American Muslim

The Power of Du'a

Asalaam Alaikum (Peace be with you),

I belong to an awesome group on Facebook called "Qur'an Weekly," which sends out an ayah (verse) of Qur'an every Monday and Thursday with tafseer (commentary). They also have a website here.

I was really moved by the tafseer of a recent posting and wanted to share it here. It deals with the power of du'a or supplication or prayer to Allah (SWT). As I was telling a friend in an email, I think that we, as Muslims, frequently forget that Allah (SWT) may not answer our du'a in this life, but only in the Hereafter. This means that we must continue to strive for His sake and ask Him to grant us the sabr (patience) to be among the Best. We know that in Sura Al-Ahzab Allah (SWT) describes the virtues of the believing men and women and refers to the patient men and the patient women.

Here's the post:
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In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful.

“And when My servants ask you, [O Muhammad], concerning Me – indeed I am near. I respond to the invocation of the supplicant when he calls upon Me. So let them respond to Me [by obedience] and believe in Me that they may be rightly guided.” [Al-Baqarah 2:186]

About thirteen verses in surah al-Baqarah begin with “they ask you about”, and the response to it is usually “say to them [O Muhammad]”, but in this particular verse, Allah did not put the Prophet (PUBH) in between. Allah answers directly to us. The scholars say this is very critical. The answer did not come with “say” because there is no one between you and Allah, no intercessor.

Allah says that he responds to each person’s invocation, so then how often does it seem like when we make dua, our dua does not seem to be answered? There are many answers to this. In one hadith we learn that Allah saves some duas to be answered in the hereafter if they are not answered immediately. Or instead, he will avert an equivalent amount of evil. [mentioned in at-Tirmdhi and the Musnad of Imam Ahmad]

A great scholar from the past, Ibrahim ibn Adham (may Allah have mercy on him) also responded to why duas are not answered, “Because you know Allah, yet you do not obey him. And you know the Prophet (PBUH) but do not follow his sunnah. And you know the Quran but do not act upon it. And you eat from the blessings of Allah, but you do not express gratitute for it. And you know jannah, yet you do not strive for it. And you know jahannam, yet you do not run away from it. And you know the Shaitan, but you do not fight him, instead you obey him. And you know death, but you do not prepare yourselves for it. And you bury the dead, but you do not learn a lesson from it. And you have left your own faults, and instead busy yourself finding the faults of others.”

Finally, when making dua, remember that it is the essence of worship and the weapon of the believer. And remember what Allah says about those who scorn his worship: “And your Lord says, ‘Call upon Me; I will respond to you.’ Indeed, those who disdain My worship will enter Hell [rendered] contemptible.” [40:60]