Dua

1. Dua “Dua is worship”

2. What is a dua? • A special prayer • "When my servants ask you concerning Me, I am indeed close (to them) I listen to the prayer of every supplicant when he calls on Me. . .“ (2:186)

3. Only ask Allahsubhanahu wa ta’ala • We can ask our parents for things we want or need but… they cannot give us everything • Only Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala can do that

4. Worshiping Allahsubhanahu wa ta’ala • The only reason Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala put us on Earth is to worship Him • When we ask Him for something we want or need, we are doing what we are supposed to do.. • worship Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala

5. Before dua • Praise Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala at the beginning of the dua • You can say: • Allahu Akbar (Allah is the Greatest) • SubhanAllah (Glory be to Allah) • Alhamdulillah (All Praise is for Allah) • Recite Surah Ikhlas

6. Have faith in Allahsubhanahuwata’ala • Hadith: “When you ask Allah, ask with confidence.” • Hadith: “None of you should say, ‘O Allah, forgive me if you wish… Rather you should be firm in your request for Allah does whatever He wishes and no one can force Him to do otherwise.”

7. Be patient • Believe that Allah subhanahuwata’ala will answer your dua when it is best for you • The Prophet’s wife Aisha said: “No believer makes a dua and it is wasted. Either it is granted here in this world or deposited for him in the Hereafter as long as he does not get frustrated.”

8. Repeat your dua • Ask for the dua 3 times • Hadith: “The Prophet loved to repeat his dua three times, and pray for forgiveness three times.” (Abu Dawd)

9. Ask in a nice voice • When making dua you should use: • A voice that is just right • Not too quiet • Not too loud • Let me hear your just right dua voice

10. Having wudu • It is preferred (liked) to be clean and do wudu before making dua • When we make dua we talk to Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala.

11. Face the Qibla • When making dua we should sit and face the Qibla • Qibla = direction we face during prayer • Our Qibla is the Kaaba

12. Ask Allah by His Names • “And to Allah belongs the Beautiful Names, so call Him by them.” • Can you think of some of His names?

13. Raising the Hands • Hadith: “Surely, Allah… loves to hide the shortcomings of His slaves. If His slaves raises his hands, He does not let him go empty handed.”

14. Stay away from haram • Allah has told us to stay away from certain things. • Can you name a few? • If we are asking Allah for something, we should listen to Him and only do or eat what is halal

15. Do good deeds • Hadith: “Dua is elevated by good deeds.” • What are some easy good deeds we can do before we make dua?

16. Story • “Three persons of a people before you were on a journey when they were overtaken by a storm so they took shelter in a cave. A rock slipped down and blocked the exit of the cave. One of them said, “The only way for deliverance is to ask Allah and mention a good deed he did only for Allah’s sake.

17. One of them mentioned a good deed which they had done for Allah and asked, “O Lord, if I did this think seeking only Your pleasure, then do relieve us of the distress brought by this rock. The rock moved but not enough to free the men. So, the other two made similar duas while mentioning their good deeds until the rock moved enough to free them.” (Bukhari and Muslim)

18. Ask when things are easy • Hadith: “Whoever is pleased that Allah answers his prayers during hardships and difficulties let him make much dua during times of ease.” (Tirmidhi) • We should ask Allah when things are good and when things are difficult.

19. Best times for dua • Middle of the night Hadith: “The gates of Heaven are open at Midnight…At that time, no Muslim makes a dua but that is answered except for a person who gathers money unlawfully.” (Sahih al-Jami)

20. Best times for dua 2) Between the athan and iqamah Hadith: “A dua between the athan and iqamah is not refused, so supplicate during that time.” (Ibn Hibban)

21. Best times for dua 4) When it is raining Hadith: “Two kinds of dua are not rejected: dua at the time of prayer and dua during rain.” (Abu Dawd) We should say: Allahummasayyibannafi’an (Oh Allah, make this a good rain cloud)

22. Best times for dua 3) On Friday after Asr Hadith: “Friday has 12 periods. Among them is a period when no Muslim asks Allah for anything but He grants it to him. Search for that period late after Asr.” (al-Jami)

23. Best times for dua • A parent’s dua for his child Hadith: “Three types of dua are undoubtedly granted: a parent’s dua for his child, dua of a fasting person, and dua of a traveler.” (Abu Dawd)

24. Best times for dua 6) While making sujood Hadith: “The slave is closest to Allah while in sujood, so ask Allah in that time.”

25. Best times for dua 7) LaylatulQadr- The Night of Power. Hadith: “Whoever stands in Laylatul- Qadr out of faith and expectation (of Allah's reward), will have all of his previous sins forgiven." (Al-Bukhari)

26. Make duas for others Hadith: “Whenever you make a dua for another believer and he is not present, an angel will say ‘and the same to you.’” Angels will pray for you if you pray for others!!

27. Make duas for others Who are some people we should make dua for? • Parents and family • Prophet Muhammad salallahoalayhiwasalaam • Friends

28. Be careful what you dua for We should be careful what we ask Allah subhanahuwata’ala for. Sometimes when we are mad we may say things we do not mean. We should only ask for what is good.

29. Learn duas We should learn duas that Prophet Muhammad salallaho alayhi wasalaam used to say. Saying duas helps us remember Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala throughout the day.