dua
Etiquette of Du’a
Dua, PrayerBismillahi Ar Rahmani Ar Rahim
Assalamu Alaikum!
It’s midnight on a Sunday (I guess Monday) , and I’m up writing away on WordPress.
Sigh. This is why I have problems waking up. My sleep schedule is set on ‘random’. Last night I passed out at 9pm, woke up around 10pm, passed out again 15 minutes later, woke up at 1:30am, then couldn’t sleep until 4, woke up for Fajr, then slept until…I’d-rather-not-say-o’clock.
It truly sucks.
No, I cannot help it! Yes, I’ve tried.
Anyway.
My mother is an avid listener of Dr. Farhat Hashmi.
If any of you have heard of her, you’ll know she’s a scholar, has a website and a series of lectures on hadith, sunnah, and Qur’an. She speaks in an interesting dialect of Urdu that I can’t quite understand but my mother helps me with that.
She’s quite good, mashAllah. She’s married to Dr. Idrees Zubair, who is also an Islamic scholar, mashAllah.
Dr. Hashmi has also published books, one of which I’m currently perusing. It’s called “Qurani & Masnoon Duas”. I’ll put the publishing info under sources, as usual.
The book is basically a compilation of du’a’s found in the Qur’an and in the Hadith/Sunnah of the Prophet (SAW). It’s a beautiful compilation though without transliteration, which I found a tad disappointing but I’m quite happy with it nonetheless.
In the beginning of the book, Dr. Hashmi included a little list of Du’a etiquette.
Etiquette. Etiquette?
Like, manners for making du’a?
Yessiree bob.
And why shouldn’t we have manners while making du’a? Are we not praying to our creator?
Do you go to your parents/husband/wife and say “EXCUSE ME BUY ME THIS THANK YOU”, kiss their cheek and leave the room?
Sometimes I feel like that’s how we treat du’a. A precursory kiss after salah. A swift ‘thanks for everything, God, btw, I’d like to pass my finals, You da best’ before we fold over the top edge of the prayer rug, exhale loudly, and make a sandwich.
No! No. No. No. No.
NO. Authubillahi min-ash-shaytaan ir rajeem. (I seek refuge in Allah from Satan the rejected one)
When you feel that twinge of impatience after your salah, that little urge that invites you to leave the prayer mat without making a sincere du’a…
THAT IS WHEN YOU NEED DU’A THE MOST. Know that little voice is Shaitan.
Du’a is the ESSENCE of worship – (Tirmidhi, Ahmad)
We, as Muslims, should take every opportunity to increase ourselves in ikhlas (sincerity) and Emaan.
So, here it is. Etiquette of Du’a, as compiled by Dr. Farhat Hashmi. And, as always, Allah knows best.
Etiquette of Invocation (page 11)
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Sincere Intention.
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To begin with praise and glorification of Allah and to send blessings on the Prophet (SAW) and to end the du’a in the same manner.
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To invoke with the certainty that it will be accepted.
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Do not ask from anyone other than Allah.
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Invoke for oneself first and then for others.
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Seek forgiveness from Allah while acknowledging one’s sins.
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Acknowledge the blessings of Allah upon oneself and to show gratitude
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To make dua with full concentration as Allah does not accept a dua of a heedless heart.
It might take a while to incorporate these steps into your du’a routine. I’m still struggling with it but inshAllah I’ll get the hang of it soon. One thing I really like about using these steps is that it gets my heart and mind in the right place to make du’a, subhanAllah.
May Allah accept our du’a’s, increase us in Ilm, Ikhlas, remove the love of this world from our hearts, remove ostentation from our hearts, and Guide us, forgive our sins, and give us Jannat Al Firdaus, Ameen.
Sources:
Qurani and Masnoon Duas. Dr. Farhat Hashmi. Al-Huda Publications
website: (www.farhathashmi.com)
Du’a’s Close to My Heart: Part II
Dua, Prayer
Assalamu Alaikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh
Bismillahi Ar Rahmani Ar Rahim
Hope everyone’s week is going well. Mine is going okay so far, alhamdulillah. My younger sister is in town from Boston so I’ve been getting some time with her, alhamdulillah. Maybe I’ll write a blog about her, because she’s just that inspirational, mashAllah.
Anyway, I thought I’d blog some more du’a’s that I find helpful and, well, crucial to my life, to be quite honest. They are from the same book as my first post on Du’a’s. If you don’t remember, the details for the book will be on the bottom under “sources”.
Last night, I had this weird urge. I was settling down after Isha prayer with a gigantic, 700 page book from the library. It’s fiction, but it’s really interesting so far, and I was looking forward to reading more from it.
And then I said, wait a minute.
I feel like I shouldn’t be reading this.
There’s something more important I should do first.
And I grabbed my trusty little Fortress of the Muslim, alhamdulillah, and read. And read.
And read.
When my days are particularly rough (and they have been for a while now), I have certain du’a’s I like to say that keep my eyes and heart on what is most important, which is Allah.
So…from the top!! We’ll start with the easiest and I’ll try to keep this post to medium length, and inshAllah save the bigger ones for another post. Please follow me! Bookmark me! Critique me! InshAllah!
Here we go!
What to Say When in Anguish (pg 144)
1. “Allaahu Allaahu Rabbee laa ‘ushriku bihi shay’an.”
Allah, Allah is my Lord. I do not associate anything with Him.
I love this du’a. I’ve read this probably a thousand times but I never really let it absorb into me. For those of you who are just getting the hang of Quranic Arabic, it’s really exciting when you start to recognize certain words and understand what the meaning is without looking at the translation. For example: “shirk”, a major sin, basically means associating partners with Allah. Therefore, “Ushriku” in the du’a, can be connected to “shirk”, therefore connecting to “associate”. “Laa” is “no”, in Arabic. And “Rabb” means Lord. If you read regularly, you can string some of the words you know to get some or all of the meaning, and then, of course, check it with the translation.
Trying to understand the Arabic makes it easier to memorize, subhanAllah.
2. Laa ‘illaha ‘illa ‘Anta subhaanaka ‘innee kuntu minadh-dhaalimeen
There is none worthy of worship but You, Glory is to You. Surely I was among the wrongdoers.
Humility. Humility. Humility. Submitting and repenting to Allah is, in my opinion, an essential characteristic of a Muslim.
What to Say When Something You Dislike Happens, Or You Fail to Achieve What You Attempt to do (pg 155)
Qadarullahi wa maa shaa’a fa’ala
It is the decree of Allah and He does whatever He wills.
Another du’a I find really easy to memorize and very useful, alhamdulillah. You missed the bus on the way to work. Say it. Your toaster broke. Say it. You didn’t do well on a Stats exam. Say it. You failed your driver’s exam for the 15th time. Say it. And then practice in a parking lot (maneuvering sucks).
Just SAY IT!
What to Say When Things Become Difficult (pg 153)
Allahumma laa sahla ‘illaa maa ja’altahu sahlan wa ‘Anta taj’alul-hazna ‘ithaa shi’ta sahlan.
O Allah, there is no ease other than what You make easy. If You please, You ease sorrow.
That driver’s exam you keep failing…say this. That Stats class that’s twisting your brain? Say this.
Trust and look to Allah in everything, big or small.
Invocations for When you are Stricken by Doubt in your Faith (pg 150)
Amantu billahi wa Rusulihi
I believe in Allah and His Messenger .
What I say for courage and strength.
Hasbunallahu wa ni’mal wakeel, wa ‘al allahi tawakalna
Allah is sufficient for us, and He is our Guardian and upon Allah do we rely.
In matters of the heart, this one helps me a lot.
Remembrance of Allah (pg 229 – 238)
Allahumaghfirlee, warhamnee, wahdinee, wa’afinee, warzuqnee
O Allah, forgive me, and have mercy on me, and guide me, and give me good health, and provide for me.
This one is valuable, because in saying it, we are reminded in 5 different areas (there are more) that we should turn to Allah. In repentance seek Allah. For mercy, seek Allah. For guidance, seek Allah. For good health, seek Allah. For ANYTHING, seek Allah! Truly, it drills into the believer that ALLAH is our RABB. So whatever we come across, need, want, don’t want, fear, love, whatever…we TURN TO ALLAH.
Subhaanal-laahi wa bihamdihi, Subhaanallahil-‘Adheem
Glorified is Allah and Praised is He, Glorified is Allah the Most Great.
According to the book, the description for this du’a, is as follows: “Two words are light on the tongue, weigh heavily in the balance and are loved by the Most Merciful One.” (pg 230-231) So say the above du’a often. Often! With love and sincerity!
So, that’s it for part II, Alhamdulillah.
InshAllah in the third part, I’ll be going into the longer du’a’s.
May Allah, forgive us, have mercy on us, guide us, give us good health, and provide for us. Ameen.
Allah-Hafiz.
Sources.
Fortress of the Muslim. Compiled by Sa’id bin Wahf Al-Qahtani. Publisher: Darussalam. 6th Edition. 2007
Du’a’s Close to My Heart
Dua, Jumma, Prayer. 
Bismillahi Ar Rahmani Ar Rahim (In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful)
Assalamu-Alaikum (May Peace be with you)
I wanted to share some du’a (supplication) from Fortress of the Muslim. If you don’t have this book I urge you to purchase a copy. It’s a tiny little thang, a pocketbook, but it has truly helped me in lots of different situations. I think many people really underestimate the importance of du’a.
The 5 salah, (5 daily prayers) is a fard, or requirement, for all Muslims. However, that’s not where our worship should stop. It should never stop. There are many Quranic verses and hadith regarding this. Below are just a few.
“Du’a is the essence of Ibadah (worship).” – at-Tirmidhi, Ahmad
“There is nothing more dear to Allah than a servant making du’a to Him.” – at-Tirmidhi, Ahmad
“If you ask, ask Allah and if you seek help, seek help from Allah.” – at Tirmdhi, Ahmad
Allah loves when we supplicate to Him. Why? It shows our devotion and dependency to Allah; our belief, reliance, and fear all turned towards Allah in a moment of supplication.
What do we supplicate for? For whom? At what time?
Anything, anyone, anytime. Sincerely, truthfully, repetitively.
When I was a little girl and my desires were still rather immature, I made du’a after Dhuhur prayer for some roller skates. My mother looked at me with an expression of curiosity and asked me what I made du’a for. I told her, “I prayed for roller skates.”
And I got them the same day.
Now, I can see some of you who are new to Islam or new to learning about it, sort of raise your eyebrows. Do I really think it such a big deal that, as a little girl, I asked for roller skates and got them? Do I truly believe it was an act of God and not the act of a proud Muslim mommy? After all, don’t children wet the floors of toy stores with their tears and tantrums and get what they want anyway?
Of course it was Allah. Of course! If you believe in Allah then you must believe HE is in control of everything. I wouldn’t have gotten those skates if Allah didn’t want me to. I’m sure my mother was happy with me and I’m sure that’s the reason she bought me my skates (which were AWESOME. Vintage care bears and rainbows all over them. Freakin’ cool. I miss the 90’s), but that doesn’t mean Allah’s will wasn’t involved. That doesn’t mean it wasn’t a blessing from Allah.
not really MY skates…but these are what they looked like, haha.
It makes me feel a little funny inside as I write this. There have been many moments where I’ve forgotten the power of du’a and many moments where I’ve been blown away by it. Alas, such is Emaan. An ever fluctuating muscle of faith we must always keep an eye on.
May Allah have mercy on us all, Ameen.
Anywho, now that we’re done with that little tangent, let’s get on the main topic!
Here are some du’a’s I’ve found particularly handy and easy to memorize. I’ll also include some commentary and which situations I find the dua handy. I’ll be listing the page numbers that they can be found on in my edition (photo above) of Fortress of the Muslim. At the end of the post I’ll include the publisher’s information so you’ll have an easier time finding this specific copy.
What a Muslim Should Say When He is Praised (pg 215)
“Allahumma laa tu’aakhithnee bimaa yaqooloona, waghfir lee, maa laa ya’lamoona (waj’alnee khayram-mimmaa yadhunnoon).”
“Oh Allah, do not call me to account for what they say and forgive me for what they have no knowledge of (and make me better than they imagine).”
I’m not sure if you’re supposed to say this one out loud. I think this is said silently, to oneself. That’s how I’d do it, anyway. I also find this useful to say when you feel like your ego might be getting the better of you, or if you feel like you’re being over-praised (it happens, and it’s dangerous, if you know anything about the evil-eye). It’s a good anchor to remind yourself that Allah knows everything about you, and only He can reward you. It keeps you humble, alhamdulillah. And Allah knows best. Tell me immediately if I have anything wrong, and cite your sources!
What to Say if Something Happens to Please you (pg 208)
“Alhamdu lillaahil-lathee bini’matihi tattimus-saalihat”
“Praise is to Allah Who by His blessings all good things are perfected.”
What to Say if Something Happens to Displease you (pg 208)
“Alhamdu lillahi ‘alaa kulli haal.”
Praise is to Allah in all Circumstances.
Invocation for Fear of Shirk (pg 195)
“Allahumma inee a’oothu bika ‘an ‘ushrika bika wa ‘anna ‘a’lamu, wa ‘astaghfiruka limaa laa ‘a’lamu”
“O Allah, I seek refuge in You lest I associate anything with You knowingly, and I seek Your forgiveness for what I know not.”
Shirk is associating anything with Allah. Since Muslims believe in the ONENESS of Allah, this is the worst sin a Muslim can commit, associating partners with Allah. I used to think this was obvious…why would I worship anyone else than Allah? It doesn’t make sense. But Shirk actually goes deeper than that. Sometimes you might not even know you’re committing it, tolerating it, or even encouraging it.
This du’a helps me when I find myself depending on anything or anyone else other than Allah (Subhana Wa Ta’aala.)
I think this post is long enough haha. I’ll be adding a part 2 of du’a’s in the next day or so, inshAllah.
May Allah make this beneficial for all of us, have mercy on us, give us Ihsaan, Emaan, and steadfastness, Ameen.
May Allah correct our affairs for us and give us all Jannah. Ameen.
your friendly neighborhood Muslim
Nesha
Sources
Fortress of the Muslim. Compiled by Sa’id bin Wahf Al-Qahtani. Publisher: Darussalam. 6th Edition. 2007
By The Fig and The Olive 