Supplication (Addu’a) in Islam
The entire creation is in dire need of Allah. By necessity, they need that which
only Allah possesses and can give. He (SWT) is Absolutely Free and Independent
of
needing them.
Supplicating, invoking and asking Allah is an obligation that Allah has imposed upon
us, as He the Most Exalted said, ‘“‘And your Lord says, ‘Call upon Me; I will respond to
you.’ Indeed, those who scorn My worship will enter Hell in disgrace” [40:60].
The Prophet pbuh said, “Whoever does not ask Allah, angers Him” (Ibn Majah).
Thus Allah is happy with the supplications of His servants to Him. He loves those
that repeatedly invoke him in need.
He brings the supplicants nearer to Himself. The companions of the Prophet
sensed this truth and therefore they would not belittle asking Allah about even the
smallest thing, nor would they (lower themselves to) ask other creatures for their
needs.
Their close attachment to Allah and Allah’s closeness to them was an
embodiment of the verse of Allah (4): “And if my slaves ask about Me, then
verily Iam close...” (2:186].
Supplication has a great standing with Allah since it is the most generous and noble
thing to Him, it may even change predestination.
The supplications of a Muslim are answered without doubt if the causes of
acceptance are fulfilled and the nullifiers are avoided. The supplicant is given one
of the three things as the Prophet #¢ said, “There is not a Muslim who supplicates
with a supplication which does not contain any sin nor cutting off of relations,
except that Allah gives him for it in one of three ways: either He will answer his
prayer or accumulate it for him for the Hereafter or turn away from him an equal
amount of evil.” They said, “Then we will ask a lot.” He said, “Allah will
answer even more.” (Ahmad and at-Tirmidhi).
Supplication (Du’a) is of two types: 1) Supplication of worship, such as prayer
and fasting; 2) Supplication of asking and seeking.
Differing superiority of good deeds: Which deeds of worship are better, to
recite the Qur’an, to remember Allah or to supplicate to Allah?
Generally speaking, recitation of the Qur’an is the best, next is the remembrance
of Allah and then is supplication.
Yet it may be that there are circumstances when the less preferred proceeds the
more preferred. For instance, supplication on the day of Arafah (in Hajj) is more
rewarding than reciting the Qur’an; similarly remembering Allah with the manners
that are authentically reported after the daily obligatory prayers is better than
reciting the Qur’an.
Conditions for Du’a to be Answered: There are external and internal
conditions for someone’s supplications to be answered:
The external conditions: These conditions include having good deeds precede
the supplication, like charity, purification by ablution, prayer, facing the prayer
direction (Qiblah), raising the hands for supplication, praising Allah (8) by that
which He deserves, using His Names and Attributes appropriately in the
supplication.
As for the last point, if the supplicant is asking for Paradise, he
invokes Allah by Allah’s Grace and Mercy.
If he is supplicating against a
wrongdoer and oppressor, he shouldn’t mention Allah as the Most Beneficent in
Mercy and the Most Generous but mention that he is the Enforcer, the Dominant,
the Victorious, etc. Among the reasons of acceptance is sending salutations upon
the Prophet in the beginning, middle and end. Other important factors are
admitting one’s mistakes and sins, thanking Allah for his blessings and seizing the
opportunity of the most advantageous times for supplication which have been
mentioned in authentic reports.
These times are many and from among them are:
During the course of day and night: * The last third of the night when Allah
descends to the lowest of the heavens directly above this world; # Between the call to
prayer (Adhan) and the announcement for standing to prayer (Igamah); * After Wudoo
(ablutions); # In prostration; # Before the final salutations of prayer; #* After the
obligatory prayers; #* After completion of the recitation of the entire Qur’an; # While
travelling; # When calling out against a tyrant oppressor; # When calling out in dire
need; * The supplication of the parent for his or her child; # The supplication of a
Muslim for his absent brother Muslim; # When the two armies meet in battle;
During the course of the week: on Friday, especially the last hour of the day;
* During the course of the months: the month of Ramadan at the time of breaking
the fast and at the time of taking predawn meal in order to start the fast; #* During
the nights of the last ten days of Ramadan; * During the month of Dhul-Hijjah on
the day of Arafat; # In noble places such as Mosques in general; # The Ka’bah in
the Masjid al-Haram of Makkah, especially between the Black Stone and the Door,
the station of Ibraheem, on top of the mounts of Safa and Marwah, the Plain of
Arafat, Muzdalifah, Mina, and when drinking the water of Zamzam.
The internal conditions for acceptance of the supplication are: sincere
repentance preceding the supplication; returning any rights to the respective people
which may have been taken unjustly; having one’s food, drink, clothes and home all of
the pure and lawful income; doing many good deeds; avoiding all of the prohibitions;
remaining clear of the doubtful and from false desires; concentrating in one’s heart
while praying; placing one’s trust in Allah’s care; having strong hope for Allah’s
shelter; seeking refuge in Allah with humility; humble repetition of the supplication;
entrusting Allah with the response; and not turning one’s attention to any other.
Barriers to the acceptance of one’s supplication:
A person may invoke Allah
and not be answered or it may take a long time before his prayer 1s answered. There
are many reasons for this, including the following:
* It may be that one supplicates to other than Allah along with supplicating to
Allah (and this is idolatry, the greatest sin and greatest reason for non-acceptance).
# Tt may be that one asks in profuse detail while it is better to be general, like when
one asks to be saved from the extreme heat of Hellfire, its bitter cold and its
darkness etc, whereas it is better to seek refuge from the Hell-fire generally.
* It may be that one supplicates against another or even against himself unjustly.
It may be that he asks for something sinful or for cutting off relations.
* It may be that he makes the answer of the supplication conditional by saying, for
example, “O Allah forgive me if You Will,” or similar to this. # It may be that he
hastens the response saying, “I have supplicated but there has been no response at
all,” and then leaves off supplicating in apathy and weariness.
* It may be that one calls out with an inattentive and neglectful heart.
* It may be that one does not use the proper etiquette in the supplications. For
instance, the Prophet #¢ heard a man supplicating without giving salutations to the
Prophet and so he said, “This one has been too hasty.” He then called him over
or said to another person: “When you pray in supplication, praise Allah and extol
Him, then send your salutation to the Prophet #s and then, after this, supplicate for
what you wish.” (Abu Dawud and at-Tirmidhi).
It may be that a person prays for
something that is already accomplished and decided otherwise, like supplicating to
remain in the life of this world forever. # It may be that the person tries to be
artificially expressive and rhyming in his supplication.
Allah said, “Supplicate
your Lord with humility and in fear, indeed he does not like those that trespass
the limits.” Ton Abbas said, “Beware of rhyming in your supplications for
verily my experience was that the Messenger of Allah and his companions
never did that.” (al-Bukhari). It may be that one raises his voice too loud, since
Allah (88) said, “Do not be too loud with your prayer nor too soft with it but take
with it a middle courses between these two.” A‘ishah said “This was revealed
about supplication.” (al-Bukhari and Muslim).
The beloved etiquette of the supplicant is to organize his invocation to Allah
as follows: 1) First, one praises Allah and extols Him; 2) Second, he gives his
salutations upon the Prophet 3) Third, he seeks repentance from his sins and
acknowledges his wrongdoings; 4) Fourth, he thanks Allah for his multiple
blessings; 5) Fifth, he begins with his supplications, being keen to use the
Supplications mentioned in the Qur’an, which are called Jawaami’
(comprehensive), and the supplications that are authentically reported from the
Prophet #: or the righteous predecessors; 6) Finally, he closes the supplication
with the salutation upon the Prophet (pbuh).
By: Firdaws Academy https://firdawsacademy.com for teaching Qur’an, Arabic and Islamic Studies online. ...more
