Part 12

6. To Expect the Best from Allah

Amongst the etiquette of du’ @ is that the person making the du‘ a expects the best from Allah, and anticipates a response from Allah, whether that response is quick in coming or not.

Bec aecrer 9 AME rye ee glesiatelw ryrony feowen| 23h Be Galtc “And when My servants ask you concerning Me, then (answer

them), I am indeed near to them. I respond to the invocations

of the supplicant when he calls on Me!””””

Zakariyya said, as Allah quoted him in the Qur’an,

“Verily, You are the One who hears all invocations!

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“So their Lord accepted of them (their supplication and an-

126 Reported by Muslim (# 202) and others. 27 Surah al-Baqarah, 186. 128 Corah Al-' Imran, 38.

swered them), ‘Never will I allow to be lost the work of any of you, be he male or female!”,)”

and He said, Kigks al Jassie 2585 AEE IE Se FOE ZOMG Ocrab

Verily, my Lord is Ever-Near, Responsive”, | and Allah also said, ree

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“And indeed, Noah called upon Us and We are the best of

132 those who answer.”

Therefore, Allah is close to His worshippers, and He is present with them in His knowledge, aid and protection. The Prophet (#8) has commanded us to leave the response to our du’ s to Allah, and to expect that Allah will answer our du’ as, for he (3) said:

“Make du'‘a to Allah in a state that you are certain that your

dua will be responded to.”!?

This hadith means that we should firmly believe that Allah is

29 seerah Al-' Imran, 195. 130 Sorah Ghafir, 60.

31 sarah Had, 61.

32 Sarah Saffat, 75.

133 Authentic, narrated by al-Tirmidhi and al-Hakim from Aba Hurayrah, and authenticated by al-Albani in Sahih al-Jami’ # 245.

not going to leave our du‘ Z unanswered, for He is the Most Beneficent. Therefore, whenever a worshipper asks Allah with sincerity, hoping for Allah’s mercy, and fulfilling the etiquette and manners of du‘ a, he should be certain that his du’ a will be responded to.

The hadith concerning Allah’s ‘Shyness’ has already been mentioned;

“Indeed, Allah is Shy and Beneficent. He is Shy when His servant raises his hands to Him (in a dz‘@) to return them empty!”

In other words, Allah wants to respond to the worshipper when he has not even requested something, so how is the situation after the worshipper has asked his Creator? For Allah is Shy ar allowing the hands of His servant to return empty after he has raised them to Him. Allah treats us with the utmost Beneficence and Generosity.

Aba Hurayrah narrates that the Prophet (#%) said,

“Allah, all Glory and Praise be to Him, has said, “Whatever My servant assumes of Me, that is how I will treat him, and I

am with him when he remembers Me’”.

So if a person only expects good from Allah, and is certain that Allah will not destroy his hopes and desires, then Allah will fulfil his expectations. On the other hand, if he is not certain of the response of Allah, and he feels that he will not be responded to, then he will be treated the way that he feels. Al-Shawkani commented on this hadith as follows:

In this hadith, Allah encourages His servants to expect the best from Him, since He will treat them according to their expectations. So whoever expects good from Him will be showered with His Good, and will be shown His Beautiful Generosity... But he who is not like that will not be treated in this

134 Authentic, narrated by Ahmad, Aba Dawad, al-Tirmidhi and others, from

Salman al-Farsi, and authenticated by al-Albani in Sahih al-Jami' # 1757.

85 Reported by Muslim, from Aba Hurayrah, as mentioned in Sahih al-Jami'

manner. And this is the meaning of the fact that He is with him when he remembers Him. So it is obligatory on the slave to always assume the best of Allah. And he should help himself to achieve this state by always recalling the texts (of the Qur’an and Sunnah) that show the great Mercy of Allah.

This is why the true Muslim always expects the best from Allah. The Prophet (#%) states:

Since a person does not know when he will die, the implication of the hadith is that a Muslim must always have good thoughts and assume the best about his Creator, such that, when death does overtake him, he is still intent upon this feeling.

Whoever reflects upon this issue deeply will realise that having the best expectations from Allah is equivalent to having good deeds, and doing good with one’s soul. For only when a person expects the best from Allah will he perform good deeds, since he will expect that Allah will reward him for his deeds and accept them. Therefore, the reason that he performed these good deeds was because of his good expectations of Allah; so the more a person betters his expectations from Allah, the more good deeds he does!”"””

In other words, having the best expectations necessitates doing good deeds. Therefore, the one who continues to sin, and does not do any good deeds, does not truly have the best expectation of Allah. Rather, such a person has a shallow understanding of this concept, and follows his desires!

7. To Pray with Humility and Fear

This state is one that has been commanded by the Qur’an:

'36Reported by Muslim (# 2877) and others. '37 4) Jawab al-Kafi, p. 23.

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Likewise, Allah has described the Prophet Zakariyya and his wife as:

Verily, they used to hasten to do good deeds, and they val to

make dy'@ to Us with hope and fear, and used to humble them-

139 selves before Us.

So it is important that the servant show humility to the Creator, and humble himself before Him while making du‘a. For is it not befitting that a slave appear in front of his Creator and Master in a state of humility, realising the status of his Lord, and fearing his own shortcomings in his duty towards Him?

8. To Complain Only to Allah

Part of the completeness of a person’s zawhid is that he does not complain to anyone else, in order to gain their sympathy and pity. Rather, the true Muslim submits all of his affairs to Allah, and complains of his pitiful state to his Creator, without expecting any compassion from anyone else.

The prophets of Allah, whenever they were in severe situations and extenuating circumstances, would turn to Allah, and show their

need of Allah’s help.

When Zakariyya grew old, and was not blessed with any progeny, he cried out:

138 seerah al-A' raf, 55.

199 Sarah al-Anbiya, 90.

O My Lord! Don not leave me ow (without progeny), and you are the best of inheritors.'”

When Ibrahim left his wife and child in the middle of the desert, without any support or help, he prayed to Allah, describing their pitiful situation:

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Ge or eee roe rutrin wee Sash San aes Soe OYE Ae SANG Bib al B9¢ O My Lord! I have left my family to live in a valley that has no fruits, close to your Sacred House, so that they may establish the prayer. Our Lord! Therefore cause a group of people to love them, and provide them with fruits so that they may give thanks.’

When Ayyab was tried and tested by Allah, and his family and wealth were taken away from him, to such an extent that even his body suffered a terrible disease, he cried out:

O My Lord! Verily, some harm has afflicted me, and You are the Most Merciful of all those who are merciful.'”

When Misa fled Egypt to avoid Pharaoh, and was all alonein theValley of Midian, with no helper or aid, he prayed:

O My Lord! Verily, I am needy to whatever good that You

143 send down to me.

40 Sarah al-Anbiya, 89 Ml seerah Ibrahim, 37. 1 Sarah al-Anbiya, 83. 143 Sarah al-Qasas, 24.

And when Ya‘qub did not know the fate of his favourite son Yusuf, and his oldest son stayed behind in Egypt, while Yasufs brother Ben Yamin was also taken captive, all he could cry out was:

Verily, I only complain of my grief and sorrow to Allah!!*

So it is important that one turn only to Allah, and complain of one’s situation only to him. For what value is there in turning to another created being, who cannot benefit or harm without Allah’s help, much less benefit or harm others? And why would one seek to gain the pity of he who himself should be pitied due to his helplessness and incapability?

9. To Pray Quietly

While making a du'a, a person should not pray loudly, so that others can hear him. The proper way to make dw’ a is in a subdued voice, as Allah mentions:

Call upon your Lord with th humility, and in secret. Verily, He does not like the aggressors.”

That is why Allah praised the du‘a of Zakariyya when He described it as:

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This principle is also mentioned in a hadith. Once, the Companions were travelling, and loudly engaging in dhikr (remembrance

of Allah). The Prophet (#8), said:

“4 Surah Yasuf, 86. 1 seerah al-A' raf, 55. M46 Sarah Maryam, 3.

“O people! Be gentle on yourselves, for you are not calling

someone who is deaf or absent. Rather, you are calling the One

Who hears everything, Ever-Close”.\”

Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah delved into the wisdom of making dua silently, and mentioned a number of benefits to this:'*

Firstly, it is a sign of strong iman, as the person demonstrates that he firmly believes that Allah can hear even the quietest of prayers and thoughts.

Secondly, it is a sign of respect and manners in front of Allah. For, just as it is considered improper for the servant to raise his