الجواب :

Answer

 

All praise is due to Allah.

 

Firstly, we must understand that du'ā is an act of worship. 

 

Allah says in the Qurān: “Your Lord has proclaimed, Call upon Me, I will respond to you. Surely those who are too proud to worship Me will enter Hell, fully humbled.” [40:60]

 

So, when a person makes du'ā to Allah, it is expected that they are doing so in a manner whereby they are consciously trying to draw nearer to Allah in a state of humility whilst asking for His grace. This is how a person should approach making du'ā to Allah. It should not be the case that attaining the particular need or request is our main goal and objective of making du'ā. Rather, one should see du'ā to be an act of worship, a means of drawing nearer to Allah and humbling themselves to Him, whilst expressing their weakness and dire need for His assistance out of complete love and glorification.

 

From the weakness of man is that they are hasty when making du'ā. A person may make du'ā to Allah and not see their du'ā being responded to directly, which may lead them to leaving the righteous act of making du'ā to Allah entirely. This is a big mistake to make. 

 

In fact, the Prophet ﷺ prohibited this and is narrated to have said “(The du'ā) of any one of you will be answered so long as he is not hasty in seeking a response and does not say, 'I made to du'ā but I have not had a response.” 

 

Such a person falls into the mistake of thinking that they deserve to be given everything that they ask for in their du'ā. They forget that the main goal of making du'ā is to fulfill an act of worship. It could be the case that they are given their particular request, due to the grace and goodness of Allah. But it could also be the case that they are not given their particular request, due to the divine wisdom of Allah. In either case, they have engaged in a great act of worship by turning to Allah with sincerity in their du'ā.

 

For this reason, the Prophet ﷺ said “There is no Muslim who makes a dua which does not contain sin or the cutting of family ties, but that Allah will respond to him in one of three ways: Either Allah will quickly fulfill his supplication, or He will store it for him in the Hereafter, or He will divert an evil from him similar to it.” 

 

We learn from this that so long as the du'ā a person makes is permissible (i.e. free of any sin or transgression of others), Allah will respond accordingly in one of three ways. Either Allah will grant them their request directly in this world, or Allah will reserve the reward for them in the Ākhirah, which is better for them than having their request granted to them in this world, or an evil similar to it will be diverted and repelled from the person. A person may want to attain a particular job and will make du'ā to Allah to help him, but Allah will not respond by granting them their request, since He is the Most Wise and the Most Merciful and is aware of the harm that could come the persons way, if He grants them their request. Likewise, a person may want to marry a woman, engage in some business, or embark on a long journey and will thus make du'ā to Allah to grant them their request, upon which Allah chooses not. Thereafter, this very same person will come to discover years later, that the request which was not granted to them was actually good for them and will say, All Praise is due to Allah. For example, a person may be prevented from embarking on a journey, and thereafter come to know that the plane he was supposed to take crashed and that Allah saved him from that accident. This is just one example, but there are many others that relate to the different aspects of one’s life and their own personal experiences.

 

I conclude by advising the questioner to listen to the pieces of advice the scholars have given regarding the etiquette and manners required from a person when making du'ā. It is a must for every Muslim to learn these matters and seek knowledge by reading or listening, as it pertains to the wisdom of making du'ā and why Allah may not necessarily respond to a person’s du'ā directly. 

 

And all praise is due to Allah Lord of the Ālamīn. 

 

Transcript of Sheikh Abd al-Haqq Turkmāni's answer

27 May 2024 | 19 Dhul-Qa'dah 1445