Mannerisms of du’aa
The commander of the believers, Umar al-Khattab said: ‘I am not worried about the answer to my Du’aa, rather about the supplication itself. If I am inspired to make Du’aa, Allah will answer it.’
The Du’aa has many mannerisms, which a person who supplicates should abide by when supplicating, so that his supplication would more likely be accepted. Of these manners are:
- Consuming only the lawful, such that he eats, drinks, wears, and rides lawful things only.
Abu Hurairah said that the Messenger of Allah (s) said:‘O people, Allah is far removed from every imperfection, and only accepts that which is pure. Indeed Allah has commanded the believers with what He commanded the Messengers. He says: (O Messengers, eat of the good things and do righteous deeds, surely I am All-Knowing of what you do.)
And He says: (O you who believe! Eat from the good things which We have bestowed on you, and be grateful to Allah, if He indeed is the One you worship.)
The Prophet (s) then mentioned a man with shaggy hair and covered with dust who traveled a long distance and then raises his hands up to the heavens saying: ‘O my Rubb! O my Rubb!’ and he consumed the unlawful, drank from the unlawful, wore the unlawful, and was raised and nourished with the Haram. So how can Allah answer his supplication?’
(Muslim)
Al-Muhaajir Qunfudth said: ‘I passed by the Prophet (s) while he was urinating, and I greeted him, but he did not respond to me, until he performed ablution. He then excused himself saying: ‘I disliked mentioning the name of Allah while I was not in a state of purity.’
(Ibn Khuzaimah) - When a person supplicates and beseeches Allah, he should be in a state of purity, face the direction of the Qiblah, and raise his hands.
Salman said that the Messenger of Allah (s) said:‘Indeed your Rubb is modest and generous. He would be shy of His slave when he raises his hands (supplicating Allah) to not respond to him.’
(Ibn Hibban)
Al-Muhaajir Qunfudth said: ‘I passed by the Prophet (s) while he was urinating, and I greeted him, but he did not respond to me, until he performed ablution. He then excused himself saying: ‘I disliked mentioning the name of Allah while I was not in a state of purity.’
(Ibn Khuzaimah) - A person should supplicate while his voice is not too loud, nor too quiet.
Allah says: (And do not recite too loudly in your prayer or too quietly but seek between that an intermediate way.)
(17:110)
Abu Musa al-Ash’ari said: ‘We were with the Messenger of Allah (s) and whenever we went down a valley, we would utter Tahleel (i.e. to say: La’ilaaha il’la Allah) and Takbeer (i.e. to say: Allah Akbar) and we would raise our voices while doing so. The Prophet (s) said: ‘O people! Do not raise your voices so much, for you are not calling unto One who is deaf or not present, but One Who is with you, no doubt He is the All-Hearer, Ever Near.’
(Bukhari) - To begin supplication by praising Allah and exalting the mention of the Prophet (s) .
A person should then humbly repent to Allah, and he should end the supplication with this as well. Allah says: (Their call therein will be, “How Perfect are You, O Allah ,” and their greeting therein will be, “Peace.” And the last of their call will be, “Praise to Allah, Lord of the worlds!”)
(10:10)
Fudaalah Ubaid al-Ansaari said that the Prophet (s) saw a man who supplicated during his prayer. He did not praise Allah, nor did he exalt the mention of the Prophet (s) and thereupon he left. The Prophet (s) said: ‘This man has rushed!’ He then called him and said to him: ‘If one of you supplicates, let him begin by praising his Rubb and then exalt the mention of the Prophet (s) and then supplicate for whatever you wish.’
(Ibn Khuzaimah) - The person should supplicate Allah by asking Him with His beautiful names and attributes.
Allah says: (And to Allah alone belong all the beautiful names. So call on Him by these. And leave alone those who deviate from the right way with respect to His names. They shall be repaid for what they do.)
(7:180)Abdullah Buraidah reported that his father said that the Messenger of Allah (s) heard a man saying:
'Al'laahum'ma in'nee as'a'lo-ka be'an'nee ash-ha'do an'naka an'tal'laah laa ilaahah il'laa anta al-Ahad as-Samad al-la'dhee lam ya'lid wa lam you'lad wa lam ya'kul'lawho ko'foo'one Ahad'
Meaning: ‘O Allah I bear witness that You are Allah, Who has no partner. The One, the One upon whom creation depends, the One who begets not, nor is He begotten; and the One beyond any comparison.’
The Prophet (s) said: ‘You have asked Allah by His Greatest Name, with which if you ask Him, He will respond to you, and if He is supplicated with, He answers.’
(Ibn Hibban) - The person supplicating Allah should be devout, fearful of His punishment, and hopeful for His reward. Allah says: (And remember Zakariyah when he cried to his Rubb, saying, ‘My Rubb leave me not childless, and You are the best of Inheritors. So We heard his prayer and bestowed upon him Yahya and cured his wife for him. They used to vie with one another in good works and they called on Us in hope and in fear and they humbled themselves submissively before Us.)
(21:89-90) - Do not be impatient for the response of your supplication. Abu Hurairah said that the Messenger of Allah (s) said: ‘One of you would be answered as long as he does not rush for the response of his supplication saying: ‘I supplicated, and I received no response!’
(Bukhari) - One should not transgress in his Du’aa. Abdullah Mugahf’fal said that he heard his son saying: ‘O Allah, I ask You to grant me the white palace on the right side of Jannah!’ He said: ‘O son, if you ask Allah, ask Him for Jannah, and seek refuge from Hell-Fire, for I have heard the Prophet (s) say: ‘Towards the end of time there will be a people who transgress in their supplication and ablution.’
(Abu Dawud, Ahmad)One should not make Du’aa to sever the relations of kinship or to seek sinful things. The Prophet (s) said: ‘No Muslim would supplicate Allah while that supplication does not comprise severing relations of kinship or sinful things, except that Allah would grant him one of three things; Allah would either answer his Du’aa, or ward away evil which is equal to what he asked for, or He would store the reward for him.’ The Companions said: ‘O Messenger of Allah, we shall then excessively ask Allah!’ He said: ‘Ask Him, for He loves that!’
(Hakim) -
Supplicating Allah in honorable and noble times and places. The Prophet (s) said: ‘The best supplication is the supplication on the Day of Arafah. The best thing I and the Prophets before me said is ‘Laa ilaahah il’lal-laah’ (i.e. there is nothing worthy of being worshipped except Allah alone).’
(Baihaqi)It is praiseworthy to ask Allah on the Day of Jum’ah, as in the Hadeeth of Abu Hurairah that the Prophet (s) said: ‘In it is an hour in which no slave asks Allah while he is praying for something, except that Allah would grant him what he asked for.’
(Bukhari)It is also praiseworthy to ask Allah during the Month of Ramadhan, the Prophet (s) said: ‘In the month of Ramadhan, the Gates of the Heaven are opened, and the Gates of Hell are closed and the Satans are chained.’
(Baihaqi)He should supplicate while he is fasting. Abu Hurairah reported that the Messenger of Allah (s) said: ‘Three people’s Du’aa (supplication) will not be rejected; the (supplication of a) person who is fasting until he breaks his fast, (the supplication of) a just Imam, and (supplication of) the oppressed. His Du’aa will be raised over the clouds, and the gates of the heavens will be opened for it, and the Rubb would say: ‘By My might, I will give victory to you even if after a while.’
(Tirmithi)The last third of the night, and after the obligatory prayers, as in the Hadeeth of Abu Umaamah that it was said to the Messenger of Allah (s) what Du’aa is most likely to be accepted?
He (s) said: ‘Du’aa during the night, and Du’aa after the Fard (obligatory) prayers.’
(Tirmidthi)Abu Hurairah said that the Messenger of Allah (s) said: ‘Our Rubb descends to the lowest heaven during the last third of every night, and He would say: ‘Who calls upon Me and I would answer him? Who asks of Me and I would give him? Who seeks forgiveness, and I would forgive him?’
(Bukhari)One should ask Allah during Sujood (prostration); Ibn Abbas said that the Prophet (s) moved the curtain and saw people praying behind Abu Bakr and he said: ‘No glad tidings of prophethood remain except for a true dream which one sees himself or others see for him. It has been forbidden to recite Qur’an during Rukoo (bowing) and Sujood (prostration). As for Rukoo, glorify your Rubb therein, as for Sujood supplicate Allah for your supplications would be answered.’
(Muslim)Du’aa would be accepted when it rains or armies face each other; Imam ash-Sha’fiee, may Allah have mercy on him, summarizing the various statements of the Prophet (s) on this matter said: ‘Seek the response to your supplications when you face the enemy, when Iqamah is being called for prayers, and when rain falls.’
- Repeating the supplication three times. Abdullah Masood reported that the Messenger of Allah (s) commended repeating the Du’aa three times and to seek forgiveness three times.
(Abu Dawood) - Seeking nearness to Allah and asking him through good deeds which he had done. Abdullah Umar said: ‘I heard the Messenger of Allah (s) saying: ‘Three men from among those who were before you, set out together till they reached a cave at night and entered it. A big rock rolled down the mountain and closed the mouth of the cave. They said (to each other), ‘Nothing can save you from this rock but to invoke Allah by giving reference to the righteous deeds which you have done (for Allah’s sake only).’
So, one of them said, ‘O Allah! I had elderly parents (whom I used to provide milk) and I never provided my family with milk before them. One day, I was delayed, and I came late (at night). I milked the sheep for them and took the milk to them, but I found them sleeping. I disliked providing my family with the milk before them. I waited for them and the bowl of milk was in my hand and I kept on waiting for them to get up till the day dawned. Then they got up and drank the milk. O Allah! If I did that for Your sake only, please relieve us from our critical situation caused by this rock. So the rock shifted a little but they could not get out.’
The Prophet (s) added, ‘The second man said, ‘O Allah! I had a cousin who was the dearest of all people to me and I wanted to be intimate with her but she refused. Later she had a hard time in a famine year and she came to me and I gave her one hundred and twenty Dinars on the condition that she would not resist my desire, and she agreed. When I was about to fulfill my desire, she said: ‘It is illegal for you to violate my chastity except by legitimate marriage. So, I thought it a grave sin to proceed with her and left her though she was the dearest of all people to me, and also I left the gold I had given her. O Allah! If I did that for Your sake only, please relieve us from the present calamity.’ So the rock shifted a little more but still they could not get out from there.
The Prophet (s) added, “Then the third man said, ‘O Allah! I employed a few laborers and I paid them their wages with the exception of one man who did not take his wages and went away. I invested his wages and this investment grew so much that I ended up with a great deal of property thereby. (Then after some time) he came back and said to me: ‘O slave of Allah! Pay me my wages. I said to him: All the camels, cows, sheep, and slaves you see are yours. He said: ‘O slave of Allah! Don’t mock at me!’ I said: I am not mocking you. So, he took the entire herd and drove them away and left nothing. O Allah! If I did that for your sake only, please relieve us from our present suffering.’ So, that rock shifted completely and they were able to escape.’
(Bukhari) - When supplicating one should do so certainly and ask Allah determinedly, and humble himself before Allah. The Prophet (s) said: ‘If you supplicate Allah, ask Him determinedly and do not say: ‘if you wish, grant me’, for no one can force Allah to do anything.’
(Bukhari) - One should supplicate while he is attentive of what he is saying, and sure that Allah will respond to him.
The Prophet (s) said: ‘The hearts are vessels and some can hold more than others, so when you ask Allah, ask Him while you are sure and determined that He will respond to you. Allah does not respond to a slave who calls unto Him while he is inattentive or absentminded.’
(Ahmed) - To supplicate Allah with the supplications which are mentioned in the Qur’an and authentic Sunnah. A’ishah said that the Messenger of Allah (s) preferred concise supplications, and forsook wordy, vague supplications.
(Abu Dawood) - Sins that a person does should not discourage him from supplicating. Iblees, may Allah curse him, who is the worst of all creation, supplicated Allah and Allah answered him.
Allah says: (He said, ‘Grant me respite till the day when they will be raised up. Allah said, you shall be of those who are given respite.)
(7:14-15)Abu Hurairah said: ‘I heard the Prophet saying, A servant committed a sin and he said: O Allah, forgive my sin! Allah the Exalted said: My servant has committed a sin and he knows he has a Lord who forgives sins and holds him accountable. Then the servant returned to his sin and he said: O Allah, forgive my sin! Allah said: My servant has committed a sin and he knows he has a Lord who forgives sins and holds him accountable. Then the servant returned to his sin and he said: O Allah, forgive my sin! Allah said: My servant has committed a sin and he knows he has a Lord who forgives sins and holds him accountable, so do what you will for I have forgiven you.
(Bukhari)A poet said: When my heart hardened, and I had nowhere to go I hoped that your forgiveness would encompass me.