Noor

Etiquette of Du’a

Dua, Prayer

Bismillahi 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)

  • Sincere Intention.

  • 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.

  • To invoke with the certainty that it will be accepted.

  • Do not ask from anyone other than Allah.

  • Invoke for oneself first and then for others.

  • Seek forgiveness from Allah while acknowledging one’s sins.

  • Acknowledge the blessings of Allah upon oneself and to show gratitude

  • 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)

http://www.nuradeen.com/archives/Contributions/Ikhlas.htm

http://lutonmuslims.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=399:powerdua&catid=36:virtues&Itemid=62

Du’a for Noor

Dua, Prayer

Bismillahi Ar Rahmani Ar Rahim

Noor. The mysterious, ethereal glow on the face of a true believer.

So subtle and yet so vibrant at the same time. When I see it, I find myself looking for its source. Sometimes, shamelessly scanning their faces with curiosity and awe. May Allah forgive me for staring.

How is it that one person can possess such beauty, such light? Not in the way their face is structured. Not in the thinness of the nose, the flawlessness of the skin. Not in the fullness of lips nor the size of the eyes.

But a light that seems to emanate from within. A light that sets their blood aglow, shining from within with purity. Golden, it seems to be, in places where the skin is soft.

SubhanAllah.

May Allah keep the noor on the faces of those who already possess it, and give noor to those who desire it, Ameen,

I have read this du’a before, but it has been a while since I’ve read it last. I thought I’d share it because, well, it’s important.

I hunted all over the internet and found some sites that had it. I’m citing the website that had the transliteration and translation. So I take NO ownership of the transliteration or the translation below. I just found them. May Allah reward those who have taken the time to translate and transliterate the du’a’s we so desperately need, Ameen. 

Transliteration in Arabic:

Allaahummaj’al fee qalbee nooran, wa fee lisaanee nooran, wa fee sam’ee nooran, wa fee basaree nooran, wa min fawqee nooran, wa min tahtee nooran, wa ‘an yameenee nooran, wa ‘an shimaalee nooran, wa min ‘amaamee nooran, wa min khalfee nooran, waj’al fee nafsee nooran, wa ‘a’dhim lee nooran, wa ‘adhdhim lee nooran. Waj’al lee nooran, waj’alnee nooran. Allaahumma ‘a’tinee nooran, waj’al fee ‘asabee nooran, wa fee lahmee nooran, wa fee damee nooran, wa fee sha’ree nooran, wa fee basharee nooran.

Allaahummaj’al lee nooran fee qabree, wa nooran fee ‘idhaamee.
Wa zidnee nooran, wa zidnee nooran, wa zidnee nooran.
Wa hab lee nooran ‘alaa noor.

*note* in the 2nd line of the du’a where it says “wa ‘an yameenee”, it  is pronounced “wa ay-yameenee”. Also, I listened to the recitation on the blog I found this on, and it sounds like we don’t pronounce the n’s on the end of every “nooran”. Allahu Allam. (Allah knows best).

Translation:

O Allah, place light in my heart, and on my tongue light, and in my ears light and in my sight light, and above me light, and below me light, and to my right light, and to my left light, and before me light and behind me light. Place in my soul light. Magnify for me light, and amplify for me light. Make for me light, and make me light. O Allaah, grant me light, and place light in my nerves, and in my body light and in my blood light and in my hair light and in my skin light.

O Allaah, make for me a light in my grave… and a light in my bones.
Increase me in light, increase me in light, increase me in light.
Grant me light upon light,

According to the blog, this hadith can be found in Bukhaari, Tirmidhi, and in Muslim.

Transliteration & Translation taken from:

http://muslimfortress.wordpress.com/2011/12/10/duaa-of-light-noor/

You can find more information about a similar Hadith and Du’a here:

http://spa.qibla.com/issue_view.asp?HD=1&ID=771&CATE=3