Zulaykha Abodunrin
How often do you want to make heartfelt dua, yet struggle to convey your words to Allah? Or, even when making a general dua, do you feel like you are loss for words? Or do you just concur that afterall Allah created you and He knows what you want so that’s that!?
Making dua (prayers) is an important part of our faith and belief because as muslims we only rely on Allah for our needs, We ask from Almighty Allah for everything that we want in our life no matter its how big or small. Dua is a means of keeping in touch with Allah and due to Dua, we get closer to our Lord. So, Dua is a source of keeping the supplicant closer to the Almighty Allah.
Allah Almighty says in the Holy Quran:When my servants ask you concerning me, (tell them) I am indeed close (to them). I listen to the prayer of every suppliant when he calls on me.(Quran, 2:186). So with this verse, we can say that Allah Almighty listens to us when we make Dua. We should always seek help from Allah. But how many of us actually know how to go about this.
Many times, you hear people say that they do not know how to make du’a. This is not to say that they do not have anything to ask Allah, but a lot of Muslims have been programmed to think that having a heart to heart talk with Allah is unattainable and far fetched.
Allah created us; He knows and loves us in ways we can not even fathom, regardless of what we have done. Hence, the act of making du’a is first and foremost a recognition of the Might and Power of our Lord. It is an acceptance of the fact that we are powerless and helpless without Him.
HOW TO MAKE DU’A
- Start off by doing Istighfar, then do SubhanaLlah, WalhamduliLlah, Allahu Akbar, and send Salawat on the prophet saw (Allahummasalli…)
- Call Allah by His most beautiful names. E.g., Al-Rahman, Al-Raheem, Al-Khaliq. Imagine someone
- Face the qiblah
‘Umar (ra) narrated, “..then the Prophet (saw) turned to face the qiblah, then he stretched forth his hands and started to cry out to his Lord”
- Raise your hands into the position of making dua (both hands slightly above your shoulders, facing skywards.
- Have faith that your dua will be accepted and Allah will respond one way or another
Ibn al-Jawzi (rh) said. “I think part of the test is when a believer supplicates and receives no response, and he repeats the dua for a long time and sees no sign of a response. He should realise that this is a test and needs patience.”
- Ask frequently – don’t lose hope. Remember, Allah’s kingdom is vast, so do not restrict yourself when asking Him for something.
- Be firm in your asking – i.e. don’t say “Allah forgive me if you wish”, rather, beg Allah for exactly what you want.
Content of your dua:
- Ask Allah for exactly what you want. Talk to Allah like you’re having a conversation with Him. Describe to Him what’s on your mind. Tell Him how you feel. Be very precise in your dua.
- When making dua for all the Muslims around the world, don’t just end it at “Allah help all the Muslims.” Rather, be specific, describe to Allah what’s going on. Ask Him specifically for those in Rohingya, in Syria, in Gaza etc. For that, you’ll need to be aware of what’s happening to our brothers and sisters around the world. Do your research, stay aware and make dua for them all.
- Sometimes when we make dua, we run out of things to say and so we say ‘ameen’ and end our dua abruptly. However, don’t give up, when you face that silence in your dua, stay exactly how you are, there’s a beauty to being in silent communinion with Allah, just communicating in hushed tones, in unmoving lips but when you eventually think of many more things to make dua for, ask Him.
- Lastly, finish your dua off with salutations to the prophet (saw).
Also, it is important to stay off Haram thoughts, places, clothes, food generally because engaging in Haram sometimes stops our du’a from being answered. Also purge your mind of envy, hatred and try to forgive anyone who has hurt you.
