Part 21

“Fear the du‘ a of he who has been wronged, even if he is a

disbeliever, for there remains no veil between it”.

This hadith means that there is no veil between it and Allah, and Allah responds to the du’ a@ of the person who has been wronged.

262 Narrated by al-Hakim from Ibn ‘Umar, and authenticated in Sahih al-

263 Narrated by Ahmad and Abo Ya'la, and authentiated in Sahih al-Jami # 119.

This hadith also shows that there is no difference between doing wrong to a Muslim or to a disbeliever, and that both of their du‘ as are answered by Allah. If this is the case of the disbeliever, then how much more so the sinful Muslim! In fact, the Prophet (3%) said:

The dud of one who has been wronged is responded to, even

if he is a fastg (evil person), for his evil will only be against himself.’

So even a sinful Muslim will be responded to, for his sin will be against him, and will not prevent his dua from being answered.

In another narration we are told,

Three people’s du’ as are never rejected: the one who is fasting, until he breaks his fast; the just ruler; and the one who has been wronged. Allah raises it above the clouds, and the doors of the skies are opened for it, and the Lord says, ‘By My Hon-

our and Glory! I will help you, even if it be after some time!”

This is a very severe warning to the one who wrongs others, and a comfort and solace to one who has been wronged. Allah has sworn that He will, of a surety, come to the aid of the one who has been wronged.

It is appropriate here to quote the story of the noble Companion, Sa‘d ibn Abi Waqas, when ‘Umar appointed him governor over Kufah. Some people of Kifah complained to ‘Umar about Sa‘d, so ‘Umar sent forth his servants to go around the masids of Kufah, | asking the people’s opinion about Sa'd. Wherever the messengers went, they could only find people praising Sa‘d, except in one masjid, where a man by the name of Aba Sa‘d stood up and said: “If you

264 Reported by al-Tayalisi in his Musnad (# 1266). See al-Sahihah, # 767.

265 Reported by al-Tirmidhi (# 3598), who declared it to be hasan. However, al-Albani pointed out that it has a very slight weakness in it in a/-Da ‘ifah, # 1358. Although it is weak with this wording, the phrase pertinent to the

response of the du’a is definetely authentic, as al-Albani himself points out in al-Sahihah, # 870.

are really asking us by Allah, then know that he was not just in his judgements, nor did he distribute the booty equally, nor was he easy with us”.

At that, Sa‘d stood up and said: “O Allah! Ifhe is lying, then take away his sight, and give him a long life, and make trials afflict him!”

The narrator of this event states: “I saw him after a long time, blind, his eyelids were drooping (out of old age), and he used to harass the little girls as they walked in the alleys. Whenever he was asked, ‘How are you?’ he would respond, ‘I am an old man, great

trials have befallen me! The du‘a of Sa'd has been inflicted upon me .

In another incident, a woman accused Sa ‘id ibn Zayd, one of the Prophet’s (#%) fomous Companions of stealing some of her property. They appeared before the ruler, and Sa‘id prayed, “O Allah! If you know her to be lying, then make her blind, and make her grave in her own house”. The narrator of this incident said, “I saw her (later on), blind. She used to walk touching the walls, and say, ‘The dua of Sa‘id has afflicted me!’ Once, she passed by a well inside her house, and fell into it, so it became her grave”. ”

In these narrations we see the great miracle that Allah blessed both Sa‘d and Sa‘id with, and we also see the dangers of abusing others. Is there not a lesson in this story for those that wrongly accuse other Muslims of matters that they are free of? And how many situations have occurred, where the one that has been wronged has raised his hands to Allah, and seen with his own eyes the response of his du‘@. So beware, O Muslim, of oppressing other people in any form, and take comfort and solace, O you who have been wronged, that Allah will indeed respond to your du’ a.

266 Reported by al-Bukhari (# 755), Ahmad (1/175) and others. *67 Reported by Muslim (# 1610), and others.

2. The One in Severe Circumstances

When a person finds himself in a grave crisis, and his heart is about to shatter with grief and fear, at this point, he turns to Allah with a heart like that of no other person. The quality of sincerity that he displays, and the desperate need that he feels for the Mercy of his Lord, is so strong and pure that it is a du‘ a that is answered in all situations, regardless even of whether the person is a Muslim or not! Yes, even the du‘ a of the kafir is sometimes accepted, and that is part of the perfection of Allah’s Lordship, for He is the Rabb of the Muslim and the aftr.

Allah describes Himself as:

Nest heh At al

Is not He (the One) who responds to the distressed one when he calls out to Him?”

So if Allah responds even to the disbeliever in this situation, then how about the sinful Muslim? And how about the sincere, pious believer, how can he give up hope of being answered?

Al-Qurtubi wrote: “Allah has guaranteed the response of the du‘ @ of the one in distress, as He Himself informed us of this (guarantee). And the reason for this is that the one in distress will turn to Him with a pure sincerity, cutting his hope off from all other sources. And sincerity to Him is the cause of (gaining) His protection, regardless of whether it emanates from a kafir or Muslim, evil or pious!”

3. After a Calamity

One of the occasions in which the du‘ a of a person is answered is after a calamity has befallen him. However, it is necessary that the person display patience and satisfaction at Allah’s decree, and not wail or lament over his misfortune.

268 seerah al-Naml, 62. 269 41-Jami’ li Ahkam al-Qur’an, 13/223.

Umm Salamah narrated that the Prophet (3) said:

There is no Muslim that is afflicted with a calamity, and he says what Allah has commanded him to say: “To Allah we belong and to Him we will return! O Allah! Give me the rewards (of being patient over) this calamity, and grant me something better than itto replace it, except that Allah will give him something better to replace it.

Umm Salamah said, “So when (my husband) Aba Salamah died, I said this du‘ a, but could not help thinking, ‘Who is better than Abii Salamah (i.e. no one can replace Abi Salamah)?’ Then the Prophet (#%) himself sent me a messenger proposing to me, so Allah blessed me with someone better than Aba Salamah”.”

The person who has left his house, and is on a journey, is a stranger in the land that he travels to, alone and away from his family and friends. As such, Allah, all Glory and Praise be to Him, sends His Mercy upon a traveller, especially if he is travelling for the sake of knowledge or with the intention of performing any other act of worship, such as pilgrimage or jihad.

A traveller has been guaranteed that his du’ @ will be answered,

for the Prophet (#8) said:

“Three are the du’ as that are responded to, there is no doubt concerning them: the du‘ a of he who has been wronged, the

traveller, and the du’ a of the father for his son”!

If this is the case of the average traveller who is travelling for worldly reasons, then it applies even more when the person is travelling for religious reasons, such as desiring to increase his knowledge, or visit his parents, or visit a Muslim brother.

*Narrated by Muslim (# 918), Aba Dawad (# 3119), al-Tirmidhi (# 3511) and others. The addition of Umm Salamah’s story is found in some of the books of seerah.

27\Narrated by Abu Dawad (# 1535), al-Tirmidhi (# 1905), and Ahmad, and authenticated in Sahih al-Jami’ # 3031.

5. The Father Against his Son or for his Son

The proof for this condition has been mentioned in the previous

hadith. In another wording of the hadith, the Prophet (#8) said:

Three are the du'as that are responded to ... the dua of the

father against his son.

The dua of a father for his son could be a dua of blessings and mercy for him if the father is content and happy with his son.On the other hand, the father can make a dw‘d against his son, if the son does not treat his father properly. In this, there is a strong encouragement to Muslims to treat their parents with kindness, and to avoid causing distress to them in any way. This is also a warning to parents not to rush in making a du’ @ against their children, for they might make a dua in a state of anger which they would later regret.

The du‘a of the mother is also included in this hadith, for the right of the mother is even greater than that of the father. The dua of the parents for their daughters comes under this hadith as well, since the rulings applicable to men also apply to women unless there exists evidence to the contrary.

The story of Jurayj and his mother was mentioned earlier, and this story also proves this point. When Jurayj’s mother prayed against him because he did not obey her, Allah responded to her du'as.

6. The Son for the Father

While the father is alive, the son can benefit from him by pleasing him, thus ensuring that he makes du’a for his son. After the father dies, then the son must repay some of the sacrifices that the father made for him, and part of this can be done by sincerely praying for him after his death.

The Prophet (3%) said:

*?. Narrated by al-Bukhari in his Adab al-Mufrad (# 481) and authenticated in Sahih al-Adab (# 372).