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Life is fragile; handle with prayer
by Nadia Khan
The above-mentioned statement is by far my second most favorite bumper sticker which I saw on one of my beloved friend's car succeeded by my most favorite one, which says, "If you are living as if there is no God, you better be right!". I will Inshallah write some other time about the later statement but let's step back to the art of beseeching Allah (swt) and finish the discussion about "dua".
Best times to beg:
1. After Fardh namaz (obligatory prayer):
Abu Umamah (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) was asked: "At what time does the supplication find the greatest response?'' He (PBUH) replied, "A supplication made during the middle of the last part of the night and after the conclusion of the obligatory prayers.''
[At-Tirmidhi]. Sometimes people wait until they are done with all of their namaz and then pray. While there is nothing wrong with it but according to the ahadeeth it is apparent that the best time to pray is to do so right after the fardh namaz and then one can pray after getting done with all of the namaz as well.
2. While in Prostration:
Holy Prophet (PBUH) stated:
A slave becomes nearest to Rubb when he is in prostration so increase your supplications in prostrations. (Muslim)After the fardh namaz, it is best to go into prostration and then beg Allah (swt) with all the humbleness. Prostration is the physical manifestation of the best humbleness and if it is accompanied with the humbleness of heart, Inshallah our dua will head straight towards the skies.
3. During Tahajjud prayer:
Everyone must know the importance and the bliss of performing tahajjud prayer. This is the time when Allah (swt) comes to the lowest skies and looks for his slaves who are praying in His presence. I have personally heard from many people who Mashallah are fortunate enough to perform Tahajjud that they sometimes get scared because whatever they pray for during the night comes right before their eyes in the true form, the next morning. May Allah (swt) give all of us the ability to benefit from the bliss of Tahajjud prayer. Ameen.
Some of the recommended prayers:
Holy Prophet used to pray especially for three things, "for his health, safety and good character".
Holy prophet (PBUH) used to pray fervently and frequently for every little thing; from his shoe lace to his biggest dua for the redemption of his ummah which he has saved for the Hereafter. It is recommended that we memorize all of his duas and recite them both with tongues and hearts. However, the safest dua we can ask from Allah (swt) if we do not have the individual duas memorized is:
" O Allah (swt)! I pray for all those good things that Holy Prophet (PBUH) asked Your favor of and I beg refuge from all things that Holy Prophet (PBUH) sought refuge him."
Some helpful tips:
- Since we know that Allah (swt) listens to dua especially after the Fardh namaz, it will be best if we start making dua from Allah (swt) and importuning Him after every Fardh namaz. If we start doing so now and continue it throughout the Ramadan, it will become a habit of ours since practicing something continuously for even 30 days makes it a habit and we are talking about at least 45 days here.
- We should also try to memorize Holy Prophet's duas one by one and integrate it in our namaz right after darood and before saying salam. Many of the times we keep waiting for the imam to say salam because we are done before him. By memorizing the masnoon duas, we can lengthen our namaz and earn more thwab.
- Holy Prophet (PBUH) states: "Nothing prevents predestination except Dua and nothing stretches the age except righteousness." (Ibn al-Tirmidhi) Most of the times we do not pray because we think that Allah (swt) has already written our destiny and there is no point asking from Him when He has already decreed our lives. However, this hadith shows that if anything can intercede with our predestination, it is our dua. One of our major dreams in life is to get a great husband or wife who is perfect in every respect. Though most people contend that we are paired in heavens and it might be true, but still we should always ask from Allah (swt) to give us the best spouse who has a great character, piety, shame, beauty or whatever one desires. I have seen it personally that those who have great husbands or wives have prayed hard in the court of Allah (swt).
- Making dua is always a win-win situation. If it gets accepted, then Subhanallah, we get whatever we ask for. But even if it does not get accepted, we still get the bliss and the dua gets stored for us to be weighed in our balance in the Hereafter. It is one of those extra extra extra credit points which do not have a lifeline and which always add up to our final grade even if we are in need of them or not.
Finally, I will reiterate that we should always believe in the effectiveness of our Dua. Allah (swt) states in Quran:
"Doth not man see that it is We Who created him from sperm? yet behold! he (stands forth) as an open adversary! And he makes comparisons for Us, and forgets his own (origin and) Creation: He says, "Who can give life to (dry) bones and decomposed ones (at that)?" Say, "He will give them life Who created them for the first time! for He is Well-versed in every kind of creation!- "The same Who produces for you fire out of the green tree, when behold! ye kindle therewith (your own fires)! Is not He Who created the heavens and the earth able to create the like thereof?" - Yea, indeed! for He is the Creator Supreme, of skill and knowledge (infinite)! Verily, when He intends a thing, His Command is, "be", and it is! So glory to Him in Whose hands is the dominion of all things: and to Him will ye be all brought back. (36:77-83)"
When Allah (swt) can do such magnanimous and miraculous things such as breathing life in us and in the universe and then taking the breath away and then resuscitating us, then how can he not accept our duas? If He does not, then there must verily be even more signs and signals for us to ponder. May Allah (swt) give us the ability to only ask from Allah (swt), to believe in the effectiveness of our duas and to own the decisions made by Allah (swt ) made after our duas. Ameen.
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