Ramadhan Preparation #2 – Make Du’aa (i.e. doa) to Allah

"Ramadhan : Hitting the Ground Running"

#2 – Make Du’aa (i.e. doa) to Allah

The righteous predecessors of the past used to make constant du’aa to Allah to be granted the best from their Ramadhan. In fact, if you think about it, their mindset focus of the entire year revolves around Ramadhan itself.

Ma’la Ibn al-Fadhl said about the Salaf (the pious predecessors): “They used to call upon Allah for six months for Ramadhan to be granted to them,

then they would call on Him the other six months that Allah may accept it from them.”

Thus we can see that, from the habit/culture of the righteous Muslims,

it all begins – and ends – with du’aa to Allah.

Allah can leave you distracted as Ramadhan passes by, or He can Make this the Ramadhan that can change your life forever – all you have to do is ASK (Him) : sincerely!

the Prophet Muhammad (sallAllahu alayhi wasallam) said: "The most excellent worship is Du’a." (Sahih Al-Jami` no. 1133)

Allah says in the Qur’an:

“And your Lord said: "Invoke Me, [i.e. Make du’aa to Me, and ask Me for anything), I will respond to your (do’a).

Verily! Those who are too arrogant to worship Me [i.e. do not invoke Me] they will surely enter Hell in humiliation!" (Surah Ghafir 40:60)

Here, Allah actually commands us to ask from Him & that He has Guaranteed a Response. In fact, to leave off making du’aa to Him is a sign of arrogance and lack of recognition that Allah is Capable of Granting what we want – when in fact He is

·         Al-mujeeb ( المجيب ) : The One Who Answers & Responds (to those who ask of Him)

·         Al-Ghaniy (الغني) : The All-Rich & Free from any needs

·         Al-wahhab (الوهاب) : The Bestower and Granter of Gifts

·         An-nasir (للناصر) : the One Who Helps

·         Al-Jawwad (الجواد) : the Bestower of Good

·         Al-kareem (الكريم) al-Akram (الأكرم) : the ever Most Generous

·         Al-mu'tee (المعطي) : the Supreme Giver

Think about it: for us to not make du’aa is in fact, by our actions, denying Him of these Attributes which He affirmed for Himself – which is a major weakness in our aqidah.

And that’s why the poet, he says,

“Allah gets angry if you stop asking Him,

Whereas the son of Adam, when he is asked, he gets angry!”

What we’ll want to do now in the weeks leading up to Ramadhan, is to make lots and lots of du’aa – not just for Allah to grant us the maximum and best benefit out of Ramadhan, but in general, asking Allah for anything you want.. or, rather, anything you NEED.

Capitalize on this opportunity to mentally and spiritually train ourselves to set aside time to make sincere, personal du’aa to Allah – as simple as it sounds, unfortunately many of us, due to our busy schedules & intensive entertainment demands, we barely spend time to make du’aa to Allah, and hence merely resort to blurting our scripted du’aas which we don’t understand the meaning of, or worse yet, only say “ameen” to what the imam says in his du’aa.

We need to be wary of this, as the Prophet (sallAllahu alayhi wasallam) warned -  "…And know that Allah does not answer a du’aa that comes from a careless and inattentive heart." [Narrated by At–Tirmidzi]

So let’s train from now to speak from our hearts to ask of Allah, so that by Ramadhan, we are more than eager to go through our wishlist!

When should I Make Du’aa?

Alhamdulillah, with some notable exceptions (e.g. in the ttoilet) there are no real restrictions as to when or where we can make du’aa – it can be made virtually anytime, anywhere.

In several authentic hadith, the Prophet Muhammad (sallAllahu alayhi wasallam) informs us of many different times in which du’aa is recommended and has a higher likelihood of being responded to – the last third of the night, while being musafir (traveler), during times of rain, time between azan and iqamah, etc.

But in preparation for Ramadhan, one of the best times we recommend to practice making lots of du’aa would be during sujood (prostration) while in solah (prayer).

The Prophet said:

“The closest that any one of you may be to his Lord is when he is in sujood (prostration),

so make plentiful du’aa’ during that time!”

(Narrated in Sahih Muslim, Book #004, Hadith #0979)

We pray five times a day anyway, so in addition to the usual dzikir and recitation we recite during sujood, why not add more? Allah is in fact more pleased with you when you ask of Him!

With Ramadhan coming, and regular taraweeh prayers being part of the schedule, there are even more plentiful opportunities to make du’aa to Allah in our sujood.

Specific Virtues of Du’aa in Ramadhan

So we can prepare ourselves to “hit the ground running”, here are reminders on some specific benefits of making Du’aa in Ramadhan :

The Messenger of Allah (sallAllahu alayhi wasallam) said;

“Three du’aa will not be rejected (by Allah (SWT)), the du’aa of the parent for his child, the du’aa of the one who is fasting, and the du’aa of the traveler.”

[al-Bayhaqi, at-Tirmidhi - Sahih]

“When Ramadhan comes, the Doors of Mercy (in one narration: of Paradise) are opened, and the Doors of Hell are closed, and the Shayatin are chained up.” (Bukhari #1899, Muslim #1079).

It can be inferred from this hadith that du’aa during Ramadhan has a greater chance of being accepted, as the Gates of Paradise and Mercy are opened (“Du’aa: the Weapon of the Believer”, Yasir Qadhi).

So let us get into the habit of constantly making sincere Dua's from deep within our hearts and let us not be heedless when supplicating to Allah, insha Allah by the time Ramadan arrives we would have already got into the habit of making the long, sincere and intense Dua's which will readily be accepted during this blessed month especially whilst we are fasting and in the tahajjud/tarawih prayers.

‘O Allah, keep us safe until Ramadan, and make Ramadan faultless for us, and secure it for us as an accepted (month of virtue).

O Allah, make us amongst those who always ask of You, and make us not amongst the heedless and miserly who abandon du’aa.

O Allah, Grant us steadfastness towards preparation of this month & make us not tired or bored from seeking Your Pleasure.

O Allah, Grant us a Ramadhan that will really have a positive impact in changing our lives for the better, and make this a means to attain your Pleasure and Love, perhaps that, by your Mercy, You will grant us acceptance into your Jannah’

Ameen!

“And when My servants ask you, [O Muhammad], concerning Me - indeed I am near.

I respond to the du’aa 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.”

(Surah Al-Baqarah 2:186)