Part 11

Buraydah narrated that the Prophet (#8) heard a person say: “O Allah! I ask you, by virtue of the fact that I testify that You are Allah, there is no deity except You, the One, whom all the Creation turns to for help, who does not beget and is not begotten, and there is none equivalent to Him!”

He (38) said: “This person has asked Allah by His Greatest Name, which if He is asked with, He gives, and if He is petitioned with (i.¢., a du‘ 2), He answers”.!"!

Imam al-Tibi said, explaining this hadith:

This hadith shows that Allah has a Great Name (al-Ism alA'zam), and if He is called by this name, He responds, as is mentioned in the hadith. Other ahadith have also mentioned

11 Authentic, narrated by Aba Dawad (Sahih al-Sunan # 1341), al-Tirmidhi (Sahih al-Sunan # 2763) and others, from Buraydah al-Aslami.

examples of the Ism al-A' gam, and in those narrations, there are names not mentioned in this hadith, except that the Name ‘Allah’ occurs in all of these narrations. By this, it can be inferred that this Name (i.e. Allah) is the sm al-A‘zam.|"

Yet another point that can be inferred from the hadith is the permissibility of sawassul with one’s belief (imdan), since the wording of the hadith says, ‘... ask You, by virtue of the fact that...,’ meaning, “..due to the fact that J bear witness that You are Allah, answer my request...’ Belief (an) comes under pious actions, and so another proof of this position is the hadith of the people trapped in the cave, who prayed to Allah to release them by doing tawassel with their

pious deeds. Allah responded to their prayer, and removed the rock , blocking their exit. This story will be discussed in greater detail in the chapter concerning ¢awassul.

2. Raising One’s Hands

Amongst the etiquette of dua@ that is known by all Muslims, young or old, is that of raising one’s hands while making du‘. In fact, the raising of one’s hands during du’a has been narrated in so many different traditions that Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah said: “As for the Prophet (#%), raising his hands in dw’ a, then this has been narrated in so many ahadith that they cannot be counted!"

Of these ahadith is that of Abad Musa al-Asha‘ari, who narrated: “The Prophet (3%) made a du‘a, and I saw him raise his hands,

until I could see the whiteness of his armpits”.

And Ibn ‘Umar narrated: “The Prophet (3%) raised his hands and said:

“O Allah! I ask your protection for what Khalid has done!”!””

12 Tyhfat al-Ahwadhi, 9/446.

"Narrated in al-Bukhari (4323), from Aba Musa al-Ash’ari. "8 Narrated in al-Bukhari (4339) from ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Umar.

Furthermore Salman al-Farsi said that the Prophet (#8) said: “Indeed, Allah is Shy and Beneficent. He is Shy when His

servant raises his hands to Him (in a dz @) to return them

Subhan Allah! The Lord of the Creation feels Shy when one of His servants lifts his hands up to Him to make du‘ a! Verily, hearts

are filled with love and awe at the Generosity and Beneficence of Allah.

It is important that one’s palms face upwards, and not the back of one’s hands. Malik ibn Yasar narrated that the Prophet (3%) said,

“If you ask Allah, then ask him with the palms of your hands outwards, and not with the outward portion of the hands (i.e.

with the palms facing down)”.!"*

It is not befitting for a person to ask with his palms facing down, for this is a sign of arrogance, and an indication that he is not really in need of his request.

There are three different types of motions that are narrated from the Companions. The first type is to point with one’s forefinger, without necessarily lifting one’s hands. This action is done when one asks for forgiveness, or makes a general dhikr (remembrance of Allah), or while making a du’ @ during the khutbah (sermon), or during the tashahhud (that part of the prayer said in the final sitting - position of each cycle of two rakat).

"16Narrated in al-Bukhari (6341) without a complete chain of narrators, but its chain is given by Abu Na'im in his a/-Mustakhraj, as Ibn Hajr pointed out in Fath al-Bari.

'l7Narrated by Ahmad, Abi Dawad (# 1488), al-Tirmidhi (# 3556), Ibn Majah (# 3865) and others, from Salman al-Farsi, and authenticated by al-Albani in Sahih al-Jami', # 1757.

Authentic, narrated by Abu Dawad from Malik ibn Yasar, and narrated by Ibn Majah, al-Tabarani, and al-Hakim from Ibn ‘Abbas, and authenticated by al-Albani in Sahih al-Jami' #593.

The second type is to raise one’s hands to the level of one’s shoulders, with the palms facing up. This is done for regular du‘ as that one makes at any time.

The last type of action is only done in extremely severe circumstances, such as asking for rain after a drought, or seeking protection from an imminent enemy attack. In this case, the hands are stretched forth towards the sky, without joinimg the two palms together. When this is done, a person’s armpits become exposed due to the severity of the stretching.

This is affirmed by the narration of Ibn ‘Abbas, who said: “The asking (of any du'@ should be accompanied by) raising your hands

' to the level of your shoulder, or around that level. The seeking of forgiveness (istighfar) (should be accompanied by) pointing with one finger (i.e. the forefinger). Petitioning (is done by) stretching forth your hands totally (above the head, such that the armpits are

The general rule is that when a person makes du‘@, he should raise his hands. However, there is one case in which the Prophet (#8) did not raise his hands, and that was during the Friday khutbah. So for the dua during the khurbah, it is not Sunnah for the Imam or the people to raise the hands, except if the person giving the khutbah makes a special prayer for rain (ésttsqa), for it is Sunnah to raise one’s hands for this particular du’ a.

Also, it is not Sunnah to raise one’s hands for the general du’ as of the day, such as the dw’ ds for entering a mosque and house, and for exiting them.

As for the exact manner in which the hands should be raised, then note that they should be raised to the level of the shoulders, and placed together. One can either turn one’s palms towards the

9 Authentic, narrated by Aba Dawud # 1486, from Ibn Abbas, and Ibn Hajr in Fath al-Bari also said it was in the Mustadrak of al-Hakim, who did not give any comment on the authenticity of the hadith.

sky (in which case the back of one’s hands will face the earth), or turn the palms to face one’s own face, in which case the back of the

hands will face away from him!”

As for wiping one’s hands on the face after one has made dua, then this is discussed in a later section.

3. Facing the Qiblah

The qiblah is a blessed direction to face, and through it Allah has caused the Muslims to unite all over the world. By facing the qiblah, a Muslim turns himselfin the direction of the very first place of worship ever built on earth — the Ka‘bah.

It has been authentically narrated that the Prophet (#%) would face the qiblah when making du‘a. ‘Abdullah ibn Zayd narrated: “The Prophet (38) left (Madinah) to this prayer place, seeking rain. So he made a du‘ a, and asked for rain, then he faced the qiblah and turned his cloak inside-out”.!”! Imam al-Bukhari put this hadith in a Chapter entitled, “Making du‘ a facing the Qiblah,” showing that it forms the etiquette of du’ a.

It has also been narrated that when the Quraysh tormented the Prophet (3%), he ‘...faced the Ka‘bah and made a dua against them.”

So a person is encouraged to turn towards the qiblah when he wishes to make a dua.

4. Performing Wuda Of the etiquettes of dua is that a person be in a state of wudi

(ritual purity) while making dua. This is confirmed in the hadith of Abt Masa al-Ash‘ari in which he stated that the Prophet (3),

120 Aba Zayd, p. 26, 116. This is based on a weak hadith.

'21 Reported by al-Bukhari (# 6343), Muslim (# 894) and others. The turning of the cloak is a unique Sunnah that is performed at the end of the rain-prayer, and signifies optimism and hope that the situation will change from drought to rainfall.

22 Reported by al-Bukhari (# 3960) and others.

after the Battle of Hunayn, called for water, performed wuda, then raised his hands and said: “O Allah! Forgive ‘Ubayd ibn ‘Amir!”

Abt Misa said, “I could see the whiteness of his armpits”.|

One of the ways in which sincerity is shown in du‘ is through crying. This brings about a feeling of humility in front of Allah, and shows the importance of one’s request. It displays the great need that the servant has from his Lord, and that he can never be

without His help and aid.

Once, the Prophet (#%) recited some verses from the Qur’an, including the Prophet Ibrahim’s statement:

Bote SOOM Fo Be oe Yao) ght Shi ols Ree ee O My Lord! These (idols) have caused many people to go astray, so whoever follows me is of me, and whoever disobeys

me, then (even then) you are the Most Forgiving, Most Merciful.’

And the Prophet ‘Isa’s statement:

TAs At Ce ier ode, Zopet“s

ASA NAGE ols Hee beso If You punish them, then they are Your servants. And if You forgive them, then You are the One of Honour, the All-Wise.'””

After reciting these verses, the Prophet (#%) said: “O Allah! My wmmah! My ummah'”, and he started crying. Allah said to the angel Jibril, “O Jibril, go to

23 Reported by al-Bukhari (# 4323) and Muslim (# 2498). 4 Surah Ibrahim, 36. 25 Sarah al-Ma’idah, 118.

Muhammad - and your Lord knows — and ask him what makes him cry?”

So Jibril went to the Prophet (3%) and asked him. The Prophet (#8), responded that he was crying out of concern for his followers, just like Ibrahim and ‘Isa were concerned for their followers, and Allah knew why he was crying , without having to ask Jibril.

So Allah said, “O Jibril! Go to Muhammad and say: “We will please you regarding your followers, and will not cause you grief”. re