Dua
In Islam, is a prayer of invocation, supplication or request, asking help or assistance from God. Duʿāʾ is an integral aspect of Islamic worship and spirituality, serving as a direct line of communication between a believer and Allah. Unlike salat, a formal daily prayer performed five times a day with prescribed motions, postures, and recitations, du'ā' is a more "free prayer", characterized by spontaneity and informality. For this reason, du'ā' most closely corresponds to the English term prayer, a term that originates from the Latin precare, meaning 'to beg' and 'to entreat'. Thus, duʿāʾ is more flexible and can be performed at any time and in any place. Through duʿāʾ, Muslims affirm their dependence on Allah and their trust in His wisdom and mercy.
A special position of prayers are prayers of Sufi-Masters, the mustajaab ad-du'a, prayers answered immediately. Requirements for these prayers are that the Sufi is never asking God for worldly but only for spiritual requests. In times of sickness, danger, or drought, they were answered, while their prayers could also punish those who oppose them.
Role in Islam
In Islamic thought, du'ā' is considered both an act of worship and the most spontaneous and ordinary appeal to God. It fulfils three theological purposes: praise, petition, and intercession. Praise is primarily directed at God, his divine qualities and deeds, but can also celebrate the divinely inspired qualities of human beings like the Prophet Muhammad and members of the early community. Petition is to ask for God's aid and intervention. Annemarie Schimmel observes that prayer is an intimate conversation between man and God that consoles the sorrowful heart, even in the absence of an immediate response. Intercessory prayer reflects a more communal dimension of prayer, grounded in the belief that prayers on behalf of another person are meaningful and beneficial. It is common for Muslims to follow any mention of Prophet Muhammad with "May God bless him and give him peace." In this way, Muslims are expected to offer prayers even for the Prophet.Classical Muslim exegetes and Sufi thinkers debated how Qur'ānic verses promising divine response to supplication could be reconciled with prayers remaining unanswered. Commentaries by Al-Tabari, Fakhr al-Din al Rāzī, and al-Qurtubi on the following verses sought to explore this paradox:
"I answer the call of the suppliant when he calls upon Me ."
"Call upon Me and I will answer you."Atif Khalil notes that Islamic traditions provided different ways to reconcile this paradox. By drawing on the hadith "Du'ā' is worship", some exegetes extended the meaning of du'ā' to include repentance or worship. In this reading, God's 'response' is his acceptance rather than a fulfilment of the prayer. Later authors such as 'Abd al-Qādir al-Jīlānī, al-Qurtubī, and al-Ghazālī argued that effective du'ā' requires good moral conduct, repentance, and the pursuit of a lawful life. Thus, sin and injustice can serve as obstructions to receiving a divine response. Sufi commentators like Rāzī and Rūmi maintained that even the act of calling upon God is itself the greatest reward, demonstrating faithful dependence upon God. As du'ā' facilitates intimacy with God, prayer serves as its own response. Most authors noted that sincere petitions may be answered in varied ways: the request may be granted, deferred to the afterlife, rewarded with something better, or used to avert any misfortune.
There is a special emphasis on du'a in Muslim spirituality and early Muslims took great care to record the supplications of Muhammad and his family and transmit them to subsequent generations. These traditions precipitated new genres of literature in which prophetic supplications were gathered together in single volumes that were memorized and taught. Collections such as al-Nawawi's Kitab al-Adhkar and Shams al-Din al-Jazari's al-Hisn al-Hasin exemplify this literary trend and gained significant currency among Muslim devotees keen to learn how Muhammad supplicated to God.
Over time, devotional literature on du'ā' has expanded beyond prophetic supplications. This devotional literature documents formulaic du'ā' of certain pious individuals. Popular du'as would include Muhammad al-Jazuli's Dala'il al-Khayrat, which at its peak spread throughout the Muslim world, and Abul Hasan ash-Shadhili's Hizb al-Bahr which also had widespread appeal. Du'a literature reaches its most lyrical form in the Munajat, or 'whispered intimate prayers' such as those of Ibn Ata Allah. Among the Shia schools, the Al-Sahifa al-Sajjadiyya records du'as attributed to Ali and his grandson, Ali ibn Husayn Zayn al-Abidin.
Types and categories
Dua is essentially an expression of submission of faith to God and of one's neediness. Dua denotes a petitionary prayer that seeks divine favour or aid. Unlike salat, it is considered by Muslim thinkers to be a verbal phenomenon although at times physical postures may be used. The content of dua is usually centred on human need and distress, although it can, and ideally should, also include expressions of gratitude and praise.Type I: Du'ā al-mas'alah, or the 'du'a of asking.' This type of du'a is when one asks for the fulfillment of a need, or that some harm be removed from him/her. An example would be when a person asks, "O God! Grant me good in this world, and good in the next life!"
Type II: Du'ā al-'ibadah, or the 'du'a of worship.' This type of du'a includes every single act of worship. Examples would include when a Muslim prays or gives zakāt or fasts.
Salat
The salat is the obligatory prayer recited five times a day. The timing of the five prayers is based upon a hadith that recounts the angel Gabriel's visit to the Prophet. Gabriel visited the Prophet five times: at noon, in the mid-afternoon, at sundown, in the evening, and at sunrise. It is described in the Quran: "And establish regular prayers at the two ends of the day and at the approaches of the night: For those things, that are good remove those that are evil: Be that the word of remembrance to those who remember :" Salat is generally read in the Arabic language; however, Imam Abu Hanifah, for whom the Hanafi school is named after, proclaimed that prayer could be said in any language unconditionally. His two students who created the school: Abu Yusuf and Muhammad al-Shaybani, however, did not agree and believed that prayers could only be done in languages other than Arabic if the supplicant can not speak Arabic. Some traditions hold that Abu Hanifa later agreed with them and changed his decision; however, there has never been any evidence of this. Hanbali theologian Ibn Taymiyah issued a fatwa proclaiming the same. Until the 1950s, Ismailis from India and Pakistan performed the prayer in the language of the local Jama'at Khana.Common duas
- A person who recites from ' in Surah Al Imran till the end of the surah on any night or part of the night will receive the reward of performing salat for the whole night.
- A person who recites Surah Ya Sin early in the morning will have his needs for the day fulfilled.
- Abdullah bin Masood narrates that Muhammad stated that the person who recites the last two ayat of Surah Al-Baqara till the end, then these two ayats will be sufficient for him, that is, God will protect him from all evil and ploys.
- When retiring to sleep, make wudu, dust off the bed three times, lie on the right side, place the right hand under the head or cheek, and recite the following dua three times: '
- A person who recites three times ' in the morning, followed by the last three ayat of Surah Al-Hashr, then God delegates 70,000 angels to send mercy onto him till the evening. If he dies that day, he will die as a martyr. If he recites these in the evening, then God delegates 70,000 angels to send mercy upon him until the morning, and if he dies that night, he dies as a martyr.
- A Muslim servant who recites ' three times every morning, it becomes the responsibility of God to satisfy him on the Day of Qiyamah.
- A person who recites in the morning has pleased God for His favours of the morning; and if he recites it at night, he has thanked God for His favours of the night.
- If a person recites three ayat of Surah Ar-Rum and then misses his usual recitation of the day, he will still be rewarded for it. This applies to the night as well.
- If a person retires to bed on the side and recites Surah Al-Fatiha and Surah Al-Ikhlas, he is immune from everything except death.
- Reciting Ayat-ul Kursi will cause the reciter to be protected throughout the night by the angels, and Satan will not come near him.
- When a person goes to bed, an angel and a Shaitan surround him. The Shaitan whispers: "your awakening will end in evil", while the angel says, "end in good". Whoever sleeps after engaging in dhikr will be protected by angels throughout the night. To gain the protection of the angels, it is encouraged to engage in dhikr before sleeping
- A man once dreamed of Muhammad several times. Each time, he asked Muhammed for advice on how to retain his faith. Muhammad told him to recite the following each day:
Zayn al-'Abidin's Dua
Ali ibn al-Husayn Zayn al-'Abidin conveyed his understanding of the relationship between human and God by the prayers and supplications that he offered God during his extensive nighttime vigils in the Al-Masjid an-Nabawi in Medina. These prayers and supplications were written down and then disseminated by his sons and the subsequent generations. Among them is the Al-Sahifa al-Sajjadiyya, which is known as the Psalms of the Household of Muhammad.Conditions and etiquette
Classical jurists and Sufi writers have defined the conditions and etiquette that must accompany du'ā' to maximise its efficacy. The conditions are as follows:- Only consume legally permitted foods
- Praying with the conviction that one's prayer will be answered
- Remain undistracted during prayer
- What is prayed for should not be used for sinful acts, create enmity between blood relations, or violate the rights of Muslims
- Do not ask for anything impossible as it would suggest a lack of respect for God.
- Choosing the best periods to pray
- Prostrating or standing upright
- Performing ablutions beforehand
- Confessing faults and repenting
- Facing the qibla
- Raising hands towards the heavens
- Praise the divine at the beginning, middle, and end of the prayer.
Sincerity
In Islam, rules have been made to remember Allah. All Muslims follow those rules.It is necessary to be pure in order to remember God in Islam.
Every Muslim is required to offer prayers for 5 times, Allah is remembered through prayers. In Islam a Muslim prays to God alone.
Patience
In Islam, to be hasty in du'a is said to be a cause of rejection of du'a. The type of hastiness that is forbidden in Islam is that a person leaves du'a, thinking that God will not respond to it. In Islam, Muslims are instructed not to give up du'a because they do not see a response immediately.Purity
In Islam, in order for a person's du'a to be accepted by God, it must be for something pure.Good intentions
In Islam it is imperative that a person making du'a has the best of intentions for whatever he or she is asking. An example would be if someone asks for an increase in wealth, they should intend to spend more of that wealth on the poor and on their relatives than on themselves.Attentive heart
Muslims are instructed to make du'a with an attentive heart. They should be aware of what they are saying and believe in their heart that God will respond.Sustenance
It states in the Quran in sura Al-Baqara Verse 200:Again and moreover Muhammad is reported to have said,
Shi'a Isma'ili tradition
Some Shia believe there are preliminaries for fulfillment of du'ā'. According to Mutahhari, Du'ā' is both premises and conclusion, both means and end.Shi'a Isma'ili Muslims perform du'ā' three times a day as part of worship services in the jamatkhanas. Those unable to pray in congregation at the jamatkhana are expected to recite the obligatory du'ā' at dusk and dawn. The du'ā' is key to the worship service, without which it remains incomplete. The Isma'ili du'ā' is recited in Arabic and consists of six cycles. Each part begins with basmala and concludes with sujud. The first half of each cycle conveys fundamental principles and the second half is a supplication followed by tasliyah or salah.
The core of the Shi'a Isma'ili du'ā' is recognising the authority and leadership of 'Ali and the Nizari lineage of imams. In this tradition, imams are understood as divinely inheriting the capacity to uncover the secrets of the Qur'an and thus revered as trustees of the Prophet's message and divine revelation. Every du'ā' ends with a testimony acknowledging the present imam. After reciting the du'ā', each member of the congregation turns to either side to shake hands while saying shah jo didar, that is, "May you glimpse His divine countenance".
Other optional etiquette
There are various other optional techniques and etiquettes in the Quran and Sunnah for Du'a. Listed here are a limited few and just a fraction of the etiquettes of du'a that scholars have found in reference to in the Quran and Sunnah.Raising one's hands
Raising one's hands is an encouraged option. There are many hadith that describe how Muhammad raised his hands during du'a. Some hadith describe him having raised his hands to or above head-level in dire circumstances. Many scholars agree that aside from times of exceptionally great need, Muhammad did not raise his hands above his head. Under any other conditions, a common practice is to raise the hands to shoulder-height with palms placed together.Scholars however agree that there are two authentic ways of raising one's hands: when not in drastic conditions the palms of one's hands should be turned up facing the skies, whilst the back of one's hands are facing the ground, then the du'a can be "recited". One must also make sure to face the Qibla, whilst making du'a.
The second way agreed upon by scholars is to have the palms facing one's face; once again one must face the Qibla, but this time the back of one's hands should also face the Qibla.
Evidence for facing the Qibla during du'a can be found in Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim
Abdullah ibn Zayd narrated:
Facing the Qiblah
The Qibla is the direction that Muslims face while performing salat.There are also Sahih hadith which narrate that it is forbidden to lift one's eyes towards the sky in prayer.
Abu Huraira reported: