Thursday

How to make effective duas this Ramadan - Last Part

Assalamu Alaikum my friends

I hope all of you are enjoying the last 10 days/nights of Ramadan insha Allah. After receiving the overwhelming response for my dua list, I have come up an idea to compile a du’a list to use it during the last few days of this blessed month.

So here's is the dua list.

" Bimillah alhumdullilah was salatu wa salamu ala rasollillah”

O Allah bless us with strong emaan, taqwa, piety, pure heart and good ikhlaq.

O Allah bless us with beneficial knowledge and help us to act upon it.

O Allah forgive all our sins, the hidden, the open, the kaba’ir and the saghair, the ones done of ignorance and the ones done out of evil intent.

O Allah keep us safe from the hell fire, the torment of grave and the terror of Day of Judgment.

O Allah guide us to the straight path and give us istiqamah.

O Allah make us amongst the sabireen, sadiqeen, sabiqeen, mu’mineen, mutawakkaleen, muttaqeen and mutaqarrebeen.

O Allah remove from us all the hardships, difficulties, anxiety, depression and sadness of this world and the akhirah. O Allah increase us in sabr and perseverance.

O Allah help those who wants to memorize Qur’an and let them complete the hifz within two years.

O Allah heal us from all kinds of diseases and grant shifa kamil to all the sick around the world.

O Allah bless our unmarried brothers and sisters with the righteous and loving spouses before the end of this year.

O Allah bless us with righteous daughters and sons and make them leaders of the mutaqeen.

O Allah make us strong against evil and make our nafs righteous and make our will power stronger to repel the evil deeds. O Allah do not raise us as a MUFLIS on the day of Qayamah.

O Allah help us, our parents, our spouses and our children to perform 5 daily salah in time with khushoo.

O Allah bless us with the knowledge of Qur’an and help us to understand it and implement its teachings. O Allah make us among the people of Qur’an.

O Allah make our best day the day we meet You and our last words  La ilaha ilallah. O Allah take us from this world when we are in highest in our Imaan.

O Allah grant us the best character, softness of speech, and gentleness.

O Allah provide us with halah rizq, put blessings in our businesses and keep us safe from haram.

O Allah grant us Jannatul Firdous and make it easy for us to achieve it.

O Allah protect us and our children from evil of Shaytan and evil of our ownsleves.

O Allah grant us the best in this life and the next. And make all our intentions to seek Your pleasure first and foremost. O Allah accept our good deeds and efforts.

O Allah remove from our hearts all types of hatred, malice, jealousy, pride, anger, envy, miserliness, and all the other disease  of the hearts and replace it with love, joy, contentment, sincerity, compassion and steadfastness.

O Allah help all our brothers and sisters around the world in difficulty and help us to help them. O Allah remove all the sorrow and sadness faced by them and increase them in patience.

O Allah grant our hearts whatever it desires on condition that it pleases you.

O Allah make all our task and affairs easy for us and remove all the obstacles.

O Allah protect us and our children from jealousy, magic and evil eye.

O Allah help us to forgive those who hurt us and wronged us and transgressed us and forgive us if we have hurt others, wronged others and transgressed others.

O Allah remove all the financial burdens from us and free us from debts and interest.

O Allah give us the words to reach the hearts of people and turn their hearts towards YOU.

O Allah give us the opportunity and means to perform Hajj and Umrah within one year.

O Allah forgive our parents, grandparents, relatives and those who passed away. O Allah have mercy on our parents and grant them patience and strength to go through any test or trials they may have.

O Allah make us sadqa jariya for our parents and teachers and make our children sadqa jariya for us.

O Allah grant us good health, abundance of wealth and excellent memory. And bless our time and make it productive.

O Allah make all the matters in our businesses, jobs and studies successful and make them easy for us. O Allah protect us from evil and envious hearts of men and the shayateen.

O Allah make us leaders in this dunya so that we be just and help others by providing with meaningful jobs and an enriching environment to work.

O Allah unite all the children with their parents and make them coolness of their eyes.

O Allah have mercy upon each and every Muslim in this world and keep us on the straight path, the path on which our beloved Prophet sallallahu alaihe wassallam has tread his entire life. This path which he moulded for us with his beautiful teachings.

O Allah! Lord of the seven heavens and Lord of the great Throne, suffice u in every difficulty and solve them, as You desire and wherever You desire.

May Peace and Blessing be upon the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alaihe wassallam.

Amen Ya Rabbal Aa lameen.

Please support my dawah work by liking my page http://www.facebook.com/believerspathinstitute

Don’t forget to share this dua list with your loved ones.
Wishing you the best of this world and the next.

Wassaalam
Zakia Usmani

Tuesday

How to make effective duas this Ramadan - Part 7

Assalamu Alaikum  wa rahmatullah wa barakatuhu

There are some reasons which cause the supplication to be accepted by Allah(SWI'). They are:

• Repentance to Allah(SWT):

• Good income: The income must be -halal(good) as the Messenger of Allah SAW  was asked by one of His companions -How could 1 have my supplication responded to?- The messenger of Allah SAW, said - Make your income good and your supplication will be responded to-.

• Perform Supererogatory Deeds: Such as voluntary prayer and voluntary fasting.

• Chose The Preferred Time For Supplication.

As there are reasons for acceptance of a supplication, there are reasons for rejection of a supplication. Here are some reasons which will make Allah (SWT) reject the supplication:

• Illegal Income

• Committing a lot of sins

• Having doubt in Allah (SWT)

• Being Aggressive When Supplicating

“O  Allah, Place in my heart light, and in my tongue light, And in my ears light, and in my eyes light, And above me light, and beneath me light, And on my right light, and on my left light, And in front of me light, and behind me light, And in my soul light, And grant me a far transcendent light.”

Remember me in your duas.

Wassalam
Zakia Usmani



Thursday

How to make effective duas this Ramadan - Part 6

Assalamu Alaikum wa rahmatullah wa barakatuhu

Before we end our discussion about invoking for good, we must touch upon invoking for evil, how could that be? It is the feeling of injustice that drives one to invoke Allah against the unjust one: to afflict him with sickness, or to bring upon him a disaster, or to be bereaved of one of his children, or be subjected to bankruptcy and so on.

Sometimes man calls down evil upon himself, which is in case of anger. Or one might feel that he has become a burden on his family because of his illness, so he prays Allah to be relieved and relief others (of his troubles), all these invocations besides others we see and hear ourselves.

Before we talk about invoking for evil, we have to stress that Allah suhanahu wa ta’ala loves to pardon people. We find many verses in Noble Qur’an urging us to pardon and suppress anger, for Allah, all praise and glory be to Him, describes those who pardon and suppress their anger as ‘Good doers’.

Invoking evil upon unjust people, if prompted by jealousy aroused for the sake of religion, is acceptable and sanctioned. As the invocation of Nûh alaihis salam against his people, and the invocation of Mûsâ alaihis salam against Pharaoh’s people, when he called Allah to, ‘Destroy their wealth, and harden their hearts, so that they will not believe until they see the painful torment,’ (Yûnus, 10: 88). If that is the basis, then invocation is required and will be fulfilled, but if one invokes evil upon others for no reason, or out of envy and spite, the Divine Answer will be, ‘The evil you have prayed to befall others, will befall you.’

Zakia beware of these mistakes in supplication.

• Invoking other than Allah(SWT) such as prophets, pious people, stone, idols ... etc this is "Shirk" (polytheism).

• Wishing to die. Some people when they get sick, and they do not heal soon, or they have some personal problems they start wishing for death.

• Asking Allah(SWT) to hurry or give his punishment in this life.

• Asking Allah(SWT) to break the bond of kind ship.(such as separating one from his parents).

• Supplicating for sins to spread in the Islamic society.

• The "Imam"(prayer's leader) making supplication for himself without including the followers in his supplication.(during group prayer "Attraweh in Ramadan").

• Invoking Allah(SWT) to see if there is a response without a sense of genuine purpose.

• Raising the voice during the supplication. It should be done secretly.

• Saying “Insha Allah" (Allah willing) after the supplication. (Ex. 'Allah forgive my sins if you will) Narrated Abu Huraira RA the Messenger of Allah SAW said "None of you should say: 'Allah forgive me if you wish 'Allah be merciful to me if you wish but he should always appeal to Allah(SWT) with determination, for nobody can force Allah(SWT) to do something against His will. [agreed upon]

• Invoking Allah (SWT) aggressively. (asking Allah[SWT] for impossible things such as asking Him to make you a prophet or immortality) .

• Asking Allah (SWT) to harm a Muslim.

• Asking Allah (SWT) to have a Muslim commit a sin or die as a non-believer.

“O Allah! Protect me with Islam while I am standing, Protect me with Islam while I am sitting and Protect me with Islam while I am lying down. And not let an enemy or a jealous person feel happy over my plight. O Allah! I ask You for all the good and blessings whose treasures are in Your Hands, and I seek refuge in You from all the evil whose treasures are in Your Hands.” (Hakim 1260/217)

Remember me in your duas.

Wassalam
Zakia Usmani
http://www.facebook.com/believerspathinstitute

Monday

How to make effective duas this Ramadan - Part 5

Assalamu Alaikum wa rahmatullah wa barakatuhu

The sign of the acceptance of supplication is that we accept our destiny, for the moment that Allah sends down on our hearts tranquility and contentment, then our supplication is surely answered, because in such case Allah casts into our heart what makes us feel that we are beyond need of the thing we ask for and it no longer crosses our mind.

A great consolation to every supplicant whose prayer is not yet answered, for there are voices that Allah loves to hear, therefore He tells His Angels to postpone His servant’s need to hear his dear voice calling on Him. Perhaps yours is a voice dear to Allah.

Remember these conditions of Supplication while making your du’a.

• You must know that only Allah(SWT) can answer your supplication and He is the only one Who can "bring good to you.

Allah(SWT) said: "Is not He Who responds to the distressed one, when he calls Him, and Who removes the evil, and makes you inheritors of the earth, generation after generation. Is there any god with Allah? Little is that you remember"[27:62].

• You must invoke Allah(SWT) alone and no others. Allah(SWT) said: "And the mosques are for Allah (Alone), so invoke not anyone along with Him"[72: 18].

• You must be patient

• You must think: positively of Allah(SWT), must have faith in Him and believe that He has the ability to do anything He wants. Narrated Abu Hurairah radiallahu anhu , Allah's Messenger sallallahu alaihe wasallam said: "Supplicate Allah with confidence He will answer you"[Reported by At-Tirrnidhi].

“O Allah! Be gracious to me in making all difficulties easy, for to make a difficulty easy is very easy for You. And, I ask You for ease and safety in the world and the Hereafter.” (Tabarani)

Wassalam
Zakia Usmani
http://www.facebook.com/believerspathinstitute

Friday

How to make effective duas this Ramadan - Part 4

The question that is on the tip of everyone’s tongue is when the supplication is answered? And whether there are certain favorable times and places that should be sought to have our supplication answered.

There are certain times supplication is more likely to be accepted by Allah(SWT) as the Prophet(SAW) said. These times are:

1. The Last Third Of The Night
2. Late at night: When people are sleeping and busy with worldly pleasures Allah (SWT) gives the believers an opportunity, or an answer hour if they can fight sleep and invoke Allah (SWT) for whatever they need. The Prophet (SAW) said: 'There is at night an hour, no Muslim happens to be asking Allah any matter of this world or the Hereafter, except that he will be given it, and this (occurs) every night.' [Muslim #757]
3. Between Adhan and Iqamah
4. An Hour On Friday
5. While Drinking Zamzam Water
6. While Prostrating
7. When Waking Up at Night: Narrated Ubada Bin As-Samit that Allah’s Messenger (SAW) said: 'Whomever wakes up at night and says La ilaha illallahu wahdahu la shrika lahu lahulmulku, wa lahul hamdu, wa huwa ala kulli shai'in qadir. Alhamdu lillahi, wa subhanallahi wa la ilaha illallahu, wallah akbir, wa la hawla wala quwata illa billah (none has the right to be worshipped but Allah (SWT) He is the only one who has no partners. His is the kingdom and all the praises are for Allah (SWT) All the glories are for Allah (SWT) And none has the right to be worshipped but Allah (SWT) and Allah (SWT) is the most Great and there is neither might nor power except with Allah (SWT) and then says, Allahumma ighfir li (O Allah! Forgive me) or invokes Allah (SWT), he will be responded to and if he makes ablution and performs Salat (prayer), his Salat (prayer) will be accepted. [Sahih al-Bukhari]
8. At The End Of The Obligatory Salat: Narrated Abu Omamah (RA): that Allah’s Messenger (SAW) was asked, O Messenger of Allah, which supplication is heard (by Allah (SWT), he said the end of the night and at the end of the obligatory Salat (prayer) [at-Tirmidhi]. This time is after saying 'At-tahyat' , and before making Tasleem (finishing prayer)
9. The Night Of 'Qadr' (Decree)
10. During The Rain
11. The One Who Is Suffering Injustice and Opression
12. The Traveler
13. The Parent's Supplication for their Child
14. The dua of a Muslim for his absent brother or sister Muslim stemming from the heart.
15. Dua on the Day of Arafat
16. Dua during the month of Ramadan: Ramadan is month full of many blessings, thus the du'a of Ramadan is a blessed one. This can be inferred from the Prophet (SAW) saying: 'When Ramadan comes, the Doors of Mercy (another narration says Paradise) are opened, and the doors of Hell are closed, and the Shaitans are locked up' Thus, it is clear that du'a during Ramadan has a greater chance of being accepted, as the Gates of Paradise and Mercy are opened. [Sahih al-Bukhari #1899, Muslim #1079 and others]

17. When Muslims gather for the purpose of invoking and remembering Allah (Dhikrullah: The Prophet (SAW) said: If a group of people sit together remembering Allah, the angels will circle them, mercy will shroud them, peace will descend onto them and Allah will remember them among those with Him. [Muslim]
18. First Ten days of Dhul-Hijjah
19. Dua of people after the death of a person
20. Dua of the one fasting until he breaks his fast.
21. Dua of the one fasting at the time of breaking fast
22. Dua immediately after wudu
23. Dua after stoning the Jamarat at Hajj
24. Du'a made inside the Ka'bah
25. Du'a on the mount of Safa or Marwah during Umrah or Hajj
26. While visiting the sick, and dua made by the sick

“My Lord, make me grateful to You, one who constantly remembers You, full of fear towards You, fully obedient to You, humble before You, earnest in supplication and patient. My Lord, accept my repentance, wash away my sin, grant my supplication, strengthen my faith, make my tongue true, guide my heart, and throw out the malice from my heart.” (Tirmidhi, Abu Dawood, Ibn Majah)

Remember me in your duas.

Wassalam
Zakia Usmani
http://www.facebook.com/believerspathinstitute

Monday

How to make effective duas this Ramadan - Part 3

Assalamu Alaikum wa rahmatullah wa barakatuhu

Our dua must include thanks and gratitude shown to Allah for His endless countless blessings. Giving thanks to Allah for His Blessings is a must, because Allah, all praise and glory be to Him, prepared for us these blessings even before creating us.

Lift both hands across chest, spread out both palms facing the skies with a slight gap in between them and look into the palms with humility. After reading Bismillah and Salawaat, and whilst having more Yaqeen in the power of the Du’aa then in our weak efforts, speak to Allah Ta’aala in the following manner:

MAKE DUE FOR YOUR PERSONAL NEEDS!!!
Sayyadina Thaabit (radiallahu anhu) narrates: "Everyone should ask his Creator for all of his needs even if it be salt or be it a shoe-lace when it breaks."

1. ADMIT to your SINS: O Allah, I am very evil. Please forgive all my sins, hide them and grant me the Taufeeq of making Islaah. (reform)

2. IMAAN: O Allah, make my Imaan strong with Taqwaa and grant me Husne-khaatamah (a beautiful Maut.)

3. ‘ILM: O Allah, grant me ‘Ilm and Hikmat (Wisdom) and give me Hidayah to practice upon what I know. Let me observe all the Sunnahs and keep me in the company of pious people in both the Worlds.

4. GOOD DEEDS: O Allah grant me the love of all good deeds, create in me the urgency to do good with sincerity and Istiqaamah (Steadfastness). Please accept my all imperfect deeds through your Mercy.

5. EVIL DEEDS: O Allah safe me from all kinds of evil intentions and deeds. Safe me from everything that leads towards evil. Let my heart reject evil and grant me the courage to stay away from all evil company.

6. SHAYTAAN AND NAFS: O Allah, protect me from Shaytaan’s presence and his sweet tricks. O Allah, make it easy for me to control my Nafs, for me to accept my faults and to worry about my Imaan until death.

7. SAFETY: O Allah, safe us from all calamities, oppression, Sehr and from hurting anybody’s feelings.

8. HALAAL RIZQ: O Allah bless us with Easy Halaal Rizq in abundance and safe us from debts and poverty

9. HEALTH: O Allah, grant me continuous Excellent Health so that I can make Ibaadah with humility.

10. JANNAH: O Allah, I beg of you through your Mercy for Jannatul-Firdaus without any reckoning.

11. AAKHIRAH: O Allah, safe me from a bad Maut, the Athaab of the Qabr, the terrors of the Day of Qiyaamah and from the horrors of Jahannam. Please do not disgrace me in front of all.

12. PARENTS: O Allah, look after my parents. Have Mercy upon them just as they had Mercy upon me in my childhood. Let me be of service to them with kindness and compassion.

13. FAMILY: O Allah let my family be the coolness of my eyes. Protect them from all harm and grant them Barakah in their deeds, lifespan, knowledge and wealth.

14. RIGHTS: O Allah, give me the strength to fulfil everyone’s rights without expecting any of mine. Grant me a good character filled with soft speech, kind words and tolerance upon hurt and pain inflicted upon me.

15. THE UMMAH: O Allah Help the entire Ummah of Rasullullah Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam. Grant them victory over all their enemies, remove their difficulties, bless them with Barakat and fulfil all their needs.

16. MARHOOMS: O Allah, forgive all those people who have passed away and fill their Qabrs with Noor. Have Mercy upon them and let me take a lesson from their departure from this temporary world.

“O Allah! We ask You to make Your mercy on us definite, and (we ask You) for confirmation of Your forgiveness (through deeds of that type), and for safety from all sins, and to enable us to do pious deeds, and for honouring us with Paradise and delivering us from Hell.”

Remember me in your duas.

Wassalam
Zakia Usmani
http://www.facebook.com/believerspathinstitute

Saturday

How to make effective duas this Ramadan Part 2

Always start your du’a  with " Bimillah alhudullilah was salatu wa salamu ala rasollillah (In the name of Allah, Praise is to Allah, and Peace and Blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah) and should end with (Peace and Blessing be upon the Messenger of Allah).

• Make your dua secretly and with a present (sincere) heart.
• Show humility  and express your need of Allah(SWT)

• Insist to Allah(S WT) in your supplication by repeating it many times.

• Invoke Allah(SWT) by His Names and Attributes.

• Supplicate Allah(SWT) by mentioning the righteous deeds you have done.

• Admit your sins during your supplication.

• Repeat each sentence of your supplication three times.

• Face AI-Qiblah (Makkah) during your supplication.

• Raise your hands while supplicating Allah (SWT).

• Be in the state of Purity during your supplication.

• When making supplication for others, start with yourself first then include others

• Do not be aggressive when you are supplicating Allah (SWT) such as asking Him to make you a prophet and you know there will not be a prophet after Mohammed SAW or make you live for ever and you know everyone will die.

• Remember to include your parents in your supplication

• Be patient, do not expect an immediate response from Allah(SWT) although this could happen but if it does not, then you should be patient and continue supplicating Allah(SWT) until you see the results.

“O Allah, I supplicate You to grant me Your Love, And the Love of those who love You, And the action that would lead me to win Your Love, And make my love for You more dear to me Than myself, my family, and cold refreshing water”.

 Remember me in your duas.

Wassalam
Zakia Usmani

Tuesday

Sensing Muslim Unity

The Prophet sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam said: "Fast when they fast, and break your fast when they break their fast, and sacrifice the day they sacrifice." 

Imaam at-Tirmidhee rahimahullah said: "Some of the People of Knowledge explained this hadeeth by saying: Its meaning is to fast and break the fast along with the jamaa`ah and the majority of people."

Thus, in this blessed month we can sense an increased feeling of unity and of being a single Ummah due to our fasting and breaking our fast collectively. We also feel an increased awareness about the state of affairs of the Muslims and of the hardships that they endure, because: "During the fast, a Muslim feels and experiences what his needy and hungry brothers and sisters feel, who are forced to go without food and drink for many many days. Indeed, the unity of the Muslims and their aiding and assisting one another, is one of the great fundamentals upon which the Religion of Islaam is built, as Allaah the Most High said: "And hold fast altogether to the rope of Allaah and do not be divided." [Soorah Aal `Imraan 3:103]. Allaah – the Most High – also said: "The Believers – men and women – and friends and protectors of one another." [Soorah al-Tawbah 9:44]

Islaam lays great importance in bringing hearts together and encouraging ijtima` (collectiveness). This is not only reflected in the month of Ramadaan, but also in the other acts of worship as well.Thus, Ramadaan is a time to increase our sense of unity and brotherhood, and our commitment to Allah and His Religion.

Lesson learnt: We must examine ourselves during the Ramadaan and ask: What is my role – and each of us has a role – in helping this precious Ummah to regain its honour, and return to the Ummah its comprehensive unity and strength, and victory that has been promised to it? Likewise, we should reflect upon our character and actions and ask: Are they aiding the process of unity and brotherhood, or are they a harm and a hindrance to it?

Monday

How to make effective dua this Ramadan

Assalamu Alaikum wa rahmatullah wa barakatuhu

We all make mistakes and we are all in dire need for forgiveness for the sins which we commit day and night. It is out of the mercy of Allaah upon us that He facilitated many ways to attain forgiveness.

We beg Allah to forgive and overlook our misdeeds. Whenever we beg for forgiveness Allah will answer our prayer and He, all praise be to Him, will overlook our evil deeds.

When a person commits a sin, he goes away from Allah. When he repents, he returns to Allah and desires for being pardoned by Him, and getting near Him.

The moment you raise your hands to heavens and say ‘O Lord,’ you become in direct close contact with Allah,  you can pray and say whatever you wish, for it will remain between you and your Lord.

“And your Lord says, ‘Call on Me and I shall respond to you’” (Ghâfir, 40: 60)

“Du’a, and 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 play 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 an effect on the enemy…” Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyyah

During this blessed month of Ramadan I will be sharing with you tips on how to make an effective dua. Be on the lookout for the email series “How to make effective dua this Ramadan” coming your way through out this month insha Allah.

Ramadan Mubarak!

Wassalam
Zakia Usmani
http://www.facebook.com/believerspathinstitute

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