Being Muslim and Dua:
Dua – That’s how you, being Muslim, connect with your RABB.
Dua – That’s how you, being Muslim, remain mindful about your RABB in your ALL affairs.
Dua – That’s how you, being Muslim, make ZIKR (remembrance) of your RABB.
Dua – That’s how you set your QADR.
Dua – That’s how you feel the presence of your RABB with you
Dua – That’s what makes you feel that Allah is watching over you. .
Dua – That’s how you build your TAWAQQUL on Allah!
Dua – That’s how you, being Muslim, make your journey towards Jannah easy In Shaa Allah.
What’s there in Dua? An Analysis:
When you are concerned to develop Love and Passion for Allah, that’s where the Dua comes in the place.
How do I say it?
Well, it is in the understanding of the Dua itself.
So, lets analyse briefly what is Dua meant for? What is it that Dua consists of?
Gratefulness – Sense of gratefulness, how do you develop that?
Praising – When do you praise? What makes you praise?
When you are amazed!
Asking for things – When do you ask? Who do you ask?
You ask when you know someone is capable of giving it.
You ask someone to whom you place your Hope.
You ask when you need it.
And then how desperately you ask depends on how desperately you need it.
And then how desperately you ask a particular person when you know that this is the only person who can give you what you ask for.
Seeking refuge – Whom do you seek refuge from?
You need to know the enemies (Al-Barr)
And then when do you seek refuge?
When you know how vulnerable you are.
What’s YOUR situation about Dua?
Is there a Muslim who doesn’t make Dua?
Many of you take a book of Dua and memorised a few Dua for sure.
Many of you do daily ajkar in the morning and evening.
But let me ask you,
Do you have a continuous practice of memorising Dua?
Do you have an intention of memorising all the Dua?
When did you last memorize a Dua?
Did you memorize a Dua today?
Or did you already memorize all the Dua that you need to make in all occasions of a Muslim?
No, you didn’t.
Most of you are settled in about whatever Dua you already memorized.
True or not?
Dua – That which a Muslim’s life is weaved:
Then I ask you, why do you think there’s so much Dua prescribed for us in the Quran and in Hadiths?
Did you ever wonder about that?
Why Rasulullah SallaAllahu Alaihi Wa Sallam himself made such Duas?
I just want you to have a look at any one of the Hadith books of supplication or the Dua chapter, you will find hundreds by each of the collectors of Hadiths and most of those are not common. Altogether it could be around a thousand Dua that Rasulullah Salla Allahu alaihi wa Sallam taught us. Subhanallah!
Why? How is it possible? When do you make all these Dua?
It seems it’s not Salah, nor Siam but Dua is the thing that which the life of a Muslim is weaved.
SubhanAllah!
Dua – the TOOL that keeps you mindful of Allah the entire day!
Look at the Dua that has been for anything and everything, you cannot have an occasion and situation but there is a Dua to ask for or praise Allah for it.
You open your eyes in the morning, make Dua.
You get up and sit on your bed, make Dua.
You step out of Bed, make Dua.
You go to toilet, make Dua.
You come out from toilet, make Dua.
Then, Tasbeah.
Ayatul Qursi.
You do Wudu, make Dua.
You wear a dress, make Dua.
You put off a dress, make Dua.
Drinking a glass of water, make Dua.
You seating or standing or lying, make Dua.
Then whatever you do, you start with Bismillah.
First glance to your family members, greetings, Salam, it’s a Dua.
You step out from home, make Dua.
You ride a transport, make Dua.
You meet a Muslim, make Dua. (Salam)
You become a guest, make Dua.
You have a guest, make Dua.
You discuss a good thing, make Dua.
You discuss a bad thing, make Dua.
You witness a good thing, make Dua.
You witness a bad thing, make Dua.
You receive good news, make Dua.
You receive bad news, make Dua.
You see good in your Muslim brother, make Dua.
You see a bad in your Muslim brother, make Dua.
You are praised, make Dua.
You are maligned, make Dua.
You are angry, make Dua.
You are distressed, make Dua.
You are confused which one to buy, make Dua.
You are not sure, which path is better, make Dua.
You plan work, make Dua.
You do a charity, make Dua,
You see cloud, make Dua,
You see rain, make Dua
You come back home, make Dua.
You cuddle your children, make Dua.
You see good in your Children, make Dua.
You see bad in your children, make Dua.
You are on the bed, make Dua.
You go to your spouse, make Dua.
Before you sleep, make Dua.
SubhanAllah!
There’s not a thing nor an event but for a Muttaqi there is a Dua that he engages his Rabb with it.
There’s not a thing nor an event that can stop a Muttaqi from remembering Allah or not being mindful of Allah. SubhanAllah!
Imagine now, you can’t escape those regular scenarios in your everyday life.
And these are just a few events of daily life that a Muttaqi makes Dua.
Then what about those Dua of praising Allah?
What about those Dua asking for help from Allah?
What about those Dua asking for refuge from Allah?
Subhanallah!
And then what about the Dua that Rasulullah Sallillahu alaihi wa sallam himself made for?
Dua saving from Kufr!
Ask yourself, how many of you ever made this Dua?
If Rasulullah Sallillahu Alaihi wa sallam had to make this Dua then how important it is to make this Dua when you live in the ocean of Shirk and Kufr!
And if you just do those Dua CONSCIOUSLY then is it possible that you remain unmindful about Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta’ala!
That’s what all this Dua is prescribed for so that you could develop an automatic mindfulness about your Rabb!
I know most of you are learning Dua from ‘Fortress of Muslim’ / ‘Hisnul Muslim’.
But that is a compilation of a scholar from a particular perspective.
If you think that book is enough for Dua then again you are constraint yourself following another intellectual mind.
The practice of Mindfulness – Which Dua are you memorizing Today?:
So, here is the way to have continuous practice for life.
Every day after Magreeb Salah you will increase in memorizing a Dua for just ONE minute. That’s it! You will make this habit for LIFE.
We choose this time to coincide with the time of making Dua as you do in the evening. Sometimes a Dua might take a week or even a month to memorise but the point is, you will know that you are in the process of memorising a Dua every day! You may do more and continue memorising it at other times but at least at Magrib time you will reconcile where are you, what you learn, and what you need to learn.
Start with a ‘Fortress of the Muslims’ or ‘Dua from the Quran’ Hard copy or a mobile app. Go through the list, mark, and prioratise Dua as per your situation.
And then when you will be doing a ‘Hadith Reading Program’ you will get many Dua from Hadith Books. You can capture an image from the book you are reading and develop an archive of Dua on your mobile or any other way you prefer. Never be out of the storage of Dua In Shaa Allah!
So, engraved it in your family practice. Force everybody for as long as they are habituated to keep learning a Dua every day! Every Muslim must have this practice until they are able to reach to phase 4 (describe below) of making Dua in each and every aspect of life. This is essential to ‘Being a Muslim’.
Every Muslim child should have this practice from the time they are able to speak, (age 3/4.). Parents should teach them while walking them to the Masjid, transporting them in the car, or taking them to the classes. And everybody should remind others in the family or in the Masjid, inquiring, “Which Dua you are memorizing Today?”
Making Dua – Doing with CONSCIOUSNESS:
You have already been practicing most of these Dua but most of the Dua you make only as a habit.
Ask yourself, how many of these daily Tasbeah and Dua do you do consciously?
From today, In Shaa Allah, I expect you to do two things:
You will be conscious of Dua.
Then you will consciously make Dua to mean it.
And here is a process to have a gradual engagement with Dua.
Learning to make effective Dua – The Phases:
1. First step is memorizing. When you finish memorising you MUST go back to read the Hadith where the Dua is extracted from. Read the Hadith mindfully, and note what conditions/reasons are attached to it. So that you DON’T MISS the part of INTENTION that you need to attach while making Dua. This will help you to be MINDFUL about Dua In Shaa Allah.
2. Then, learning the meaning.
3. After that, Contemplate (Critical Reasoning) the meaning of Dua.
4. Finally, Consciously making the Dua.
A Simple Math – Hope in Allah (Tawaqqul)
What is the best deed of a Muslim?
Jihad
Who is the one tested most?
A Mujaheed. (2:141-151)
What is required while you undergo testing?
Sabr (2:152)
How do you attain Sabr?
By Tawaqqul on Allah. (2:152)
How do you attain Tawaqqul?
Constant Dua is an ACT that imprints built-in Tawaqqul on Allah in your heart, SubhanAllah!
It’s a Simple Math!
And your willingness in making Dua is the manifestation of your hope in Allah Tabaraka Wa Ta’ala.
Why do you make Dua for?
Because you have Hoped from Allah!
The characteristic of the Dua in itself is Tawaqqul.
You already shaped your mind to have Tawaqqul in Allah.
SubhanAllah, your desire, and your willingness to learn Duas continuously itself is proof of how much Tawaqqul you want to build on Allah.
And when you build a solid ground of Tawaqqul on Allah, En Shaa Allah, you will never find the unsecured minds that produce ‘But’s and ‘If’s for going for any slight deviation from Allah’s commands and prohibitions.
And Allah knows best.
I ask Allah Tabaraka Wa Ta’ala to make learning Deen easy for us.
Ameen.