The Du’a Taught to Only 1 Prophet Khutbah

Dr. Omar Suleiman - "The Du'a Taught to Only 1 Prophet"

The Search for Perfect Du'as

Dear brothers and sisters, so often when we talk about the concept of du'a, and we talk about a du'a, a prayer, I can't tell you how many times someone walks up and says, "Can you give me the du'a for this situation." We're often looking for the perfect formula, the perfect du'a, the perfect supplication to fit our situation. And sometimes we look for the longer du'as, the ones that have such poetry to them, because they're able to encapsulate what we are feeling in such a poetic way.

And we know that it comes from our Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم, so we attach ourselves to it. So we love these long poetic du'as, and I want to write it down, and make sure that you send it to me, and make sure that you give me this, and make sure that you give me that. And there are two things that are missed in the process.

The Value of Raw Du'a

One of them is the value of raw du'a, the value of du'a in your own language, supplication in your own language, where you express those feelings, where Allah does not need you to rhyme, or to sound poetic, or to sound beautiful, or even to speak Arabic, when you make your du'a. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala loves to hear your voice, and hear its sincerity, and that is the most important ingredient. However, no doubt, there's blessings in the du'as from the sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم

Du'as We Say Regularly

The second part of that, the things that we say so regularly, that we lose value for those things, and we don't realize that they are in fact expressions of du'a.

So for example, السَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُمْ is a dua. Peace be on to you.

May the peace, mercy, and blessings of Allah be upon you.

It's a du'a. And so it doesn't really make sense when someone says salam to you, but they intend everything that is in opposition to that peace, right? So you say salam in anger, and you go on harming, and backbiting, and hurting the person that you say salam to. No, salam is a contract.

It's a prayer and a contract between two brothers and two sisters, that there is peace, that you're not going to be harmed from my end, and that I will pray for your peace, and for your mercy, and for blessings in your life. It's a contract that we may betray sometimes when we act in opposition to it.

The Example of Alhamdulillah

The other one, most common one is الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ

To say الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ and to say it in a way that betrays the الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ How are you? You know الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ is an expression of thanks to Allah.

It's a du'a, it's a prayer الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ All praises and thanks are due to Allah. But someone says الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ in a way that's complaining, even in the way that they say it.

Or they say الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ and then they attach onto it three sentences of complaint. What's the point of your الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ if you're going to betray it in the way that you say it, and immediately with what you say after it?

الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ is a du'a. It's a prayer, it's an invocation, it's a powerful one.

How are you? How are things going? How are you feeling? How are you coping الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ No matter what, the hamd belongs to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. The praise, and thanks, and grace belongs to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

The Hadith of the Believer's Affair

Now, what we come to today builds on what we've been speaking about over the last few weeks. But I want to preface it with the following. The hadith of the Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم that we all know.

عَجَبًا لِأَمْرِ الْمُؤْمِنِ إِنَّ أَمْرَهُ كُلَّهُ خَيْرٌ )Sahih Muslim 2999). The Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم said: "How wonderful is the affair of the believer. Everything in his regard is khayr, it's good."

إِنْ أَصَابَتْهُ سَرَّاءُ شَكَرَ فَكَانَ خَيْرًا لَهُ "If he is touched by something that is good, he is grateful and that is better for him."

We all know how to express gratitude. We sayالْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ. And that is better for him.

وَإِنْ أَصَابَتْهُ صَرَّاءُ صَبَرَ فَكَانَ خَيْرًا لَهُ "And if he is harmed or if she is harmed by something that is painful, by something that causes them grief, then they are patient and that is better for them."

It's how we express the patience where we actually find most of the du'as. Let me be clear here. The amount of times that I've been asked for du'as for patience versus du'as of thanks is highly disproportionate. Because the reality is we usually look for words when we're in pain. When it comes to gratitude, yeah, الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ

But when it comes to pain and du'a, how do I get this debt away from me? How do I get this pain away? How do I make this situation better? That's when people start looking for the long du'as, right? And that's where we find these blessings from the sunnah.

A Special Gift to This Ummah

The du'a that I'm gonna talk about today has never been given to a prophet before you. And I want to say first and foremost what that means.

When the Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم was there on the night of Al-Isra, Al-Mi'raj, on the night of the ascent, he was told, أَبْشِرْ بِنُورَيْنِ أُوتِيتَهُمَا لَمْ يُؤْتَهُمَا نَبِيٌّ قَبْلَكَ "Receive the glad tidings of two lights that have been given to you that were never given to a prophet before you." (Sahih Muslim 806)

And the Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم was told فَاتِحَةُ الْكِتَابِ وَخَوَاتِيمٌ سُورَةِ الْبَقَرَةِ "The opening of the book, Al-Fatihah, and the last two verses of Al-Baqarah" are two gifts that were given to you that were not given to any prophet that came before you.

Now when you read Qur'an, when you get into salah, how often do you lose appreciation for Al-Fatihah? Because you say it all the time. You get right past it, and now let me think about the surah that I'm gonna read. But Al-Fatihah is a gift from Allah جل جلاله. There is a reason why, and it's for your own good, that you recited every single rak'ah in your prayer, and your prayer is invalid without it. It is greater than what will come after it.

So read it over and over and over again, and ponder over it, learn its meanings, and immerse yourself in Al-Fatihah because it's profound, it's beautiful. And there's a reason why those last two verses of Surah Al-Baqarah are two verses that the Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم taught us we should never leave before we sleep. Every night when we go to sleep, we should read those last two verses of Surah Al-Baqarah, every single night, don't miss them.

Just like you don't miss Ayatul Kursi, don't miss those last two verses of Surah Al-Baqarah. So it indicates that Allah has given something special to the Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم and by extension, us. It's a gift that Allah gives to this ummah, that He favors us with, that allows us to gain greater blessing from Him.

The Du'a Never Given Before

So the du'a that I will speak about today, Sa'id Ibn Jubair رضي الله تعالى عنه says: هَذِهِ الْكَلِمَاتُ مَا أَعْطِيَتْها أُمَّةٌ قَبْلَكُمْ وَلَوْ أُعْطِيَهَا أَحَدٌ قَبْلَكُمْ لَأُعْطِيَهَا يَعْقُوبُ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ لَمَّا سَمِعَ قَوْلَهُ يَا أَسَفًا عَلَى يُوسُفَ were not given to any ummah before you. They are a gift from Allah, not given to any ummah before you. And if they were given to anyone before you, it would have been given to Ya'qub عليه السلام, Jacob when he lost his son Yusuf عليه السلام Joseph."

And what does he say in the Quran? يَا أَسَفًا عَلَى يُوسُفَ (Quran 12:84) "Oh my grief over Yusuf."

So Sa'id Ibn Jubair رضي الله تعالى عنه was saying, if Allah was going to gift these words to anyone before you, surely it would have been Yaqub عليه السلام. But the expression, you know, if I say, ready, write it down, it's gonna be many lines, you have to memorize this.

الصَّبَاحُ وَالْمَسَاءُ أَذْكَارُ الصَّبَاحِ وَالْمَسَاءِ "The morning and evening remembrance." No, you know what the words are?

This entire build up for إِنَّا لِلَّهِ وَإِنَّا إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعُونَ . You hear someone died, you text it, you say it sort of as a matter of habit. إِنَّا لِلَّهِ وَإِنَّا إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعُونَ "Verily to Allah we belong and to Allah we return."

The Quranic Context

It's only mentioned once in the Quran. And that is where Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says وَبَشِّر الصابرين (Quran 2:155) "And give glad tidings to the patient." Remember we said, patience is at the first strike.

الَّذِينَ إِذَا أَصَابَتْهُم مُّصِيبَةٌ Quran (2:56) Those who when they are struck by any tragedy." قَالُوا إِنَّا لِلَّهِ وَإِنَّا إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعُونَ "They respond with what is known as الاسْتِرْجَاعٌ the homecoming du'a. To Allah we belong and to Allah we return."

أُولَئِكَ عَلَيْهِمْ صَلَوَاتٌ مِّن رَّبِّهِمْ وَرَحْمَةٌ وَأُولَئِكَ هُمُ الْمُهْتَدُونَ )Quran) 2:157) "As a result of that, when they say that, when they're struck with something harmful, when they respond with that, upon those people are His prayers, His forgiveness, His mercy, and they will remain amongst those who are guided."

What do you hope to not lose in tragedy? Perspective. You hope to not lose your way. Right? That the tragedy stops you in your return to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, stops you in your tawbah, stops you in your consistency with worship, stops you in your happiness, stops you in your journey. So Allah says, when you say إِنَّا لِلَّهِ وَإِنَّا إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعُونَ He descends upon you His prayers, His forgiveness, His mercy, and He keeps you upon guidance. Continue along your way.

Understanding This Special Du'a

So let's talk about this dua إِنَّا لِلَّهِ وَإِنَّا إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعُونَ That we often just throw out there because we know we're supposed to respond that way to tragedy. Specifically death. You don't really hear إِنَّا لِلَّهِ وَإِنَّا إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعُونَ being used outside of the context of death. But what makes this such a gift that Allah chose it for this ummah? And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala did not give it to anyone before the Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم as a word. And that's why you don't find it.

You find hamd many times, the praise of Allah many times in the words of the Prophets, but you don't find istirja'. What is this gift that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has given to us?

The Story of Umm Salama

First and foremost, I want you to pay attention to the times that you probably just thought as the beginning of a du'a. The story of Umm Salama رضي الله تعالى عنها

When her husband Abu Salama رضي الله عنه died. And when Abu Salama died, Umm Salama thought, I have nothing. At this point Abu Salama was an incredible human being and indeed he was a great sahabi. I've got nothing to look forward to in life anymore. And the Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم taught her to say the du'a,

اللَّهُمَّ أَجْرْنِي فِي مُّصِيبَتِي وَأَخْلِفْ لِي خَيْرًا مِنْهَا "O Allah, compensate me for my tragedy and give me better than that which was taken away from me." (Sahih Muslim 918)

You know what the du'a actually is? The dua is إِنَّا لِلَّهِ وَإِنَّا إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعُونَ اللَّهُمَّ أَجْرْنِي فِي مُصِيبَتِي وَأَخْلِفْ لِي خَيْرًا مِنْهَا "To Allah we belong and to Allah we return. O Allah compensate me for my tragedy and give me better than what was taken from me."

The Prophet's Example with Ibrahim

The du'a of the Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم when Ibrahim his son died, we all know the du'a إِنَّ الْعَيْنَ تَدْمَعُ وَالْقَلْبَ يَحْزَنُ وَلَا نَقُولُ إِلَّا مَا يُرْضِي رَبَّنَا "That the eyes shed tears, the heart breaks. And we only say that which is pleasing to Allah." (Sahih al-Bukhari 1303)

But you know in every single narration the Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم started off with إِنَّا لِلَّهِ وَإِنَّا إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعُونَ . The way I want you to think about it