DUA

DUA  '

by Huma Ahmad

 Dua is defined as any invocation or prayer addressed to
Allah (SWT).  In our times, we find many reasons why people do 
not make Dua; we forget, don't know how, or just do not think 
it will be answered.  Fundamental to this is the loss of 
dependence and trust upon Allah.  As Muslims there is
something very wrong when we believe our Duas won't be answered.
We do not turn to Allah in our times of need and instead put our
trust, dependence and hopes on worldly things that we think will
help us. Although these temporal things are the means through
which our Duas can be answered, the root of our being should be
trained automatically to turn to Allah and not anything or
anyone else.  Through Dua, we strengthen our Imaan and our
relationship with Allah, as well as heighten our awareness of
cause and effect that can help inspire and motivate us to be
closer to Islam in our lives.

 We find many reassurances throughout the Quran for those
who make Dua.  Allah the Exalted, has said:  "And your
Lord says: Pray unto me: and I will hear your prayer" (Quran
40:60), "Call upon your Lord Humbly and in secret" (Quran 7:55),
"When My servants question thee concerning Me, I am indeed close
(to them):  I listen to the prayer of every suppliant when he
calleth on Me" (Quran 2:186), "Is not He (best) who listens to
the (soul) distressed when it calls on Him, and who relieves its
suffering." (Quran 27:62)

 Aisha radhiallaahu anha said, "No believer makes Dua and
it is wasted.  Either it is granted here in this world
or deposited for him in the Hereafter as long as he does not get
frustrated."

 In fact, it is even wrong to never make Dua, "Whosoever
does not supplicate to Allah, He will be angry with Him."
[Saheeh Jaami`as-Sagheer #2414]

 A Hadith says "Ad-Du'aa Huwal-3ibaadah",[Abu
Dawud,at-Tirmidhi, Hasan Saheeh], Dua is Ibadah so calling 
upon anyone other than Allah in one's Dua is Shirk. This
is an important condition of having one's Dua accepted; the Dua
should not be directed to other than Allah alone.  A second
condition would be sincerity or Hudoor alqalb, having the heart
present.  Also, one's food, drink, clothes and lifestyle should
be Halal.  One should avoid unlawful, impious or forbidden
sources or means of livelihood.  Fourth, one cannot ask for
something sinful or Haram.  Dua should not be made against
family and property (i.e. to sever the ties of kinship).

 If one asks Allah to curse someone, it rises up to
heaven and goes to the person if they are deserving, if
not it returns to the person supplicating.  Patience is another
condition.  This perseverance in making Dua is important.  One
should not say "Why hasn't Allah answered my Dua" or "I have
prayed and prayed so many times, but the same was not accepted"
and then become disappointed and give up praying.  An example of
this is like a person who planted a seed or a sapling, and kept
looking after it and watering it and when its complete shape and
height was slow in coming, they left it and forgot about it.

 Lastly one should have expectation, belief with
certainty only Allah can answer the Dua. Understanding
dependence on Allah and asking with absolute resolve and
believing with certainty that one's Dua  will be answered is a
also a condition of acceptance. One should not say "O Allah do
this...if you wish..." because one should appeal to Allah with
determination, for nobody can force Allah to do something
against his Will. If one fulfills these conditions, Allah will
definitely answer the Dua, avert some equivalent evil or give
better in the Hereafter.

 We can and should make Dua in every condition, i.e. in
hardship and in prosperity.  There are also some special
times to make Dua where it is more likely to be accepted:

  1.  When one is oppressed 
  2.  Between the time of Athan and Iqama 
  3.  At the time of the call for prayer 
  4.  At the time of fighting when warriors are engaged with
  each other 
  5.  When it is raining 
  6.  When one is sick
  7.  The last third of the night 
  8.  Ramadan (especially Lailatul Qadr) 
  9.  After the Fard part of prayer 
  10. When traveling 
  11. When breaking fast 
  12. In Sujood 
  13. Fridays, some say on Friday after Asr prayer 
  14. While drinking the water from the well of Zamzam 
  15. At the start of prayer (Dua of Istiftah) 
  16. When one begins the prayer, i.e. with "all praise be to 
  Allah, the Pure and the Blessed one" 
  17. While one recites al-Fatiha (which is a Dua) 
  18. When Ameen is said in the prayer (also relating to Fatiha) 
  19. At the time of raising the head after the Rukoo 
  20. In the last part of the prayer after conveying blessings 
  unto the Prophet (SAW) 
  21. Before finishing the prayer (before Tasleem (saying the 
  Salaam to the angels)) 
  22. At the end of Wudu 
  23. On the day of Arafah 
  24. On waking up from sleep 
  25. At times of adversity 
  26. Prayer after the death of a person 
  27. Dua when someone's heart is filled with sincerity and 
  when it is focused on Allah 
  28. Dua of the parent against or for his children 
  29. When the sun moves from its meridian but before the 
  Dhuhr prayer 
  30. The Dua of a Muslim for his brother without the latter's 
  knowledge
  31. At the time the army advances to fight in the way
  of Allah.

Dua can be beautified and perfected by certain actions:

 1. Have Wudu, face Qibla, be neat and clean 
 2. Raise both hands up to the shoulder with palms open facing up
 3. Use words of Allah and Muhammad (SAW)-
  i.e. Duas found in Quran and Hadith 
 4. Ask by Asma alHusna- Allah's Beautiful Names 
 5. Ask Allah by your good deeds 
 6. Be insistent-repeat (i.e. 3x's) 
 7. Glorify Allah and recite Durud for the Prophet (SAW) at
 both the beginning and end 
 8. Show humility, entreaty, desire and fear while making Dua 
 9. Repent and try to make amends where one has wronged 
 10. Confess mistakes, shortcomings, and sins 
 11. Keep voice between a whisper and speaking aloud 
 12. Show the need for Allah's help and implore Him for release 
 from weakness, hardship and tribulation.  
 13. Seize the opportunity of time, situation and circumstance in
 which prayers are answered 
 14. Avoid rhymed prose to keep concentration 
 15. Crying when making Dua 
 16. The Dua of Dhun-Nun (Yunus) by which he invoked Allah from
 within the belly of the whale was:  "LAa ilaha illa
  Anta, Subhanaka innee kuntu min aDH-DHaalimeen."
  No Muslim ever makes Dua with it but Allah
  answers it." [at tirmidhi in his sunan, ahmad
  and hakim reported it and hakim declared it
  authentic and adh dhahabee agreed] 
 17. End with "Alhamdulillah rabbil alameen"


 We should ask for Dunya things, but not just for the
sake of Dunya itself and for Akhirah things. We should
not ask for punishment to be brought forward in this world or
for early death.  We should not curse any particular human being
or animal, abuse a Muslim for no reason, abuse dead people
without cause and religious excuse, or abuse fever or the wind.
We should not make Dua by saying we have been given rain by this
or that star or what Allah willed, and so and so willed. We
should not make Dua against family and property or for sinful
acts and severing the bonds.

 In the end there can be reasons why the Dua might not be
answered such as not fulfilling conditions like some of
the ones listed above or:  Divine Wisdom, trying to  hurry the
response of one's Dua, Dua for what is sinful or the breaking
off of relations, eating, drinking, or dressing from what is
Haram, not being resolute in making Dua, abandoning the duty of
enjoining what is good and shunning the  evil, the dominance of
unmindfulness, lust and vain desires, not being  submissive
during Salah, or committing particular sins (not divorcing a
vile  woman, giving a loan without a witness, and a man who gave
his wealth to the foolish)

 More information on Dua can be found in a book in
English, a translation of Kitaab ud-Du`aa' by Shaykh
al-`Awaa'ishah (published by Jam`iat Ihyaa Minhaaj al-Sunnah),
the Book of Supplications in Al-Bukhari and Riyadh us Saleheen
and Ajawab Alkafi by Imam Shams Adeen Mohamad bin AbiBakr Bin
Qayem Ajawyzeyah.  Jazakamullahu khairan to those who corrected
and added to the above compilation.  May Allah make us of those
that oft turn to Him in Dua.  Ameen.

THE TYPES OF HEARTS

As-Salamu Alaykum (peace be upon you),

THE TYPES OF HEARTS

Narrated by Ibn Bashir: I heard Allah's Apostle saying:

"Both legal and illegal things are evident but in between them there are doubtful (suspicious) things and most of the people have no knowledge about them. So whoever saves himself from these suspicious things saves his religion and his honor. And whoever indulges in these suspicious things is like a shepherd who grazes (his animals) near the pastures of someone else and at any moment he is liable to get in it. (O people!) Beware! Every king has a pasture and the pasture of Allah on the earth is His illegal (forbidden) things. Beware! There is a piece of flesh in the body if it becomes good (reformed) the whole body becomes good but if it gets spoilt the whole body gets spoilt and that is the heart." [Bukhari]

It is clear from this Hadith that the heart is the essence of the whole body.

So what do we mean by a good and bad heart? Are we saying a bad heart is on the brink of a heart attack, clogged and cluttered with cholesterol and a healthy heart is of the one who cares for his health, eating well and exercising so his heart is strong.

NO!

This Hadith describes the doubtful matters, the matters that are not clearly forbidden or clearly permissible, the matters that one has no knowledge of. The one who avoids the doubtful matters, is keeping himself clear from what is unlawful. And the one who indulges in these matters, is likely to slip into the unlawful.

Clearly, with the warning that follows this must mean that the dealing in the doubtful and unlawful matters has an effect on the heart. So this is what we mean by the health of the heart.

To further emphasize the importance of the heart, the Hadith transmitted on the authority of Abu Hurairah with some addition:

"Verily Allah does not look to your bodies nor to your faces but He looks to your hearts," and he pointed towards the heart with his fingers." [Muslim]

So if Allah if going to look to our hearts, wouldn't you want your heart to be in the perfect condition? How much effort do we put into making our house, our personal presentation beautiful when we are expecting our fellow Muslims to visit? They are only the creations of Allah , surely we must exert much more effort in our presentation to Allah . We are unaware of what moment our souls will be taken from us forever, so we must make sure the house of our heart is spotless at all times.

To be able to do this we must first understand what condition our heart is in. Understand the different types and conditions of the heart.

The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said:

"The hearts are four types: polished as shiny as the radiating lamp, a sealed heart with a knot tied around its seal, a heart that is turned upside down and a wrapped heart. As for the polished heart, it is the heart of the believer and the lamp is the light of faith. The sealed heart is the heart of the disbeliever. The heart that is turned upside down is the heart of the pure hypocrite, because he had knowledge but denied it. As for the wrapped heart, it is a heart that contains belief and hypocrisy. The example of faith in this heart, is the example of the herb that is sustained by pure water. The example of hypocrisy in it, is the example of an ulcer that thrives on puss and blood. Whichever of the two substances has the upper hand, it will have the upper hand of that heart." [Ahmad]

This Hadith describes the types of hearts.


The Healthy Heart

We start first with the heart that is polished as shiny as the radiating lamp. This is the heart of the believer in Allah and His messengers and the radiating lamp is the light of faith.

There are so many references in the Quran describing the healthy, believing heart. Allah says:

"The believers are only those who, when Allah is mentioned, feel a fear in their hearts and when His Verses are recited unto them, they increase their Faith; and they put their trust in their Lord (Alone);"[Noble Quran 8:2]

"...who patiently bear whatever may befall them (of calamities)"[Noble Quran 22:35]

"And those who give charity and also do other good deeds with their hearts full of fear (whether their charities have been accepted or not), because they are sure to return to their Lord (for reckoning)." [Noble Quran 23:60]

"He it is Who sent down (calmness and tranquility) into the hearts of the believers, that they may grow more in Faith along with their (present) Faith..." [Noble Quran 48:4]

This heart is filled with fear, fear for disobeying Allah, fear of whether their good deeds will be accepted, fear of the Punishment of disobedience, fear of not reaching Paradise. And also patience for whatever befalls them, calmness and tranquility, having Faith in their Creator that everything is the Will of Allah.

Allah also says:

"And that those who have been given knowledge may know that it is the truth from your Lord, and that they may believe therein, and their hearts may submit to it with humility."

"And verily, Allah is the Guide of those who believe, to the Straight Path." [Noble Quran 22:54]

And this is the best part of a healthy heart, is the gift of understanding the knowledge. These hearts are filled with the knowledge that Allah has sent, it wasn't lost in the throat, in the chest, it sank into the heart and cleansed it, polished it so it would shine like a radiating lamp, filling the whole body with the desire to please Allah and fearful of displeasing Him.


The Dead Heart

Then we have two other types described in the previous Hadith "...a sealed heart and a heart that is turned upside down..."

These are the dead hearts. These are the hearts of the disbelievers, the ones who rejected the signs of Allah and who brought upon themselves the wrath of Allah.

The sealed heart is the heart that never believed. As described in the interpretation of the meaning of the Quran:

"Allah has set a seal on their hearts and on their hearings, and on their eyes there is a covering. Theirs will be a great torment." [Noble Quran 2:7]

Again it is most beautifully described in the Quran:

"Or the state of the disbeliever is like the darkness in a vast deep sea" [Noble Quran 24:40]

The other type of dead heart, is the upside down heart, the heart of the hypocrite. The one who has had knowledge and rejected it. For him is the lowest, most horrific abode in the Hellfire.

In the Interpretation of the meaning of the Quran, Allah says:

"And We shall turn their hearts and their eyes away (from guidance), as they refused to believe therein for the first time, and We shall leave them in their trespass to wander blindly." [Noble Quran 6:110]

They are arrogant in their thoughts:

"The Hypocrites - they think they are over-reaching Allah, but He will over- reach them: When they stand up to pray, they stand without earnestness, to be seen of men, but little do they hold Allah in remembrance;" [Noble Quran 4:142]

They oppose the laws of Islam:

"The Hypocrites, men and women, (have an understanding) with each other: They enjoin evil, and forbid what is just, and are closed with their hands. They have forgotten Allah. so He hath forgotten them. Verily the Hypocrites are rebellious and perverse." [Noble Quran 9:67]

And they are insulting towards the beloved Prophet of Allah, as Allah explains:

"And behold! The Hypocrites and those in whose hearts is a disease (even) say: "(Allah) and His Messenger promised us nothing but delusion!" [Noble Quran 33:12]

Certainly this shows the lowest nature of these hearts.


The Sick Heart

Now we examine the nature of the sick heart.

It is true that words of the Prophet (peace be upon him) come clear and sweet, as only he can explain the sick heart and leave no doubt to it's meaning:

"...As for the wrapped heart, it is a heart that contains belief and hypocrisy. The example of faith in this heart, is the example of the herb that is sustained by pure water. The example of hypocrisy in it, is the example of an ulcer that thrives on puss and blood. Whichever of the two substances has the upper hand, it will have the upper hand of that heart."

This is the heart of the believer in Allah, and the Last Day, but they are wavering in their faith. Their desires pull them away from their Creator and they are focused on the delights of the Dunya with little regard for the ultimate delights that could await them in the Hereafter. They are drowning in sinful behavior and slow to repent.

Their hearts have been described by the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him)

"...and the other (heart) black and dust-colored like a vessel which is upset, not recognizing what is good or rejecting what is abominable, but being impregnated with passion." [Muslim]

We all, as believing Servants of Allah have times where we fall into this category, where our focus is diverted from the Hereafter and we become lost in the trials and delights of this short life we are currently living. It is a time when belief is weakened and fear of Allah is reduced.

Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said:

"There is (at times) some sort of shade upon my heart, and I seek forgiveness from Allah a hundred times a day." [Muslim]

Surely, on hearing this we must ask ourselves, the heart of the Prophet (peace be upon him) must be the healthiest of all hearts, he has been labeled the best of all Mankind, so if his heart feels a shade upon it and feels that he needs to seek forgiveness 100 times a day, we must ask...what must we do to have a healthy heart?

Repent sincerely, with full hope of Allah's Mercy and Forgiveness, and strive in His cause to better ourselves and the deeds that we do.