Part 7

13. dua@ is the Only Act that Repels Predestination The Prophet (3%) stated:

Nothing repels predestination (gadr) except dua”

In other words, it is possible that a certain misfortune has been decreed for a person, yet, because of the sincerity and quality of his du‘, Allah will repel that misfortune from him, and change this decree. So every Muslim should seek refuge in Allah from future calamities and misfortunes that might befall him, for that is the only way that he can avoid them.

6 Reported by Ibn Hibban (# 1939) who considered it authentic, and alAlbani agreed with him in his a/-Sahihah, # 154.

14. dua is the Only Act that Changes Predestination

Not only does dua@ repel a future misfortune that might befall a person, it also changes and removes a current calamity and misfortune. The Prophet (#8) stated:

Caution will not be of any benefit against predestination, but dua benefits (matters) that have occurred and that are (yet) to occur. And indeed, du’ a meets with a calamity, and fights it until the Day of Judgement.

So no matter how cautious a person is, he will not be able to save himself from Allah’s decree. The only way that he can repel a calamity that has befallen him, or will befall him, is by resorting to du‘ a. The Prophet (38) stated that it is as if the du‘ a rises up and fights the calamity, defending the person who made the du ‘a from this calamity until the Day of Judgement.

In another hadith, the Prophet (8) said,

Whoever the door of dua@ has been opened for, then al! the doors of mercy have been opened for him. And nothing is more pleasing to Allah, that He be asked of the things that are granted, than good health. Du ‘a is of benefit to (matters) that have occurred, and that are yet to occur. So I advise you, O servants of Allah, to make du’ a!”

So no person should give up hope of Allah’s Mercy. No matter what misfortune has befallen him, he should raise his hands to Allah, and sincerely pray that this misfortune be lifted and removed.

55 Reported by al-Tabarani in his al-Awsaz (# 2519), and al-Hakim (1/492) who declared that it was authentic; although al-Dhahabi disagreed with him due to the presence of a weak narrator. However, the hadith has supporting evidence, since it was reported with another slightly weak chain by Ahmad (5/234) and al-Tabarani in his a/-Kabir (20/103). So the hadith is hasan with these two chains, and this is the opinion of al-Albani in his checking of Mishkat al-Masabih, # 2234.

Reported by al-Tirmidhi (#3548) who pointed out that it has some weakness in its chain. However, it has supporting evidence, due to which alAlbani considered it to be hasan in his Sahih al-Jami’ # 3409.

Ibn al-Qayyim mentioned that there are three possibilities with regards to dua@ and Divine Decree. Firstly, it is possible that the du'@ is stronger than the Decree and, thus, repels it permanently. Secondly, it is possible that the dua is weaker than the Decree, so the Decree occurs, but the dw'@ softens it a little bit. Thirdly, that are of equal strength, so each prevents the other from acting.”

The topic of du‘ @ and its relationship with predestination will be discussed in greater detail in a ater chapter.

15. dua@ is a Sign of Wisdom

When a person realises that everything that occurs is by the Will and Power of Allah, then he also realise that the best way to achieve any goal is to ask Allah. Afterall, the wise man is he who makes the best plan to arrive at his destination, and uses the optimum means to achieve his goal.

So what wiser man is there than he who realises that the goals of all of his desires lie with Allah, and that the means of achieving these goals also lie with Allah? Therefore, he takes du’ a as his primary means of achieving the goal. And du‘ a never harms a person, even if it is not responded to, so what reason is there for a person to ignore or reject it?

16. Du'G is Beloved by Allah

The evidences that show dw ‘4 is an act of worship automatically imply that it is beloved by Allah. There is also a hadith narrated to this effect: “Ask Allah from His Bounty, for verily Allah loves to be asked”.

% Reported by al-Tirmidhi (# 3571), who pointed out that it has some weakness in its chain, and al-Albani agreed with him. See al-Da'‘ ifah, # 492.

17. Dua is a Characteristic of the Believer

The Quran is replete with verses in which the angels, prophets and believers make du'@ to Allah. These verses show that du'@ is of the characteristics of true believers. In certain verses, Allah describes some of His favoured servants as being frequent in du’ a:

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

make du’ a to Us with hope and fear, and used to humble them-

18. The Reward of Du‘ a is Guaranteed Jabir ibn ‘Abdillah stated that the Prophet (3%) said:

“There is no person who asks Allah for anything except that Allah gives it to him, or keeps away from him a similar evil, as long as he does not ask for something evil or for breaking the ties of kinship”. At this, a person said to the Prophet (#8): “In that case, we will ask for plenty!” The Prophet (#%)

responded:“Allah (is even) more plentiful pn

In this hadith, there is clear proof of the fact that Allah has taken upon Himself a promise to respond to the du‘ 4 of every person who asks Him, with the condition that the person who is asking Allah fulfils the conditions of dw‘. In this case, Allah will either give him what he asks for, or avert from him an evil of an equivalent nature to the good that he was asking for, as long as he does not ask for an evil.

So what excuse does a person have in not making dw’ a to Allah! No matter what the outcome of his dz'@ is, it will only be for his

a Authentic, narrated by al-Tirmidhi from ‘Ubadah ibn Samit, as is mentioned in Sahih al-Jami’ # 5637, And Shaykh al-Albani said of it in Sahih al-Tirmidhi, # 2827, “It is hasan sahih (authentic).”

benefit. Ibn Hajr stated: “Every single person that makes du‘ a will be responded to, but the actual responses are different. Sometimes, the exact matter that was prayed for is given, and sometimes, something equivalent to it is given”.”

19. Du'@ is a Cause of Victory

dua brings down patience and fortitude, and is a cause of victory over the enemies. This is why one of the du‘ as that has been guaranteed an answer is the dua made during the battle between Muslims and non-Muslims. We find that on more than one occasion Allah mentions the believers making dua at the time of battle, as, for example, the army of Dawid:

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And when they (Talat and Dawid) advanced to meet Jaluth (Goliath), they prayed: ‘Our Lord! Pour forth on us patience, and make us victorious over the disbelieving people.’ So they defeated them by Allah’s permission...”

20. Dua is a Sign of Brotherhood

One of the du’ as that has been guaranteed a response is the du‘a that a Muslim makes for his Muslim brother in his absence. This is because such a du'@ is a clear sign of love and solidarity between Muslims. The fact that a person remembers another Muslim in his absence, and raises his hands to Allah to make a special du‘ for him, clearly proves that he wants only good for him. It demonstrates the concern and care that he has for his fellow Muslims. Hence why the Qur’an describes the believers as having concern for others, and making dw’ a for their brethren in faith:

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“And those (Muslims) that come after them say, ‘O Our Lord! Forgive us and our brethren who preceded us in Faith, and do not put in our hearts any hatred to those who have believed. Our Lord! You are indeed full of kindness, Most Merciful’”.”*

21. dua is the Weapon of the Weak and Wronged

How great is the Mercy of Allah, Who has given the weakest of the weak a weapon with which he can fight the greatest tyrant and oppressor! For dua is a weapon that everyone can afford to possess, and no one needs to be taught how to use it. The dua of the oppressed, and the one who has been wronged, is of a surety answered

(as shall be discussed below).

This is why we find the prophets making du’ a to Allah when they have been wronged. Look at the story of Nah, who, when his people rejected him, called out to Allah to destroy them! Because of his du’ a@ the entire world was flooded with water, and only those whom Allah saved on the ark lived. Ponder over the stories of Salih, and Hid, and the other prophets, and look at the end of those that rejected them. Consider the fate of the Pharaoh and those that believed in him, when Misa made a du'@ against them, the very Nile that they used to depend on for life was used to kill them!

So the dua is the weapon of the believer, by which he can fight against any and every tyrant and oppressor!”

Although the du’ a is the weapon of the believer, the hadith narrated to this effect is fabricated. Ie states: “The du‘a is the weapon of the believer, and the pillar of the religion, and the light of the heavens and earth.” See the last chapter.

22. Dua is a Cure for All Diseases

Diseases are of two types: physical, and spiritual. Physical diseases are the sicknesses that man faces from time to time, such as fever and other aches and pains of the body. Spiritual diseases, or diseases of the soul, can also be divided into two categories: diseases of doubt and diseases of desires. All the problems relating to the soul stem from these two types of disease.