Bismillahi Rahman ar -Rahim
Alhamdullilahi rabil alameen. Wa sallalaahu wa sallam wa Barak ala maboothi rahmatan lil alameen. Nabiyeena Muhammadan wa ala alihi wa sahbihi ajmaeen, ama baad,
Usually when the lecturer gives a lecture or a talk at the end of the day, it is the worst lecture. And I am not going to make an exception. Everybody is weary and tired and sleepy. So, let’s Insha’Allah pray to Allah azza wajjal that Allah makes it easy for us and that the time passes by quickly and painlessly as much as possible.
Is Anyone There?
What is the answer? Yes, definitely.
And doubting it by itself can affect your Imaan, can affect your belief; can nullify your Islam if you even doubt. So the title itself I am not at ease with it. But it is a rhetorical question- it is not intended. However, in times of calamities, in times of despair, this is where your Imaan is tested. And if you recall yesterday in times of despair, it is a calamity, it is a tribulation, it is a test from Allah azza wajjal and your Imaan is on the line. It is being tested. However, a lot of us may get this question now and then. And the reason is that we do not know Allah subhanahu tala.
If we knew Allah, none of these whispers and doubts would ever cross our minds. If we knew Allah azza wajjal we would be so close to him that no matter what happens to us, we are satisfied and pleased with it. How can you be pleased with a calamity?
How can you pleased with an illness that has befallen upon you? How can you be pleased with poverty or with tribulation? I can be pleased because Allah azza wajjal decreed it upon me and I accept Allah’s decree.
Allah does not decree anything upon me except which is good for me. If you have this, then you are the happiest man ever to walk the earth. And this is exactly what the Prophet had (alayhis saalatu was salaam) in him. The satisfaction, the pleasure- being happy with what Allah gives him.
And so did the companions (May Allah be pleased with them). So is Anyone there? And the answer is definitely yes. And we would like to go through something that you all know which is ad-dua. What the dua is and what are the etiquettes and when to do dua, so that whatever we want, we can see that happening and materializing with the grace of Allah (azza wajjal).
You all know this but this is just a reminder so try your best to not fall asleep and to cope up. The time is limited before Maghreb so we will put it InShaAllah in high gear and try to fly.
What is dua?
Dua has a lot of definitions- the best is what the Prophet described (alayhis saalatu was salaam).
He said “Ad-dua’a huwa ibada”. Dua is worship. How can that be? I am praying, I am fasting- am I doing dua? No. Scholars say when the Prophet said “Ad-dua’a huwa ibada” meaning that the majority of worship all goes to one word- dua. So the majority of your dua is the majority of your worship. Like when He said “Al-haju Arafa”. Haj Is Arafa. But we know that Haj is not only Arafa- it is Tawaaf, it is Saee, it is going to Muzdalifa, it is spending the night in Mina. But when the Prophet said that “Al-haju Arafa” meaning that the biggest and most important pillar of Haj is Arafa and the most important form of worship for you is ad-dua. When we say that ad-dua is something so little-
It is not little and it is one of the biggest. To the extent that if you are arrogant and you do not supplicate to Allah, if you do not make dua to Allah, you may nullify your Islam and turn into a Kafir.
Shaikh, I pray and I fast. Yes, why don’t you make dua? I remember a brother had a calamity.
So I said to him akhee why don’t you make dua? He said Wallaahee I am not going to make a dua. Astaghfirullah.
Why?
When I am at time of ease and when I am healthy and wealthy I did not make dua.
Do you want me to make dua when I am in need for Him- I am not going to make dua.
What do you think of this man?
He nullified his Islam with his arrogance. Allah azza wajjal says in the Quran “and your Lord Subhanahu tala said, invoke me” Allah is ordering you, he is not requesting you, this is an order- “invoke me”, “ud uu nee”.
And what is the result? I will respond to your invocation.
Why?
Allah says verily those who scorn My worship they will surely enter hell in humiliation.
So here Allah says invoke me and here he says worship. Which goes in line with the hadith
“Worship is invocation and supplication, and dua of Allah azza wajjal”. And a lot of us get annoyed if people ask them.
Won’t you get annoyed if people ask you akhee can I borrow your car? No you can’t.
Can you give me 100 pounds as a loan?
No. Can I use your phone?No.
Can I do this?
You get agitated and annoyed.
And this is human nature.
Allah azza wajjal is quite opposite to that. If you do not ask Him, He is angry with you.
The Prophet said (alayhis saalatu was salaam) “he who does not ask Allah, Allah will become angry with him”. Allah says in the Quran, “and when my slave asks concerning me, then answer them. I am indeed near.
I respond to the invocations of the supplicant when he calls unto Me”. So this is ground rule number 1- Allah loves to be called. Allah loves it when people invoke him, supplicate to him. So do what Allah loves most. And you have to evaluate, how many times do you invoke Allah azza wajjal per day. Half an hour, 5 minutes, 1 minute. This shows how close you are to Allah azza wajjal.
What is dua? Scholars say that dua is divided into 2 sections- duau at thaana wa duau al-masala. The first one is the dua, the invocation, of praising Allah azza wajjal. And an example, the Prophet (alayhis saalatu was salaam) says “the best of dua is saying Alhamdulillah”.
What is this?
The Prophet tells us (alayhis saalatu was salaam) that the prayer of Yunus, when he was in the belly of the whale, he used to say, “there is no God worthy of being worshipped but You, glory be to You, I have been among the wrong doers. La illa ha illa anta wa subhanak inee kuntu meena dhalimeen. OK what do you want? Did he say? No, he is praising Allah.
The Prophet said, “afdhallul dua Alhamdulillah”, the best of invocation is Alhamdulillah. What are you invoking Allah, what are you asking of? Nothing. So the scholars say that this is the highest and greatest level of dua is when you praise Allah. When you say SubhanAllah, Alhamdulillah, AllahuAkbar. This is the greatest way of invoking Allah- though you are not asking for something. So this is the dua of praising Allah azza wajjal.
The second type is the invocation of requesting something. O Allah, pay off my debt. Now we know what you want. Forgive my sins. Grant me the highest levels of Jannah. Make me with your Prophet (alayhis saalatu was salaam) in Jannah. So you are asking a specific thing. And there is no contradiction. Because those who praise Allah praise Him because they depend on him. So whatever you want Allah would provide you for that even if you don’t ask. Yunus in the whale, in the belly of the whale, he did not ask anything. He just confessed “La illaha illa anta wa subhanak inee kuntu meena dhalimeen”.
What do you want?
I don’t have to say. Allah knows that. Does this mean I don’t ask Allah to make my wife wise again? She is a bit you know awkward up there, no, I just say SubhanAllah, Alhamdulillah? NO. You do supplicate and say O Allah grant her wisdom grant her sanity, Allahumma make her human again, whatever. All of this is part of dua. There is nothing wrong in that. And it is bad for you just to say I will not ask Him. The Hadith where Ibrahim (peace be upon him) as he was to be thrown into fire, Jibreel came to him and said, “Do you have anything to ask”. He said, “from you, no, from Allah, yes”. This is not an authentic Hadith- it is repeated but it is not an authentic hadith.
And you have to know that when you ask Allah azza wajjal there is a number of etiquettes that you have to follow and there are a number of times that you also should try your level best to ask Allah in these preferred and specific times.
However, who among you has prayed to Allah and Allah answered his call? Raise your hands please. I’m not going to tell you to go stand up and cuddle each other and do this shoulder stuff. I’m not good at that. OK so those who Allah azza wajjal answered their call. Half or maybe one third of those around? OK half of them. And the rest, they did not raise their hands. Why? First of all, because they are ignorant. Excuse me. Seriously, I did not recognize who raised their hand or not. Akhee, if you think that Allah did not respond to you, you are ignorant- first of all. Second of all, you are ungrateful.
Because you asked Allah azza wajjal to give you a raise in your pay check and it did not materialize now. So you are angry. But you did not look at the 20, 30, 50, 70 years that have been past of your life and Allah azza wajjal has been giving you left, right and center. This you neglect. But my pay raise, you are insisting and you are wanting it but it is not happening. Well I will give you the good news. Whenever you ask Allah azza wajjal, whenever you ask or supplicate or invoke Allah subhanahu wa tala, Allah responds to you. Period. Ya Shaikh, for the past 10 years I have been trying to have a child and Allah did not grant me a child. Where is Allah’s response to me? I have been calling and…akhee; maybe you should see a doctor.
That would help.
But, seriously speaking, whenever you call Allah, Allah will answer you. However the Prophet tells us in the authentic hadith, “Whenever someone invokes Allah azza wajjal, asks Allah azza wajjal, one of three will happen surely. One- O Allah grant me a thousand quid. Boom. Somebody comes in and gives me a thousand quid. JazakuAllahu Khayr. I find a thousand quid under my pillow. Alhamdulillah. I get a bonus this year, a thousand quid. MashaAllah.
Someone I gave him money 20 years ago only remembered now and gave me back my money. Is this rizq from Allah? So Allah answered my call, right. OK so this is number 1. Number 2, O Allah grant me a 1000 pounds. Nothing happens. I am angry.
Don’t be.
Because the Prophet tells us, that if He doesn’t give it to you He will take away from you something harmful that would have costed you a 1000 pounds. This happened to me yesterday, a brother says. I was driving and was supplicating to Allah azza wajjal. Allah did not give me anything. And one way or the other, this car came in front of me, and I managed to pull the hand breaks and skid the car MaShaAllah, like Michael Shoemaker. The car stopped. Man I am a good driver. No you are not. This is Allah’s grace over you. Because had you not called yesterday for a 1000 pounds, you would have hit the car and you would have broken probably a windshield or the front lights of your car and his, and that would have costed you a 1000 pounds. Allah azza wajjal with His mercy took this away from you. And believe me, everything you do, and every harmful thing that goes away from you, is because of your supplication. I remember once, I don’t know if I have time.
Yeah, who cares. I remember once I had a gun- it’s licensed and I still have the gun. And I was in the room and next to me there was a partition and another room where the ladies were. And I was with my brother-in-law. I was cleaning the gun and the magazine was out. And he was telling me watch out be careful. I said no- I never pointed at him of course. Not after I married his sister. Anyhow. I said no no the magazine is out see it is empty. And I pulled the trigger and bang, there was a bullet in the barrel.
And the bullet went off and it went through the door, through the wall, where the women were. It missed my wife, but Alhamdulillah. But, it was this close from a maid that was working for us and it missed her. Now imagine in Saudi Arabia, having a bullet hitting someone and she was illegal by the way. This will not air in Saudi right.
She was illegal anyhow and Alhamdulillah nothing happened to her. Akhee I spent like the next 10 years glorifying Allah azza wajjal.
That this much this far besides being illegal harming someone, injuring someone, let alone killing them, would have been a catastrophe for me. But 10 years maybe more, until today, I praise Allah, I say Alhamdulillah, and I keep on supplicating for every single thing. Because what Allah azza wajjal draws away from you, you cannot realize, you do not know, whenever you cross the road, someone was almost going to run you over. Say whoa Alhamdulillah, man I was quick, this is my marshal art training.
Alhamdulillah. No it is not you. It is Allah azza wajjal grace over you. It is your mother’s supplication in the middle of the night, O Allah preserve my son. It is something that you are not aware of but Allah Azza wajjal does not let anything pass through without his mercy, favor and knowledge. So, number 1, Allah gives it to you. Number 2, Allah takes away something that is harmful for you. Number 3, it did not happen in this life -Allah will store it for you on the Day of Judgment.
And the companions said, O Prophet of Allah, if this is the case then I will keep on supplicating so Allah will store things in paradise. The Prophet said Allah Azza wajjal is even more and greater.
So what do you think if you keep on supplicating, Allah azza wajjal treasury would run out? Keep on asking and Allah will keep on giving. So these 3 things always keep them in the back of your mind. Whenever you supplicate, don’t ever complain and say ya akhee, I have been supplicating for 10 years and Allah azza wajjal did not answer. No, he answered from the very beginning.
But you never know how this will be materialized- whether by deflecting something harmful or by storing it for you in paradise.
So what are the etiquettes of dua? So now I am going to list a number of things that if you do, it is more likely that Allah will respond to you in the way you wish, Allah knows.
Number 1- whenever you make dua, you have to praise Allah, glorify Allah. A lot of the brothers come to me for Ruqya, sheikh I have a problem, make Ruqya for me. I said if I make Ruqya for you, my jinn will reinforce your jinn, and they will be even stronger so stay away from me, you don’t want me, definitely. Seriously what to do. I say akhee go directly to Allah azza wajjal. Why go to people?
O Shaikh make a Ruqya for me. How do you know I am a Shaikh? Well your beard is long. Well Fidel Castro’s beard is longer. It is not a criteria. So you are closer to Allah when you are in need, when you are in a calamity, when you are in despair. Allah is closer to you than me. So you supplicate to Allah azza wajjal. So I always tell them go, if you are in Jeddah, take Umrah, cleanse yourself from sins, cut your hair, go back to the Kabah, and pray 2 rakahs and raise your hands afterwards, and praise Allah. And not praise Allah Alhamdulillah. No. The Prophet when he used to praise Allah azza wajjal he used to say things that would blow your mind. Whenever the Prophet used to wake up in the middle of the night, what would he say before starting prayer, “Allahuma lakalhamd. Anta qayimus samawaatee wal ardhi wa man fee hinna wa la kal hamd. Anta noorus samawatee wal ardhi wa man fee hinna wa la kal hamd. Anta maleekus samawatee wal ardhi wa man fee hinna wa la kal hamd. Anta al haq. Wa qawluka haq. Wa waadukha haq. Waleeqaauka haq. Wa jannatu haq. Wa naaru haq. Wa nabeeyuna haq. Wa Muhammadan (sallalaahu alayhi wa salam) haq. Wa Saatuka haq. Allahuma la ka aslamtu wa beeka amento wa alayka tawakaltu wa ilayka anabto wa beeka khasamt. Wa ilayka ha qamt. Faghfirlee. And goes on. Look at the praising of Allah azza wajjal. Wallaahee if you know Arabic it makes your skin shiver. If you don’t know Arabic, listening to someone saying it and praising Allah azza wajjal makes you glorify Allah even if you don’t know Arabic. So praise Allah. This is number 1.
Then, offer salutation to the Prophet (alayhis saalatu was salaam) – the salaati Ibrahimi (Allahuma salli alla Muhamaddan wa alaa ali Muhammad). Then you go on to your dua. Why? Because the Prophet (alayhis saalatu was salaam) said when he heard someone who did not praise Allah and who did not offer salutation to the Prophet (alayhis saalatu was salaam) raising his hands saying O Allah do this for me, O Allah pay off my debt, O Allah I want this or that. He said this person has committed an act in hastiness. He was haste. He should have- now the Prophet is correcting and teaching- whenever you want to supplicate to Allah you must praise Allah azza wajjal.
Because you can’t go to a king- and Allah has the highest example- in this world and say hey king give me a 1000 riyals. You have to say o king you are the best of people, you are the most handsome of men, you are the strongest, you are the most fairer of rulers, and you have done so many things for Islam and the Muslims. Give me a 1000 riyals and he gives you 10,000. Allah azza wajjal has the higher example- nothing is more beloved to Allah than praising Him. This is why He created you- to praise Him and to worship Him. So always be careful. Praise Allah and offer salutation to him. Why should I offer salutation to the Prophet (alayhis saalatu was salaam)- he is not involved. Yes, he is. Is he hazir nazir? No, no no no. Don’t misunderstand. He is involved in the sense that Allah azza wajjal made offering salutation upon him one of the means of getting your supplication and invocation answered.
The Prophet (alayhis saalatu was salaam) says “kulu duain muhtajar bayna samaai wal arth ma lam yusalla alayku”- every dua is blocked between heavens and the earth unless you offer salutation to the Prophet (alayhi salaatu was salaam). So make it a habit. Allahuma la ka hamd then offer the salutation to the Prophet (alayhis saalatu was salaam). Then you can supplicate as much as you wish. The third etiquette is to face the Qiblah. And facing the Qiblah is not a must. Prostrating to other than the Qiblah is no problem. Well, yes. How many prostrations out of Salah do we have? Come on guys give me a number. No, we have 2 prostrations outside of the Salah.
Prostration of thankfulness or gratefulness, and prostration of tilawa/recitation. And both of these are not prayers. So if I am not in wudhu I can offer them. If I am not directing to the Qiblah, it’s okay. If I am not properly dressed- a sister who does not wear a Hijab, she can offer them- this is Ibn Tahmiya’s verdict. It is not a must to face the Qiblah in these things as for the invocating Allah azza wajjal but it is highly recommended- the Prophet did it in so many occasions. But if you don’t want to do it, again, it is acceptable.
Number 4 among the etiquettes- raising the hands. And the Prophet (alayhis saalatu was salaam) said in the hadith that Salman narrated (May Allah be pleased with him), “that Allah azza wajjal is bashful, generous and He is shy, Subhanahu Tala, from his servant when he raises his hand to Allah, that Allah turns them away empty-handed” La illahaillallah. When you are humiliating yourself to Him, and you are broken down into pieces, and you are supplicating not aware who are on your right and left. Shaikh is on my right, and you are…What are you doing? Shaikh, I have to show some respect. This is riyaa- this is showing off. No. When you find yourself lost in Allah’s greatness by supplicating and humiliating yourself to Him, raising your hands is one of the greatest ways of getting your supplication answered.
To supplicate in 3 times, because the Prophet (alayhis saalatu was salaam) used to ask Allah, and whenever he asked Allah, he asked Allah 3 times.
So when you finish your Salah, what do you say? Allahuma anta salaam, wa minka salaam, tabarakta wa lal jillalee wal ikram. What do you say before it? Astighfirullah, Astighfirullah, Astighfirullah. So whenever he asked Allah azza wajjal he would do that in 3 times as reported in al-Bukhari. Among the etiquette, and it is mandatory to have this, it is not voluntary, it is mandatory that you think well of Allah azza wajjal.
My khutbah in Lester, at Taqwa mosque, was on this topic, thinking well of Allah. I downloaded it yesterday on the web so you can download it and listen to it, if you have time, and if you don’t have anything better to do. Yanni, it reminds you of basic things that we have neglected. When you make dua, what do you think of?
A lot of us when we make dua, O Allah do this for me. I know. Ya Allah bring me… People deep down think that Allah will not respond. Right? Right or wrong? The majority of Muslims when they supplicate to Allah deep down they think that He is not going to do it but I am just doing for the sake of it. I know people, Wallaahee, coming to me saying Shaikh whenever we want to plan something we don’t think of it.
And I say why? He said because anytime I think of something Allah does not make it happen. What kind of attitude do you have towards Allah azza wajjal? This is the worst negative way of thinking of Allah subhanahu wa tala. Yanee, do you think Allah azza wajjal, if He gives you what you want, this would reduce His sovereigns, Subhanahu tala, His Dominion? It would reduce His wealth? No it would not. So always when you supplicate think of Allah, don’t think of worldly means. O Allah grant me a good job- aah but I don’t have a degree. Ya akhee, don’t, Allah azza wajjal does not answer your call if you don’t have a degree. Allah azza wajjal answers your call period.
So many people who have PhDs and they are jobless- they are looking for a job. And a lot of people who don’t even have a diploma and they are managers and supervisors and who is giving them this? It’s Allah azza wajjal. So you have to have your heart also, and this is part of the etiquette, to have your heart present. A lot of the brothers after the Salah, after they finish the Salah, they take a shower and wipe themselves and go (the Shaikh here is indicating that people raise their hands to supplicate and then wipe their hands over their face and whole body). Akhee what did you say- I always say this dua- what is it. He says I said… And when they say it slowly they make mistakes.
They have to say it in a very quick manner because their hearts and minds are not with them when they are saying this dua. You have to supplicate- your heart is with the dua and you are present. Because the Prophet says that Allah does not respond to dua that does not come out from the heart. Ibn al Qayyim says that Allah accepts the supplication and invocation of an idol worshipper, when he is supplicating next to his idol, if it came out of his heart. Not a Muslim. A Mushrik- Allah accepts his supplication. Does Allah accept the supplications of a Kafir- yes or no? Yes. Even if he is a Kafir when he is wrong done to . If he is mathluum and he makes a dua, Allah will answer his dua.
Among the etiquettes that you purify your income. Halal income. And you know the hadith of the man who was traveling, he dusted his clothes and hair, he raises his hands, all of these are parts of the etiquettes of dua. And he is saying Ya Rabb Ya Rabb and he is supplicating to Allah with His names. Yet he’s fed by haram, his drink is haram, he is wearing haram, his income is haram- Allah will not respond to that. Also among the etiquettes is that you take your time. What do we mean by taking your time? Don’t be haste. When you make dua, take your time. So one says, akhee I’m not going to make dua. Why? Ya akhee, I prayed for Allah for 3 days and he didn’t answer my supplication-3 days! SubhanAllah. Prophet Ayub was in his illness for 18 years and he never left dua. He kept on making dua every single night. Supplicating to Allah azza wajjal and asking Allah subhanahu wa tala.
So never give up hope.
The more you make dua, again, either Allah will deflect something harmful or will store it for you in paradise. If you have enough Alhamdulillah khalas- wait and don’t make dua. Among the ways in making dua is to make it in secret. When we go to the harram, may Allah azza wajjal give you the chance to go for Umrah and Hajj, we see a lot of the brothers in the masaa, in the saee, Allahumma, and everybody Allahumma, Inee, and they say Innee- what are you doing guys?
Are you marching?
If you come from Britain, are these the hooligans; is Manchester United and Arsenal playing?
What is this?
And they are saying no no we are making… Ya akhee who are you calling? Allah is deaf? Do you think Allah is deaf? He can’t hear what you are saying? Allah azza wajjal says in the Quran invoke your Lord with humility and in secret. He likes not the aggressors. And the Prophet (alayhis saalatu was salaam), when he heard his companions raising their voices, he said, “calm down, put your voices down, Allah azza wajjal is not deaf, Allah azza wajjal is not far, Allah is close to you and He is All-Hearing and He is responsive. He will respond to you.”
So this is one of the greatest etiquettes- when you are calling Allah azza wajjal it should be in humility, it should be in secret because no one hears you except Allah Subhanahu wa Tala. And we are almost out of time but, among the etiquettes is that you recognize Allah in times of prosperity.
Are we in times of prosperity at the moment? Yes, we are. We have 3 meals a day- I have 5, I am a big man. We have shelters, we have A.C.; we have everything we need. So if you’d like Allah to listen and respond to you at times of crisis observe Allah azza wajjal and recognize Allah azza wajjal in times of prosperity. The Prophet (alayhis saalatu was salaam) says and this was reported in Musnad of Imam Ahmad, “recognize and know Allah in times of prosperity and He will recognize you and know you in times of difficulty”.
What are the times preferred for answering our calls? The grace of Allah, the nima of Allah, that throughout the whole day and night, it is time of answering your calls. Every single moment of the day and night, there is some time for you to supplicate.
First of all, last month was Ramadan, the best time to supplicate to Allah and to get your supplication answered was, Laylatul Qadr. It’s gone- so 11 months from now get prepared for it.
Number 2- to supplicate to Allah in the middle of the night because the more the people are asleep, the less servants of Allah are awake and supplicating, and this calls Allah azza wajjal to answer their calls. The Prophet (alayhis saalatu was salaam) said in the last third of the night, Allah azza wajjal descends to the lower heavens and He asks, and He encourages people, are there people invoking Me so that I will answer them, is there anybody asking Me so that I will give them, is there anybody seeking my forgiveness so I will forgive them.
Number 3- at the end of every mandatory prayer, and this is after at-tahiyat and before salaam, so after the tashahud, before you conclude your prayer with AsSalaamu alaykum wa rahmatullah- this is a preferred time, a favorite time of supplication.
The Prophet said ask and invoke Allah whatever you want. And a lot of the brothers just sit there idle behind the Imam waiting for him to finish- why? I just finished Allahumma salee allamuhammad-
I don’t have anything to say.
Ya akhee this is not an interrogation- do you have anything more to say? No. You go ahead and make things to say- ask Allah for whatever you wish and want.
Number 4- between Adhaan and Iqama, 5 times a day, whenever the muaddhin gives the Adhaan, and before the Iqama, this is the time of supplication and invocation, raise your hands and ask Allah whatever you want.
After praising Allah and offering salutation to the Prophet (alayhis saalatu was salaam).
Number 5- whenever rain falls and you guys here are lucky- in Jeddah 2 years I haven’t seen rain. So I am waiting- come on. We want rain to invoke Allah azza wajjal. Whenever it rains, ask Allah azza wajjal. And the hadith is disputed upon but InShaAllah it is a saheeh hadith.
Number 6- there is an hour in the middle of the night and if you supplicate, Allah azza wajjal will give it to you. Every single night. And this is saheeh of Imam Muslim. There’s an hour in the night, the Prophet says, whoever supplicates to Allah in it, Allah will give whatever he wants to him and this is every single night as the Prophet (alayhis saalatu was salaam) says.
Of course it would add a lot of value and Wallaahee I have tried this. It took me a while. But I have tried it and it is perfect. Man, I’m telling you. You should try it. What is it?
And this is number 7. The Prophet (alayhis saalatu was salaam) said whenever one of you wakes up at night and the first thing he says La illahaa illala wah dahu la shareeka lah lahul mulku wa lahul hamd wa huwa alaa kulee shayin kadeer.
Easy huh. OK and he says Alhamdulillah, SubhanAllah, Walaaillah illallah wallahu akbar.
That’s it- that’s it. Whoever says this the Prophet (alayhis saalatu was salaam) says and then he says Allahummagh firlee, O Allah forgive me, or he supplicates. Allah will answer him. And if he performs ablution and prays, Allah will accept his prayer and this was narrated in al-Bukhari. Wallaahee I have tried this. And it took me like a couple of months to just get it into my system that when I wake up I say this because every time I wake up, I go to the bathroom, and start making wudhu, and go out and start praying, O SubhanAllah, I forgot.
Tomorrow InShaAllah. It took me 2 months almost until I got it in my system so immediately now when I wake up I say the dua. And I know what I want so I say Ya Allah I want this and I want this and I want that. And it happened. Not because I am MaShaAllah. No, this is for everyone. You believe in it and you do it, Allah azza wajjal will make it happen to you.
Number 8- when you drink Zamzam. “Maa uu zamzam lee maa shuree billah”. You drink Zamzam, and you supplicated, and you drink a lot of Zamzam, O Allah increase my memory, O Allah pay off my debts, O Allah make my wife sane again. Number 9- when you prostrate.
And this is all types of prostration- whenever you prostrate in prayer, ask Allah azza wajjal, because the closest you are to Allah is when you are in prostration. Ask. Subhana rabee al alaa, Subhana rabee al alaa, Subhana rabee al alaa and then go ahead. Again you know what- you know the drill. Number 10- when you hear the rooster just before Fajr, you know the rooster, chickens, roosters. OK. When you hear the rooster, the Prophet (alayhis saalatu was salaam) says ask Allah from His Grace and Favor, because the roosters had seen an angel, so the Prophet is telling us this is one of the times that whenever you hear a rooster, you have to ask Allah for his blessings and favor. And number11- the time, the hour of Jummah.
And this is also practiced and it has been tried. The last hour of Jummah, which is the hour before the Adhaan of Maghreb.
I had a brother, a friend of mine, he was a millionaire. And all of a sudden he was struck so bad that he was in debt and the police were going to throw him in jail. He needed 100,000 riyals, and he came to me, I gave him, not from my own pocket of course, otherwise I wouldn’t be sitting here.
No, I borrowed from my friends and I gave it to him. Alhamdulillah he was safe. And Alhamdulillah he paid it off. For the following 2 months, Wallaahee, every single Friday from Asr till Maghreb, nobody was in the masjid, khalas, after Asr everybody goes. He stays 2 hours, 3 hours, until Maghreb time in the masjid, in the dark. Wallaahee, just raising his hands in dua, dua, dua dua dua. Now he’s a millionaire MaShaAllah. In 5 or 6 times, he paid off his debts.
Everything came back. He went into business. Alhamdulillah Allah made him successful. But I still remember it and I would never ever leave this hour if I am residing in Jeddah. I would always go and try my best to make dua to Allah azza wajjal and Alhamdulillah I have good results man. It’s working fine.
Try it when you are in need. Don’t go to Shaikh, don’t go to Imam, don’t go to someone you know. Just stay there in the front row, raise your hands, supplicate, Wallaahee, Allah azza wajjal will answer your call.
Number 12- when you break your fast, you know the hadith of course to that.
We have to know that before you supplicate to Allah azza wajjal you have to believe because without this belief the whole lecture, the whole talk has no value. You have to believe that Allah azza wajjal is All-Hearing.
Is anything hidden from Allah azza wajjal? Allah subhanahu wa tala hears the footsteps of a black ant on a milestone in the darkness of the night and all His servants, the 5 billion or 6 billion of them, with different languages, dialects and sounds, Allah azza wajjal is not confused-He hears every single creature on this earth. So you have to believe in this. You have to believe that Allah is close to you and that Allah responds and that Allah is wealthy and rich.
Don’t think that Allah azza wajjal is unable to give you something. Allah azza wajjal has everything in His hands. You have to know and understand and believe that Allah is capable. If you know and learn Allah’s attributes and names, you will find life to have a different taste.
Then when you supplicate, you supplicate with confidence. I am not asking Shaikh Assim to give me something. I am asking Allah and I know Allah. Allah, I know definitely that He would respond because I know His Beautiful names and attributes. That is why it causes this trembling in your heart.
Hope and fear- wishing and feeling awe of Allah the Almighty. Now, what is the majority of our supplications, brothers and sisters? When we supplicate, when we invoke Allah. what do we usually call for?
The wife to become wise again, Ok. We usually call for worldly matters, 99%. 1% O Allah forgive me. But before that I need a pay raise, I need a new wheels, I need a new 50 inch LCD, and I need this and that. So the majority of what we call for is issues of dunya. And this is not haram- as long as it is halal. But, this shows you that we have things twisted upstairs because we are living for a few days, few hours, few minutes and then it is eternity, heaven or hell.
So what should I be asking now? I should be focusing on what pleases Allah azza wajjal. The Prophet (alayhis saalatu was salaam) says whoever the akhira is his worries and concern, Allah will make his wealthy and richness in his heart and Allah will gather what is all scattered in his life, and the dunya will come crawling to him- whoever has the worry of the hereafter.
But whoever has the dunya to worry about; Allah azza wajjal would make his poverty in his heart in front of his eyes.
So even if you are the richest man in the world, always what you see is I’m poor, I’m miskeen, you’re never satisfied. And Allah will disperse all his affairs and nothing will come to him except what Allah has decreed.
Finally, Umar (May Allah be pleased with him) used to say, “I do not have any worries about Allah responding. This I have it in the bank. I worry that Allah will not give me the chance to supplicate for him”. Wallaahee, those who are deprived from invoking Allah, from asking Allah, they are the deprived ones because they don’t know what they are missing that is why throughout the day and night there are times that Allah answers your supplications.
Don’t miss a single time- keep on insisting on Allah. Don’t say O Allah forgive me, okay it’s done, let’s go. No, keep on insisting, O Allah forgive me, O Allah forgive me, no one forgives sins except You, and you keep on doing this for 6, 7, and 10 years without any stop, and Allah will forgive you while thinking positively and well of Allah azza wajjal. Don’t look at your qualifications, your provisions, your circumstances. O Allah grant us victory.
When I supplicate to our brothers in Syria, do you think that, O if you want grant them victory, if you don’t it’s okay, I’m cool with that. No. Insist on Allah azza wajjal. When we say ya akhee they don’t have any arms, how is Allah going to grant them victory. Ya Akhee, I’m asking Allah, I’m not asking an arms dealer, I’m asking Allah. Allah will grant them victory. Don’t look at the worldly means because Allah azza wajjal is always there as you think of Him- think of Him positively, Allah will be as you think of Him.
And finally, among the best things that would increase your possibility of answering your supplications and invocations, good deeds. Wallaahee when you do and offer good deeds, Allah azza wajjal answers your calls. A lot of the brothers I know before they, when they have a calamity, they give money for charity, and they give and they give and they give, and then they supplicate.
And immediately it happens. Not once, not twice, so many times. Brothers with illnesses that are permanent and chronic, and they keep on doing good deeds, hiding them from people, and making them for the sake of Allah, and Allah azza wajjal answers their calls.
So at the end finally, do you think that there is anyone there? Wallaahee there is, Wallahillazi la illaha illa hu, if you believe in Him, He will respond to you. But if you are in doubt, look for another religion. I pray to Allah azza wajjal that He answers all of our supplications and invocations and that He would fix our souls and our bodies and our actions to what pleases Him.