Du’a – The Network Link to the Creator

This was an article I published in my university web tech magazine 5 months ago, forgot to put it on my blog. 

Think about this. What if you had a 1000 Gbps dedicated connection with Allah, one that would reach the highest heaven instantaneously. No monthly bandwidth, unlimited use and absolutely free. With that connection, you could ask him anything you want, and he guaranteed that he would either fulfill it, or give you something better in return. All you would have to do is type in the correct URL by directing your hands and heart up to Allah (SWT). Would you avail it? How much would you avail it? Would you be stingy in using your free connection? Leaving it for once every week, or once daily before you go to sleep? We all have that special connection, Du’a, yet many of us utilize it so rarely that it seems as if it is a burden for ourselves. Here is a list of 7 reasons why you shouldn’t procrastinate in making Du’a.

An act of Worship

What if there existed this website that every time you visit it, you get some bonus, some credits, or some other perks? Irrespective of whether you sign up to a special offer, browse a few pages or simply look at the homepage. Well that’s the exact case with Allah. Every time, you make du’a, you utilize your free connection, you are rewarded with the currency of the Akhirah.  Yes, you heard that right. When you hold your hands up to Allah (SWT) asking something for yourself or for others, irrespective of whether you get it or not, Allah (SWT) rewards you for it. It is an act of worship like Salah, Fasting, obeying your parents, helping your neighbor, etc.  The Prophet (SAW) said, “The best form of worship is du’a”.

The weapon of the weak and the wronged

Internet companies have an unspoken rule. The more you pay, the better connection you have. So, usually what happens is that the rich, powerful people have extremely fast internet connections while the poor, weak people have a slow internet speeds (maybe not even broadband). This rule doesn’t apply with Allah at all. In fact, many times the opposite happens. Two determining factors in a Du’a’s acceptance is a person’s sincerity and his humble appearance. The more you are sincere with Allah (SWT) while making du’a, the higher is the acceptance rate. One of the Ulemah of the past stated: “It is said a du’a is never responded to quickly except for a person who is sincere, or one who has been wronged.”

Through many examples in the Quran and the Sunnah, Allah (SWT) has taught us that the weapon of those who have been oppressed and have nothing is Du’a. When Musa (A), whose people were oppressed and tortured by Fir’aun, made Du’a, Allah (SWT) caused their means of sustenance (the Nile) to kill them. When Jurayj, a pious individual who had been accused of committing adultery and his house destroyed, made Du’a, Allah (SWT) redeemed his reputation and reconstructed his house. When a young man, sent for execution in the middle of the sea, made Du’a, Allah (SWT) caused those with him to be killed yet he remained alive.

One of the Most Noble Acts in the Sight of Allah

Ever wonder why this connection works? I mean why do we have this free hotline? It’s because of what you are doing when you are asking Allah. When a person makes Du’a, he submits himself to his Lord. It is as if he is saying, O Allah (SWT), I am incapable of having my request fulfilled, I cannot control my own affairs without your Will. So I ask you and you only, who is All-Powerful, to fulfill my request. This is one of the reasons why the Prophet (SAW) said: “There is nothing that is more noble in the sight of Allah than Du’a”.

The Only Cause of Allah’s Concern for us

FaceBook offers its services free because it gets all its money from advertisements. In other words, it makes money off people looking at advertisements and clicking on the ads. FaceBook wants you to visit their page, so it can implicitly get money from you. With Allah, Al-Karim (the Most Generous), it’s the exact opposite. Allah (SWT) wants you to make du’a to him, visit His URL, so that you can ask Him and he can respond to you demands. Moreover, du’a is the only reason that Allah (SWT) cares about us. As Allah (SWT) states in the Qur’an:
“Say (O Muhammad): My Lord only pays attention to you because of your du’a towards Him. But now you have rejected (Him), so the (torment) will you yours permanently.”

A Dialogue with the Creator

Du’a is communication with Allah (SWT), not that Google stuff where you type in a few keywords and get algorithm-based results. And so though you won’t be getting any verbal response from Allah (SWT), you are in a dialogue with the Creator. So what does this mean?

You believe that Allah is hearing you, hoping for Allah’s response, and fearing its delay. You call upon Allah with His most beautiful Names and Attributes. Your eman increases, as do your hopes and fears increase and your Love of Allah increases. At the same time, you remembers your sins, for sins are like closed doors which prevent the du’a from being responded to, and you fear that, because of these sins, your du’a will be rejected. So you repent to Allah, and changes your life, striving to please Allah, realizing that only Allah can change your situation, and thus in the process, you develop a new relationship with Allah. [1]

Guaranteed Return

Ever spent so much time on something and then found out that all your hard work was going to waste? With du’a, the opposite is true, there is no du’a that is left unanswered.[2] So if you’re asking for that Lamborghini, either you’ll be getting that or something similar (or even better) or you’ll be averted from some similar evil that was predestined for you. So why wait? Open up that browser, click go and start making du’a right away. Jabir bin ‘Abdillah stated that the Prophet (SAW) said :
“There is no person who asks Allah for anything except that Allah gives it to him, or keeps away from him a similar evil, as long as he does not ask for something evil or for breaking the ties of kinship”. At this, a person said to the Prophet (SAW): “In that case, he will ask for plenty!” The Prophet (SAW) responded: “Allah (is even) more plentiful!”

Hassle-free Connection – One of the Easiest Acts of Worship

What do you require to make Du’a? Hardly any energy is required, hardly any time. Even hands and a tongue are not necessary, all you need is an attentive heart and a humble soul.  No need for a WiFi settings, internet connection, routers and all that other stuff. This is one of those hassle-free things that just simply work, no delay, no-downtimes, pure 100% reliability. On the other hand, leaving Du’a is a sign of laziness. The Prophet (SAW) said,

“The most incapable (or lazy) person is he who does not make du’a, and the most miserly is he who does not give salam.”

WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? TYPE IN THAT CORRECT URL (ALLAH) AND START MAKING DU’A IMMEDIATELY.

This article is inspired from Yasir Qadhi’s Du’a: Weapon of the Believer. Though the theme of the article is entirely different, all of the reasons for making du’a are derived from the book. Also the Quranic ayaat, ahadith, and statements of the scholars mentioned in this article are listed in the book with their proper references. For more reasons, further proofs, a more detailed explanation and references consult the book.

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[1] This paragraph was copied almost verbatim from the Du’a: Weapon of the Believer by Yasir Qadhi.

[2] Provided you fulfill its conditions of which are mentioned in the above hadith. It is however possible that your Du’a is responded to even if you don’t fulfill these conditions.