Part 14

15? Reported by, among others, al-Bukhari (420), Muslim (1794) (and the wording is his), from Ibn Mas'‘td.

58 Authentic, narrated by al-Tirmidhi, al-Nasa’i and al-Hakim, from Anas, and authenticated in Sahih al-Jami # 6275.

The Prophet (#%) used to avoid prolonged, useless speech, for ‘A’ishah narrates that the Prophet (3) “...used to love concise du’ as, and he would leave all (du' as) besides those”.!”

Al-Khattabi states: “So let him (i.e. the worshipper) choose for his du‘ a the appropriate words, and let him praise his Lord using the best praises, and the noblest of them, and the most comprehensive in meaning. For (du'@) is a secret conversation between the slave and the Master of all masters, whom no one resembles, nor does He have an equal!"

Many such da’ ds have been preserved for us in the books of hadith. For example, Farwah ibn Nawfal reported that he asked ‘A’ishah for a du‘a that the Prophet (#%) used to pray with. She answered: “He (38) used to say:

This du‘a is a general, comprehensive one which seeks refuge in Allah from all evil, whether a person has done that evil or not.

Another comprehensive du‘ a that the Prophet (#8) used is:

“O Allah! Forgive my sins and my ignorance, and my transgressions in my affairs, and all that You know of me. O Allah! Forgive me my sins done seriously or jokingly, purposely or unintentionally, and all else that is with me! O Allah, forgive me what I have done, and what I have yet to do, and what I have done in secret, and what I have done openely, and all that you know of me. You are the First, and you are the Last, and You are capable of all things!"

159 Authentic, narrated by Abu Dawid, Ahmad, Ibn Hibban and others, from ‘A’ishah, and authenticated in Sahih al-Jami' # 4949

161 Narrated by Muslim from Abu Dharr, and Abt Dawid and al-Nasa’i from ‘A’ishah, as mentioned in Sahih al-Jami’ # 1293.

to Reported by al-Bukhari and Muslim, from Aba Masa al-Ash‘ari’, as mentioned in Sahih al-Jami’ # 1264.

And from such concise prayers is the du’ a of the Prophet (3%):

“O Allah, Our Lord! Grant us the good in this world, and the good in the Hereafter, and save us from the punishment of Hell!"

Therefore, remember the value of your time, and do not cease to make du'@ to Allah on all occasions and as often as you can. And how many are the words that spring forth from our mouths, that will not benefit us at all, or even be used against us on the Day of Judgement (we seek refuge in Allah from that!). Yet, how easy these simple du’ as are, and how concise and brief, and how full of blessings and mercy! For is it not possible that a person says one of these concise du‘ ds, thinking it a small and trivial request, and yet the angels of Mercy take it, and the doors of Heaven are opened for it, and the Lord of Mercy responds to it, so that on the Day of Judgement, the Scales weigh heavy because of it?

And how true the Arabic proverb: the best speech is that which is concise yet clear in meaning.

16. To Start dua with One’s Self

It is desirable that the person making the dua should first ask of it for himself. This is so for a number of reasons. Firstly, a person should desire all good for himself, so it does not make sense to pray for others and forget one’s self. Secondly, the fact that a person prays for himself shows that what he is praying for is an important goal . and objective. In other words, this ensures that he desires for his brothers what he desires for himself. Thirdly, it increases him in his sincerity in this du‘a, for verily mankind is weak, so when he makes du'‘a only for his brother, it is possible that it will not be as sincere as when he makes a du‘ a for himself and his brother.

This principle is demonstrated in a number of Qur’anic verses, such as:

‘63 Reported by al-Bukhari and Muslim, as mentioned in Sahih al-Jami' # 1306.

oe hee e.cr rtyse SAAC MOPS CI aH “O Allah! Forgive us, and our brothers (in faith) who have

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“And he (Musa) prayed: O my Lord! Forgive me and my

brother, and enter us into your Mercy!”

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“O Our Lord! Forgive me, and my parents, and all of the be-

“And Seek forgiveness (O Muhammad) for your sins, and for

the believing men and women.

However, this was not the constant habit of the Prophet (#8), for there are other narrations to show that sometimes he (3%) would pray for another person without praying for himself. For example, when he was speaking about Hajar, Isma‘il’s mother , he (38) said:

“May Allah have mercy on the mother of Isma‘il. Had she left

have been a clear lake”. 164 Surah al-Hashr, 10. 165 Sarah al-A’ raf, 151. 166 Sarah Ibrahim, 41. 187 Sarah Muhammad, 19.

168 Authentic, narrated by Abu Dawid, al-Tirmidhi, al-Nasa’i and others,

from Ubayy ibn Ka‘b, and authenticated in Sahih al-Jami # 4723.

19 Reported by al-Bukhari, from Anas ibn Malik, as reported in Sahih al-

He also said regarding Hassan ibn Thabit, “O Allah! Help him with the Holy Spirit (the Angel Jibril)!”,'” and for Ibn ‘Abbas,

“O Allah! Grant him an understanding of the religion!”"”!

These, and other examples besides these, show the permissibility of making a du‘ a without mentioning one’s self, but in general it is recommended to do so.

17. To Pray for AJl Muslims

Part of the completeness of one’s iman is that a person loves for his brother what he loves for himself. Therefore, just as he desires that he be guided to the truth, and be forgiven for his sins, so too should he desire the same for his fellow Muslims.

The Prophet (3%) is commanded in the Qur’an to:

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...seek forgiveness (from Allah) for your sins, and the sins of the believing men and women.

Likewise, the Prophet Nuh prayed to Allah:

“O My Lord! Forgive me, and my parents, and whoever entered my house as a believer, and all the believing men and

Reported by al-Bukhari (453), Muslim (2485) and others, from Abu Hurayrah.

17 Reported by al-Bukhari (143), Muslim (2477) and others, from Ibn ‘Abbas. 122 Sarah Muhammad, 19. '3 sarah Nah, 28.

And the Prophet (3%) said:

“Whoever seeks forgiveness for the believing men and women, then a good deed will be written for him for every single be-

lieving man and women (that he prayed for)”. "4

So it is encouraged for the Muslim to remember all of his brothers and sisters when he is making a du'@, and to pray for the entire Muslim ummah. He should also pray against the enemies of Islam, against tyrants and non-Muslim rulers that fight and torture the Muslims. All of this is a sign of the person’s own iman, and is contained within the etiquette of dua.

Of particular importance is that a person prays for his own parents (if they are alive, or if they died as Muslims). Allah specifically instructs the believers in this respect,

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And lower unto them the wings of humility and mercy, and say, ‘O My Lord! Have mercy on them, even as they took care

of me while I was young.”

The dua of Nuh has already been given above, in which he prayed for his parents, as did Ibrahim:

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4 Reported by al-Tabarani in his a/-Kadir, and al-Haythami said in Maja’ al-Zawa'id: “Its isnad (chain of transmission) is good.” Al-Albani reported this statement, but did not pronounce a verdict on the hadith himself. See Sahih al-Jami', # 6026.

1% Sarah al-Isra, 24. 1% seerah Ibrahim, 41.

18. To Say ‘Amin’

When a person is listening to another person make du'4, it is recommended that he say, ‘Amin’, which means ‘O Allah! Accept (or: Respond to) this du’ a.’

It is stated that the phrase ‘Amin’ is one of the specialities of this nation, and that no nation before Islam had been given it.” This is inferred from the hadith in which the Prophet (3) said:

The Jews do not envy you for any matter as much as they envy you for Amin, and for giving salams to one another.

The purpose of saying ‘Amin’ is so that it might increase the chances that a person’s dua be answered. It is like repeating the dua over again, except that instead of going into all the details of one’s du’, it is all summarised in the one phrase, ‘Amin,’ which means, as we mentioned, ‘O Allah! Respond (to the du‘ a)!’ So it is like another du'@ after the first one.

Of course, there are certain du‘ as that should be done privately, not in a group, and there are others that are done in a group. Examples of the first type are most of the du’ as that a person does during the day and night. It is an innovation to have a group du ‘@ for, say, entering the house, or after finishing the salah. An example of the second type is the dz‘ @ that is done in gunat, where the imam makes a du a, and the congregation behind him says, ‘Amin.’ Likewise, if the person giving the Friday sermon makes a du‘a, the congregation is encouraged to say ‘Amin’ after his du'@. Furthermore to say - ‘Amin’ after reciting Surah al-Fatihah is encouraged, regardless of

177 Another opinion is that Misa and Harun were taught this phrase, but the

Jews were not informed of this; this opinion is due to the story that follows shortly. (See Aba Zayd, pps. 203-209, for a complete discussion of ‘Amin’.) However, this opinion clashes with the well-known fact that the Christians to this day use this phrase (as Amen) after their prayers, so further research needs to be done on this issue: did the Christians take it from the Muslims, or was this phrase given to nations before us as well?