Dua is an Arabic word which can roughly be translated into English which means supplication or making an invocation In Islamic terminology dua means calling out to God (Allah alone). Making dua or supplication means asking from Allah for anything that we need. Allah the Almighty is our Lord and the Creator of the universe. He knows about everything in the past, present and the future. He is the one Who can change our destiny if we ask Him. Dua is the most powerful weapon for a true believer. It can change our life and our destiny. When we call out to Allah and make dua it is in fact a manifestation of our needs for Allah. We humans are a mere creation of Allah and we are helpless. We do not have power over anything without the help of Allah and we need to ask Him for every need in our day to day activities.
The Virtues Of Dua:
Dua is a way of making conversation with Allah our Lord, Who has power over all things. It is the best conversation a person can ever have. It is Allah alone who knows our problems and our sufferings and He can solve them if we ask Him with sincerity and true belief.
Our Prophet Mohammad (Pbuh) said:
The supplication of everyone of you will be granted if he does not get impatient and say 'I supplicated my Lord but may prayer has not been granted" ( Sahih Bukhari and Sahih Muslim).One should never lose hope and should never stop asking from Allah. When a person makes dua to Allah, he gets one of three things in return:
1. Either Allah will give what the person just asked for.
2. The person may not get what he asked for but Allah gives something else in return of it which is better than what he asked for.
3. Allah saves his dua to be rewarded on the day of judgement.
This concludes that making dua will never go unrewarded, even if we think that we are not been answered we should always continue making dua to Allah.
Allah is all Generous and He even listens to the non-believers. Allah even provides with the best of everything in this world to the worst type of people, the one who act evil and those who even reject Him. Then why would He not listen to the invocation from the true believers, those who supplicate Him , with full trust in Him alone and ask Allah for help in everything.
It is very important that the dua should be done at all time and not only in times of need or hardships. Indeed we need Allah at all times. Dua should not be our last resort when everything else have failed instead it should be our first approach. Allah says in The Holy Quran in Surah Al Baqarah Chapter 2 verse 186:
And when my slaves ask you concerning Me , I am indeed close (to them); I listen to the prayer of every supplicant when he calls on Me.......A similar message is repeated in Surah Momin Chapter 40 verse 60:
And your Lord (Allah) says: Call on Me I will answer your prayers.....Asking Allah At All Times;
Dua is like a powerful weapon for us to live and face the struggles of this life. Life in this world is full of hardships. From the moment a child learns to walk and speak he should be taught to ask Allah for everything. In our day to day activities nothing is possible without the help from Allah and so we should continue asking Him for His help and to make our tasks accomplished and to fulfill our needs.
We should make a habit of asking from Allah for minor needs to the greatest things. Nothing is too big for Allah the Lord of the universe and nothing is too small for us the human beings. We should always ask Allah with the hope that our prayers will be answered.
There is a beautiful hadith narrated in Abu Dawood and Tirmihzi that:
Verily your Lord is generous and shy, if His servant raises his hand to Him (in supplication) He becomes shy to return them empty.Best Times For Making dua:
The best time to make dua is during prostration as narrated in a hadith is Sahih Muslim:
Prophet Mohammad (pbuh) said: A salve becomes nearest to his Lord when he is in prostration, so increase supplications in prostrations.The other times and occasions when dua are readily accepted as told in various hadith include:
- the time between azan and iqama
- at the time of breaking the fast of the person who is fasting.
- The dua of the oppressed person when he finds himself helpless
- dua of a person who is travelling.
- when rain is falling
- in the last part of the night
Making dua not only is helpful in getting our problems solved and getting what we needed but it also benefits us by feeling the closeness to Allah, increasing our faith, gives us hope and relief from distress and disappointment.
Supplicating to Allah Alone:
Dua must always be addressed to Allah alone with no partners or any intermediaries. Our intention while making dua should be please Allah, obey Him and to trust him completely. It is alsos important not to make dua for any unlawful or sinful action. Allah says in the Holy Quran in Surah Aaraf Chapter 7 verse 55:
Call on your Lord with humility and in private; for Allah loves not those who trespass beyond bounds.Make Dua For Others Also:
Also the best way of making dua is to say the authentic words from the Holy Quran and the saying of Prophet Mohammad (pbuh) as our supplication. Also one should make dua for his parents, siblings, spouse, children and all the fellow Muslim believers as well as a dua for the guidance to the non believers.
What if Our Dua is Not Answered?
Never get disappointed if your dua is not answered because we never know what is good for us and what is not better but Allah knows everything ans so he will give us only that will He thinks is best for us. Allah says in the Holy Quran in Surah Al Baqarah chapter 2 verse 216:
......But it is possible that you dislike a thing that is good for you, and that you love a thing which is bad for you, But Allah knows and you know not.May Allah guide us all and provide us with what we ask Him for and help us in our life in this world as well as the life hereafter. Ameen
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