Salaam again!

August 8th - Chapter 5: The Etiquette of Du'a

There are a number of manners and etiquette procedures that accompany the performances of du'a. The difference between this part and the previous one ( part 2) is that such etiquette occurs while a person is making du'a, whereas the acts mentioned previously must occur before a person makes du'a.

1. Praising Allah Before the Du'a and Praying upon the prophet(saw)

The person who is making the du'a is asking for forgiveness, mercy and sustenance from his Creator, so it behoves that the worshipper to start his du'a with the praise and glorification of Allah.

The prophet(saw) said to a man worshipping in the mosque, (who after praying made du'a to Allah): "You have been hasty, O worshipper! When you finish your prayer, then sit down and praise Allah with the praise that He is worthy of, and pray upon me, then state your dua."

1.1 Du'a with Allah's Greatest Name

Buraydah narrated that the prophet(saw) heard a person say: "O Allah! I ask you, by virtue of the fact that I testify that You are Allah.. (theres more to this hadith that I left out)

He(saw) said: "This person has asked Allah by is Greatest Name, which if He is asked with, He gives and if He is petitioned with (i.e., a du'a), He answers."

Another point that can be inferred from this is the permissibility of tawassul (see previous part) with ones belief (iman), since the wording of the hadith is "I ask You, by virtue of the fact that I testify that you are Allah"

2.Raising One's Hands

Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah said: "As for the prophet(saw) raising his hands in du'a, then this has been narrated in so many ahadith that they cannot be counted!"

Furthermore, Salman al-Farsi said that the prophet(saw) said: Indeed, Allah is Shy and Beneficent. He is Shy when His servant raises his hands to Him (in du'a) to return them empty, dissapointed!"

*It is important that one's palms face upwards, and not the back of one's hands

There are 3 different types of motions that are narrated from the Companions.

1- The first type is to point with one's forefinger, without necessarily lifting one's hands. This action is done when one asks for forgiveness, or makes a general dhikr, or while making du'a during the khuthbah or during the tashahud. Also it is not sunnah to raise one's hands for the general du'as of the day.

2- The second type is to raise one's hands to the level of one's shoulders, with the palms facing up. This is done for regular du'as that one makes at any time

3- The last type of action is done only in extreme situations, such as asking for rain after drought etc. In this case the hands are stretched forth towards the sky, without joining the two palms together. When this is done, a person's armpits become exposed.

3. Facing the Qiblah

A person is encouraged to turn towards the Qiblah as the prophet(saw) used to do so when making du'a

4. Performing Wudu

5. To Cry

6. To Expect the Best from Allah

Aby Hurayrah narrates that the prophet said: " Allah, all Glory and Praise be to Him has said 'Whatever My servant assumes of Me, that is how I will treat him and I amd with him who remembers Me'"

A person should help himself to achieve this state by always recalling the texts (of the Quran and sunnah) that show the great Mercy of Allah.

The prophet(saw) states: "Let not any of you die excpet that he assumes the best from Allah"

Since a person doesnt know when he will die, the implication is that a muslim must always assumes the best about his Creator.

Ibn al-Qayyim said "For only when a person expects the best from Allah will he perform good deeds since he will expect that Allah will reward him for his deeds and accept them so the more good deeds he does!"