Make your dua powerful – Part 2
We are coming to the end of Ramadan. Let us see how to make our dua more
powerful. Rasoolullah ﷺtaught us 5 ways. Let’s practice them.
1. Crying when making dua.
Abdullah ibn Amr ibn Al-‘Aas (RA2) reported that Rasoolullah recited these two
Ayaat and wept:
ِّ هاس فَمن تَبِّع ِِّن فَِّإنهه ِّ َضلَلْن َكثِّريا ِّ ِِّ ر
ص ِّاِن ع ن مو ِّ
ِن
َ َ ْ ََ ِ ُ م َ َ ِّ ن ال َ ِ ً َ ْ ب إ هَّنُ هن أ
ن م َ
ور هرِّح ٌيم
ٌ فُ غ
َ ك َ ه
ن ِّ
إ َف
Ibrahim 14: 36. "O my Rabb! They have indeed led astray many among mankind.
But whoso follows me, he verily is of me. And whoso disobeys me, - still You are
indeed Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.
يم ِّ ك أَنت الْع ِّزيز ا ْْل
ك ه
ن ِّ
إ ف
َ م َل
َ رفِّ إِّن تُع ِِّذ ْْبم فَِّإ هَّنُم ِّعباد َك وإِّن تَ ْغ
ُ َ ُ َ َ َ ُْ ْ َ ُ َ ْ ُْ َ
Ma’aida 5: 118. "If You punish them, they are Your slaves, and if You forgive them,
verily You, only You are the All-Mighty, the All-Wise ."
Rasoolullah wept and kept saying: Rabbi Ummati, Rabbi Ummati
Allah sent Jibreel (AS) and said: Ask him why he is grieved. Rasoolullah said,
‘Ya Jibreel what will happen to my Ummah?’ Allah said, ‘Tell him, we will make
him happy with respect to his Ummah.’ And said:
ضى
َ ك فََ َْت َ ف يُ ْع ِّط
َ ُّيك َرب َ َولَ َس ْو
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Make your dua powerful
Duha 93: 5. And verily, your Rabb will give you (all i.e. good) so that you shall be
well-pleased.
Rasoolullah said, ‘Then I will not be pleased if even one of my Ummah is
in Jahannam.’ Ali bin Abi Talib (RA) used to say to the people of Iraq, ‘You
think that the Ayah of greatest hope in the Qur’an is:
اَّللِّ إِّ هن
َسَرفُوا َعلَى أَن ُف ِّس ِّه ْم ََل تَ ْقنَطُوا ِّمن هر ْْحَِّة ه
أ ين ِّ قُل َي ِّعب ِّادي اله
ذ
ْ َ َ َ َْ
يم َِّجيعا إِّنهه هو الْغَ ُفور الهر
ح َِّ الذنُوب ُّ ر ِّ اَّلل ي ْغ
ف
ُ ُ َُ ُ ً َ ُ َ َه
Zumar 39: 53. Say: "O 'Ibadi (My slaves) who have transgressed against
themselves (by committing sins)! Despair not of the Mercy of Allah, verily Allah
forgives all sins. Truly, He is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.
But we (Sahaba, Ahlul Bayt) consider the Ayah of greatest hope to be (Muslim)
ضى
َ ك فََ َْت َ ف يُ ْع ِّط
َ ُّيك َرب َ َولَ َس ْو
Rasoolullah ﷺsaid, “Two eyes will never be touched by the fire of Hell; an eye which
weeps out of Fear of Allah and an eye which spends the night in guarding in the
Cause of Allah .” (Tirmidhi)
Ibn ‘Umar (RA2) used to say: “It is dearer to me to shed one drop of tear than to
give out in charity one thousand (gold) Dinar.”
‘Aisha (RA) reported: “Once he (Rasoolullah )ﷺwas sitting and started crying
until his beard was wet. He continued to cry until he wet the ground under his feet.
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Make your dua powerful
When it was Fajr time, Bilal came informing him that it was due. Upon seeing him
crying this hard he exclaimed: `Ya Rasoolullah !ﷺWhy do you cry so much while
Allah has forgiven whatever you might have done wrong in the past and what you
might do wrong in the future?
He replied, “Should I not then be a grateful slave? An Ayah was revealed upon me
tonight, woe to him who recites it and does not reflect on its meaning.
Then he recited:
ت ٍ ف اللهي ِّل والنهه ِّار آلَي ِّ َض واختِّال ِّ َر
ألاو ات ِّ إِّ هن ِِّف خلْ ِّق ال هسماو
َ َ َ ْ ْ َ ْ َ ََ َ
اب ِّ ِِّألُوِِّل األلْب
َ ْ
وْبِّ ْم َويَتَ َف هك ُرو َن ِِّف َخ ْل ِّقِّ ُاله ِّذين ي ْذ ُكرو َن اَّلل قِّياما وقُعودا وعلَى جن
ُ َ َ َ ً ُ َ ً َ َِ ُ َ َ
اب ذ
َ ع ا ن َِّض ربهنَا ما خلَ ْقت هذا َب ِّطالً سبحانَك ف
ق ِّ َر
أل او ِّ ال هسماو
ات
َ َ َ َ َ ُْ َ َ َ َ َ َ ْ َ ََ
ِّ الن
هار
ِّ ك من تُ ْد ِّخ ِّل النهار فَ َق ْد أَخزي تَه وما لِّلظهالِّ ِّمني
َنصا ٍر
َ ْ َ أ ن م َ َ ُ َْ ْ َ َ َ َربهنَا إِّنه
آمنها َربهنَا فَا ْغ ِّف ْر َف
َ ْ َِم ك
ُ ِّ
بر ِّ
ب ا
ْو ُِّ ان أَ ْن
ن آم ِّ َهربهنَا إِّنهنَا ََِّسعنَا منَ ِّادَي ي نَ ِّادي لِّ ِّإلمي
ُ ً ُ ْ
لَنَا ذُنُوبَنَا َوَك ِِّف ْر َعنها َسيِِّئَاتِّنَا َوتَ َوفهنَا َم َع األبْ َر ِّار
A’al Imraan 190-193 Indeed, in the creation of the heavens and the earth and the
alteration of the night and the day are signs for those of understanding. Who
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Make your dua powerful
remember Allah while standing or sitting or [lying] on their sides and give thought
to the creation of the heavens and the earth, [saying], “Our Rabb, You did not create
this aimlessly; exalted are You [above such a thing]; then protect us from the
punishment of the Fire. Our Rabb, indeed, whoever You admit to the Fire-You have
disgraced him, and for the wrongdoers there are no helpers. Our Rabb, indeed, we
have heard a caller [Rasoolullah ]ﷺcalling to faith, [saying], “Believe in your Rabb,”
and we have believed. Our Rabb, so forgive our sins and remove from us our
misdeeds and cause us to die with the righteous … and fear Allah that you may be
successful.
Ramadan came to help us to repair that connection which is the only
connection which is eternal and will never break. The only one we need.
2. Confession of sin.
Perhaps the first dua made on earth was the Istighfaar of our father and
mother, Adam (AS) and Hawwa (AS). They were sent down from Jannah
and given the key to return to their real home, our real home.
ينِّ
ر ِّ َقَاَلَ ربهنَا ظَلَمنَا أَن ُفسنَا وإِّن هَّل تَ ْغ ِّفر لَنَا وتَر َْحْنَا لَنَ ُكونَ هن ِّمن ا ْْل
اس
َ َ َْ ْ ْ َ َ ْ َ
A’araf 7: 23 They said: Our Rabb! We have wronged ourselves. If You don’t
forgive us, and don’t bestow Your Mercy on us, we shall certainly be of the losers.
The beginning of all turn arounds is to accept the need to turn around.
Allah asked us a question 14 centuries ago. He asked, “Fa aina tadh-haboon
– So where are you going?” But we were too busy to answer Him. Our
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Make your dua powerful
routines, the compulsions that we yoked ourselves to in pursuit of material
wealth, the totally crazy society we created based on only one value – self-
indulgence and then we forced everyone to fall in line, our deliberately
pursuing a collision course with Allah , blatantly and shamelessly violating
His Will. Even when He declared war against those who do that; I mean
dealing in interest-based finance; we accepted that declaration of war while
pretending to follow Islam. We thought if we built beautiful Masaajid and
spent some money in charity, that would suffice.
We tried to throw money at Allah to propitiate Him, like people try to do
with idols. We did everything except answer the question that Allah asked,
“Fa aina tadh-haboon – So where are you going?” So, Allah stopped us in
our tracks. And demonstrated His Power and His contempt for our
arrogance by using a virus. Something so minute that it can’t even be seen
with our naked eyes. And boy! did we stop? We walked into a wall. And we
are still reeling with the concussion of it. If we won’t obey, Allah can force
us to obey. If we won’t answer, Allah can force us to answer. If we won’t
change, Allah can force us to change. But that is never easy nor painless.
That also we discovered. The time has come therefore, to acknowledge
Allah ’s supremacy and to bow in submission before Him and revert to
Islam. I know I am talking to Muslims. It is we who must revert to Islam.
That is the cure for Covid; Istighfaar.
Allah gave us the greatest Bashara (good news) when He promised:
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Make your dua powerful
اَّللُ ُم َع ِِّذ َْبُ ْم َوُه ْم يَ ْستَ ْغ ِّف ُرو َن
ِ ن
َ ا ك
َ ام و م ِّ
يه ِّوما َكا َن اَّلل لِّي ع ِِّذْبم وأَنت ف
َ َ ْ َ َ ْ َُ َ ُ ُِ ََ
Anfaal 8:33 And Allah would not punish them while you (Muhammad )ﷺare
amongst them, nor will He punish them while they seek (Allah's) Forgiveness.
What must we do to invoke this promise of Allah that He will not punish
us? Make sure that Rasoolullah ﷺis with us. Today that means through us
following his Sunnah and sending lots of Salatu-was-Salaam on him. And
by making lots of Istighfaar. Let’s seek Allah ’s forgiveness while we have a
chance. Allah told us what Nuh said to his people:
استَ ْغ ِّف ُروا َربه ُك ْم إِّنههُ َكا َن َغ هف ًارا
ْ تُ فَ ُق ْل
يُْر ِّس ِّل ال هس َماء َعلَْي ُكم ِِّم ْد َر ًارا
ٍ وميُْ ِّد ْد ُكم ِِّبَمو ٍال وبنِّني وََيعل له ُكم جن
هات َوََْي َعل له ُك ْم أَ َّْنَ ًارا َ ْ َْ َ َ ََ َ ْ ْ َ
Nuh 71: 10. "I said (to them): 'Ask forgiveness from your Rabb; Verily, He is Oft-
Forgiving; 11. 'He will send rain to you in abundance; 12. 'And give you increase
in wealth and children and bestow on you gardens and bestow on you rivers.'
Istighfaar and Tawba changes the path of destiny. And Allah in his infinite
mercy kept that door open until we see the angels. But since that can happen
at any time, let us not relax and get lazy about repenting and changing the
course of our lives. We have only until we meet death.
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Make your dua powerful
We must repent and try to make amends where we sinned. Istighfaar is an
essential precondition for acceptance of dua. Those who continue to disobey
Allah deliberately may like to read the rest of the Sura to see what dua Nuh
made for those who refused to make Istighfaar. Israar ala-al-ma’asee huwa
sabab-us-soo al Khaatima – Insisting on sin is the cause of a bad ending
(without Iman).
Shaddad bin Aws (RA) narrated that Rasoolullah said, “The supreme way of asking
for forgiveness, is to say: ‘O Allah, You are my Rabb, There is none worthy of
worship but You, You have created me, and I am Your slave. I am committed to my
covenant and my promise to You as much as I can. I seek refuge with You from the
evil I have done. I acknowledge before You all the blessings You have bestowed upon
me, and I confess to you all my sins. So, grant me forgiveness for no one can forgive
sins except You.” Rasoolullah added, “If somebody says it during the day with firm
faith in it and dies on the same day before the evening he will be among the people of
Jannah. And if someone says it at night with firm faith in it and dies before the
morning, he will be among the people of Jannah.” (Bukhari)
3. Dua by reference made to previous good deeds.
This has been mentioned in the story of three people who entered a cave to
shelter from heavy rain, and its entrance was blocked by a huge rock that
slid down the mountainside and sealed the cave. They invoked Allah by
their most sincere deeds, and He responded to them (and released them).
[Bukhari & Muslim]. Let us reflect on what deeds we have done which we
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Make your dua powerful
can use as our Waseela for our dua before Allah . Do something in secret
and keep it with you to use as your Waseela to ask Allah . One of the most
effective ways in which Shaytaan has deceived us today is through Social
Media and its demand that we make every private thing, public. Don’t ruin
whatever good you do by talking about it. Let Allah make visible what He
wills. But you keep your good deeds secret. And definitely don’t post them
on social media. Get out of social media, especially FB and Instagram. They
are the most powerful of Shaytaan’s tools.
4. Asking Allah to bless Rasoolullah( ﷺDurood and Salaam)
This is a requirement for the acceptance of dua. Rasoolullah ﷺsaid, “Every
dua is suspended until the blessing of Allah is conveyed upon the Prophet.” (Sahih
Al-Jami)
This, as I said, is our means of keeping Rasoolullah ﷺin our midst. Making
dua for Rasoolullahﷺ, sending Salaam on him and following his Sunnah in
our lives in all that we say, do, or allow is to keep Muhammad ﷺin our lives.
People must remember Muhammad ﷺwhen they see, talk to, or deal with
us. The fact that this will automatically make us the most beloved, influential
of people and role models for others, is a bonus. The Sunnah of
Rasoolullah ﷺis like fragrance. It benefits even the one who didn’t buy it,
provided the one who bought it, is wearing it. Let us wear it with pride. Let
us be identified with it and because we follow it. And while we decide to
follow the Sunnah, let us remember that the biggest Sunnah is kindness and
gentleness. Not harshness.
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Make your dua powerful
5. Facing the Qibla, raising both hands and being in a state of Wudhu.
Whereas we can make dua in any state and any situation, it is preferable to
be in a state of Wudhu, face the Qibla and raise both hands when making
dua.
Abu Musa Al Ashari (RA) reported, “When Rasoolullah ﷺhad finished
from the battle of Hunayn he sent Abu ‘Amir to lead an army to Atwas, and
he sent me with him. Abu ‘Amir was struck in his knee by an arrow which
a man from Jusham had shot, and it lodged in his knee. I removed it, and
water oozed out of it.
He said, ‘O son of my brother, convey my greetings to Rasoolullah ﷺand
request him to ask Allah ’s forgiveness for me.’ He survived for a short
while then died. I returned and called on Rasoolullah ﷺat his house and
found him lying in a bed made of the stalks of date palm leaves knitted with
ropes and on it there was bedding. The strings of the bed had left their marks
on his back and sides. I told him about our and Abu ‘Amir ’s news, and his
request (to tell him to ask Allah’s forgiveness for him). Rasoolullah ﷺasked
for water, performed ablution, and raised his hands saying, ‘O Allah forgive
Your slave Abu ‘Amir.’ I saw the whiteness of the Prophet’s underarm. He
continued, ‘O Allah make him on the Day of Resurrection superior to many
of Your human creatures.’ I said, ‘Would you ask Allah’s forgiveness for me
as well?’ He said, ‘O Allah, forgive the sins of Abdullah ibn Qays and admit
him to a good entrance on the Day of Resurrection.” Hafiz ibn Hajr Al-
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Make your dua powerful
Athqalani said in “Al-Fath Al-Bari” 8/35, “Making dua in a state of Wudhu is
desirable (Mustahab).”
As the month of Ramadan draws to a close, let us beg Allah to forgive us,
cover us with His mercy and grant us Jannah.
Narrated/Authority of Safwan bin Muhriz Al-Mazini (RA): While I was on my
way along with Ibn Umar (R.A) taking (holding up) his hand in mine. Suddenly a
man appeared to him and said: What did you hear Rasoolullah ﷺsaying about
confidential talk (secret conversation)? He said: I heard Rasoolullah ﷺsaying: (On
the Day of Resurrection) Allah will draw near to a believer and put His forgiveness
over him and screen him (his sins) then Allah will say: Did you do such and such
sin? Did you do such and such? He will say: Yes, my Rabb! This conversation will
continue) until Allah will make him confess his sins, and he thinks that he is ruined.
Then Allah will say: I concealed your sins in the world and I do forgive you today.
Then he will be given the record book containing his good deeds. As regards, the
infidels and hypocrites, the witnesses will say: These are the people who have
disbelieved their Rabb. Behold! Allah 's Curse is upon transgressors. (Bukhari,
Muslim and Ibn Majah - Sahih)
Finally let me remind myself and you that we are in the period, one of the
nights of which is Laylatul Qadr. A night, the worship during it, is better in
reward that continuous worship for 1000 months. This is Allah ’s take-away
gift to us. This is Allah ’s booster for us to fill our Book of Deeds with the
best of deeds, which is Ibaadah (worship of Allah ). Let us not neglect that
night and waste it in socializing and other useless activities. Let us seek
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Make your dua powerful
Allah ’s forgiveness which is the biggest treasure we can get and ask Him
for His Mercy and repent our sins. Repent to Allah and where our actions
hurt anyone, seek their forgiveness, compensate them if we transgressed
their rights and make sure our account is clear before we meet Allah . Give
lots of charity because it cools the anger of Allah .
Sayyida Aisha Siddiqa (RA), asked Rasoolullahﷺ, “Ya Rasoolullahﷺ, If I
find Laylatul Qadr, what should I ask Allah ?”
He ﷺsaid: Say: Allahumma innaka afuwwun tuhibbu al afwa fa’fu anni.
(O Allah You are forgiving, and love forgiveness so forgive me.) (Ibn Majah)
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