Du’a: The Weapon of the Believer

Right now I'm in the middle of reading Sheikh Yasir Qadhi's book Du'aa: The Weapon of the Believer. Masha'Allah, it's an amazing book with a great deal to benefit from! I've learnt a great deal of fascinating 'tips and tricks' on how to perfect my du'aa and increase the factors that'll lead it to be accepted (insha'Allah!)… and I'd like to share some of it with you.

May Allah reward Sheikh Yasir for his efforts, ameen!

What to do when making du'aa:

• Focus on the du'aa, concentrate on the fact that you're “talking” to Allah, and make sure that your heart is really into it.
• Supplicate during one of the times of response.
• Have a meek heart, full ofhumbleness, softness, an awareness of our smallness in the Presence of Allah.
• Face the qiblah (direction of the Ka'bah).
• Be in a state of wudhu.
• Raise your hands to Allah.

• Start the du'aa with praise to Allah, exalting and glorifying Him, using His most perfect Names and Attributes (al-Asmaa' al-Husnaa')
• Follow it up with salutations to the Prophet Muhammad (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam).
• Repent and beg of Allah's forgiveness for past sins.
• Finally make your du'aa, being persistent in asking of Him what you wish, calling upon Him in a state of fear and hope, performing tawassul (as defined and outlined within the Shari'ah).

Examples of Tawassul:

• Through Allah's Names and Attributes – calling upon Him with them, knowing and understanding their meanings.
• Mentioning one's state – e.g. I am ill; I am old; I am in despair; I am poor; I am heartbroken, etc.
• Through good deeds – remember the Hadith of the three men in the cave, who made du'aa and mentioned their deeds (preferring parents over rest of family; fearing Allah and abstaining from zina; giving the labourer his invested wages)?

Note: Please read the book for further details!

Some of the Times of Response:

• After performing wudhu'.
• When the adhaan is called; between the adhaan and iqaamah
• During the salaah: After takbiratul-Ihraam; during the ruku'; after standing up from ruku'; during the sujuud (the moments when we are closer to Allah than we'll ever be!); sitting between the two sajdahs, before the end of the salaah – i.e. after you've finished the tashahhud and before the tasleem.
• After the salaah.
• When the rain falls (this is perfect for those of us living in very rainy countries! :D ).

Other Points of Interest:

“One of the strongest factors that aids a person's du'aa in being accepted is that he expects, in fact, being certain, that Allah will of a surety respond to his du'aa. When he expects the best from Allah, then Allah treats him in the way that he expects, and this is from the Perfection of Allah's Nature, and an indication of His Beautiful Names.”

“Just ponder over the meanings of this one Hadith in order to get a glimpse of the vast treasures of the One whom you ask, for the Prophet (SAW) said that Allah Said:

O My servants! If the first of, and the last of you; if the jinno f you and the men of you, were to stand on one plain and ask Me, and I gave every single person what he wanted, then all of that would not decrease from My Kingdom, except like a needle (decreases the amount of water) when it is placed in the ocean (and then taken out).”

• Do good deeds! The more you obey Allah, fulfilling the obligatory commandments and striving to do voluntary acts of worship, the higher your chance of getting your du'aa accepted!
• A delay in the response of your du'aa can actually be a means of drawing closer to Allah, if you take the correct understanding and act upon it; i.e. you don't give up in frustration saying, “Oh, my du'aa will never be answered!” – rather you realize that Allah withholds what it is you're asking for out of His Divine Knowledge, Wisdom, and Justice – it may be that a thing you like is bad for you, and a thing that you hate is good for you.

Woah… this post is getting long… so I'll finish off with that for now. Insha'Allah we'll all benefit from this, and try to implement it in our daily lives!