By Haroon Balogun

A YOUNG sister narrated her experience while offering praises and adoration to Almighty Allah. A few years after her marriage, she got a divorce. She at the same time lost her job. Her father took ill and died a few month after, since they could not get good medical treatment. The world around her seemed dark and unfriendly.

She felt there was nothing to look forward to and she cried all day. She began to feel unusual aches and pains, had persistent negative thoughts, had difficulty concentrating and became very pessimistic about her future.

She prayed and prayed and sometimes wondered why her situation grew from bad to worse. But like a staunch believer, she kept faith in Allah and never relented in her prayer.

She fasted during the day and prayed during the night. Each time she opened the Quran to read, she inadvertently opened to Suratul Talaq 65:3] “‘And will provide him sustenance from a place he had never expected; and whoever relies on Allah – then Allah is Sufficient for him; indeed Allah will accomplish His command; indeed Allah has set a proper measure for all things.”

In verse 5 again,”‘This is Allah’s command that He has sent down towards you; and whoever fears Allah – Allah will relieve his sins and bestow upon him a great reward.”After reading this, she became more conscious to the fact that whatever happened was God’s will and all that had happened to her were permitted by Allah.

Our situations and circumstances may be so disheartening, yet we must trust in Allah. She became so relieved and unpertubed. She picked up her life and kept struggling.

Communicationnetwork

A few months later, she put forward a proposal to a leading mobile communication network and behold, the job which was running into N50million was approved for her. She executed the job and got another after three months. Khadija who hails from Ilorin is happily married and with blessed beautiful kids.

The Quran says:

“And when my slaves ask you (O Muhammad) concerning Me, then (answer them) I am indeed near. I respond to the invocations of the supplicant when he calls on Me. So let them obey Me and believe in Me, so that they may be led aright.” (2: 186) And He, in His infinite Mercy, also says: “Who else is there that responds to the call of the one in distress when he calls out, and He removes evil from him? …Is there any other God besides Allah? Little is it that you remember!” (27:62)

Literally, dua means to call for something needed. The word is far more than what we conceive it to be. It is far more than how we observe it and that is why most Muslims do not fully grasp its importance. The Prophet said that dua is the sword of every devoted Muslim to subdue his adversaries. It illuminates the heart and strengthen the faith.

In another hadith narrated by Abu Hurayrah, the Prophet (s.a.w) said, “In the court of Allah, there is no greater thing than Dua” (Ibn Majah) Dua or supplication is sharper than the spear and arrow that the enemy could possess. It wards away calamities, it is the key to Allah’s blessings; it is the cure for all pains and aches. Prayer is one of the three things that protects an individual. This is followed by abstinence and repentance from sins and showing gratitude to Allah.

It is dua that stands between Almighty Allah and His humble servants. The power of the tongue is great, the power of the word is unimaginable. Allah created the world and everything therein with the word. He created man with His word including everything that is hidden and apparent.

Whenever He decides to make a thing, He just decrees (commands) with His word and it comes to be. The sun, the moon, stars, fire, etc are created by His word. The same way, Allah has made our tongue potent enough to cause something to happen via dua. He has empowered us to the limit of our relationship with Him to change our destinies with prayers.

Solution toproblem

No matter the need, once communication is established with Allah on a regular basis, there will be result and solution to a problem. Ahmad, Abu Dawood, Tirmidhi related in a hadith as follows: “Verily your Lord is Generous and Shy. If His servant raises his hands to Him (in supplication) He becomes shy to return them empty”

But how do we pray and what are the types of prayers that meets our desires and what are the pre-requisites of dua?

Kinds of prayers

A lot of people confuse one prayer with the other and at the end tend to think that their prayers are not answered. No prayer said in the right way, meeting all the prerequisites that is not accepted. Since Allah said call on Me, I will answer you, He will surely answer if you meet the conditions for dua.

Two kinds of dua

Prayer for the nearness of Allah – This is more or less observed by Ulamas. They use the prayer in getting closer to Allah. It is strictly adhered to such that it becomes a regular phenomenon. They don’t use it to seek materialism or any thing in the world, but mainly for nearness to Allah. The fact is that it is not only limited to the ulamas, every other person can observe it.

It is a prayer for those who believe that once a relationship is established with Allah, every other need becomes less important. The main condition for this prayer apart from other conditions that relate generally with prayers is that it must be sustained, it must be regular.

This, to a large extent informed the idea of Sufism. The act is not a bad idea, but some of the adherents of that philosophy have gone beyond their bounds to deify their leaders which is at variance to the principle of Islam. Without being equivocal, the chanting of Allah’s name regularly to magnify Him without any other objective other than to gain nearness of Allah endears the supplicant to Allah.

The second kind of dua is supplication for seeking heart desires. (Al-dua qodohul-Ajaati) These are meant to seek material things and other provisions from Allah. Human beings are created with insatiable wants, no matter our position good or bad, rich or poor, high or low class, we need something from Allah. Both kinds of prayers are necessary in the life of a Muslim.

When you get closer to Allah, all other material heart desires will become easy to reach. In fact, they will be at your command. If you regularly call on Allah, He will surely answer you. If you’ve tried calling during the day, beseech Him during the night, call on Him, chant His name, cry unto Him and He will surely answer you. It is a promise He made and He will never renege on it.

Conditions for dua

Although being a Muslim is not a condition for dua, Allah (SWT) accepts the dua of a kafir (disbeliever). Remember, he accepted the prayer of Iblis to be allowed to live until the last day of Qiyamah. But as Muslims, in establishing dua as a culture, three things must be present.

(i) At-toharrat – Allah is God of purification and cleanliness. We must purify ourselves at all times. This act of purification is further divided into three, these are outer, inner and place purification. The outer purification is the ghusl and ablution we make before our prayers. You cannot communicate with Allah in a state of impurity.

If you are required to take a bath (ghusl), endeavour to take it before making your dua just as we know that there is no salat without a valid ablution. The inner purification entails that you purge yourself from those things that lead to sins. Any one making dua regularly must endeavour to be conscious of his actions, gazes, sex life and other relationships as well as ensure purity of sustenance. He must eat from what is halal and detest what is harram.

Prophet Muhammad said “Oh you who believe! Eat from the pure and good foods We have given you” Then the Prophet mentioned a traveler on a long journey, who is disheveled and dusty, and he stretches forth his hands to the sky , saying “Oh my Lord! O my Lord!” – while his food is unlawful, his drink is unlawful, his clothing his unlawful, and he is nourished unlawfully; how can he be answered?” (Muslim, Ahmad).

The third part is also as important as the former and the latter. The place of worship or dua must be neat and free of impurities.

(ii) The second condition for a proper prayer is faith. The supplicant must show that he believes in the efficacy of prayer. He must pray from the depth of his heart and should have a conviction that Allah alone has the absolute power to fulfill his heart desires. The stronger the faith of the supplicant the better the chances of the prayer being answered.