The Prophet (saw) said, 鈥楧u鈥檃 is worship itself鈥�. Then the Prophet (saw) recited this verse, 鈥榊our Lord says: 鈥淐all upon Me and I will respond to you. Verily, those who disdain My worship will enter Hell in humiliation. [The Noble Qur鈥檃n, 40:60]" [Tirmidhi]'
Du鈥檃 is an essential action which we definitely can鈥檛 miss out on. This article is a comprehensive guide to making du鈥檃, including the etiquette of preparing for du鈥檃, what your du鈥檃 should include and what our attitude towards du鈥檃 should be.
You can also facilitate the dua鈥檚 and supplications of other 海角乱伦s around the world by building your own masjid or sponsoring a hifz student.
May Allah (swt) accept your du鈥檃s and ours, amin!
Alhamdulillah, you can call upon Allah at any time. You can make du鈥檃 as soon as you wake up or as you are falling asleep, in public or in private, as a deliberate decision or an instinctive reaction to difficulty. You can also make du鈥檃 in any language and for any want or need (as long as you are not asking for something sinful or wishing harm on others).
However, there is a beautiful etiquette (adab) to making du鈥檃 which will mentally and spiritually prepare you for this significant worship, in sha Allah.
It is NOT compulsory to perform wudu before making du鈥檃. However, performing wudu is a way of purifying yourself and getting into the correct mindset for speaking to Allah.
Abu Musa Al-Ash鈥檃ri (ra) narrated that the Prophet (saw), after the battle of Hunain, called for water, performed wudu, then raised his hands and said: 鈥極 Allah! Forgive Ubaid Abi Amir!鈥� [Bukhari]
Again, it is NOT compulsory to face the Qiblah while making du鈥檃. However, the Prophet (saw) would sometimes do so, as described in the below narration:
Abdullah bin Zaid (ra) reported, 鈥楢llah鈥檚 Messenger (saw) went out to this Musalla (praying place) to offer the prayer of Istisqa (a prayer for rain). He invoked Allah for rain and then faced the Qiblah and turned his cloak inside out鈥︹�� [Bukhari].
Subhan'Allah, raising our hands in du鈥檃 is a Sunnah with such a beautiful meaning behind it! We encourage you to remember the following hadith every time you physically raise your hands:
The Prophet (saw) said, 鈥業ndeed your Lord - Blessed and Almighty is He - is Shy and Most Generous. He is shy when His servant raises his hands to Him (in du鈥檃) to turn them away empty鈥� [Abu Dawud].
Abu Musa Al-Ash鈥檃ri (ra) said, 鈥榃e were in the company of the Prophet (saw) on a journey, and whenever we ascended a high place, we used to say Takbir (in a loud voice). The Prophet (saw) said, 鈥淥 people! Be kind to yourselves, for you are not calling upon a deaf or an absent one, but you are supplicating the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing"鈥� [Bukhari]. The above hadith is a beautiful reminder that, when you are making a private du鈥檃, Allah is always close to us and there is no need to be loud!
As Allah says: 鈥楢nd remember your Lord by your tongue and within yourself, humbly and with fear, without loudness in words, in the morning and in the afternoon, and be not of those who are neglectful.鈥� [The Noble Qur鈥檃n, 7: 205]. This not only applies to our private rooms, but also if we are making du鈥檃 in a masjid - it鈥檚 better not to disturb those around us.
As well as preparing for du鈥檃, there is also a correct etiquette for what we should say after raising our hands. This is NOT compulsory, but again, it is highly recommended! Naturally, we should try to call upon Allah in a manner that is pleasing to Him, as taught to us by our Prophet (saw).
Don鈥檛 rush into your du鈥檃 without first praising Allah and then sending prayers upon our beloved Prophet (saw):
The Prophet (saw) said, 鈥榃hen any one of you have performed Salah (prayer) and wants to supplicate, let him begin with praising His Lord (swt) and glorifying Him, then send prayers upon the Prophet (saw). Then he may supplicate for whatever he wishes.鈥�
[Tirmidhi]
Allah says, 鈥楢nd to Allah belong the Beautiful Names, so invoke Him by them.鈥� [The Noble Qur鈥檃n, 7:180]
There are so many Names which you can call upon Allah by - but here are some of the most commonly used ones. Remember to select the most relevant Name to your du鈥檃. If you are asking for forgiveness, you could use Al-Ghafur; if you are asking for help with a problem, you could use Al-Wakil.
You can invoke Allah by His Names in a few ways, which we have illustrated below:
If you want to invoke one of these Names directly (O 鈥橝fuww / Ya 鈥橝fuww), then you don鈥檛 need to pronounce the two letters before the hyphen.
It is extremely important to include everything you need and want while making du鈥檃, without holding back. No desire is too much for Allah to grant it. The Messenger of Allah (saw) said, 鈥榃hen one of you calls upon Allah, let him hope for the greatest of things. Verily, nothing has any greatness over Allah鈥� [Ibn Hibban].
We have previously published an article about Prophet Sulaiman (as) who, when building Masjid Al-Aqsa, made three HUGE du鈥檃s which Allah answered:
SubhanAllah, we should all learn from the example of Sulaiman (as) and never put a limit on our du鈥檃s! You can read the full story of this du鈥檃 here.
Don鈥檛 miss out on making du鈥檃 for other people! The Messenger of Allah (saw) said, 鈥楴o 海角乱伦 servant supplicates for his brother behind his back but that an angel says, 鈥淎nd for you the same"鈥� [海角乱伦].
It is also important to make du鈥檃 for the Ummah in general, for example by saying, 鈥極ur Lord, forgive all the believers.鈥� As the Messenger of Allah (saw) said, 鈥榃hoever seeks forgiveness for the believing men and women, Allah will record a good deed for him by each man and woman鈥� [Tabarani].
When you have finished supplicating to Allah, say 鈥楢min鈥� to seal your du鈥檃:
As Abu Zuhayr reported, 鈥榃e went out one night with the Messenger of Allah (saw) and a man came to us who was earnestly supplicating to Allah for some matter. The Prophet stopped and listened to him, then he said, 鈥淚t must be so if he seals it.鈥� A man among the people said, 鈥淲ith what does he seal it?鈥� The Prophet said, 鈥淎min, for if he ends it with amin, it will be so鈥�"鈥�
[Abu Dawud]
After saying 鈥楢min鈥�, wipe your hands over your face, as it is Sunnah to do so. Umar Ibn al-Khattab (ra) said, 鈥榃hen the Prophet (saw) raised his hands in supplication, he would not put them down until he wiped his face鈥� [Tirmidhi].
To summarise: your du鈥檃 should include praise for Allah and prayers for the Prophet (saw), invoking Allah by His Names, asking for every matter, big and small, making du鈥檃 for others and concluding with amin.
Firstly, we should absolutely not be reluctant or shy to ask for anything. Allah loves for us to turn to Him and supplicate to Him, and He will never tire of fulfilling our needs or granting us forgiveness.
The Messenger of Allah (saw) said, 鈥楢sk Allah for His favour. Verily, Allah Almighty loves to be asked and among the best acts of worship is to wait in expectation of relief鈥� [Tirmidhi].
Secondly, it is extremely important to trust in Allah and have certainty that He will answer our du鈥檃s.
The Prophet (saw) said, 'There is no 海角乱伦 who calls upon Allah, without sin or cutting family ties, but that Allah will give him one of three answers: He will quickly fulfil his supplication, He will store it for him in the Hereafter, or He will divert an evil from him similar to it.鈥� They said, 鈥業n that case we will ask for more.鈥� The Prophet said, 鈥睞llah has even more.鈥�
[Ahmad]
Therefore, while making du鈥檃, we should not be hesitant or uncertain; and afterwards, we should not question whether or not Allah has answered our du鈥檃s.
Secondly, it is extremely important to trust in Allah and have certainty that He will answer our du鈥檃s.
The Prophet (saw) said, 'There is no 海角乱伦 who calls upon Allah, without sin or cutting family ties, but that Allah will give him one of three answers: He will quickly fulfil his supplication, He will store it for him in the Hereafter, or He will divert an evil from him similar to it.鈥� They said, 鈥業n that case we will ask for more.鈥� The Prophet said, 鈥睞llah has even more.鈥�
[Ahmad]
Therefore, while making du鈥檃, we should not be hesitant or uncertain; and afterwards, we should not question whether or not Allah has answered our du鈥檃s.
And whoever puts their trust in Allah, then He alone is sufficient for them.
The Noble Qur'an [65:3]
Thirdly, we should be patient while waiting for an answer from Allah.
The Prophet said, 鈥楾he servant will continue to have his supplications answered as long as he does not ask for sin or cut family ties, and he is not impatient.鈥� They said, 鈥極 Messenger of Allah, what is its impatience?鈥� The Prophet said, 鈥橦e says,鈥� I have supplicated again and again, but I have not seen an answer.鈥� He becomes frustrated with that and gives up supplicating.鈥濃��
[Bukhari]
SubhanAllah, we must always remember that Allah is Ash-Shakur (The Appreciative One) and Ar-Rahman (The Most Gracious or Compassionate); therefore, we can never have doubt that He hears our du鈥檃s and He will answer in the best way for us.
We would like to conclude with one final point: good deeds elevate our du鈥檃s. Allah says, 鈥楾o Him do good words go up and righteous action uplifts them鈥� [The Noble Qur鈥檃n, 35:10].
Just as Sulaiman (as) supplicated to Allah while performing a good deed for His sake - rebuilding Masjid Al-Aqsa - we should also fill our days with good deeds while we make du'a! From giving to those most in need to honouring His Blessed Masjid , there are so many ways we can show our sincerity to Allah and our desire to please Him. As we await His answer to our du鈥檃s, we should never become impatient - rather, we should increase our righteous actions for His sake!
Here is a brief summary of this article:
We hope this article was helpful to you. May Allah accept our du鈥檃s and make us from those who never abandon du鈥檃, amin!
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