Part 10

%8 Reported by Ahmad, Muslim, and al-Tirmidhi from Aba Hurayrah, as

Additionally do not forget your consciousness of Allah (taqwa), for it is the essence of all matters. This agwa makes a person realise that Allah is watching him at all times. Therefore, he will be careful with regard to what he eats and drinks, and from where he earns his money. Allah, all Choy and Praise be to Him, says:

“Allah only accepts (deeds) from those who fear him

So only the one that has tagwa of Allah has a good chance of receiving a response to his dua, and part of that saqwa is that a person earns all his income from permissible means.

9, Prayer upon the Prophet (#8) The proof of this is the Prophet’s (3) statement in which he

said: “Every dua is covered until (the person) prays upon the Prophet (@). The du’ a is ‘covered,’ meaning that it is not raised up to Allah

until the person making the du’ a@ accompanies it with the prayer upon the Prophet (#8).

However, it seems that this is not a necessary condition, since the Prophet (3%) himself did not practice this continually. There are numerous narrations from the Prophet (#%) concerning specific du’ as which he made, and which he (#%) commanded his Companions to make, which do not contain the prayer upon him (3%).

100 seerah al-Ma’idah, 27.

101 Authentic, narrated by al-Nasa‘i from ‘Abdullah ibn Bisr, and Ibn Hibban from Mu'‘adh, and al-Daylami from Anas and others, and it is authenticated in Sahih al-Jami’ # 4523.

For example, he (#8) said:

“O Allah! I seek refuge in you from leprosy, madness and evil

This narration shows that it is not a necessary condition to pray upon the Prophet (3%) during every du’ a, but rather that it is recommended to do so.

A further indication of its commendability is the narration of the Prophet (3%) in which he said:

“A messenger came to me from my Lord and said, “There is no worshipper who prays upon you once, except that Allah will pray upon him ten times!”

A person stood up and said, “O Messenger of Allah! Should I make half of my prayers upon you?” He (2%) replied:

“If you wish”. He then asked, “Should I make two-thirds of my prayers upon you?” He (3%) replied: “If you wish”.

He then asked, “Should I not make all of my prayers upon you?” He (38) replied:

10. That the Dz'@ Does not Interfere with Something More Important Without a doubt, dv'a is one of the most important acts of wor-

ship. However, acts of worship can be divided into two categories: those that have a specific time, and those that can be done at any

102 Authentic, narrated by Aba Dawid and al-Nasa’i from Anas ibn Malik, and authenticated in Sahih al-Jami’ # 1281.

103 Authentic, reported by al-Tirmidhi from Ubay ibn Ka‘b, and authenticated by al-Albani in Sahih al-Jami #57.

time. Du’ ais of the second category, in that there is no specific time of the day in which it is restricted. However, prayer (salah) is of the first category. Therefore, it is not correct to engage in an act of worship that can be done at any time (for example, du‘ a), at the expense of an act of worship that has a specific time (for example, salah). So, when one hears the call to prayer, one must respond to it, and pray the salah in the mosque, along with other believers. One cannot use the excuse that one is making du’ @ at home, and therefore cannot respond to the call.

Likewise, if a person is making dw’ 4, and his parents call him for any assistance, then responding to his parents takes precedence over du ‘a.

There is sufficient proof for this principle in the story of Jurayj, a monk who used to worship Allah all day and night. The Prophet (#8) narrates:

There was a person from the Children of Isra‘il by the name of Jurayj, who would pray in his monastery. His mother came to him and called him (to come out). So he asked himself: ‘Should I respond or continue to pray?’ And he chose the prayer. This happened three times, all the time he would choose the prayer over responding to his mother. So she said (in anger), ‘O Allah!

Do not let him die until he sees the faces of prostitutes!’

It so happened that a prostitute asked the townspeople, ‘Do you wish that I tempt him?’ They responded, ‘Yes!’ So she went to the monastery, and presented herself to him, but he refused. She then went away, and presented herself to a shepherd, who fell to her advances, and she gave birth to a child. (She was asked who the father was), so she replied, ‘Jurayj!’ At this, the townspeople gathered their axes and sticks and went to his monastery. They found him praying, but this did not stop them from tearing down his monastery and beating him. He said, ‘Woe to you! What are you doing?’ They responded, ‘Woe to you, O Jurayj! We thought you were better than that. You have caused this girl to become pregnant.’

At that, Jurayj asked that the baby be brought. He purified himself, and made a dua to Allah. Then he poked the baby,

and said, ‘O child! Who is your father?’ The child answered, “The shepherd!’ When the townspeople saw this (miracle) they said, ‘Allow us to build your temple with gold and silver!’ Jurajy replied, ‘No, with mud (the way it was)’,so they rebuilt it for him.

This hadith has many benefits in it, but the point that is being meade is the fact that Jurayj did not respond to his mother, but rather continued in his prayer. Therefore, his mother became angry, and made a du‘ a against him. As shall be discussed shortly, the du‘a of a parent against his or her offspring is responded to.

So, Jurayj preferred his prayer over responding to his mother. _ Yet, it was proper that he should have shortened his prayer, and responded to his mother; he could have prayed at any time, but he could not delay his mother’s request. (As a side point, this hadith also shows that the scholar is greater in status than the worshipper, as Jurayj did what he did because he did not have knowledge. Had he been a scholar, and known the importance of responding to one’s parents, he would have obliged his mother.)

Likewise, when any obligatory act must be responded to, then dua must be postponed for another time.

10 Reported by al-Bukhari (# 3436), Muslim (# 2550), and others.

THE ETIQUETTE OF Du A

There are a number of manners and etiquette procedures that accompany the performance of du’ a . This so that the du‘a is accepted.

The difference between this section and the preceding one is that such etiquette occurs while a person is making a du a, whereas the acts mentioned in the previous section must occur before a person makes du‘ a.

1. Praising Allah before the Du'a, and Praying upon the Prophet (#8)

This because the person who is making the dua is asking for forgiveness, mercy and sustenance from his Creator, so it behoves the worshipper to start his du’ a with the praise and glorification of Allah, all Glory and Praise be to Him, such that this praise is befitting His status.

Fudhalah ibn ‘Ubayd narrates that the Prophet (3%) was once sitting in the mosque, when a person entered and prayed two raka ats. After he finished, he said, “O Allah, forgive me and have mercy on me!” The Prophet (#8) said:

“You have been hasty, O worshipper! When you finish your prayer, then sit down and praise Allah with the praise that He is worthy of, and pray upon me, then state your du’ a.”

After that, another man prayed, and then praised Allah and prayed upon the Prophet (#8). The Prophet (3%) said to him:

“O worshipper! Make your dw’ a, and it will be answered!"

'05 Authentic, narrated by al-Tirmidhi and al-Nasa’i from Fudhalah ibn ‘Ubayd, and authenticated by al-Albani in Sahih al-Jami # 3988.

This same narration has also come in a different wording from Fudhalah, in which he said: the Prophet (#%) heard a man making a du ‘a in his salah, and he did not pray upon the Prophet (#). The Prophet (2%) said:

“He has been hasty”. He (3%) then called him, and said to him, or to someone else:

“When one of you has prayed, then let him begin with praising Allah and glorifying Him, then let him pray upon the

Prophet (3%). After that, he may make any du’a that he

The Prophet (3%) described the initial person’s prayer as hasty ‘ since he had preceded the prayer over the means.

‘Abdullah ibn Mas‘td narrated that the Prophet (3%) said:

“There is no one who is more Aghyar'” than Allah, and that is why He has prohibited all indecencies, open and secret. And there is no one who loves to be praised more than Allah, and that is why He has praised Himself”.

Allah, all Glory and Praise be to Him, wants us to praise Him so that we ourselves may benefit from this praise, since Allah is not in need of anything, and we can never reach a position to benefit or harm Him. From this, the error of those who say, “If Allah Himself loves to be praised, then how can we not love it?”, can be seen.

Allah, all Glory and Praise be to Him, has praised Himselfin the Qur’an on numerous occasions. For example He said:

106 Authentic, narrated by Ahmad, Aba Dawid, al-Tirmidhi, and others, from Fudhalah ibn ‘Ubayd, and authenticated by al-Albani in Sahih al-Jami’ # 648.

108 Narrated by al-Bukhari, Muslim, and Ahmad from [bn Mas‘ad, as mentioned in Sahih al-Jami #7165.

Ca WS Bp Ny “All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds. The Ever-

Merciful, the Bestower of Mercy. The Master of the Day of

dua with Allah’s Greatest Name:

One of the best ways to praise Allah is by using His Greatest Name.