How to make dua to Allah?
Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,
As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa
Barakatuh. (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)
One of our brothers/sisters has asked
this question:
AsalamAlykum
i have a question,does dua change one's destiny.i ' ve heard that we shouldnt pray in a way that Allah gives us whatever You
consider is best for us .we all should say Oh Allah
You have power to change any thing and only
You can make a worse thing better and whenever you want,noone can stop you.so i have only desire in my whole life for which i pray in such a way and i
believe in Him that He can do that .tell me should i
continue praying like this
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Answer:
How to make dua to Allah?
In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask
for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever
He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that
there is no one (no idol, no person, no
grave, no prophet, no imam, no dai,
nobody!) worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that
Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.
Your Question: i have a question,does dua change one's destiny
Salman Al-Farisi reported that the Prophet
(saws) said, "Nothing can avert the Decree of Allah except supplication,
and nothing increases life except virtuous deeds." (Related by Tirmidhi)
When one talks about supplication and destiny, one must
understand that it is not as if Allah Subhanah is unaware that when a calamity
befalls His believing slave, and when the
slave will supplicate Allah Subhanah to avert the calamity, there will be a sudden change of plans and
Allah Subhanah will have to change what He has written with His Absolute and
Perfect Knowledge in one’s destiny and fate!
Allah Subhanah already knows from His Absolute and Perfect
knowledge what His creation will do, and
this He has documented in the ‘mother of all Books: Al-Loh Al-Mahfoodh’ prior
to creation! What we call and recognize
as ‘fate’ or ‘destiny’, is in reality
the Decree which the All Knowing Lord
has documented in His Absolute and Perfect Knowledge; and that cannot be changed in the least!
Take the case of Prophet Yunus (a.s.), who was cast into the belly of a fish by the
Decree of Allah Subhanah. And Prophet
Yunus (a.s.) supplicated Allah Subhanah to avert this calamity, as stated by Allah Subhanah in the Glorious
Quran:
Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 37 Surah
Saafaat verses 142-144:
142 Then the big Fish did swallow him (Prophet Yunus (a.s.) and he had
done acts worthy of blame.
143 Had it not been that he (repented and) glorified Allah
144 He would certainly have remained inside the Fish till the Day of
Resurrection.
In light of the above verses of the Quran, it indeed seems that it was the supplication
of Prophet Yunus (a.s.) which ‘changed’ his fate of remaining in the stomach of
the fish until the Day of Resurrection!
But in reality, Allah Subhanah
already knew in His Absolute and Perfect Knowledge that Prophet Yunus (a.s.)
would make an unintentional error, and
subsequently the fish would swallow him,
and subsequently he (a.s.) would supplicate Allah Subhanah to avert his
calamity, and Allah Subhanah would then
avert his calamity! That is because
Allah Subhanah has Perfect and Absolute Knowledge of everything of the
past, present and future; and this is what is documented and called
one’s ‘fate’ or ‘destiny’!
Thus, the supplication or dua which one makes to His
Lord, is in effect a part of his ‘fate’
which is in reality the Perfect and Absolute Knowledge of Allah Subhanah; and that can never ever be changed!!
Your Question: i ' ve
heard that we shouldnt pray in a way that Allah gives
us whatever You consider is best for us .we all should say Oh Allah You have
power to change any thing and only You can make a worse thing better and
whenever you want,noone can
stop you.so i have only
desire in my whole life for which i pray in such a
way and i believe in Him that He can do that .tell me
should i continue praying like this
Dear and Beloved Brother in Islam, the Truth is that one
may supplicate his Lord for any of the good that one’s heart desires, however
and whenever one wills; for in Truth it is the act of supplication that the
Messenger of Allah (saws) termed ‘worship’.
Nu'man b. Bashir reported that the Prophet
(saws), said, "Verily supplication is worship."
Narrated by Ahmad and Sunan.
When a believing slave supplicates his Lord, he in fact is
declaring his utter helplessness and humility; and by supplicating the One and
Only Lord of the Worlds, this slave by his actions is acknowledging that none
has the Power and the Strength to bring about what he needs and wants except
the Supreme and Majestic Lord; and this relation of faith and belief is indeed
what ‘worship’ is all about. Allah
Subhanah loves those who admit their helplessness to Him and supplicate to Him,
and he abhors those amongst creation who think they are self-sufficient and in
no need of Him!
Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 2 Surah
Baqarah verse 186: And if My servants
ask you, O Prophet, concerning Me, tell them that I am quite near to them. I hear and answer the prayer of the
suppliant, when he calls on Me. So let them respond to My call and believe in
Me. (Convey this to them), perhaps they may be guided aright!
Abu Hurairah reported, "The Prophet
(saws) said, "Nothing is more dear to Allah than one's supplication to
Him.''
Narrated by Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah.
Salman reported that the Prophet (saws),
said, "Your Lord, the Blessed and the Exalted One, is Modest and Generous,
and He loathes to turn away His servant empty-handed when he raises his hands
to Him in supplication."
Narrated by Ahmad and Ibn Hibban.
Thus, my dear and beloved Brother, one may and should, in
all humility, fear, and hope, supplicate Allah Subhanah Alone for all his
needs; for there is none other than our Merciful and Bounteous Lord who has any
power or strength to fulfill our needs in the least.
One may supplicate The Merciful and Bounteous Lord
anywhere, anytime, and however one wills; and if one wishes to learn how best
to make supplications, then there is no better example than the supplications
of the most obedient and grateful of the slaves of Allah who ever walked on
this planet earth: the person of the Last and Final Messenger of Allah, Mohamed
ar-Rasool Allah (saws)! His whole life
was spent in constant supplications to His Lord.
Thus if one truly wishes to supplicate Allah Subhanah in
the absolute best manner, than he must follow the example of the Messenger of
Allah (saws) and supplicate Allah Subhanah in the manner and words as taught by
him (saws).
Dear and Beloved Brother, there are so many supplications
reported in the authentic Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (saws), that if we
were to list all of them for you it would indeed require a volume of books!
Hadrat Aishah (r.a.) says that the Prophet
(saws) loved the short, comprehensive and meaningful supplications, more than
others. We give below some of the supplications made frequently by the Noble
Messenger of Allah (saws):
Anas reported that the Prophet (saws) prayed,
"O Allah, give us all the good of this world, and the good of the life
hereafter, and save us from the punishment of the Fire."
Sa'd ibn Abu Waqqas heard his son praying,
"O Allah, I ask You for
Related by Ahmad and Nasa'I.
Abdallah ibn 'Abbas reported that the Prophet
(saws) supplicated to Allah, "My Lord, help me and do not turn against me.
Grant me victory, and do not grant
victory over me. Plan on my behalf and do not plan against me. Guide me, and
make the guidance easy for me. Grant me victory over those who act wrongfully
toward me. O Allah, make me grateful to You, mindful of You, in awe of You,
devoted to your obedience, humble, penitent, and ever turning to You in
repentance. My Lord, accept my repentance, wash away my sins, answer my
supplication, clearly establish my evidence, guide my heart, make my tongue
true, and draw out malice from my breast."
Zaid ibn Arqam said, "I am not going to
say anything except what Allah's Messenger (saws) used to say. He (saws) used to supplicate, 'O Allah, I seek
refuge in You from incapacity, from sloth, from cowardice, from miserliness,
from old age, and from the torment of the grave. O Allah, grant my soul
righteousness, and purify it, for You are the Best Purifier. You are the
Protecting friend, and Guardian. O Allah, I seek refuge in You from the
knowledge that does not benefit, from a heart that does not fear You, from a
soul that is uncontented, and from supplication to which You do not
respond."
Related by Muslim.
The Prophet (saws) exclaimed to his
Companions, "O people, would you like to be serious in your supplications?"
They replied, "Yes, O Allah's
Messenger (saws)." He said, "Then ask Him, 'O Allah, help us in
remembering You, in offering thanks to You, and in worshipping You properly'.'
Related by Al-Hakim.
Ibn 'Umar reported that the Prophet (saws) used
to supplicate, "O Allah, I seek refuge in You against deprivation of Your
bounties, against loosing Your security, against the suddenness of Your wrath,
and against everything that might cause Your anger."
The Prophet (saws) used to say, "O
Allah, benefit me with what You have taught me, and teach me what is beneficial
for me, and increase me in knowledge. Thanks be to Allah under all
circumstances, and I seek Allah's refuge from the plight of the people of the
fire.'
Related by At-Tirmidhi.
When (his daughter) Fatimah came to the
Prophet (saws) asking him to give her a servant, he (saws) said, "Say, 'O
Allah, the Lord of the seven heavens, and the magnificent throne, our Lord and
the Lord of all things, the Revealer of the Torah, Injil, and the Qur'an, The
Splitter and Grower of the seed grain and date stone, I seek Your refuge
against the evil of all things that You hold under Your control. You are the
First, there is nothing before You. You are the Last, and there is nothing
after You. You are the Manifest and there is nothing above You, You are
Innermost and there is nothing beyond You. Remove the burden of debt from us
and relieve us from want'.'
Related by Muslim.
The Prophet (saws) also used to supplicate,
"O Allah, I beseech You for guidance, virtuousness, chastity, and
detachment from the world."
Abdallah Ibn 'Umar reported that the Prophet
(saws) seldom left an assembly without using these supplications for his
Companions: "O Allah, apportion to us the fear of You that will stand
between us and acts of disobedience to You, and the obedience to You that will
bring us to Your Paradise, and the certainty sufficient for You to make the
calamities of this world easy for us. Grant us enjoyment of our hearing, our
sight, and our power as long as You grant us life, and do the same for those
who inherit from us. Grant us victory over those who have wronged us and help
us against those who are hostile to us. Let no calamity befall our deen, do not
let worldly affairs become our greatest concern or all that we know about, and
do not let those rule over us who do not show us mercy."
Related by Tirmidhi.
Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to
Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only
Source of Strength.
Your Brother in Islam,
Burhan
Wister