Dua Defines Us and Our Relationship with Allah
By Arman Neyazi, New Age Islam
· Dua defines us and our relationship with Allah جل جلاله - We ask and He gives.
Many of us live in doubt of our wishes and prayers (Dua) being accepted by God, نعوذ بالله (We seek refuge in Allah). It is because most of the times we do not achieve exactly what we ask for. Allah being “All Knower” knows as to what is good for us and what is bad hence grants us our wishes in the form and at a time best for us. We must, therefore, keep praying and asking for His benevolence and kindness and forgiveness from all our sins.
Hazrat Aisha (r.a) says:
· "No believer makes Dua and it is wasted. Either it is granted here in this world or saved for him in the Hereafter as long as he remains patient."
Above mentioned statement of Hazrat Aisha (r.a) should work as an eye opener for us and we should engage ourselves more in Dua, knowing that it is not wasted and if not in this world, we will get the reward in our Hereafter life (سبحان الله “Glory be to God ") which is more important as that life is forever. No end.
Dua plays the most important role in our everyday life. It is a thread which keeps us tied with our faith on God, the Merciful. We remember God, every now and then, walking, sitting, working, eating, talking and in prayers, for we know He is the One who can safeguard us from the evil and from the evil doing of others. We should be taught the importance and fulfilment of our wishes, Dua, by our preachers. The preachers should encourage and persuade us to ‘ask’ God, the most Benevolent by assuring that no Dua is wasted. It is granted, one way or the other. Talking in length and repeated persuasion by the preachers will work wonders for the Ummah. To put an end to all the miseries being faced by the Muslim community, there is no cure but closeness to God through Dua. Dua will create another good habit in Ummah. It will automatically force every Muslim to live neat and clean. Piety is a part of faith.
We keep ourselves engrossed in deep prayers during the ‘The Night of Mercy’ (شب قدر) in the hope of our worldly gains. We say and we are said that we must pray for His forgiveness from the hell-fire and His benevolence. But in most cases Allah’s servants seem to be more concerned with their worldly gains. This is a fact although none of us may accept it. Well, asking for worldly comforts is not forbidden and it is also accepted by Allah but we must be more concerned with the forgiveness of our sins, grave or trivial, committed knowingly or unknowingly. If our sins are forgiven, our everyday problems will either be solved or will not occur, at all. Insha Allah.
Allah, the most Benevolent and Merciful is all concerned and always ready to forgive His servants, if asked, hence the importance of Dua. Allah loves His servants more than anything else as we have been created as أشرف المخلوقات (Best of the creations of God). A look at the following Hadees of Bukhari and Muslim should be enough for the Muslims to bow their heads in acceptance of His love and care for His creation.
· It is reported that the Messenger of Allah said: “Allah, Our Lord, descends (in a manner befitting His Majesty) to the nearest heaven to us of this universe during the last third of the night and says:
· ‘Is there anyone to call upon Me so that I shall respond to him (fulfil his prayer). Is there anyone to ask of Me that I may grant his request. Is there anyone to seek My forgiveness so that I shall pardon him (and forgive his sins)’. (Al-Bukhari and Muslim)
It is all because of Allah Kareem’s accepting our prayers that we are so beautiful, intelligent, wise and prosperous, to be able reach the skies. It is the benevolence of Allah that He Himself calls us, “Is there anyone who is asking of Me, so I may grant his request?”
· وَلِلَّهِ الْمَشْرِقُ وَالْمَغْرِبُ ۚ فَأَيْنَمَا تُوَلُّوا فَثَمَّ وَجْهُ اللَّهِ ۚ إِنَّ اللَّهَ وَاسِعٌ عَلِيمٌ
· And to Allah belongs the east and the west. So wherever you [might] turn, there is the Face of Allah. Indeed, Allah is all-Encompassing and Knowing. (2:115)
The Ayah mentioned above is persuading us to keep seeking His benevolence and mercy, wherever or in whatever condition we are. It says we do not have to go to mosques to ask for His help. We do not have to wait for a particular time to beg Him to listen to us. We must have faith that our ‘calls’ will be answered, sooner or later, here or in the Hereafter. Allah creates a situation and sends help in a most unexpected form. It happens with all of us. We just have to observe as to how His mercy and benevolence has always taken us out of woods. It will make us thankful. We must reciprocate by sending Him our ‘thanks’ in a way He has prescribed. We know Allah calls us, (Is there anyone to ask of Me that I may grant his request) to grant us our wishes. God is All Knower. Nothing is hidden from Him. He knows your rightful necessities. He understands and listens to the voice of your silence and the language of your tears. Keep asking Him, your wishes and prayers (Dua) will keep getting fulfilled, Insha Allah. There is no room for ‘hopelessness’. Hopelessness is ‘kufr’.
On one occasion the Holy Quran says:
· وَمَا بِكُم مِّن نِّعْمَةٍ فَمِنَ اللَّهِ ثُمَّ إِذَا مَسَّكُمُ الضُّرُّ فَإِلَيْهِ تَجْأَرُونَ
· "And whatever good you have - it is from Allah; and then, when misfortune comes to you, you cry to Him for help." (Qur'an, An-Nahl 16:53)
We, the humankind, are blessed with all kinds of comfort, favour and divine blessings from our God, the Almighty. We give our best efforts in order to achieve worldly comforts and get them but, mind you, it is because of the Dua we say and God accepts. If any kind of distress, evil or misfortune befalls us there is no one but God to seek help. He Himself calls us to ask for His help. What do we do then, of course, we should bow in front of Him and ask. Dua is the elixir for every kind of trouble.
In order to make Dua more effective, we should never give up Dua and never lose hope in it for Allah's blessings and His mercies are infinite.
Allah's Messenger Muhammad (pbuh) says:
· “Seek help from Allah when in need, seek refuge with Him during afflictions, supplicate, and call upon Him, for Dua is the gist of prayer. No believer calls upon Allah unless his call is answered in the following ways:
· Either his request is granted in this world.
· Or he will receive it in the Hereafter.
· Or his sins will be concealed to the extent of his Dua, providing that he has not asked for a sinful act.” (Sahih Bukhari)
The Holy Quran at one place says:
· إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يَظْلِمُ النَّاسَ شَيْئًا وَلَٰكِنَّ النَّاسَ أَنفُسَهُمْ يَظْلِمُونَ
· "Verily, Allah does not deal unjustly with man in any way: it is man that does injustice to his own soul." (10:44)
Do not be unjust to yourself. Turn to Allah. Seek His help. Learn how to say Dua. Although we can ask, anytime He is omnipresent, but there are specific places and times when He is very close to your soul and listens to your ‘prayers’ all at once.
Let us be true and honest to ourselves. Peep into our own intellectual world and see, have we not received His kindness and benevolence, when we needed them the most. We will find, we have. This is because of the Duas in our favour being done by our well wishers in addition to what we ourselves do, that we achieve the unachievable, by the grace of God.
Remember, Allah's Messenger Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم) says:
· The weakest person is one who has forgotten Dua.”(Sahih Bukhari)
May Allah ease all your affairs, Ameen! Say Dua for my family and all the Ummah as:
The Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم says:
· “The supplication of a Muslim for his brother in his absence will certainly be answered. Every time he makes a supplication for good for his brother, the angel appointed for this particular task says: `Ameen! May it be for you, too” (Muslim)
والله أعلم بالصواب (And God knows the best what is right)
URL: https://newageislam.com/spiritual-meditations/dua-defines-our-relationship-with/d/8706