Salaam! 😃

Good news! Eid has officially come early! 😃 Bad news...it aint no Xmas :p lol! Relax, I kid, I kid lol.

ok serious! *clears throat*

August 23rd - Chapter 7: The Recommended Times for Du'a

Of the great mercy of Allah is that He has favoured certain times over others and has distinguised them so that the worshipper can eagerly anticipate their arrival so he can pray earnestly and sincerely. Had all the times been the same, the worshipper would not have had the same enthusiasm that exists during the more blessed times.

1. Du'a in the Last Third of the Night

"Our Lord descends every night, during the last third of it, to the skies of this world, and asks: 'Who is making du'a to Me so that I can respond to him? Who is asking Me, so that I can give him? Who is asking for My forgiveness, so that I can forgive him?'"

How to work out the last third of the night

2. .An Hour of the Night

In additon to the hadith pertaining to du'a at the last third of the night, there are also ahadith informing us that there is a general time at night during which du'as are responded to. The prophet(saw) said: "There is at night an hour, no muslim happens to be asking Allah any matter of this world or the Hereafter, except that he will be given it, and this (occurs) every night. (As this hour isn't specified, I think it just implies that you should make frequent du'a at night so that it may fall within this hour?)

3. Du'a When the Adhan is Called

This is based on the hadith of the prophet(saw): "Two (du'as) are never rejected, or rarely rejected: the du'a during the call for prayer, and the du'a during the calamity when the two armies attack each other."

4. Du'a Between the Adhan and Iqamah

Five times every day, while a worshipper is waiting to offer his prayers to Allah, he is given the opportunity to ask from Him his needs. Anas ibn Malik narrates that the prophet(saw) said: "The du'a said between the adhan and the iqamah is not refused, therefore offer your du'as (at this time)

(iqamah: another call to prayer that is said just before the actual salah.)

5. Du'a during the salat

Some of the postures of the salat during which the performance of du'a has been narrated are as follows:

1) After the initial takbir (Allahu Akbar), when one is starting the salat.

2) Before the ruku and after one has finished reciting the Quran - but this is only for witr/qunut prayers.

3) After one has stood up from ruku

4) During the ruku itself

5) During the sujud, and this was the posture during which the prophet(saw) made most of his du'a

6) While sitting between the 2 sajdahs.

7) After the final tashahud, and before the end of the prayer.

These postures are in addition to the du'as that he ﷺ used to do while actually reciting the Quran. Hudhayfah narrated in this respect: "I prayed one night behind the prophet(saw),and he started reciting surah al-Baqarah. I thought to myself 'He will surely stop after a hundred verses.' However (after he reached a hundred verses), he went on, so I said to myself 'He will surely finish the surah in this rak'ah.' When he finished al-Baqarah, I thought, 'He will surely go into ruku now' but he started surah al-Nisa, and continued reciting it until he finished. Then he started reciting surah al-Imran and he completed its recitation!...whenever he read a verse in which Allah was glorified, he would glorify Allah,a dn whenever he read a verse which requested something (from Allah), he would request it, and whenever he read a verse that sought refuge in Allah, he would seek refuge in Allah.."

So when a person is reciting the Quran in a voluntary prayer, they are encouraged to make du'a whenever one occurs in the Quran. It is not encouraged for the obligatory prayers however.

6. Du'a whilst prostrating

7. While reciting al-Fatihah

There are many blessings contained within surah al-Fatihah, and of these is the fact that Allah accepts the du'a that is present in the surah

(See comments for the hadith relating to this)

8. After al-Fatihah

When the imam says 'Amin' then recite it behind him (as well) because whoever's 'Amin' coincides with the Amin of the angels will have all his sins forgiven.

Salaam 😃

August 23rd - Chapter 6: Discouraged Acts during Du'a final part

13. To Imply That One Will Not Ask Anything Else

It is all too common to hear a person say "Oh Allah! Please grant me such and such and I will not ask you anything else after this!" Such thinking has 2 major problems with it. Firstly, it implies that Allah is not Generous, as such a condition is usually put to someone who is miserly. Secondly it implies that a person is self-sufficient and not in need of Allah's response to his du'as. As if the person can live without Allah's blessings! Verily every breath that we take is because of Allah's blessings, and no-one can be free of Allah's help even for the twinkling of an eye. So make du'a and make plenty of du'a for Allah's Generosity is more than all that you can possibly ask for.

14. To Experiment in One's Du'a

This occurs when a person thinks to himself 'Let me make a du'a and see if Allah responds to me or not'. Such thinking conflicts with the sincerity and humility that is needed for a du'a to be answered.

15. To Have Evil Intentions

16. To Make Frequent Mistakes

It is all too common to hear people that do not speak Arabic properly making du'a with grammatical errors in them. Such a person might even change the whole meaning of the du'a without realising. (This is why it is preferrable for a person who speaks arabic to lead the congregation and give the khutbah.

17. To Rely on Others to Make Du'a

While it is permissible to ask another person to make du'a for one's self (will be discussed later), it is improper to rely on that person totally to the extent that one fails to perform du'a himself

18. To Cry Out Loud in Public

A person should try to control his crying in front of other people, for it is a private worship between him and his Creator. If however, a person is overcome with emotion and cannot control himself, then he is excused, but it is a mistake to make it a continual habit in public.

19. To Make Excessively Long Du'as in Congregation

The prophet(saw) prohibited Mu'adh from reciting a long surah while he was Imam, and he stated that this would cause hardship upon the muslims.

20. To Mention Himself Only if He is Imam

TThe Imam is responsible for the welfare of the entire congregation. Therefore, when he makes du'a in the witr of qunut prayer, he should say "Oh Allah! Forgive us" and not "forgive me". This only applies to the du'a that is done out loud. For the du'a that he does silently in sujud etc he is allowed to pray for himself.

and that concludes the end of this chapter! 😃

Coming up next inshAllah: Chapter 7 - The Recommended Times for Du'a

Even shorter than yday, I know I knw! But I thought it better if the start the new chapter in a new thread. Your patience is MUCH appreciated! 😃

Salaam 😃

August 22nd - Chapter 6: Discouraged Acts during Du'a continued

8. To Curse Someone

The prophet(saw) said: "The muslim is not (given to) harming others, or cursing them, or being vulgar, or obscene."

Once, the Companions were whipping an individual that had been caught drinking wine. Umar(ra) in his anger, cursed the man. Hearing this, the prophet(saw) said: "Don't say that! Don't help Shaytan against him!"

Even while inflicting this punishment, it is not allowed to curse or harm him in any other manner. If this is the case with a drunkard, then how much more so for a muslim that has committed a much smaller sin or no crime at all!

It is also prohibited to curse the dead, for the prophet(saw) said: "Do not curse the dead, for they have already gone forth to what they have sent." So there is nothing to be gained by cursing them. This applies to all dead people, except those whom Allah or the prophet(saw) cursed.

Cursing is even prohibited when it comes to inanimate objects, diseases or animals. The prophet(saw) said: "The wind is of the helpers of Allah. It brings His Mercy and His Punishment. So when you see it, do not curse it, and ask Allah its good, and seek refuge in him from its evil."

In another hadith, the prophet(saw)said: "Do not curse the rooster for it wakes up (people) for the prayer."

In another hadith, the prophet(saw) entered upon Umm al-Sa'ib. and found her shivering. He asked her what her problem was, so she replied " I have a fever, may Allah not bless it!" The prophet(saw) then said: "Do not curse the fever, for it rids the sins of the children of Adam like a furnace rids iron of its evil."

9. To Limit Mercy

Abu Hurayrah(ra) reported: "A Bedouin man who was praying with us said 'O Allah! Have Mercy on myself and Muhammad, and do not have mercy on any besides us two!' After the prophet(saw) had finished his prayer, he smiled and said: 'Indeed, you have confined something very vast (meaning the Mercy of Allah)!'"

It is not a part of faith to limit Allah's Mercy and neither is a person capable of doing so for Allah states: " And My Mercy prevails over all things!"

10. To Pray for Death

The prophet(saw) clearly stated that the life of a believer only brings more good, for Abu Hurayrah reported him(saw) as saying: "None of you should wish for death, nor should he make du'a for it before it comes to him. Verily, once one of you dies, his deeds are cut off, and the the extension of the life of the believer can only be for the better!"

11. Du'a for Evil and Hastiness in Du'a

12. To Look Upwards During the Prayer

The prophet ﷺ prohibited this for he said: "Surely the people will stop raising their eyes towards the skies while they are making du'a in salat, or their sight will be snatched from them!"

The desired humility of du'a will not be achieved when one raises one's head arrogantly towards the skies, rather one should have a humble and lowly appearance.

Salaam 😃

August 20th - Chapter 5: The Etiquette of Du'a (final part)

19. To Say Amin

When a person is listening to someone else making du'a, it is recommended the he says Amin, which means 'O Allah! Accept (or respond) to this du'a. It is like repeating the du'a all over again through the use of just that small phrase.

To say Amin after reciting Surah al-Fatihah is encouraged, regardless of whether one is praying, or reciting it outside the prayer, and regardless of whether one is the Imam or the follower. At all such times Amin should be stated with an audible voice

When Musa prayed to Allah to punish Pharaoh, it is said that Harun was behind him saying Amin. Yet even though Musa was actually the one who made the du'a, Allah said in the Quran: "Your (both of you) prayers have been answered!" - Surah Yunus

Mistakes in pronounciations:

1) Prolonging the alif - Aaaaaameen

2) Making the alif too short - Ameen. The length of

the alif should be 2 harakas (Aameen)

3 Placing an assimilation (shadda) on the meem so it becomes Ammmmeen

As for the last syllable it is permissible to shorten it to harakahs or pronlong it upto 6 (Ameeeeen)

20. To Make Du'a at All Times

In other words, du'a should be done at times of ease and hardship. Many people have a bad habit of only praying when a calamity befalls them, or when they wish for a particular good to occur. This goes against the attitude of the believer, for a true believer always remembers Allah. The prophet(saw) stated:

"Whoever wishes that Allah responds to his du'a at time of hardship, then let him increase his du'a at times of ease!"

21. To Make Du'a for All Matters

Another common mistake is that many people fall into is that they only ask for matters that are of great importance to them. However Allah should be asked for every matter large, or small because everything occurs by Allah's Will, no matter how trivial.

Aisha(ra) said: "Ask Allah for everything, even if it a shoe-lace, because if Allah does not make it easy then it will not be possible."

22. To Make Du'a Plentifully

The prophet(saw) said: "When one of you asks for something(from Allah), then let him be plentiful (in what he asks for), for indeed he is asking his Lord."

23. To Make Du'a When One is in a Condition of Response

There are certain conditions during which a person's du'a is more likely to be responded to, so the wise person utilises these situations and conditions whenever he is capable of doing so.

Discussed later on

24. To Make Du'a at the Times of Response

This will be discussed in a later chapter