Resolution 2 - Dua Update & Other Resolutions

Alhumdulillah, so far so good. I have been trying hard to make dua regularly and it's been going pretty well. Most days, I am making dua in sajdah after almost all prayers. I'm also trying to make dua regularly at other times like just before salaah at prayer time.

There's also a book that comes highly recommended about Dua. It's called "Dua - The weapon of the Believer" by Sh. Yasir Qasir. I haven't read much of it so far but for those who want to learn about the art of making dua, the importance of making dua and many other things, it's a really good place to start.

Here is an excerpt from the book:

12. Leaving Du'a is a Sign of Laziness
The Porphet (saw) said:
The most incapable (or lazy) person is he who does not make du'a, and the most miserly is he who does not give salam.
How true are these Prophetic words of wisdom! For what energy does it take a person to make du'a to Allah? And what greater sign of laziness and incapability is there than the one who leaves this act that does not take up any of his time or effort?

Among my resolutions was to also read Surah Kahf on Fridays and alhumdulillah I've already been doing so. For those interested in reading about the hadith on the importance of reciting Surah Kahf. Do check my previous blog post on the matter here. Since that's been going well, I'll update on it next month inshallah.

My next plan is to start praying tahajjud regularly so inshallah, from the month of March, I'll start working on it. I'll post more details and hadith on the importance of it then and why I chose this to be my next resolution to work on.

Resolution 2 - Dua

For the month of Feb, my plan was to make dua after every salah. The reasoning for this is, it is well known among Muslims that Dua is the weapon of a believer. And I remember once upon a time telling people to make dua whenever they can. But for some reason, it was never my habit to sit and make dua regularly. So I decided that in order to make it easier for me to build up to making dua after all prayers, I'll start by making dua in sajdah for at least 3 prayers in a day. And that worked much better than forcing myself to make dua after every prayer because sometimes I'm just too jumpy and have so much on my mind about what all I have to do, I don't sit down to make dua or simply forget. *blush*

It was a bad habit which is why it is my second resolution. It's past the mid month mark and although Feb is shorter than other months, it's already working. I decided that if I'm going to be making dua I should try to make it in the best way. So the 2 main things I've implemented are making dua in sajdah and starting by praising Allah followed by making dua for our Prophet (pbuh).

From Sahih Bukhari:

Abu Huraira reported: The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) said: The nearest a servant comes to his Lord is when he is prostrating himself, so make supplication (in this state). (Book #004, Hadith #0979)

Narrated Faddalah ibn Ubayd (RA): that the Messenger of Allah (SAW) said: 'When anyone of you makes du'a, let him start by glorifying his Lord and praising Him, then let him send blessings upon the Prophet (SAW), then let him pray for whatever he wants'
[abu Dawud #1481, at-Tirmidhi #3477]

In another hadith; Baqiy ibn Mukhallid (RA) narrated that that the Messenger of Allah (SAW) said: 'Every du'a is not responded to until one sends blessings upon the Prophet (SAW)' [al-Bayhaqi]

In another hadith; Umar (RA) narrated that the Prophet (SAW) said: 'Du'a is detained between the heavens and the earth and no part of it is taken up until you send blessings upon your Prophet (SAW)' [at-Tirmidhi #486]

I've also begun making dua after the azaan. InshaAllah, I'll be updating next month on how much of a habit I've developed and how successful I've been in making duas after every salah.

Just An Update

InshaAllah, everyone had a lovely Dhul-hijjah and Eid and made the best use of the days. :)

Been quite busy the last few days. Google finally sent me an invite to join googlewave! Actually, I felt it was quite fast so I would definitely recommend people to sign up for a googlewave account directly.

Just a suggestion for this week: If there's something you really need, start making dua for it whenever you remember. The more times you ask, the more likely Allah (swt) will accept it. Just make sure when you ask, you are absolutely sincere.

Do let me know if it works. :D

Duas Unanswered

There are times in our lives when we are concerned about our duas not being accepted but one should not feel disheartened.

Allah says in the Quran:
"When my servants ask thee concerning Me, I am indeed close to them: I respond to the prayer of every suppliant when he calleth on Me; let them also, with a will, listen to My call and believe in Me: that they may walk in the right way"
(surah Baqarah 2:186)

He (swt) listens to every supplication and either the dua is answered or it is kept for a later time or Allah (swt) removes some misfortune from the path of the person or it is kept to be given as a reward in the Hereafter.
The Prophet (pbuh) said:
“If a Muslim invokes Allah for other than sin or the severing of relations, Allah in turn responds to his Du'a in one of three ways; either He accepts it (and grants what was asked for),or He delays its reward to the Hereafter, or He removes a calamity from him that equals his Du'a (in magnitude). The Companions said, “ We will then supplicate often.” The Prophet (pbuh) replied, “Allah will reward you greatly.” [Ahmad, Bazzar, Abu Ya’la and Hakim]
The Prophet (pbuh) explained how the answer of a Du'a is good in all its forms even if it appears as though they were not answered. The Prophet (pbuh) said:
“On the day of judgement, Allah will call a believer until he stands before Him. ‘O My servant, I have commanded you to call upon Me and have promised to answer you. Did you truly call upon Me?’ He (the servant) will say, ‘Yes, my Lord.’ Allah will say, ‘Whenever you called upon Me I answered you. Did you not call upon Me on the day of such and such to relieve your calamity and I did?’The servant will say, ‘Yes my Lord.’ Allah will say, ‘I gave it you in the worldly life, Allah will add, ‘Did you not call upon Me on the day of such and such to relieve your calamity but it seemed that I did not reply to you.’ The servant will say, ‘Yes my Lord.’ Allah will say, ‘I compensated such and such for you in Paradise.’ Allah will say, ‘Did you not call on Me to meet your need and I did.’ The servant will say, ‘Yes my Lord.’ Allah will add, “I gave it to you in worldly life.’ ‘Did you not call on Me on the day of such and such to meet your need but it seemed that I did not reply to you.’ The servant will say, ‘Yes my Lord.’ Allah will say, ‘I compensated such and such for you in Paradise.” The Messenger of Allah said, “ Allah will never leave out any supplication of a believer unless He will expound this for him through the following; either He will give it to him in worldly life or delay it in the Hereafter. Thereupon, the believer will say, ‘I wish I was given nothing of my du'a in this world.” [Hakim]

So even if for some reason our duas seemed to not have been answered for this world, they will be as rewards in the Hereafter. The best thing to do then is to be assured that no matter what, we will always benefit from making duas.

Why Do We Forget?

Why do parents forget what it was like to be a child or an adolescent?

Why do the newly rich forget what it was like to be poor?

Why do the healthy forget what it was like to be sick?

Why do the married forget what the struggles were like to be single?

Why do we forget and become ungrateful for all the things we now have? Worse. Why do we start pointing fingers, looking down upon and hurting people who are now in the position we once were? Where has the empathy gone?

Why do friends forget what it was like to have none? Why do they suddenly start avoiding the friends who are in need, inspite of them being there through thick and thin? What makes us act this way? So selfishly. As if the world revolves around us. As though we are right and everyone else is wrong. Our pain is pain but someone else's pain is nothing. Someone else's loss is meaningless.

How can we deal with people in such a selfish manner and then face Allah in prayer each day and cry in our duas asking for help and beg for mercy? Is that what Islam taught us? Do we even know Islam if this is our behaviour? If we can't want for our brother/sister (in Islam) what we want for ourselves, are we really good Muslims?

May Allah place mercy and empathy in our hearts. Ameen.

Avoid Suspicion

There are many evils in our society that cause disunity and disharmony amongst us. Among them is that of suspicion.

Allah (swt) says in the Holy Quran, 49:12 (Y. Ali):

"O ye who believe! Avoid suspicion as much (as possible): for suspicion in some cases is a sin: And spy not on each other behind their backs. Would any of you like to eat the flesh of his dead brother? Nay, ye would abhor it...But fear Allah. For Allah is Oft-Returning, Most Merciful."

Suspicion can ruin every relationship. And the Prophet (peace be upon him) clarified how satan works to ruin our relationships and impressions of each other through suspicion as mentioned in the following hadith, Bukhari's Book of Manners #1293, Muslim and Abu Dawud:

Anas reported that a man passed by while the Prophet of Allah, upon him be peace, was with one of his wives. The Prophet called the man and said, 'O So and so. This is my wife, so and so." The man replied, What I might have thought about another, I would never think about you." The Prophet, upon him be peace, said, "Shaytan [satan] will circulate through a person just like blood circulates [through one's veins]."

Therefore, it is permissible to call over a person and inform them of the facts, so that they will not be suspicious.

Finally, in another hadith also talks about why we should be wary suspicion:

Abu Huraira, r.a., reported that the Prophet of Allah, upon him be peace, said, "Be careful of suspicion, for it is the most mistaken of all speech. Do not spy on others, compete* among yourselves, envy one another, or despise one another. Rather, be servants of Allah and brothers!"

The following is a dua for the removal of suspicion and doubt from the heart (Source):

(Quran 23:97) وَقُل رَّبِّ أَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنْ هَمَزَاتِ الشَّيَاطِينِ
(Quran 23:98) وَأَعُوذُ بِكَ رَبِّ أَن يَحْضُرُونِ
My Lord! I seek your protection from the prompting of the Devils; and my Lord! I seek your protection from them approaching me.

Ameen!