if a praying person knew

If a praying person knew to what extent he was surrounded by His Mercy, he'd never raise his head from the state of prostration."
- Ali (R.a)

Renew your hearts with the remembrance of Allâh

Yahyâ ibn Mu‘âdh (rahimahullâh) said,
“Renew your hearts with the remembrance of Allâh because it rushes into forgetfulness.”

“O my Lord! The night is only pleasant to me when I supplicate to You

Yahya ibn Mu`adh said in his entreaties and supplication,
“O my Lord! The night is only pleasant to me when I supplicate to You; the day is only pleasant to me when I obey You; the Hereafter will only be pleasant to me if I receive Your pardon; and Paradise will only be pleasant to me if I see You.”
Taken from : " Preparing for the day of Judgement" by imam ibn Hajar Al Asqalani

And there is nothing more harmful...

"And there is nothing more harmful to the servant than to become bored of the blessings of Allah, because he doesn't see it as a blessing, and he doesn't thank Allah for it, and doesn't become happy of it. Rather, he belittles it, complains about it and considers it to be disaster- all this while it can well be from the greatest of Allah's blessings upon him' - Ibn Al- Qayyim rahimahullah

Imam Ahmad and the baker

Imam Ahmed, may God be pleased with him, once was traveling and needed to stay somewhere overnight. When he went to the masjid, the guard (not recognizing Imam Ahmed) denied him entrance. Imam Ahmed tried numerous times, but the guard did not accept his requests. Frustrated, Imam Ahmed resolved to spend the night in the masjid yard. The guard became furious and dragged him away, despite the old age and frailty of Imam Ahmed.

A baker, whose shop was nearby, watched this scene and took pity on Imam Ahmed. He invited the Imam to stay with him for the night. While there, Imam Ahmed noticed that the baker continually made istighfaar (asking for Allah’s forgiveness) while working, and in the morning, the Imam eagerly asked his host about the latter’s continual seeking of forgiveness. The baker said it had become like second nature, and Imam Ahmed then asked whether the man had experienced any reward from this practice.
The baker answered,

“By Allah! No duaa (supplication to God) I made except that it was answered but one.”

“And what is that duaa?” asked Imam Ahmed.

“To be able to see the famed Imam Ahmed ibn Hanbal!”

Imam Ahmed interjected, “I am Ahmed ibn Hanbal!”
He then went on to add:

“By Allah! I was dragged to your place so that you can have your duaa/wish come true.”

If you want to talk to Allah, perform Salah

If you want to talk to Allah, perform Salah. If you want Allah to talk to you, read Qur'an

‘Do you mock the supplication and belittle it?

أتهتزأ بالدعاء وتزدريه *** وما تدري بما صنع الدعاء
سهام الليل لا تخطئ ولكن *** لها أمد وللأمد انقضاء
فيمسكها إذا ما شاء ربي *** ويرسلها إذا ما نفذ القضاء

‘Do you mock the supplication and belittle it?
...While you do not know what it has the power to do!
The arrows of the night (du’a) do not miss target
But they have a set limit, which shall come to end
So if my Lord wishes, He holds it back
And if the decree is to be fulfilled, He sets it forth.’

- Imam al-Shafi’i

There is no doubt that the heart becomes covered with rust

Ibn al-Qayyim - rahimahullaah- said:

'There is no doubt that the heart becomes covered with rust, just as metal dishes - silver, and their like - become rusty. So the rust of the heart is polished with dhikr, for dhikr polishes the heart until it becomes like a shiny mirror. However, when dhikr is abandoned, the rust returns; and when it commences then the heart again begins to be cleansed. Thus the heart becoming rusty is due to two matters: sins and neglecting remembrance of Allaah. Likewise, it is cleansed and polished by two things : istighfaar and dhikr.'

- Al-Waabilus-Sayyib (p.80).

"O Allah! I seek refuge with You from these four things."

"O Allah! I seek refuge with You from these four things." 
Anas bin Malik and Abu Hurayrah narrated that the Messenger of Allah would say:

اللهم إني أعوذ بك من علم لا ينفع ومن قلب لا يخشع ومن دعاء لا يسمع ومن نفس لا تشبع

'Allahumma inni a'udhu bika min 'ilmin la yanfa' wa min qalbin ya yakhsha' wa min du'a'in la yusma' wa min nafsin la tashba'

"O Allah! I seek refuge with You from knowledge that does not benefit, and from a heart that is not subdued and humble, and from a supplication that is not heard, and from a self that is not satisfied."
And he would then say: "O Allah! I seek refuge with You from these four things."

[Reported by an-Nasa'i (5470, 5536 & 5537) and Abu Dawud (1548), and it is sahih]

6 hours to repent!!!!

The hadeeth narrated by Abu Umaamah (RA):
- إن صاحب الشمال ليرفع القلم ست ساعات عن العبد المسلم المخطىء ، فإن ندم و استغفر الله منها ألقاها ، وإلا كتبت واحدة

The scribe on the left side raises his pen for six hours from the Muslim slave who sins. If he is remorseful and seeks Allah's forgiveness he does not record the sin, if he does not then he records it as a single sin.

Authenticated in Sahih Al-Jami al-Sagheer #2097

The Most Beneficial of Supplications

The Most Beneficial of Supplications

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

قال شيخ الإسلام ابن تيمية رحمه الله :ـ

“تأمّلت أنفع الدعاء فإذا هو سؤال الله العون على مرضاته”

Shaikh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

“I thought of the most beneficial supplication, and found it to be: asking Allah for Help on what pleases Him”.

Reference:

[1] Madarij Al Salikeen by Ibn Al Qayim (Rahimahu Allah)

The Most Beneficial of Supplications

The Most Beneficial of Supplications

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

قال شيخ الإسلام ابن تيمية رحمه الله :ـ

“تأمّلت أنفع الدعاء فإذا هو سؤال الله العون على مرضاته”



Shaikh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

“I thought of the most beneficial supplication, and found it to be: asking Allah for Help on what pleases Him”.

Reference:

[1] Madarij Al Salikeen by Ibn Al Qayim (Rahimahu Allah)

Speaking Privately with Allah

Speaking Privately with Allah

The Prayer: is a link between the servant and his Lord. The Prophet (saws) said: "Indeed, when one of you prays, he speaks privately with his Lord." [Reported by Al-Bukhaaree]



And Allaah says in the qudsee hadeeth: "I have divided the prayer between Myself and My servant into two parts, and My servant will have what he asks for.



So when the servant says: ‘Al-Hamdulillaahi Rabb-il-‘Alameen’, Allaah says: ‘My servant has praised Me.’



And when he says: ‘Ar-Rahmaan-ir- Raheem’, Allaah says: ‘My servant has extolled Me.’



And when he says: ‘Maaliki-yawm- id-Deen’, Allaah says: ‘My servant has honored Me.’



And when he says: ‘Iyyaaka Na’bdu wa Iyyaaka Nasta’een’, Allaah says: ‘This is between Me and My servant and My servant will have what he asks for.’



And when he says: ‘Ihdinaas-Siraat- al-Mustaqeem. Siraat-aladheena an’amta ‘alaihim. Ghairil-Maghdoobi ‘alaihim wa lad-Daalleen’, Allaah says: ‘This is for My servant and for My servant will be what he asks for.’" [Reported by Muslim]



The Prayer: is a garden of ‘ibaadaat (acts of worship), in which every splendid type of worship is found.



There is the takbeer, by which the prayer is initiated, the standing in which the person praying recites the words of Allaah, the bowing in which he extols his Lord, the rising from the bowing position, which is filled with the praising of Allaah, the prostration in which he glorifies Allaah by His highness and in which he implores him through supplication, the sitting in which there is the tashahhud and (more) supplication and the closing with tasleem.Source:

Virtues of the Prayer by Shaykh Muhammad Saleh Al Uthaymeen

...“Is it better for me to make Tasbeeh (praise Allah) or to make Istighfaar (seek forgiveness)?”

سأل رجلٌ ابنَ الجوزي رحمه الله هذا السؤال:أيهما أفضل؛ أُسبّح أم أستغفر؟ فأجابه قائلا الثوب الوسخ أحوج إلى الصابون من البخورفتح الباري – ابن حجر (1 /103
Imam Ibn Al-Jawzee was asked by a man: ...“Is it better for me to make Tasbeeh (praise Allah) or to make Istighfaar (seek forgiveness)?”
He replied:
“The dirty robe is more in need of soap than perfume”.

Dead Hearts and Empty Supplications

Dead Hearts and Empty Supplications
It is reported that Ibrâhîm b. Adham (d162H) – Allâh have mercy on him – once passed through the market of Basrah. People gathered around him and asked:"O Abû Ishâq, Allâh the Exalted says in his Book. ‘Call on me, I will answer your prayers’, but we have been calling on Him for a long time and He does not answer our prayers. [Ibrâhîm] replied, “O people of Basrah, your hearts have died in respect to ten things:

First, you know Allâh but you do not give Him His rights; second, you have read Allâh’s Book but you do not act by it; third, you claim to love Allâh’s Messenger – Allâh’s peace and blessings be upon him – yet you abandon his Sunnah; fourth, you claim to be enemies to Shaytân but you conform to [his ways]; fifth, you say you love Paradise yet you do not work for it; sixth, you say you fear The Fire yet you put yourselves closer to it [by sinning];
seventh, you say death is true but you do not prepare for it; eighth, you busy yourselves with the faults of others and disregard your own; ninth, you consume the favors of your Lord but are not grateful for them; and tenth, you bury your dead but take no lesson from them.

Reference:Abû Nu’aym, Hilyah Al-Awliyâ’ 8: 15, 16

Al- Mathurath morning dhikr

Al- Mathurath morning dhikr

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What is required for du'aa?

What is required for us that our du’aa will be answered?

Last time we talked about that du’aa is an act of worship, and with du’aa as with other acts of worship, there are some things that has to be met if the act of worship, if the ‘ibadah, will be accepted.

Ibnul Qayyim said: ”Du’aa and the seeking of protection from Allah are like weapons, but the sharpness of a weapon is not sufficient for it to cause effect, for the person that handles it also plays a role. So whenever the weapon is a perfect one, having no flaw in it, and the forearm is strong, and there are no preventing factors, then it will cause and effect on the enemy. But if any of these three factors are missing, then the effect will also be lessened. So if the du’aa in and of itself is not correct, or the person making the du’aa has not combined between his heart and tongue in the du’aa, or there is a preventing factor, then the desired effect will not occur”

Types of du'aa

Bismillaahirrahmaanirrahiim
Alhamdulillaahi rabbil alameen
Assalaato wasalaamo ala rasoolullaah sayyidina Mohammad
wa ala ahlihi washabihi ajameen

Last time we had a general introduction to du’aa. We mentioned that du’aa is worship and the importance of du’aa. We also talked about du’aas relation to aqeedah and iman.

Today we are biithnillaah going to talk about the different types of du’aa. And du’aa can be divided up in different ways. It is important to know about this because du’aa is mentioned so many times in the Quraan, so we must know the difference and understand what kind of du’aa Allaah is talking about in different ayaat.

We can see in the Quraan and sunnah that two types of du’aa is mentioned. Du’aa ul-mas’alah, we can call it ‘du’aa of asking’ and du’aa ul-‘ibadah, du’aa of worship.

Du3a ( Part two)

Du’aa is also the best way for us to strengthen our iman. This is due to many factors. One is that it makes us very aware of the fact that we have absolutely no control over our destiny, Alhamdulillah rabbil ‘alameen. It shows how much we need our Lord, our Rabb. And by making du’aa sincerely we confirm that Allaah hears our du’aa and that He answers our du’aa. The more we realise we are nothing but poor servants to Allaah, the more will our iman increase. And the more we know and understand and appreciate Allah’s perfect names and attributes, the more will our iman increase. The inner nature of iman and to be a true servant of Allaah is to know and understand that we are in a dire need of Allaah and to know and understand the perfect nature of Allaah. By making du’aa we show that we believe in Allaah and that only Allaah subhano wata’ala can listen to our prayer and only Allaah can answer our prayers. No one else!

Allaah says in soorah al-Jinn, ayah 20:

قُلۡ إِنَّمَآ أَدۡعُواْ رَبِّى وَلَآ أُشۡرِكُ بِهِۦۤ أَحَدً۬ا

Say: "I do no more than invoke my Lord, and I join not with Him any (false god)." (72:20)

To make du’aa to someone other than Allaah is nothing but shirk! It is shirk, because making du’aa to someone or something other than Allaah means that we attribute this person, thing, something that Allaah created, with attributes that only Allaah has. I mean, a person that makes du’aa to a person, living or dead, a stone, rock, yes whatever it can be, except Allaah, is in fact saying that this person whether it is living or dead, or that this object actually can hear you, and can respond to your prayer. That this created object has power to change our destiny, the power to see what state he is in, or what is in his heart. And has the power to grant him what he asks for. May Allaah protect us from such belief. The only one that can do this and can do this perfect is Allaah, azza WA jall. Allaah says in soorah Faatir, ayah 14:

إِن تَدۡعُوهُمۡ لَا يَسۡمَعُواْ دُعَآءَكُمۡ وَلَوۡ سَمِعُواْ مَا ٱسۡتَجَابُواْ لَكُمۡۖ وَيَوۡمَ ٱلۡقِيَـٰمَةِ يَكۡفُرُونَ بِشِرۡڪِكُمۡۚ وَلَا يُنَبِّئُكَ مِثۡلُ خَبِيرٍ۬

If you invoke (or call upon) them, they hear not your call, and if (in case) they were to hear, they could not grant it (your request) to you. And on the Day of Resurrection, they will disown your worshipping them. And none can inform you (O Muhammad SAW) like Him Who the All Knower (of everything) is. (35:14)

And this shows clearly that the object you would call on, won’t hear you. And even if they could, they won’t be able to respond to you, to your call. In soorah al-Hajj, ayah 12-13, Allaah describes these objects that some people call out to, make du’aa to.

يَدۡعُواْ مِن دُونِ ٱللَّهِ مَا لَا يَضُرُّهُ ۥ وَمَا لَا يَنفَعُهُ ۥ‌ۚ ذَٲلِكَ هُوَ ٱلضَّلَـٰلُ ٱلۡبَعِيدُ

يَدۡعُواْ لَمَن ضَرُّهُ ۥۤ أَقۡرَبُ مِن نَّفۡعِهِۦ‌ۚ لَبِئۡسَ ٱلۡمَوۡلَىٰ وَلَبِئۡسَ ٱلۡعَشِيرُ

life not benefit them nor harm them. They can’t help them. They can’t give them anything. And they can’t hurt them. In this life. But by calling on them instead of or besides Allaah, will cause a person great harm if he or she doesn’t repent from such evil ways. Because this is as we already said, shirk. And shirk is the only sin Allaah doesn’t forgive.

وَمَنۡ أَضَلُّ مِمَّن يَدۡعُواْ مِن دُونِ ٱللَّهِ مَن لَّا يَسۡتَجِيبُ لَهُ ۥۤ إِلَىٰ يَوۡمِ ٱلۡقِيَـٰمَةِ وَهُمۡ عَن دُعَآٮِٕهِمۡ غَـٰفِلُونَ

And who is more astray than one who calls on (invokes) besides Allah, such as will not answer him till the Day of Resurrection, and who are (even) unaware of their calls (invocations) to them? (46:5)

Subhanaka allahomma wa bihamdik
ashhado anla ilaha illa ant
wastaghfirooka waatoobo ilayk

Ibnul Qayyim said:” Du’a and the seeking of protection from Allah are like weapons, but the sharpness of a weapon is not sufficient for it to cause effect, for the person that handles it also plays a role. So whenever the weapon is a perfect one, having no flaw in it, and the forearm is strong, and there are no preventing factors, then it will cause and effect on the enemy…”

Du3a ( Part one)

Alhamdulillaahi rabbil alameen

Assalaato wasalaamo ala rasoolullaah sayyidina Mohammad

wa ala ahlihi washabihi ajameen

In the Quran, Allah says:

وَمَا خَلَقۡتُ ٱلۡجِنَّ وَٱلۡإِنسَ إِلَّا لِيَعۡبُدُونِ

And I (Allah) created not the jinn and mankind except that they should worship Me (Alone). (51:56)

So clearly we are all here for one purpose and one purpose only. And that is to worship Allaah, and Allaah alone. One of the greatest and most noble forms of worship is du’aa. What is du’aa?  It is a call from the heart of the believer directed to The Hearer of all things, the Knower of all secrets, Allaah. By making du’aa we believers confess that we are nothing but weak and helpless and that what we need is Allaah and that we can’t do anything without His will, help and permission. It is also an affirmation of the perfect names and attributes of Allaah, asmaa wa sifaat. Because it affirms that Allaah is al-Khaliq (the Creator), al-Muqeet (the Sustainer), al-Mudhaabeer (the Controller of all affairs), al-‘Aleem (the All-Knowing), as-Sami’ (the All-Hearer), al-Baseer (the All-Seer), Ar-Rahmaan (the Most Merciful), al-Kareem (the Most Generous), al-Ghaffoor (the Most Forgiving) and so on. Linguistically du’aa means to call out, to cry, and to say something out loud. In shari’ah, du’aa means to ask Allaah, to ask Allaah about something that will be of benefit for us in this life and in next, or to ask that something evil will be removed or prevented from coming to us. In it self, du’aa is an act of worship. Du’aa is ibadah. Allaah says in soorah al-Gahfir, ayah 60.

وَقَالَ رَبُّڪُمُ ٱدۡعُونِىٓ أَسۡتَجِبۡ لَكُمۡۚ إِنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ يَسۡتَكۡبِرُونَ عَنۡ عِبَادَتِى سَيَدۡخُلُونَ جَهَنَّمَ دَاخِرِينَ 

And your Lord says: "Call on Me; I will answer your (Prayer): But those who are too arrogant to worship Me will surely find themselves in Hell in humiliation!" (40:60)

Allah says make du’aa to me. And then He says “I will respond to you”. Then He continues saying, but those who are too arrogant to worship Me, (yastakbiroona ‘an ‘ibaadatee). Allah first mentions to make du’aa to Him, and then mentions those who are too arrogant to worship Him, they will be in Hell. So those who do not ask Him, who do not make du’aa to Him, Allah counts them as those who are too arrogant to worship Him, and this shows that du’aa is worship, Du’aa is the essence of worship. To not make du’aa, means to leave worship, ibadah. And this is why the Messenger of Allah, aleyhi salato wasalaam, said:

Du’a is worship!

Allah created us to worship Him, which means we should and we must make du’aa. Of course there are many other ways of making ibadah, of worshipping Allah, and of course we should think of that in every aspect in our lives.

How can it be that du’aa is ibadah and that it is such an important part of our lives? By making du’aa to Allaah, azza WA jall, we are able to draw closer to Him. It means that we completely submit to Allaah, we confirm that only He has the right to be worshipped and we assure that we are nothing but a poor servant to Allaah, subhano wata’ala. A created thing, that has neither power nor any control over things. Rather it is we who are controlled. By making du’aa we also confirm that we are in need of Allaah, in every part of our lives, but that Allaah doesn’t need anything from us. Just as it says in soorah adh-Dhaariyat. First Allaah says, as we already mentioned, that He created man and jinn except that they should worship Him. Then He continues by saying: I seek not any provision from them (i.e. provision for themselves or for my creatures) nor do I ask that they should feed Me (i.e. feed themselves or my creatures). Verily, Allah is the All-Provider, Owner of Power, the Most Strong. (51:57-58)

In another ayah, Allaah also mentions du’aa (well he mentions this in many ayaat of course) but in this specific ayah, Allaah calls du’aa deen. This is in soorah al-Ghafir, ayah 65

هُوَ ٱلۡحَىُّ لَآ إِلَـٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ فَٱدۡعُوهُ مُخۡلِصِينَ لَهُ ٱلدِّينَۗ ٱلۡحَمۡدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ ٱلۡعَـٰلَمِينَ

He is the Ever living (al-Hayy), none has the right to be worshipped but He, so make du’aa to Him, and to Him is the deen. (40:65)

OR

He is the Ever Living, Lâ ilâha illa Huwa (none has the right to be worshipped but He), so invoke Him making your worship pure for Him Alone (by worshipping Him Alone, and none else, and by doing righteous deeds sincerely for Allah’s sake only, and not to show off, and not to setting up rivals with Him in worship). All the praises and thanks are to Allah, the Lord of the 'Alamîn (mankind, jinn and all that exists) (40:65)

Du’aa is the only thing, the only act that ever has been equated to the entire deen, or connected to the entire concept of worship.

Du’aa is strongly connected to aqeedah and tawheed. By making du’aa we acknowledge that there is a God, that Allaah exists and that there is only one Creator, one Lord. We acknowledge that Allaah has the all the power and He is controlling everything. Otherwise, what would be the point in turning to Him? Allaah is the only one that can hear our du’aa and can answer our du’aa. By making du’aa we also acknowledge that only Allaah, azza WA jall, deserves our worship. Because if He is the one and only God, the one and only Creator, and the one that controls the world and the entire creation, the surely he is the only one that deserves our worship. By making du’aa we also acknowledge that Allaah subhano wata’ala, has the most perfect names and attributes, for only He can hear the du’aa from His servants no matter where we are, no matter how quiet or loud we call upon Him. And only Allaah knows what’s in our hearts and knows completely what situation we are in. He has knowledge about all things. This proves that du’aa affirms all three aspects of tawheed.