The ayah of supplication is preceded and followed by ayaat of fasting (2:183-187).
183. O ye who believe! Fasting is prescribed to you as it was prescribed to those before you, that ye may (learn) self-restraint,-
185. Ramadan is the (month) in which was sent down the Qur'an, as a guide to mankind, also clear (Signs) for guidance and judgment (Between right and wrong). So every one of you who is present (at his home) during that month should spend it in fasting, but if any one is ill, or on a journey, the prescribed period (Should be made up) by days later. Allah intends every facility for you; He does not want to put to difficulties. (He wants you) to complete the prescribed period, and to glorify Him in that He has guided you; and perchance ye shall be grateful.
186. When My servants ask thee concerning Me, (tell them) I am indeed close (to them): I listen to the prayer of every suppliant when he calleth on Me: Let them also, with a will, Listen to My call, and believe in Me: That they may walk in the right way.
187. Permitted to you, on the night of the fasts, is the approach to your wives. They are your garments and ye are their garments. Allah knoweth what ye used to do secretly among yourselves; but He turned to you and forgave you; so now associate with them, and seek what Allah Hath ordained for you, and eat and drink, until the white thread of dawn appear to you distinct from its black thread; then complete your fast Till the night appears; but do not associate with your wives while ye are in retreat in the mosques. Those are Limits (set by) Allah. Approach not nigh thereto. Thus doth Allah make clear His Signs to men: that they may learn self-restraint.
The Prophet (sallallahu alaiyhi wassallam) said that the du’a of the fasting one is accepted.
"Indeed for the fasting person, when he breaks his fast, is a supplication that will never be rejected."
"Three people’s supplication will not be rejected: a just ruler, a fasting person until he breaks his fast, and an oppressed person."
It is encouraged to make du’a in laylat’ul-qadr.
Aisha asked the Prophet (sallallahu alaiyhi wassallam) "What should I say on Laylat’il-qadr?" And he replied, "O Allah, indeed you are a Pardoner, and you love pardon; so pardon me."
The Prophet (sallallahu alaiyhi wassallam) supplicated all night before the battle of badr, which occurred during Ramadan.
Manners of Supplication
Asking Allah alone
Do not make dua to anyone alongside Allah. (70:18)
Say (O Muhammad): I make dua unto Allah only, and I ascribe unto Him no partner. (70:20)
The Prophet (sallallahu alaiyhi wassallam) said, "Dua is worship." Making dua is an act of worship; and directing one’s worship to other than Allah alone is major shirk, a sin which nullifies the person’s islam altogether.
Praising Allah at the beginning of the dua
The primary example of praising Allah before beseeching Him-subhanahu wa ta’ala- is in Surah al-Fatiha,
All praise is to Allah, Lord of the Worlds
The Beneficent, The Merciful,
Owner of the Day of Judgement
You alone we worship
And You alone we ask for help
Guide us on the straight path,
The path of those You favored,
Not of the on whom is wrath, nor the astray.
The Prophet (sallallahu alaiyhi wassallam) was sitting in a masjid and a man came, and prayed, "O Allah, forgive me and have mercy on me." So the Prophet (sallallahu alaiyhi wassallam) told him, "You were hasty. When you pray, praise Allah and send the salah on me, then ask Allah." Another man came and he praised Allah and he sent the salah on the Prophet (sallallahu alaiyhi wassallam); so he (sallallahu alaiyhi wassallam) said, "O suppliant, ask Allah and your prayer will be answered." (Narrated by at-Tirmidhi)
Sending the salaah on the Prophet (sallallahu alaiyhi wassallam)
"Every supplication will be denied until the suppliant prays upon the Prophet." (hasan)
Repenting to Allah
Telling Allah about your situation
A mention of the mercy of thy Lord unto His servant Zakhariyyah—when he cried unto his Lord a cry in secret, saying, "My Lord! Lo! The bones of me wax feeble and my head is shining with grey hair, and I have never been unblest in prayer to Thee, my Lord. Lo! I fear my kinsfolk after me, since my wife is barren. Oh Allah, give me from Thy presence a successor who shall inherit of me and inherit of the house of Jacob. And make him, my Lord, acceptable (unto Thee)." (Maryam:2-6)
Al-Yaqeen and full awareness ("presence of the heart")
The Prophet (sallallahu alaiyhi wassallam) said, "Ask Allah with certainty that He will answer your prayers, and know that Allah will not accept the supplication from an absent heart." (hasan, at-Tirmidhi)
Asking Allah three times
"If you ask Allah for the jannah three times, the jannah will say, ‘O Allah, make him enter jannah.’ And if you ask Allah to protect you from hellfire three times, hellfire will say, ‘O Allah, protect him from the hellfire.’"
NB. It is not necessary to repeat every supplication thrice.
Having patience
Man prayeth for evil as he prayeth for good. [Isra:11]
Abu Hurayrah reported that the Prophet (sallallahu alaiyhi wassallam) said, "The person’s supplication will be answered unless he asks for sin or severing the ties of kinship, except if the person is hasty." Then the Prophet (sallallahu alaiyhi wassallam) was asked about hastiness. So the Prophet (sallallahu alaiyhi wassallam) described it as, "The person says, ‘I asked, and I have not seen the answer.’ Then he leaves dua." (Sahih Muslim)
NB. It is not considered hast in dua to ask for a speedy answer.
Asking with persistence (Al-Ilhah ala Allah)
The Prophet (sallallahu alaiyhi wassallam)) said, "When you ask Allah, ask with confidence."
Some of the early Muslims used to say that the suppliant should be like a child when you ask Allah, crying until you are answered.
Asking in secret
An example of this lies in the dua of Zakariyyah,
"A mention of the mercy of thy Lord unto His servant Zakhariyyah—when he cried unto his Lord a cry in secret." (19:2) .Benefits of this secrecy include sincerity and belief in Allah’s attributes (Hearing, Seeing, Closeness).
Omitting details in the actual request
Such as in the ayah, "Our Lord, give us good in this world, good in the hereafter, and save us from the punishment of the fire." (2:201)
Aisha (R.A.) narrated that the Prophet (sallallahu alaiyhi wassallam) used to like comprehensive supplications, and he would leave others. (Sahih, Abu Dawud)
One of the Sahaba saw his child asking, "O Allah, give me the white palace on the right side of jannah." So he told his child, "Do not do that. Rather, ask Allah to enter you into jannah and to protect you from the fire."
Tahaarah
It is better to have wudu when making dua.
Facing the qiblah
The Prophet (sallallahu alaiyhi wassallam), when he climbed the Saffa and the Marwa, he would face the qiblah and make du’a.
To ask Allah by His names and attributes
Allah’s are the fairest names. Invoke Him by them. (7:180) there are 99 beautiful names of Allah we should beseech Allah throw these names.
Raising the hands
Salman narrated from the Prophet (sallallahu alaiyhi wassallam), "Surely Allah is Hayyee, and He loves to conceal the shortcomings of His servants. If His servant raises his hands, He does not let him go empty handed."
NB. It is inappropriate to raise the hands in certain occasions of dua (i.e. during Friday khutbas) and sunnah upon other occasions (i.e. the dua for rain).
Not consuming Haram
On the authority of Abu Hurairah, The Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alaiyhi wassallam) said,
"Allah the Almighty is pure and accepts only that which is pure. Allah has commanded the faithful to do that which he commanded the messengers, and the Almighty has said: ‘O ye messengers! Eat of the pure things and do right.’ And Allah the Almighty has said, ‘O ye who believe! Eat of the pure things wherewith We have provided you.’"
Then he (sallallahu alaiyhi wassallam) mentioned [the case of] a man who, having journeyed far, is disheveled and dusty and who spreads out his hands to the sky [saying]: "O Lord! O Lord!" Meanwhile, his (the traveler’s) food is unlawful, his drink unlawful, his clothing unlawful, and he is nourished unlawfully; so how can he be answered! (Related by Muslim)
Thinking well of Allah (Husnu thun bi’llah)
When the wife of Imran said, "My Lord! I have vowed unto Thee that which is in my belly as a consecrated (offering). Accept it from me, Lo! Thou, only Thou, art the Hearer, the Knower!" (3:38)
And your Lord hath said: Pray unto Me and I will hear your prayer. Lo! Those who scorn and ridicule My service, they will enter hell, disgraced. (40:60)
It is mentioned in a Hadith Qudsi "I am as my servant’s thinks of me, and I am with him whenever he mentions me."
Asking Allah by one’s good deeds
Bukhari and Muslim relate the hadith of the Prophet (sallallahu alaiyhi wassallam) of the story of three men, who each supplicated to Allah by a good deed they had done earlier in their lives. As the story goes, "Three persons of a people before you were on a journey when they were overtaken by a storm and therefore they took shelter in a cave. A rock slipped down from the mountain and blocked the exit from the cave. One of them said, ‘The only way for deliverance left is to beseech Allah in the name of some virtuous deed.’" One of the men mentioned a good deed which they had done for Allah, and supplicated, "O Lord, if I did this thing seeking only Thy pleasure, then do Thou relieve us of the distress wrought upon us by this rock." The rock moved, but not enough to free the men. So, the other two made similar supplications by their good deeds until the rock moved enough to free them.
Asking Allah in times of ease
The Prophet (sallallahu alaiyhi wassallam) said, "Whoever is pleased that Allah answers his prayers during hardships and difficulties, let him make much supplication in times of ease." (Hasan, at-Tirmidhi)
Choosing favored places.
For example, the Saffa and Marwa in Mecca are favored places, since the Prophet (sA.a.w.s.) made dua there.
Choosing favored times
The last third of the night is a favored time because Allah descends to the lowest heaven in that time (in the manner befitting Allah) and says, "Is there anyone asking for something so that I may grant him."
Another favored time is between the adhan and iqamah, as the Prophet (sallallahu alaiyhi wassallam) told Anas (R.A.), "Supplication between adhan and iqamah will never be rejected. So call upon Allah at that time." (Authentic, Ibn Khuzaimah).
Another favored time is in sujud, as the Prophet (sallallahu alaiyhi wassallam) said, "The servant is closest to his Lord while in sujud, so ask Allah in that time."
Friday is also a preferred, especially in the last hour before maghrib.
Since the Prophet (sallallahu alaiyhi wassallam) said, "Two supplications will not be rejected: the supplication during adhan and under rain," (hasan) then these two times are preferred for dua.
Supplication on Laylat’ul-Qadr, since it is a blessed and honored time. Aisha asked the Prophet (sallallahu alaiyhi wassallam) "What should I say on Laylat’il-qadr?" And he replied, "O Allah, indeed you are a Pardoner, and you love pardon; so pardon me."
Umm Salamah (R.A) said, the Prophet (sallallahu alaiyhi wassallam) entered when Abu Salamah was dying and he was looking at the heaven. So the Prophet (sallallahu alaiyhi wassallam) closed his eyes and said, "When the soul is being seized, the eyes follow it." Then some people from his relatives panicked. The Prophet (S.A.W) said, "Do not make du’a except for good. Indeed the angels will say, ‘Ameen’ for whatever you say. O Allah, fogive Abu Salamah, and raise his rank and forgive us and forgive him, O Lord of the Universe, and expand his grave and illuminate it."
Always remembering whom you are asking
You are asking Allah, Who loves to be asked, Who does not tire of suppliants, and He is Closest to you.
Miscellaneous Issues Related to Dua
Making dua for others
You can make dua for Others. The Prophet, sala Allahu alaihi wa salam, said "Whenever you make a supplication for another believer and he is not present, an angel will say ‘and same to you.’" One of the ethics when making dua for others is that, if you are going to make dua for yourself and others, start with yourself first, then you make dua for others. But if you are going to make dua for others only, then you don’t have to mention yourself first. An example of starting with one’s self is seen is the verse, "And those who came after them say, ‘Our Lord! Forgive us and our brethren who were before us in the faith…’" (59:10)
Making dua against oneself (to curse oneself)
Don’t make Dua’a against yourself or against your children.
The Prophet (sallallahu alaiyhi wassallam) said, "Don’t make dua against yourselves. Don’t make dua against your children. Don’t make dua against your maids. And don’t make dua against your wealth. It might be in a time in which Allah answers the prayers." (Authentic, Abu Dawud)
Dua for victory
When ye sought help of your Lord and He answered you (saying): I will help you with a thousand of the angels, rank on rank. Allah appointed it only as good tidings, and that your hearts thereby might be at rest. Victory cometh only by the help of Allah. Lo! Allah is Mighty, Wise. (8:9-10)
It’s from the Sunnah to make dua for the Muslims all over the world, especially in the month of victory, the month of Ramadan. The Prophet, sala Allahu alaihi wa salam, made dua at the night before the Battle of Badr, which took place in the month of Ramadan, until his upper garment fell. By dawn, he came with the glad tiding from Allah, talaa, to the believers, concerning their enemies, "Their multitude and huge numbers will be put to flight, and they will show their backs. Nay but the Hour is their appointed time, and the Hour will be more grievous and more bitter." (54:45-46)
Supplication of the Prophet, sala Allahu alaihi wa salam
The prophet, sala Allahu alaihi wa sallam, said that: "Every messenger has a Supplication that will be accepted, and I have saved my Supplication as a Shafaa Intersession for my Nation on the Day of Judgment".
May Allah make us among those who follow and emulate His Prophet, sala Allahu alaihi wa salam, till they receive his intersession on the Day of Judgment. We beg Allah, talaa that He forgives the Ummah of His beloved (S.A.W). We ask Allah by His most beautiful names to show mercy to those who spread guidance and stand together upon the truth. Ameen.
By Yousuf Jaafar Idris
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