The Power Of DuahAllah Almighty says in the Qur'an: [2:186]

WQRSAW - العبادة هو Duah’ is nothing but worship“ "الدعاء(Ibadah)” (Al-Hadith) ."

Next Week will be the (9th Dhul-Hijjah. The Day of Arafat -And more than 2 million pilgrims from around the world will congregate on the plains of Arafat near Makkah, as part of the annual Hajj.

Hajj - is an invitation from the Lord of all the Worlds Almighty Allah – WA-ATIM MUL- HAJJAH WAL UMRATA - LIL_LAAH -- - to visit His Sacred House and an opportunity for the Hujjaaj to correct their shortcomings and faults by begging to Allah in Taubah Istihfar and Duah.

The whole Hajj consists of nothing but Duah and in this Khutbah I would like to reflect on some dimensions of Duah -

in the terminology of islam, duah: literally means "invocation", which is an act of supplication –an act of appealing / petioning/ and beseeching . The term is derived from an Arabic word meaning to 'call out' – to invite or to 'summon', and in Islam Duah is regarded as a profound act of worship. –

1

As human beings, our life in this world is characterized by fluctuating conditions making us joyfull /cheerfull /happy and at other times depressed /troubled /hopeless and filled with anxiety. No one experiences perpetual bliss or misery. Life by its very nature is a test from Almighty Allah. (Al-Qur’an - 2:155) Allah states in the quran.

واألنف : األموال ن م ونقص والجوع الخوف ن م بشيء ولنبلونكمfill"... والثمرات س

“O man (whilst you are on the Dunya) Be sure We will test you with something of fear and hunger, some loss in goods or sickness and death or the fruits (of your toil)…”

إليه ا وإنـ لله إنا قالوا صيبة م أصابتهم إذا الذين ابرين، الص ر وبشهم وأولـئك ورحمة بهم ر من صلوات عليهم أولـئك راجعون،

المهتدون"“And give glad tidings to those who persevere, they are those who when a difficulty afflicts them they say, Verily from Allah do we come and to Him is our return, they are indeed on the Right Path”.(Al-Quran - 2:155-156)Almighty Allah also exhorts us in the Quran:

“He is the One that has created Life and Death in order to test who amongst you is best in conduct.” And He (Allah) is Almighty and Oft Forgiving (Qur’an, 67:2)

Pleasant and favorable conditions demand us to be grateful and humble or adverse conditions require us to be patient and to seek Allah’s help.

As Believers we ought to believe that every condition is a manifestation of the Will of Allah. What has passed us was not meant to befall us and

2

what has befallen us was not meant to pass us. Assistance comes with patience, relief after affliction and ease after difficulty (Tirmidhi). Our faith and belief is tested when we undergo difficulties and afflictions. These difficulties may be physical, emotional, financial and/or psychological. This is borne out by the verse previously quoted:

األموال ن م ونقص والجوع الخوف ن م بشيء ولنبلونكموالثمرات "...واألنفس

“Be sure We shall test you with something of fear and hunger, some loss in goods - sickness and death or the fruits (of your toil)… (Qur’an, 2:155)These adverse conditions may at times be upon an individual, a family, and a community or upon a large section of the Ummah as is the current case of Palestine, Syria, Afghanistan and Myanmar.

Muslims believe in Islam and making supplication or duah to Allah Almighty is what they consider as a weapon in their hands to solve their problems. Prayers or duah are PANACEA for the present problems facing the Ummah today. In a Hadith we find that the Messenger of Allah (saw) came across a community of people going through a tribulation. He advised, “Why don’t they supplicate (make duah) to Allah for assistance?”

The problem is that duah has become a ritual and a final resort after all the options and the means have been exhausted. Duah, according to a Hadith, has the unique ability to change destiny (Tirmidhi).

We find in Qur’an that All the Prophets (peace be upon them), resorted to supplications as their ultimate ‘weapon’ to solicit Allah’s help while reforming nations in their respective hostile antagonistic, aggressive, confrontational, and, militant, environments.

DUAH (supplication) embodies acknowledgement, relationship and reliance On Almighty Allah. Many scholars have considered Duah’ to be the essence of worship. In fact the Holy Prophet (S.A.W.) has equated it to worship (`Ibadah)

3

العبادة هو "الدعاء “Duah’ is nothing but worship (Ibadah)” (Al-Hadith) ." [Sahih Al-Jami` no. 1133 --

Sadly – The power of Duah is grossly underrated and underestimated. Our ideas and practice regarding Duah have become distorted. Often it is reduced to the level of a ritual or some a verbal request rolling from our lips. Generally Duah is only considered when all our efforts have failed - an act of last resort.

It is further belittled through actions and sometimes even with words. No wonder that today mostly a mention of Duah is meant to indicate the hopelessness of a situation.

What a tragedy, -- for Duah is the most potent weapon of a believer. It can change fate, while no action of ours ever can. It is the essence of Ibadah or worship. With it we can never fail; without it we can never succeed. In the proper scheme of things, duah should be the first and the last resort of the believer, with all his plans and actions coming in between.

Duah is our conversation with Allah, our Creator, our Lord and Master, the All Knowing, the All Powerful. ---- This act in itself is of extraordinary significance. It is the most uplifting, liberating, empowering, and transforming conversation a person can ever have.

We turn to Him because we know that He alone can alleviate our sufferings and solve our problems.-- We should feel relieved after describing our difficulties to our Creator. ==We should feel empowered after having communicated with the All Mighty.

We should sense His mercy all around us after talking to the Most Merciful. We get a new commitment to follow His path for that is the only path for success. We feel blessed with each such commitment –A person engaged in duah affirms his belief in Tauheed (monotheism) and shuns belief in all false gods. With each duah his belief in Almighty Allah grows.

4

A very poignant example of this is the incident of the Prophet Nuh (peace be upon him). Allah Almighty mentions the incident in the following words in the Holy Quran: “The people of Noah (as) denied and they belied Our Servant and said, ‘He is a madman’ and threatened him. He therefore supplicated (through duah) to his Lord (saying), ‘O my Lord -I am overpowered! Assist me?’ We therefore opened the gates of Heaven, with water flowing furiously. (And) We caused springs to gush out from the earth, so that the two waters met in a quantity that had been destined.” (Qur’an, 54: 9-12)

These verses in the original Arabic language are very powerful and conjure up an image of vast volumes of waters gushing forth profusely from both the earth and the skies until the earth was waterlogged. All those who had ridiculed and mocked the Messenger were drowned in that deluge. We can safely say that the Prophets (peace be upon them), in discharging their responsibility of calling toward the Creator, qualified for His assistance. And the action that motioned this assistance in favor of the Prophets (peace be upon them) was that of lifting their hands in duah.

At the time of the battle of Badr, with the future of Islam under threat, when a small ill equipped band of 313 Muslims faced an army of 1,000 well armed soldiers, the Noble Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) spent the entire night on the eve of the battle begging and supplicating unto Allah for His assistance and Allah Almighty the following day granted the greatest victory in the annals of Islamic history.

In another such incident, when Sultan Salahud-din Ayyubi received news of the Crusader’s ships sailing toward them with reinforcements, he retired to the masjid and spent the whole night in Salah and Duah - beseeching and begging Allah Almighty’s assistance. Almighty Allah remind us in the Holy Quran: 2/152 /2/153

5

In the morning prayer, he told a pious man, “Please make duah, so that the enemy ships left the shores carrying reinforcements.” The person replied, “Don’t fear, O Salahud-Din. Verily the tears of the night have drowned the enemy ships.” A short while later news was received that the ships had sunk. --Such is the power of duah which has been rightfully referred to by scholars as the ‘weapon’ of a believer.

In a Hadith, it is mentioned that ‘AD DUAH UL MUHUL IBAADAH - Duah is the essence of worship.’ (Musnad Ahmed & Tirmidhi)

In another Hadith he Prophet (as) stated: AD DUAH U – HUWAL IBADAH -“Duah’ is nothing but worship (Ibadah)” (Al-Hadith) ." [Sunnan Abu Dawud)

(If one ponders and reflects on the above Hadith one will realize that they are very clear, definite and absolute statements. How is it that we give so little attention to that described as both the ‘essence’ of worship as well as worship itself?

The reason for this is because we tend to look at the outward form of duah which, when compared to other’s acts of Ibadah (worship) is ‘less strenuous’ and ‘exertive’ in terms of time, place, language and physical exertion. While there are conducive and opportune moments when duas are accepted in relation to the above there are no restrictions or specifications on the act of dua. Dua can be made at any time, in any place, in any language, when a woman is in her menses and also in a state of ceremonial impurity.

Duah is the ultimate form of Abdiya (Bondsman-ship) in that it is an expression of one’s total dependence on Allah Almighty knowing that every single condition — good or bad, happy or sad, benefit or loss, wealth or poverty — is exclusively in the hands of Allah Almighty and that He alone is the ultimate Causer of causes. With Him are the keys to His unlimited and unending treasures.

6

Duah is that act which ‘connects’ the slave to his Master. The slave lifts his hands as begging bowls in an expression of begging as a beggar does.

YAA AYUHAN NAASU - ANTUMUL FUQARAA-U -IL-LAL LAAHI- WAL LAAHU – HUWAL GANIYUL GAMEED - (Qur’an, 35:15)

In all humility, with an attentive heart, having full hope in his Creator, Maker, Sustainer and Cherisher, one attracts the gaze of mercy of the Master Who feels shy in turning His slave away empty handed (Tirmidhi, Ahmed, Abu Dawood).

If it is not in the nature of a mother to turn her child away empty handed no matter how disobedient a child may be, how is it possible that the One who is the most merciful and who has placed mercy in the hearts of all mothers turns away His slave, empty handed? How is it possible for the One Who becomes angry when His slaves do not supplicate to Him not to be happy when they do? (Sunan Ibn Majah)

Continuously turning to Allah Almighty in duah is a sign of one’s conviction in Him and the more one turns to Him, the more one’s faith increases. Duah is a condition of the heart and conversation with one’s Creator in the language of one’s choice. A Hadith says, duah is a means of beseeching Allah Almighty for the fulfillment of all our needs no matter how mundane or insignificant as it may be; or significant as facing overwhelming odds in the battlefield (Tirmidhi).

In the vocabulary of Islam, there are no such words as impossible, unattainable or insurmountable. Duah in times of ease is gratifying and engenders humility while at the same time it serves as an assurance of our Duahs being accepted in times of difficulty, according to Tirmidhi.

7

Duah in times of difficulty is uplifting, invigorating, assuring, cleanses, refreshes and provides solace and relief to broken hearts. –

In current times as individuals we are faced with so many tribulations and internationally, the Ummah is faced with crises across the globe that, at times we cannot help but feel helpless, frustrated and depressed. In such times we have the choice of negotiating these hurdles all by ourselves or through voicing our dissent by petitioning the ‘powers’ that be or to utilize the most powerful ‘weapon’ at the disposal of every Believer — duah, and stand up before Allah Almighty and to petition Him for His help as He alone is the one who has power over everything and every situation.

We should make duah not only for ourselves but also for our parents, brothers and sisters, spouses and children, relatives and friends, teachers and other benefactors, and destitute and struggling Muslims everywhere. We should pray for them for the good in this world as well as in the Hereafter.

The Prophet said: "The duah of a Muslim for his brother (in Islam) in his absence is readily accepted. An angel is appointed to his side. Whenever he makes a beneficial duah for his brother the appointed angel says, 'Aameen. And may you also be blessed with the same.'" [Sahih Muslim]

In the dark ages that we are living in today, every day brings fresh news about atrocities committed against our brothers in Palestine, Kashmir, India, Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria Myanmar and the list goes on and on.

We can continue to just feel frustrated and depressed. We can petition the determined perpetrators or a fictional "International Community" We can just forget all this and move on to some other subject

Or we can stand up before Allah and pray for His help, and only He alone can help. The duah can change our life, our outlook, and our fate. It is the most potent weapon. But it works only for those who try sincerely and seriously to use it –with absolute humility.

8

There are many benefits of making Duah including:

1. The loss of arrogance – For someone that makes constant Duah, arrogance is something that is not among the characteristics of a true believer = because when one beseeches Almighty Allah, he is affirming his own powerlessness ----And the simple reality is, that our health, wealth, professions, talents, and power are not of our own creation.

Almighty Allah gave those to us as a test and He can take them back whenever He wills. We must realize that real greatness belongs only to Allah, our Lord, Creator, and Master. -- Human beings are just mere creations of Allah.

What is arrogance????? Arrogance –according to Webster’s dictionary: Is an attitude of superiority manifested in an overbearing manner or in presumptuous claims or assumptions – Also: Having or showing an exaggerated opinion of one's own importance, merit and ability.

Imam Ghazaali (ra) wrote many chapters about arrogance and pride. He writes: "Arrogance, pride and conceit are some of the disease of the spiritual heart and it is such a critical disease that its cure is very difficult. Arrogance and pride literally means that one feels great and superior, along with this he looks down upon others in a despicable and contemptuous manner as being lesser than himself”.

Kibr, boastfulness and arrogance Islamically has been called Ummul-Amradh - or the root and mother of all sicknesses of the spiritual heart, and Prophet Muhammad, (saw) warned that a person having even an iota (a grain of mustard seed) of arrogance in his heart will never enter paradise.

This deadliest of all sins was referred to by the Prophet (saw) as “Spiritual Leprosy.” (Leprosy was the terminal sickness in the time of the Prophet). When the Prophet (saw) made reference to pride and arrogance he always referred to Surah 2/34 and Surah 7/12 – as the

9

birth of pride, arrogance, egotism and bigotism and referred to this behaviour as “satanic manifestations”.

No one likes arrogance in others (Arrogance is also referred to by intellectuals as matured ignorance). And we must make Duah for the arrogant person.

2. The fulfillment of the Duah is that You get what you asked Almighty Allah. For the people that sometimes see that their Duahs are not being accepted, there is either the option that the Duah will be accepted later on in this life or in the Hereafter or the option that the Duah will accepted by other means as one Hadith said, Jabir narrates from the Prophet, “Whoever does duah to Allah, Allah fulfills his seeking or in exchange averts misfortune if the duah is not related to sin or breaking some relation.” (Tirmidhi)

If we make a Duah as prescribed by Allah and his prophet - Allah will answer it in the best possible way for us. Therefore, if we do not see our Duahs being accepted immediately, we should not despair because either it will help us against some misfortune, or it might be accepted later…Allah almighty knows what is best for us.

3. The doors of mercy are opened – Abdullah bin Umar narrated that the Prophet (saw) said, “For whomever the door of Duah opened, for him the doors of mercy are also opened...” (Tirmidhi)-

10

4. It has the power to change destiny– Salman Farsi narrated that the Prophet (saw) said, “Duah turns away destiny and good deeds lengthen age (Tirmidhi).

In Conclusion :When we make Duah -- Have complete conviction that Allah will accept your Duahs, because if you don’t, then there is a chance it won’t be accepted. The Prophet (saw) said, “When anyone of you make Duah then don’t say “Oh Allah! Forgive me if you want“, “Have mercy on me if you want“, “Give me subsistence if you wish” rather believe completely that HE will do whatever HE wishes. Nobody can force Him.” (Bukhari)

The best times to make Duah is when one is in Sujood, the times between Adhan and Iqamah, as well as at other times as indicated by the following Hadith in which the Prophet said, “Three types of people’s Duahs are not rejected:

1) At the time of Iftar -- the person who has fasted (Imaanan Wahtisaaban) for the sake of Allah.2) A Just ruler’s Duah 3) The Duah of the oppressed. Allah raises the Duah of the oppressed on the clouds and the doors of Jannah are opened for it and Allah says, “On MY Majesty and Honor! I will help and aid you. Even though if the help is after some time.” (Tirmidhi)

Another Hadith listed another three in which the Prophet (saw) said, Three Duahs are such in which there is no doubt of their acceptance:

1) Sincere Duah from Parents for children and children’s Duah for Parents.

2) Traveler’s Duah

3) Duah of the oppressed”. (Tirmidhi, Ibn Majah)

11

I pray to Almighty Allah that some of the information should strengthen our resolve to make more Duahs and may it benefit all of us in many ways. Ameen…

12