the one who truly understands them, the one who truly has the answers to them, is none but Allāh ﷻ. They were not artificially created. They have not been created by another deity. Allāh ﷻ is the creator of all of these things. So the solution also lies with Allāh ﷻ.

Ādam and Hawwā—when they left Paradise and when Allāh ﷻ, what He willed happened and he ate from the tree, what did they immediately do? They said:

Immediately turned towards du'ā. Rabbinā (Oh our Lord), we have wronged ourselves. We made a mistake. Wa in lam taghfir lanā (If you do not forgive us), I know, Allāh ﷻ, if you do not forgive us and if you do not shower your mercy upon us, indeed we will become from amongst thee ones who lose out. Lots of calamities took place. They resorted to du'ā.

Allāh ﷻ tells us: And indeed, We will test you with something of fear and hunger and a loss of wealth, lives, and fruits. But give glad tidings to those who are patient. That indeed we will test you at times. Different times, different things will happen. We shall test you with a little bit of what? Sometimes you will suffer fear, and that's for many of us—that's what's happening right now. Fear. And others, Allāh says: And hunger and a loss of wealth, lives, and the fruits. Sometimes loss of family, loss of lives, people passing away in your family, difficult times.

Allāh says: Give glad tidings to those who in the face of these difficulties, of any sort, they remain resilient and patient. What is the quality and the characteristic of these resilient people?

When a calamity befalls them, they resort to du'ā. They say: Innā lillāhi wa innā ilayhi rāji'ūn (Indeed we belong to Allāh and indeed we return to Him). That this life is very transient, very temporary. Everything about this is transient, everything is temporary. And inshāAllāh a more brighter day is to come. A brighter day is to come. So they have—they console themselves through the power of du'ā.

Allāh 'azza wa jal mentions the story of Yūnus a.s. in Surah al-Anbiyā' and he says:

Allāh 'azza wa jal says that Yūnus a.s., when he found himself entangled in the layers of darkness—the layer of the darkness of the massive sea animal, the fish, and then the darkness of the sea, the darkness of possibly the night, in multiple layers of darkness—and he cried out and supplicated to Allāh, not in a Jumu'ah like this, bright beautiful day, in a gathering of so many people. He is sitting alone at the bottom of the ocean, separated from his community, separated from everyone else, in layers of darkness.

Nādā (he is calling out) to Allāh:

Oh Allāh, there is none worthy of worship, there is no God besides You. Subḥānaka (Glory be to You). Innī kuntu min al-dhālimīn (Indeed I am from amongst those who have wronged).

Allāh Azzawajal says: So, what did We do? We accepted his supplication. We heard his du'ā'. Wa najjaynāhu min al-ghamm (And we gave him deliverance from that difficulty). We gave him deliverance from the issues he was facing. Wa kadhālik nunjī al-mu'minīn (And in this very same manner we will give deliverance and salvation to all the believers).

Any believer who turns to Allāh will find that Allāh is there to assist him, just like Allāh assisted Nabiyyunā Yūnus 'alayhi al-salātu wa al-salām.

(Musnad Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal, transmitted from Sa'd ibn Abī Waqqāṣ)

Sa'd ibn Abī Waqqāṣ raḍī Allāhu 'anhu narrates on the authority of Imām Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal that Rasūlullāh ﷺ says: The du'ā' of dhu al-nūn (the man of the fish), meaning Nabī Yūnus, when he supplicated to Allāh while he was in the stomach of the fish—that same du'ā', no Muslim person will supplicate to Allāh with that du'ā' in any affair, in any matter of his, except that Allāh will accept his supplication and give him what he's asking for.

Anyone who tries to supplicate to Allāh the way Nabī Yūnus did, while he was in the layers of darkness, will find Allāh 'azza wa jal willing to listen to him.

(Jāmi' al-Tirmidhī, transmitted from Sa'd ibn Abī Waqqāṣ)

Sa'd raḍī Allāhu 'anhu mentioned another hadith also similar: Whoever calls out to Allāh with the du'ā' of Yūnus, his du'ā' will be accepted. That's why in our circles it's known as āyat-e-karīmah, etc. And many of the scholars and awliyā' have prescribed reading this du'ā' excessively for any type of difficulty that you may be facing.

Most of us know this. This is in Surah al-Anbiyā' as we mentioned and is a very powerful prayer. Whenever you're in a situation, caught up in a situation, turn to Allāh. Remember these words that we talked about. That Nabī ﷺ saying: You turn to Allāh in time of need and you turn to Him with the same du'ā' that Nabī Yūnus did. You will find Allāh 'azza wa jal willing to accept your prayers.

We notice in the story of Ṭā'if—famous story of Ṭā'if. And Nabī ﷺ is faced with immense emotional and physical harm and difficulty at the hands of the people of Ṭā'if and rejection. What does he turn to at that time? After doing everything he had, he turned to du'ā':

Allāhumma ashkū ilayk da'fa quwawtī (Oh Allāh, I complain to you of my weakness). I complain to you of my weakness. Wa qillat ḥīlatī wa hawānī 'alā al-nās (and I complain to you of my helplessness and the way I'm being treated lowly before men, before your creation). And then he says:

Oh the most merciful of those who show mercy. Illā man takilu ilayhi (Who have you turned me over to?). Who do you turn me over to? In whose hands have you put me into? Illā ba'īd yatajahhamunī (Have you turned me over to a far off opponent, an enemy who chooses to attack me, a stranger who will ill-treat me?)? Am illā 'aduwwan mallakatahu amrī (Oh Allāh, or have you turned me over to an adversary who will dominate me?).

And then he mentions: Oh Allāh, ilaim taku sākhitạn 'alayya falā ubālī (if you are not angry with me, then I do not care). If this is part of what you want me to go through and you are not doing this as a punishment for my sins, but rather this is for the elevation of my status, this is for me to get closer to you, then I will accept this.

So this is a very interesting thing what he says. Main thing for me is I'm not angry or upset about what I'm going through. I'm just worried that you're upset at me. I'm just worried about—how often do we think about this? When something goes wrong in our life, which happens very often, how often are we upset that something went wrong? And how often are we saying: What did I do wrong? Maybe I made a mistake, and this is a punishment of that. Well let me start seeing what have I made a mistake?

We've heard about the Tābi'īn and the pious elders of the past. A simple thing like a camel or a horse—their conveyance—if it would begin to act stubborn in the morning or whenever they would go out, immediately they would start reflecting on what they may have missed out in the past day or night—a Sunnah, a mustaḥabb, or maybe he had slipped and made a mistake. Why is it that my camel, my horse is acting in this manner? Maybe it is a result of some mistake I may have made. So these are the lucky people who are always introspecting and seeing how can they improve.

So Nabī ﷺ said: Yā Allāh, if you're not angry with me, then I don't care. However:

You favoring help with me will be easier. If I may suggest, if I may say: That if you were to give me well-being and ease, this would be much easier for me.

He says: Oh Allāh, I take refuge in the light of your continents. And the light of your continents—such light whereby all darkness is removed, all darkness is illuminated, and all things of this world and the next are salihạ 'alayhi amr al-dunyā wa al-ākhirah—are put in order. The nūr of your wajh, the nūr of your continents will remove all darkness. Think about it: What can stand up to Allāh's nūr? What in the world can stand up to Allāh's nūr? It is that nūr of Allāh 'azza wa jal that keeps everything in right, in place.

He says: What I seek refuge in you—an yanzil bī sadhatuka (I seek refuge in you from your anger befalling me). That's the worst thing that can happen. The worst thing that can happen is you become angry at me. And I beg your protection from that.

He says: Oh Allāh, to you alone belongs the right to blame and chastise, 'utbah. No one can make it up besides you. The only one who has a right to chastise, the only one who has a right to point a finger is you. So if you choose to point a finger, you have a right to do so. If you choose to take me to task, you have a right to do so, because you are Allāh. You are al-Khāliq. You are al-Rabb. I am Makhlūq. Most definitely you have the right.

There is no power and no might except through you.

Beautiful du'ā' of Rasūlullāh ﷺ. We once again see that he's faced with difficulty and adversaries and he turns to Allāh 'azza wa jal.

(Jāmi' al-Tirmidhī, Hadith 2139, related from 'Alqamah ibn Marthad)

Nabī ﷺ said in another hadith: Lā yaruddu al-qaḍā' illā al-du'ā' (Nothing can avert divine decree but supplication). Some ulema have taken this into its literal meaning, and other ulema and scholars have explained that hypothetically speaking, if there is anything in the world that could possibly have changed a person's decree, it would have been du'ā'. That is the most powerful tool that is in your toolbox. The power of du'ā' that can change anything.

(Jāmi' al-Tirmidhī, Hadith 3548, related from 'Abdullah ibn 'Umar)

Nabī ﷺ said in another beautiful hadith, related by Imām Tirmidhī on the authority of 'Abdullah ibn 'Umar raḍī Allāhu 'anhumā: He says: Inna al-du'ā' yanfa'u mimmā nazala wa mimmā lam yanzil (Indeed, supplication benefits against those calamities that have befallen and those who have not). Fa 'alaykum 'ibād Allāh bi-al-du'ā' (So upon you, O servants of Allāh, is supplication).

He says: All those calamities and misfortunes that have descended upon you and those that have yet to come, du'ā' is beneficial for both. Du'ā' is beneficial for those calamities that you're in the midst of right now and those that are about to come around the corner. That's what's happening, isn't it? Every single week brings some news that's worse than the previous weeks. What can happen now? You want to get rid of this week's? You want to get out of this week's problems? Du'ā'. You want to avert next week's problems? Next week's news feed? You want to remove that? You have du'ā'.

That's the amazing thing about this: that this antibiotic, if you want to call it, this medicine, not only cures the sickness that you currently have, but it's also a very great. It creates, boost your immune system that any other further attacks also you get protected from.

(Al-Mu'jam al-Awsat lil-Ṭabarānī, related from 'Ā'ishah r.a.)

So, beautiful du'ā' for a beautiful hadith of the Prophet ﷺ. Du'ā' is something that will protect you from those calamities that have already befallen you and those who are not yet.

In another hadith related by Imām Ṭabarānī, 'Ā'ishah r.a. mentions: Al-du'ā' yanfa'u mimmā nazala wa mimmā lam yanzil (Supplication benefits against those calamities that have befallen and those who have not). She says that Rasūlullāh ﷺ said.

And then he says:

(Al-Mu'jam al-Awsat lil-Ṭabarānī)

Nabī ﷺ saying: Wa inna al-balā'a layanzilu fa yatalaqāhu al-du'ā' (Sometimes a calamity is falling, is coming down, and du'ā' intercepts it). Du'ā' intercepts that calamity. And then he said: Till the day of judgment they begin, they're struggling. Imagine a wrestling match. The calamity is about to befall. You raise your hands in the night, in the day, after Jumu'ah, after 'Asr. He said: Yā Allāh, please save this calamity that may come—loss of job, loss of wealth, loss of health, you know, other types of problems. Whatever the case may be, disobedient family members, you know, misunderstanding between spouses. All sorts of problems are out there that qadr, that masībah and calamity was coming. Your du'ā' intercepts it and they struggle till the day of judgment.

Subḥānallah. So it's really amazing. Just like you study medicine and you see how the antibodies protect and all the immune system works in protecting the human being against foreign attacks, put that self. Imagine du'ā' working like that. The things are attacking, and you're releasing this du'ā' throughout the entire body to protect you from all directions.

As some of the scholars have said a beautiful statement:

That khalwah (one state of privacy), one khalwah, one moment where you have a one-on-one talk with Allāh, taghasāhā al-sakīnah (enveloped in serenity), where you are focused on nothing besides speaking to Allāh, one, you know, communication with Allāh, one, you know, sit down with Allāh 'azza wa jal which is enveloped in serenity and in calmness and focus, becomes the means and is sufficient to solve ten of your biggest problems. Ten of your biggest problems. You just need, you know, you say: Give me five minutes. I'll take care of this. Let me upload this. Let me contact this person. Let me come up with this bug fix, etc. Install this program. That's how we're being taught that you have the power of du'ā'.

Whatever problems you're facing, I'm facing, and we definitely have a huge list of that. We sit down with Allāh. But it has to be focused. It's not on the du'ā' on the run. Not a drive-through du'ā'. The one where we don't even know what happened. We just slapped our face and walked out. Not one of those. Or when we are just saying āmīn to what the imām is saying without realizing what's going on. But rather a really focused, one-on-one du'ā' with Allāh 'azza wa jal is sufficient for a person to solve all the issues that a person is going through.

(Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, Hadith 7405, related from Abū Hurairah)

And Nabī Sallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam mentioned another hadith: Anā 'inda dhann 'abdī bī wa anā ma'ahu idhā da'ānī (I treat a servant based on his expectations from me, and I will be with him, and I am with him when he supplicates me). When we supplicate to Allāh 'azza wa jal, He is with me.

The ayah which I recited at the beginning, Allāh 'azza wa jal says:

We've heard this ayah multiple times. But the idea, and I've said it multiple times: The question is, to what degree am I practicing on it? And that's why I chose to speak on this because this is the time. This is the time for du'ā'.

Wa idhā sa'alaka 'ibādī 'annī fa innī qarībun (And if My servants ask you about Me, then Indeed, I am near). O Muhammad Sallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam, when my servants ask you about me, then you know that yasa'alūnaka (they ask you) and yasa'alūnaka is a word that comes multiple places—maybe thirteen to fourteen times or so in the Qur'ān, possibly—where Allāh says: The companions ask you about this and tell them the answer. The companions ask you about this. They ask you about wine and, and you know, gambling. And they ask you about the moon, etc. Give them the answer.

Yasa'alūnaka 'an al-khamr wa al-maysar (They ask you about wine and gambling).

Yasa'alūnaka 'an al-mahīḍ (They ask you about menstruation).

Yasa'alūnaka 'an al-ahillah (They ask you about the lunar phases), etc.

Here, Allāh says:

Wa idhā sa'alaka 'ibādī 'annī (When my servant asks you about me). Allāh Azzawajal does not say, the way he says usually, qul (say), O Muhammad Sallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam, the answer. Instead, Allāh Azzawajal answers it himself.

So all the other places, Allāh tells the Prophet Sallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam: Qul fīhi mā'ith kabīr (say in it is grave harm), right? Qul hiya mawāqīt li-al-nās wa al-ḥajj (Say they are appointed times for the people and the pilgrimage), etc., etc. He tells the Prophet Sallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam to say the answer.

But when it comes to du'ā', Allāh Azzawajal himself says the answer. He does not say: Oh Muhammad Sallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam, say this.

Wa idhā sa'alaka 'ibādī 'annī (Whenever your servants ask about me).

My introduction—fa innī qarībun (Indeed I am very near). That's the one-word definition, description, introduction to Allāh Azzawajal: qarībun (near).

Ujīb du'āwat al-dā'ī idhā da'ān (I answer the supplication of the one who calls, when he chooses to call me). When Allāh—don't expect Allāh Azzawajal to simply answer our things. We have to ask. We have to—Allāh wants us to at least take that step. What is that step? We cannot solve our problems. I can't. Neither can you. We cannot solve the national problems, international problems, and domestic problems at home. But what we can do is raise our hands and present our case to Allāh Azzawajal and say: Yā Allāh, please do this.

When we, when we present our case to Allāh, then we will find that Allāh will be willing to help, as this ayah mentions.

And lastly, Nabī Sallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam is reported—Nabī Sallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam mentioned in a hadith that there will be a time that will come towards the end of times, a fitnah, a time of fitna, a time of trials:

(Related through various Hadith collections)

Lā yanjū minhā illā man da'ā du'ā' al-gharīq (This is the near meaning of the hadith: the only one who will be saved from those trials will be the one who supplicated to Allāh the way a drowning person supplicates to Allāh).

What is a drowning person? A drowning person doesn't pull out his visa mastercard. A drowning person doesn't look for service on his phone. Everything is gone. He's in the midst of an ocean. The whole ship has collapsed. He's on his lifeboat. Last person alive. He's also about to go down in the storm. He's not turning to his cell phone. He's not turning to his wallet because he knows that's all of you. No use. It's too late. The only thing that can save you is none other than Allāh's hidden qudrah and assistance that will pluck you out from there. Besides that, nothing else. Even the atheists will begin to become a believer in that situation.

Nabī Sallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam is reported to have said that a time will come of trials and tribulations on this ummah. The only one who will be able to get out of that mess will be the one who cries to Allāh, begs to Allāh, supplicates to Allāh like the supplication of a drowning person.

That time may be here. We really need to increase our du'ā' on a daily basis, especially on the blessed day of Friday like this. Let us start preparing. Ten minutes, five minutes before Maghrib or after Jumu'ah. Whenever you have that, that du'ā', when you can be concentrating and nothing is coming between you and Allāh. You are not rushed for time. Five minutes of seclusion with Allāh, that might actually just solve it—that one problem. If not five minutes, you may need to add another. Next day ten. But definitely du'ā' is where we need to go, along with all the other work that everyone else is doing. We don't discredit going to work. Obviously you have to go to work. You have to do whatever you have to do. But most definitely, along with that, we have to increase in the amount of du'ā' we are making for ourselves and the entire ummah.

I pray that Allāh makes me and amongst all of you from amongst those who truly believe in the power of du'ā' and supplicate to Him with earnest desire and sincerity on a daily basis. Āmīn.