by Reyhan Akaweih

April 1, 2022

The Prophet (saw) said, ‘Du’a is worship itself’. Then the Prophet (saw) recited this verse, ‘Your Lord says: “Call upon Me and I will respond to you. Verily, those who disdain My worship will enter Hell in humiliation” [The Noble Qur’an, 40:60]’. [Tirmidhi]

Omar ibn Al-Khattab (RA) said “I don’t concern myself with the answer to my dua. I just concern myself with how to make dua”.

Conditions for dua:

• You can make dua at any time or any place. You can make dua in any language. You can ask for whatever you’d like as long as you are not asking for something haram or wishing harm on others.

Because dua is worship, there is an etiquette to it and a proper way to do it. Preparing for Dua:

1. Make wudu. Although it is not required, is best to be on wudu when making dua. This is because you have cleansed yourself & are preparing for the act of worship you are about to do.
2. Face the Qibla. This is also not compulsory, but it is narrated the Prophet sometimes did this for dua.
3. Raise Your hands. Why do we do this? The Prophet (saw) said, “Indeed 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’a) to turn them away empty’. [Abu Dawud] SubhanAllah. We don’t ask for dua bc of who we are, we ask because of who Allah is.
4. Call upon Allah in a low voice because Allah is All-Hearing. When the Sahaba would say takbir in a loud voice, the Prophet (saw) said, “O 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.” [Bukhari]. Narrated by Abu Musa Al-Ash’ari (ra)

There is also an etiquette for what to include in your dua. As taught to us by our Prophet (saw), we should call upon Allah in a manner that is pleasing to Him. What to include in your Dua:

1. Start by praising Allah. This isn’t for Allah, but rather for yourself, so you are reminded of who He is. It should also be done because Allah is worthy of all praise. You should send prayers to the Prophet (saw) as well which is commonly done at the end of the dua. The Prophet (saw) said, “When 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’. [Tirmidhi] (Supplicate means to ask for something). For example, say “Subnallah Allah Wall Hamdu Lillah Wa La Ilaha Ila Allah Allah Akbar” which translates to “All Glory to God and all Praise to God, There is no God but He, Allah is the Greatest”.
2. Invoke Allah by his names. Allah says, “And to Allah belong the best Names, so invoke Him by them.” [7:180]. There are 99 names of Alah, so there is always a name you can call upon for your specific situation or dua. For example:

   • If you are asking to be forgiven, call Allah “Al-Ghafur”.

   • If you are asking for peace, call Allah “As-Salam”. For example, “Ya Salam grant peace to Syria”.

     If you feel broken, call Allah by his name, Al- Jabbar (see our halaqa Asma AL-Husna for more information).

   • Sheikhs in Ramadan regularly call Allah by his name, Al-Afuww (the Pardoner/ Forgiver). The best dua in Ramadan is “Ya Allah, you are Al-‘Afuww; you love to forgive, so forgive me”.

   • The most common way to address Allah in dua is “Ya Rab”. Rab means the One Who Nourishes. By saying Rabanna/ Ya Rab, we acknowledge that Allah is the only one that can take care of us. Who else will be there for us and grant us what we need? Our Rab.

3. Ask for everything you need without holding back. The Prophet (saw) said, “When one of you calls upon Allah, let him hope for the greatest of things. Verily, nothing has any greatness over Allah” [Ibn Hibban]
4. Make Dua for others. The Prophet (saw) said, “No Muslim servant supplicates for his brother behind his back but that an angel says, “And for you the same”. [Muslim] This means that whatever dua you make for someone else, the angels make the same dua for you.
5. Concluding: Say “Ameen” after you make your dua because the Prophet (saw) said this seals it. It is good to wipe your hands over your face once you finish because the Prophet would do so. Umar Ibn al-Khattab (ra) said, ‘When the Prophet (saw) raised his hands in supplication, he would not put them down until he wiped his face’. [Tirmidhi]

In Desperate situations: