Make Du'a
By Abdul Nasir Jangda | 2026-01-19T07:50:34.817252+00:00 | Topic: General
Make Du'a
Ramadan Khutba by Abdul Nasir Jangda - Quran Weekly
Opening
So we had a little bit of a mix-up there with the lines. Since the session today is about dua, we're gonna start off by making dua that Allah forgives the Ramadan prep team. Everybody say ameen!
Alhamdulillah. So today's session is about dua.
The Story of Zakariya (عَلَيْهِ السَّلَام - alayhis salam) from Surah Maryam
I wanted to start off today's session by telling a story from the Quran. A lot of times people have questions about dua: how to make dua, what is really dua, what is the purpose of dua, how do we go about making dua, supplication, how do we ask and beg from Allah?
There's a very beautiful powerful passage in the beginning of Surah number 19, Surah Maryam. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala begins the surah from the very beginning, and this surah, Surah Maryam, is also referred to as Surah Rahma, the surah of mercy.
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala begins:
the disjointed letters, and then Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says:
That this is a reminder or this is a mention of the mercy of your Lord upon his slave Zakariya (عَلَيْهِ السَّلَام - alayhis salam).
That remember back when he called out to his Lord in a very very private, quiet manner.
Zakariya's Private Dua
So the first thing we see is Zakariya (عَلَيْهِ السَّلَام - alayhis salam) is making dua to Allah. This is a prophet of Allah making dua to Allah for something that he desperately wants and he needs, and he's trying to state his desperation before Allah, and he's trying to make dua in such a way that his dua cannot be refused, cannot be denied.
And so the first thing that we see is (نَادَىٰ رَبَّهُ نِدَاءً خَفِيًّا - nada rabba hu nida'an khafiyya) - that this is for emphasis - that he called out to his Lord impassionately and emotionally, he cried out to his Lord and he did so privately.
So he found a moment. He found a time. He found a situation that was private, being shared between solely between him and Allah, and in that moment, he cried out to Allah and begged before Allah.
The Content of His Dua
Now, what did he exactly say in this dua? How did he exactly make dua?
He said: My Lord, my master, most definitely - (وَهَنَ الْعَظْمُ مِنِّي - wahanal 'azmu minni) - my bones are falling apart. My bones are becoming frail and are becoming weak. So again, he states his frailty, he states his weakness before Allah, because when you talk to Allah you are talking to the superior one, the highest and the most noble and the most superior one. And so part of the etiquette that we are learning here from a prophet and a messenger of Allah is to state our weakness, our desperation, and to state our need before Allah and to humble ourselves before Allah.
(وَاشْتَعَلَ الرَّأْسُ شَيْبًا - washta 'alar ra'su shayba) - and he says that my head has become completely gray, has gone completely white, meaning I've reached a very very old age. So I've become very humble, very frail, very weak. And secondly he says that I've become extremely old.
So this is Zakariya (عَلَيْهِ السَّلَام - alayhis salam) stating his weakness before Allah, and that is a very admirable thing when making dua. But at the same time he says:
But at the same time, my Lord, my master, my Rabb, I have never suffered when making dua to you, meaning you've never turned me down. I've never returned back from making dua to you, Allah, empty- handed. So I've never been disappointed, I've never been turned down, and I'm extremely hopeful here today as well, Oh Allah, that you will answer my dua, you will fulfill my supplication, my request to you, and at the end of the day you will take care of me.
His Specific Request
And then he states why he's making this dua. So he says that I fear for the people that I leave behind. Meaning I'm not confident in the people that I'm leaving behind. But at the same time, my wife has not been able to bear a child. But at the end of the day, regardless of all of these facts, in spite of all of these things, I am here before you begging you, Oh Allah:
Oh Allah, please from your generosity, from your kindness, grant me as a gift a son, a supporter, somebody who can support me and aid me in my cause, in my mission. And he asks this as a gift - - (فَهَبْ لي - fahab li) - that I ask this from you as a gift. I don't deserve it, I'm in no position to demand it, but I beg this of you as a gift.
But see when he asks Allah - he said look how frail and weak he is. He talked about how old he is, he talked about how desperate he is. He talked about how hopeful he is in Allah. He stated the reason why he asks for this, and even though all the circumstances and all the odds are stacked against him here, he still begs of Allah as a child to be blessed to him as a gift.
But then not only that, look at the type of child that he asks for: (يَرِثُنِي وَيَرِثُ مِنْ آلِ يَعْقُوبَ - yarithuni wa yarathu min aali ya'qub) - a child that will inherit from me and inherit from the family of Ya'qub. Meaning he will be a prophet and a messenger of Allah, and he will be a leader of his family and of his people.
(وَاجْعَلْهُ رَبِّ رَضِيًّا - waj'alhu rabbi radiyya) - and Oh Allah, make him someone who is extremely pleasing to you. Make him someone who is very pleasing to you, someone that you are extremely pleased with and you are happy with.
Allah's Response
That Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala answered the dua, the supplication of Zakariya (عَلَيْهِ السَّلَام - alayhis salam). He said that we are giving you the good news. We are delivering to you, we are congratulating you of a son. اسمة يَحْيَى - his name is Yahya (لَمْ نَجْعَل لَّهُ مِن قَبْلُ سَمِيًّا - lam naj'al lahu min qablu samiyya) - that we have never made anyone like him ever before.
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala then went on to say:
Just like that - meaning we can fulfill your supplication. We can fulfill your request, Zakariya, just like that, in an instance. We can grant you whatever you are asking for and even more than that. Your Lord said that this is very simple, very easy for me to fulfill and to do. (وَقَدْ خَلَقْتُكَ مِن قَبْلُ وَلَمْ تَكُ شَيْئًا - wa qad khalaqtuka min qablu wa lam taku shaya) - and in fact we created you when you used to be nothing, you didn't even exist, and we gave you existence. So why would this be any difficult for us to grant a husband and a wife a child?
Lessons from Zakariya's Dua
Now the circumstances were that Zakariya (عَلَيْهِ السَّلَام - alayhis salam) was extremely old and his wife was extremely old and they had not been able to bear any children, but Allah says as long as the father and the mother are
there, this is a lot easier than creating a human being out of nothing which Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has done.
This is a quick snapshot of how to make dua, why we make dua and what to keep in mind when making dua, and then what is the outcome of the dua when made properly.
We see Zakariya (عَلَيْهِ السَّلَام - alayhis salam) humbles himself. We see that Zakariya (عَلَيْهِ السَّلَام - alayhis salam) is very hopeful. He has full conviction that Allah will answer his dua and his supplication. We see that Zakariya (عَلَيْهِ السَّلَام - alayhis salam) praises and glorifies Allah and states the blessing of Allah upon him - Rabbi, Rabbi, my Lord, my Lord. And we see that he gives the reasons of why he's making dua, meaning he turns this into a conversation.
Too often our duas to Allah are just formalities. We sit down:
We just recite a supplication. But we don't talk to Allah. Zakariya (عَلَيْهِ السَّلَام - alayhis salam) here is talking to Allah: Oh Allah, my bones are falling apart. My head is going white. Oh Allah, you've always taken care of me. You've always been there for me. So he turns this into a conversation with Allah, a very heartfelt emotional conversation with Allah.
And we see that when he presents his need and the situation to Allah accordingly, or when he presents his need in the situation to Allah in this manner, then accordingly Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala takes care of him. Allah immediately fulfills his dua and his request.
And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala gives him a son. Not only that, but in another place in the Quran we are told that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala made him a prophet, made him pious, made him righteous, made him modest, and Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala gave him a wonderful son who:
Later on in Surah Maryam, Allah tells us that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala made him very caring, and he took care of his parents, and Allah did not make him somebody who was very harsh or very evil. (وَحَنَانًا مِّن لَّدُنَّا - wa hananam mil ladunna) - and he was very soft and gentle and loving as a human being. (وَزَكَاةَ - wa zakah) - not only that but he was pure on the inside and he practiced charity and gave charity to the poor and took care of the poor. (وَكَانَ تَقِيًّا - wa kana taqiyya) - and above all he constantly was cognizant and mindful of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and he had a very strong relationship with Allah.
The Nature and Importance of Dua
I wanted to start this off so that we would have a good perspective in terms of how to make dua, why to make dua, what to keep in mind when making dua, and when we make dua to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala in this manner, in this fashion, then how Allah will respond to our dua and Allah will take care of our duas.
So this is a sample from the Quran from the life of the prophets, Prophet Zakariya (عَلَيْهِ السَّلَام - alayhis salam). Think about this fact: We are learning what a blessing of Allah that Allah is giving us an insight into how a prophet of God, how a prophet of Allah (عَلَيْهِ السَّلَام - alayhis salam) Zakariya (عَلَيْهِ السَّلَام - alayhis salam) would make dua to Allah and one of the greatest miracles that is mentioned in the Quran - Allah granting a son to Zakariya (عَلَيْهِ السَّلَام - alayhis salam) at a very very advanced age. Some of the books of tafsir mentioned him being 70, 80, even up over a hundred years old, a hundred plus years old, that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala took care of him in that situation.
So this gives us a very good insight. This gives us a very good understanding of how and why we should be making dua and what we should keep in mind when praying and supplicating to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
Dua as a Command of Allah
Now what I'd like to go ahead and do here today is to talk a little bit about some of the more technical aspects of making dua. I'd like to actually provide to everyone here today some bullet points, certain instructions that we can keep in mind when making dua.
The first and foremost thing you have to understand is making dua is a command of Allah. Allah commands us to ask of him. In fact, there's even a hadith of the Prophet ﷺ which tells us when someone does not make dua to Allah then Allah is angry with that person, and Allah is pleased with the person who continues to make dua to Allah because it's a fulfillment of the command of Allah.
It's a sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ and it actually is one of the greatest manifestations of our faith and iman and belief and trust in Allah. This is stated in the hadith of the Prophet ﷺ in which he says:
(Hadith: Tirmidhi 3372)
That dua, supplication, making dua to Allah, that is Ibadah in and of itself. So we have to understand that dua is a command of Allah, a sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ, a practice of the believers, and it is one of the greatest manifestations of our belief and our iman and convictions in Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
In the Quran in Surah Ghafir, ayah number 60, Allah says:
Your Lord has said make dua to me, supplicate to me, seek from me, ask of me, and I will answer you. Allah has said in the Quran that your Lord has said make dua to me and I will answer you.
In Surah Al-Baqarah, ayah number 186, a very powerful ayah of the Quran which talks about dua, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says:
Allah commands the Prophet, he addresses the Prophet and says when my slaves ask you about me, then tell them that I am قريب - close, extremely close. أُجِيبُ دَعْوَةَ الدَّاعِ إِذَا دَعَانِ - Allah says that I answer the call of the caller when he calls out to me.
See something very interesting here that we find out is - let me complete the ayah then I'll explain فَلْيَسْتَجِيبُوا لِي وَلْيُؤْمِنُوا بِي لَعَلَّهُمْ يَرْشُدُونَ - and let him believe in me, so that maybe, hopefully, possibly, they will find some direction. They will know how to live their lives.
What this ayah states is Allah is saying that let the people know, let the slaves of Allah know that he is very close, and Allah Himself in the first person he says I answer the call of the caller when he calls out to me.
When Duas are Answered
What that tells us is that the issue of our duas being answered by Allah is not a question of if. Rather, it's a question of when. It's not a question of if our duas will be answered or not. Will our duas be answered or not? No, no, no, our duas will be answered. Allah has guaranteed that in the Quran. But the question is of when - when will our duas be answered when we make dua to Allah?
You see, Allah is waiting. Allah is on standby waiting to answer our duas and our supplications. Allah is waiting on standby to answer our duas and supplications. The onus is on us. The responsibility is on us. The only delay is on us. It depends on us when we ask Allah. He will answer our duas and our supplications. He's waiting. He's on standby. He says I'm waiting for you. That's why he says I answer the call of the caller when he calls.
Meaning Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala repeats - this is repetition, this is the most basic form of tawkid, of emphasis in the Arabic language. Allah repeats the word of calling to let us know that look, it's all on you. It's all on you. It's all on us. It's all on me. That Allah is waiting to answer my supplication, my dua. It's just on me - will I call out to Allah, when I call out to Allah, how I call out to Allah - and he's waiting by to answer my duas, to answer my call, to fulfill my request, to take care of my supplications. And that's something very powerful.
That who is it that answers the call of the distressed إِذَا دَعَاهُ when he calls out to him وَيَكْشِفُ السُّوء and he removes any type of harm or difficulty from the believer. Of course, it is Allah.
That when you were afflicted with some harm or difficulty or adversity, no one can remove that from you except Allah. No one can remove that from you other than Allah except for Allah.
Conditions for Accepted Duas
So that's something very powerful to keep in mind. Now to talk a little bit about the technicalities or the bullet points in terms of making dua. The first and the foremost thing is: What are the conditions of having our duas accepted by Allah? What is required to have our supplications and our duas answered by Allah?
Number one: Sincerity. Iman - to believe in Allah obviously, but also to be sincere, to sincerely be asking Allah. That's why in the Quran Allah commands us:
That Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says that call out to your Lord, call out to your Lord with humility - make dua to Allah with humility - and number two, make dua to Allah quietly and privately. Sincerely, sincerely make dua to Allah, and that is a dua that is answered by Allah.
The second element that makes dua extremely effective and makes it a type of dua that we call mustajab - it's a dua that is answered by Allah - is to not have any type of, to avoid asking for haram things, or to not be speaking inappropriately to Allah. Meaning to avoid any type of inappropriate behavior in the dua.
The basis for this is a hadith of the Prophet which I will relate to you here. It's a hadith mentioned in the Sahih of Imam Muslim, narrated by Abu Huraira رضي الله عنه where he says that the Messenger of Allah said:
(Hadith: Muslim)
That the Prophet says that the dua of the slave is answered, fulfilled, as long as he does not ask for a sin - meaning he does not make dua in order to fulfill a sin, he's not asking Allah to facilitate the committing of a sin.
Now many of many of us might be sitting there listening to this saying, well, that's common sense. Why would we ask Allah to help us fulfill a sin, to help us commit a sin? Why would we do that? But we have to understand that when we ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala for things that can only be achieved through impermissible means, then it also falls into this context, in this category. So that also needs to be kept in mind.
أَوْ قَطِيعَةِ رَحِمِ - or there is not - and as the slave's dua is answered as long as he does not seek anything in his dua that will result in the cutting of family relations. So as long as a slave of Allah makes dua where he does not ask for any sin to be facilitated and he does not ask for any relationships to be severed.
And then the Prophet said one more thing: مَا لَمْ يَسْتَعْجِلْ as long as he does not rush things, he does not rush things in regards to seeking things from Allah in making dua to Allah.
The Prophet was asked: مَا الاسْتِعْجَالٌ ؟ How could a person rush things in making dua? The Prophet said: يَقُولُ قَدْ دَعَوْتُ قَدْ دَعَوْتُ فَلَمْ أَرَ يُسْتَجَابٌ لِي - he says: I asked and I asked, I made dua and I made dua. I don't think my prayers are gonna be answered. I'd asked and I asked, I made dua and I made dua, I don't think my prayers are really gonna be answered - that he takes that type of a tone and he thinks this way, he says these types of things.
فَيَسْتَحْسِرُ عِنْدَ ذَلِكَ وَيَدَعُ الدُّعَاءَ
Because the Prophet - subhan Allah - we see the Prophet says that it's not just that when a person behaves this way that his dua and his supplication will not be answered, but the Prophet actually talks about the psychological, spiritual effect of thinking this way and saying these things, the effect that it has on a person. The Prophet says: فَيَسْتَحْسِرٌ عِنْدَ ذَلِكَ - then he will start to lose hope in that situation وَيَدَعٌ الدُّعَاءَ - and he will stop making dua.
Rather, a person has to positively reinforce after making dua to Allah, and a person has to continue to be hopeful in the mercy and in the blessing of Allah, knowing that Allah hears him and Allah will take care of him.
The third thing that adds the element of acceptability to the dua, the supplication of a person, is having firm convictions. Knowing with your hope, believing with your entire, with your whole heart, with your entire being, believing and having full conviction, not having a shred of a doubt that Allah will take care of you and Allah will fulfill your dua and your supplication. He'll take care of you. It's very very important to keep that in mind.
There's a hadith of the Prophet that is mentioned in the Jami' of Imam Tirmidhi. This is also narrated by Abu Huraira رضي الله عنه where the Prophet was reported to have said:
(Hadith: Tirmidhi 3479)
Make dua to Allah while you are in the condition - Allah says make dua to Allah, supplicate to Allah while y'all are in the condition, in the situation that you have full convictions that your duas will be answered by Allah. and know very well that Allah does not answer the - وَاعْلَمُوا أَنَّ اللَّهَ لا يَسْتَجِيبُ دُعَاءَ مِنْ قَلْبٍ غَافِلٍ لَآهِ dua of the person whose heart is disconnected from Allah, that is neglectful of Allah, that is heedless of Allah, that is disconnected from Allah.
So the Prophet tells us that make dua to Allah while y'all fully understand and you have full convictions that Allah will answer your duas. Why? Because keep in mind the simple fact that Allah does not answer dua that comes from a heart which is disconnected from Allah.
So there we understand that a lot of times we focus that the dua is coming from the tongue. The dua comes from the heart. The dua comes from the heart. So our words can be as beautiful as we make them, but if the dua is coming from a dark place in the heart that is disconnected from Allah, that is not hopeful in Allah, Allah does not answer that dua. Versus that our words could be broken, we could stutter, we could not even know what to say properly, but if that dua comes from a place in the heart that is hopeful, that is lit up, that is illuminated by the hope and the mercy of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, then know very well that that dua is a dua that is answered by Allah. Because it comes from a place of hope, it comes from a place of conviction, and that is the third thing to keep in mind when making dua.
Three Outcomes of Every Dua
Now, I'm gonna go ahead and address an FAQ here, a frequently asked question, kind of in the context of this third point to keep in mind, the condition for having duas accepted by Allah. A lot of times people ask the question: Well, you know, I've been making lots and lots of dua to Allah, but my prayers, my duas have not been answered by Allah. How do I know that my prayers or my answers, my duas, my supplications are being answered by Allah?
There is a hadith in regards to this that is the continuation of the previous hadith that we were talking about. Actually it's a different variation of that similar narration from Abu Sa'id al-Khudri رضي الله عنه that is mentioned in the Musnad of Imam Ahmed رحمه الله تعالى, where Imam Ahmed رحمه الله reports this hadith that Abu Sa'id al-Khudri رضي الله عنه narrated that the Prophet said:
(Hadith: Ahmed)
That each and every single Muslim when he makes a dua لَيْسَ فِيهَا إِثْمٌ وَلَا قَطِيعَةٌ رَحِم - that is not asking for the facilitation of a sin, nor is it asking, nor is it seeking the severing of family relations - إِلا أَعْطَاهُ اللَّهُ بِهَا إِحْدَى ثَلاثِ - then Allah gives him one of three things. Allah gives him one of three things.
What is one of the three results, outcomes of the dua of a person?
Number one: إِمَّا أَنْ تُعَجِّلَ لَهُ دَعْوَتُهُ - Number one, that his request, whatever he's asking for, will be granted to him. Meaning whatever he's asking for will be granted to him.
Number two: وَإِمَّا أَنْ يَدَّخِرَهَا لَهُ فِي الآخِرَةِ - Number two is that Allah will store this dua for him in the akhira. Meaning it wasn't good for him in this world, so Allah will store it for him in the akhira.
Number three: وَإِمَّا أَنْ يَصْرِفَ عَنْهُ مِنَ السُّوءِ مِثْلَهَا - That or Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will avert some harm from him in exchange for his dua and his supplication.
So the Prophet is telling us that the outcome of a dua is one of three things:
Number one: Either that person is given whatever they ask for because it's good for them in this life and the next.
Number two: It's not good for them in this life. It's better for them in the hereafter, so Allah stores that for that person, keeps it reserved for that person in the life of the hereafter. And understand and realize when a person will show up on the day of judgment and he will see what he will receive in exchange of his duas being answered in the world, what he will receive in the hereafter, he will actually hope on that day that none of his duas were answered in the world and all of his duas would have been kept for him in the life of the hereafter. So that's such a huge blessing of Allah.
Number three: Is that what he's asking for is not good for him in this world or the next. So what Allah does is Allah in exchange for that, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala takes care of the person. Allah averts, turns away some harm from that person in exchange for the dua of that person.
The sahaba رضي الله عنهم - so beautiful - when they heard this hadith from the Prophet, they were like, oh snap. That's amazing. إِذَا تُكْثِرُ - they said: Oh messenger of Allah, we're gonna start making lots and lots of dua! The Prophet, of course being the Prophet, he responded to them. He said : اللَّهُ أَكْثَرُ - No matter how much more dua you might make, Allah's ability to fulfill your duas and answer your duas and fulfill your requests is that much more abundant, that much more greater. Then however much you might be able to make dua. Meaning no matter how much dua all of y'all put together might be able to make, Allah can answer more duas than the maximum amount of duas that you can make, so ask Allah as much as you want and know that Allah will continue to take care of you and will continue to give you one of these three outcomes to your duas.
Subhanallah, this is the mercy and the benevolence of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
Format and Etiquette of Making Dua
So that is - that answers the question about having how to have our duas accepted and also kind of in the context of that, I also wanted to address what is the outcome of a dua? How is a dua answered by Allah? So we see here that none of our duas go unanswered. The outcome of that is not a single dua of a believer goes unanswered. Allah answers and fulfills all the duas and supplications, requests of a believer. It's just on us to understand Allah does for us what is best for us because he knows what is best for us.
The next thing that I want to do is I just wanted to kind of talk about the format and the layout of making dua. What is the prophetic method of making dua? So I'm just gonna mention a few things. I'm not gonna get into a lot of details so that we can stick to the time that I've been allotted here.
Number one is that the Prophet taught us to begin and end every single dua with the praise of Allah and sending peace and blessings upon the Prophet:
الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ وَالصَّلَاةُ وَالسَّلَامُ عَلَى رَسُولِ اللهِ
So praise and glorify Allah. In the context of this, I'd like to mention one more point. There's the ayah in the Quran where Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala tells us:
"
"That all messengers say to the people, say, announce, proclaim: Call out to Allah or call out to Ar- Rahman, the abundantly merciful. (أَيًّا مَّا تَدْعُوا - ayya ma tad'u) - however you call out (فَلَهُ الْأَسْمَاءُ الْحُسْنَى - falahu al-asma'ul husna) - then he has the most excellent and beautiful of names. (وَلِلَّهِ الْأَسْمَاءُ الْحُسْنَى فَادْعُوهُ بِهَا - wa lillahil asma'ul husna fad'uhu biha) - and for Allah alone are the most excellent and beautiful of names, so call out to him using his beautiful and excellent names."
So we begin and end every dua by praising and glorifying Allah. And the best way to do that is use the beautiful, powerful attributes of Allah.
Number two: Begin and end every dua after you begin and end every dua with the praise of Allah, number two, by sending peace and blessings upon the Prophet ﷺ.
This is actually a very powerful, beautiful prophetic principle that was taught to us by the Prophet ﷺ. He taught us:
That person cannot be grateful to Allah who is not grateful to the people. By sending peace and blessings upon the Prophet ﷺ, number one, the Prophet ﷺ is the beloved and the Habib of Allah. The best way to win the favor of anyone is to say something nice, to do something nice for someone that they love.
If somebody is nice to them, if somebody does something nice for them, I have instant love and affection and gratitude for that person. That person instantly wins my favor because they have such a special place in my heart that anyone that does something good or shows a kind gesture towards them, love and affection towards them, has won my love and my affection.
Muhammad Rasul Allah ﷺ is the Habib and the beloved of Allah. Someone who shows love and affection and appreciation for the Prophet ﷺ has won the love and the appreciation, the affection of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. So we start by sending peace and blessings upon the Prophet ﷺ.
Secondly, as I was mentioning, it's a prophetic principle: We cannot be grateful to Allah if we cannot learn to be grateful to people, and no human being has done more for us than Muhammad Rasul Allah ﷺ.
The second etiquette of making dua is to raise the hands. The Prophet ﷺ would raise his hands and spread his hands before Allah when he would make dua. You know why? This is the gesture of a beggar. I'll be very honest with you: This is something that's really hard for a lot of people, those of us who might have maybe grown up just knowing to make dua, we were taught by our parents to make dua. We
sometimes even take it for granted. We don't think about that, but somebody who maybe isn't regularly making dua, when you spread your hands like this, it's very difficult to do. Because when you do that, you step on your ego. You basically turn yourself into a beggar and you beg and you plead and you cry. You say: Oh Allah, please. Oh Allah, please. And you beg before Allah.
It's a very extremely humbling experience. I recommend everyone implement this.
Number three: We talked about having firm convictions in the fact that Allah takes care of us and Allah will answer our prayers. But at the same time, we have to make sure part of the Sunnah etiquette is to not be doubtful in our words nor in our body language. At the same time, be very humble, be very sure, and be very convinced, and be almost borderline insistent when you make dua, be insistent when making dua before Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
This is something that the scholars have mentioned is part of the etiquette of dua. What that means is, of course, we don't talk arrogantly to Allah. We're not bossing Allah around, but you know when a beggar, when a beggar is hungry like he's starving, his stomach is grumbling, he hasn't eaten anything for a day or two days, he doesn't sit there and casually say, you know, maybe if you think possibly you might be able to spare a little bit of food then, you know, hook a brother up. A beggar doesn't ask like that. A beggar who is truly desperate for something, for food, he says: please give me food. And he grabs you by your leg and he won't let go of your leg. And he says please, literally if you keep walking you'll have to drag him by your leg because he won't let go. Any who, begging and pleading and crying, tears streaming down his face: Please give me food. Please give me food. He'll insist on receiving food because he's desperate.
When we make dua to Allah, express your desperation before Allah. Beg and plead and cry before Allah. That's why there's even a narration in which the Prophet ﷺ tells us about crying when we make dua to Allah. And if we can't cry, make an effort to cry. At least try to express your desperation before Allah when making dua.
The last thing that I'll mention here in the etiquettes of making dua before Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is to seek out the recommended times of making dua. Seek out the recommended times of making dua. There are many many different times when the Prophet ﷺ has told us about the significance of duas being accepted during that time.
There is the last third of the night in which there's a hadith Qudsi in which Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala actually says: Is there anyone who wants to be forgiven so I can forgive him? Is there anyone who wants to ask something so I can give it to him? Is there anyone who needs something so I can alleviate his need? Allah himself asks and seeks out beggars at that time to give to them, to grant to them.
So the last third of the night, which means wake up a little while before the time of Fajr. This is Ramadan prep. So in preparation for Ramadan, when we set our alarm for Suhoor, set your alarm an extra 10-15
minutes early, five minutes if nothing else, and make dua at that time and beg Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala at that time.
Another time that is related to the month of Ramadan, that is an amazing time to make dua, that duas are accepted, is when we break our fast. When we break our fast. So similarly, when we decide to break our fast and we have our alarm set for when we break our fast, when we open our fast, set the alarm 5, 10, 15 minutes before that and sit down and make dua at that time.
Another very amazing time that is universal throughout the year, but Ramadan is a good time to build a habit and a practice of this, is after every salah, make dua. Too often, you know, I teach the meaningful prayer seminar and a lot of times I talk about this there as well. Too often we - by the time we're making the second dua, we already have our first shoe on. It's like how did that happen? I don't know. So that's our attitude when praying as well. We like boom and we just make a run for it. We're just out of there.
Peace out. So next time you pray, Abdullah bin Mas'ud (رضي الله عنه) used to teach his students and his family members:
Save your needs and your situations, your circumstances for the next obligatory prayer. Because that's an amazing time to make dua and your supplications will be answered at that time.
And then there are of course other very famous occasions for making dua. There's a time, there's an hour, there's a time slot on the day of Friday when duas are accepted. Many of the scholars, majority of the scholars are of the opinion that is after Salat al-Asr on a Friday until Maghrib. That is the time when duas are accepted.
And then there's a lot of other occasions and we can start off with just these three, four that we talked about here: after every salah, before iftar, before suhoor. Make dua at that time and our duas will be accepted by Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
Major Barriers to Dua Acceptance
What I wanted to talk about now was: What are some major barriers that we have to make an effort to remove from our lives which can block our dua from being accepted by Allah?
There's one major primary thing and that is disobedience of Allah in our life, specifically the consuming of haram. Consumption of haram makes a person, renders a person's dua unacceptable. A person's dua is not accepted.
There's a famous hadith of the Prophet ﷺ where he talks about a person whose hair is disheveled, his clothes are dirty, he's traveling, he's hungry, he's thirsty, he's desperate - meaning all the conditions in which a dua of a person would be accepted are all combined within this person - and he turns his hands
and his head, his face to the heavens and he says: Oh Allah, please take care of me. Oh Allah, please take care of me. But the Prophet ﷺ says:
How, why would his dua ever be accepted? Why? Because his clothing has been bought with money that was earned through impermissible means - lying, stealing, cheating, selling and buying of haram items. What he eats comes from haram means, what he drinks comes from haram means. He pays his rent with haram means. Meaning his entire lifestyle, his entire life is fueled and funded by things that are purchased or bought through impermissible means, that are acquired through routes that are haram, impermissible. Whether that be alcohol or pork or even interest, riba, usury.
So we have to understand one thing here: a lot of times - see, this is another thing where our ego gets in the way. This is a really touching topic and subject. There are probably lots of people watching right now who are saying, you know what, this was going great. This was going fantastic until this guy started to say he decided he was gonna tell me what not to do anymore.
I'm very humbly going to say one thing to you: I'm not telling you what to do or what not to do because I'm nobody. Nobody cares what I think, nobody cares what I say. I'm a nobody. This is Allah and his messenger telling us what to do and what not to do.
We turn this into an ego thing. Oh brother, you know, what about this and I heard this and I read that and I thought this and I thought that. Put all that aside. Even if based on certain fatawa, based on certain rulings of certain scholars for certain people in certain circumstances, something impermissible would be permissible - and I don't deny that. This is not a fiqh discussion. Otherwise I would get into it.
But we have to understand that we have an individual responsibility to ourselves and to Allah to try to live our lives not by fatwa, but to try to live our lives by taqwa. We have an individual responsibility, spiritual responsibility to ourselves and to Allah to not solely, only continuously live our lives based off of fatwa, which is the bottom line. But occasionally we have to challenge ourselves. I cannot enforce taqwa upon anyone else. I can't. But I have a responsibility to myself and to Allah that there comes a certain time and place where I have to try to live my life based off of taqwa.
What would be most pleasing to Allah in this situation? Let me think about that. Let me take that into consideration and understand one thing: that when I consume haram and I try to find justification for it, I don't harm anyone else. I only harm myself. Because as the hadith that the Prophet ﷺ tells us, my dua is rendered unacceptable. My dua is rendered unacceptable. So I only harm myself when I do that. I damage and hurt my relationship with Allah.
The Special Dua for Laylatul Qadr
The next thing that I wanted to talk about here was something very important that we all have to keep in mind in regards to making dua to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And that is what will actually - excuse me, one thing that I wanted to talk about real quick here was I wanted to actually share a sample of a dua and a supplication with you here today, and I wanted to share a sample of a supplication and a dua that is related to the month of Ramadan so that Ramadan's around the corner. We're about 10 days away from the month of Ramadan.
So there's a dua that we can all utilize during the month of Ramadan. That dua is a dua that the Prophet ﷺ taught to Aisha (رضي الله عنها). Actually Aisha (رضي الله عنها) asked the Prophet ﷺ: What dua should I read during the last ten nights when seeking out Laylatul Qadr? And the dua that the Prophet ﷺ taught her was:
(Hadith: Tirmidhi 3513)
(اللَّهُمَّ - Allahumma) means Oh Allah. Some of the scholars explain that when we say (اللَّهُمَّ - Allahumma) this is inclusive of all the attributes and the names and the qualities of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. So it's a very powerful word. At the same time, this is a very unique word that is used only and only to call out to Allah. So it's a very powerful, emphatic way of calling out to Allah. And that's why many of the prophetic supplications that the Prophet ﷺ taught to us, they began with this phrase (اللَّهُمَّ - Allahumma)
(اللَّهُمَّ إِنَّكَ - Allahumma innaka) - Oh Allah, most definitely you and only you. So there's emphasis here and we are directly talking to Allah. Oh Allah, most definitely you and only you (عَفُوٌّ - 'Afuwwun) - you are the one who is (عَفُوٌّ - 'Afuwwun) is an attribute of Allah that comes from (الْعَفْوَ - al-'afwa) (الْعَفْو - al-'afwa) in the Arabic language means to disregard something, to not mind something, to look away from something. That's why they would say (عَفَا الدَّارُ - 'afad-daaru) - the house has been abandoned. The house has been abandoned. So (الْعَفْو - al-'afwa) means to disregard, to not mind something. (الْعَفْو - al-'afwa) is the one who abundantly, continuously, excessively disregards, overlooks and does not mind.
So oh Allah, you are the one who excessively, continuously, consistently overlooks the wrongdoings of people. (إِنَّكَ عَفُوٌّ تُحِبُّ الْعَفْوَ - innaka 'afuwwun tuhibbul 'afwa) - but on top of that we say, oh Allah, not only are you that, are you the one, are you Al-Afuw, but you love to overlook the shortcomings of your slaves. You love to overlook our shortcomings, ya Allah. (فَاعْفُ عَنِّي - fa'fu 'anni) so please overlook my shortcomings.
(اللَّهُمَّ إِنَّكَ عَفُوٌّ - Allahumma innaka 'afuwwun) - Oh Allah, most definitely you and only you are the one who continuously, constantly overlooks the shortcomings of your slaves. (تُحِبُّ الْعَفْوَ - tuhibbul 'afwa) - and you love overlooking and disregarding the shortcomings of your slaves. (فَاعْفُ عَنِّي - fa'fu 'anni) so overlook, disregard my shortcomings.
Look how beautiful and elaborate the supplication is, and this is the supplication that we can use during the month of Ramadan. When we wake up at night and we pray in the night and all day long while we're fasting, continue to read the supplication: (اللَّهُمَّ إِنَّكَ عَفُوٌّ تُحِبُّ الْعَفْوَ فَاعْفُ عَنِّي - Allahumma innaka 'afuwwun tuhibbul 'afwa fa'fu 'anni). Make this a habit, memorize this, understand it, learn it, teach it to others, share with others, make it your sadaqa jariyya, get
HEADING
to work. Invest in yourselves, invest in your akhira, and make it a practice and then continue to read this throughout the month of Ramadan. It will be a very very beneficial thing for all of us involved.
The Story of the Battle of Badr
And I finally wanted to end my session here on dua by mentioning a story that again will kind of give us some perspective. The battle of Badr - and I specifically wanted to talk about the battle of Badr because the battle of Badr occurred during the month of Ramadan. According to the majority of historians and the scholars of the seerah, the battle of Badr occurred on the 17th day of the month of Ramadan in the second year of the Prophet's residence in Al-Madinah Al-Munawwara, the second year of hijrah after migration.
We all know the story of the battle of Badr. It's a beautiful wonderful story. Generally speaking, we're somewhat familiar of what occurred on that day and how glorious and amazing that day was. But what we don't focus on enough is what transpired and what occurred the night before the battle of Badr.
The night before the battle of Badr, there's a narration, there's a hadith about the Prophet ﷺ which tells us the Prophet ﷺ had a tent and he was encamped along with the sahaba. But he had his own private tent the night before the battle of Badr. Abu Bakr رَضِيَ اللهُ عَنْهُ walked into the tent of the Prophet ﷺ late at night. They have a battle the next day. He walked into the tent of the Prophet ﷺ late at night and he found the Prophet ﷺ making dua to Allah. He found the Prophet ﷺ making dua to Allah.
And the scene that's been described is that the Prophet ﷺ had his hands raised above his head. And he had his hands raised above his head and he was crying. Tears were streaming down his face. He was crying, tears were streaming down his face. And he was making dua. He had his hands above his head and he was insisting with Allah when making dua so much so that he was moving his hands like this when making dua to Allah.
And he was praying for the victory of the Muslims the next day in the battlefield. He was praying for the protection of the sahaba رَضِيَ اللهُ عَنْهُم . He was praying for the establishment of the religion of Allah on this earth. And he was had his hands raised so high and he was shaking them, repeating them so much that he was wearing a shawl - one of the ways in which the Prophet ﷺ would dress is that he would cover his upper body with like a wrap, like a shawl - that the shawl became undone and it fell off of his shoulders, off of his upper body.
Abu Bakr رَضِيَ اللهُ عَنْهُ walked in and he picked up the shawl and he put it on the shoulders of the Prophet ﷺ. And seeing the Prophet ﷺ crying and making dua like this over and over again, Abu Bakr رَضِيَ اللهُ عَنْهُ broke out into tears. And he came and he covered the Prophet ﷺ from behind him. And he said: Your dua has been accepted, O Messenger of Allah. Your dua has been accepted by Allah. Allah has answered your prayers, O Messenger of Allah. Allah has answered your prayers.
That was the night before Badr. Before every great achievement, before every great accomplishment, before any significant moment in our lives, it needs to be preceded, it needs to be done with first making dua to Allah. It needs to be preceded by dua. Every great accomplishment and achievement in our lives will follow dua, will be the outcome of our duas, will follow after duas. And that will also ensure that every great achievement and accomplishment in our lives will be a blessed achievement and a blessed accomplishment, like the achievement and the accomplishment in the Battle of Badr which occurred 1400 plus Ramadans ago.
So similarly, let's always try to make dua. You have a big day ahead, then tomorrow you have a job interview. You have an appointment, you have you know a test, an exam. Proceed that with dua. Let dua come before that. Make dua before you set out, always before you embark on any important task in your life. Start by making dua to Allah and try to keep in mind and remember everything that we talked about. Because this will make sure that your dua will be effective and Allah will accept it, and as we talked about, it will be accepted by Allah. Believe that and know that and know Allah will do for you what is best for you at the end of the day.
Closing
I want to real quickly here thank the Ramadanprep.com team for putting this program together. I know that they set out on this task weeks ago for weeks. They've been working diligently to make this possible.
I want to request everyone to make dua for me and for my family and our families. Make a lot of sacrifice when I'm here on camera. It's at the expense of time with my family. So I want to request everyone to please remember my family in your duas.
And lastly I wanted to acknowledge all the different organizations that are working together to bring Ramadan prep to you from different aspects. We have Ramadanprep.com, the website itself that is bringing you this live streaming audio and the presentation. We have MuslimMatters.org that will be posting a transcript of today's session, and we have Quran Weekly that will be posting these videos on their YouTube channel.
So again, want to give a shout out and make dua and say:
"May Allah bless and reward all of these organizations - Quran Weekly, Muslim Matters, and Ramadan Prep - for making all of this possible. May Allah accept from all of us and may Allah give us the guidance, the tawfiq, the ability to practice everything that we said and heard.