Salaam

August 19th - Chapter 5: The Etiquette of Du'a continued (even more)

16. To Use the Du'as of the Quran and Sunnah

These du'as are blessed and there are many evidences that such du'as have more chance of being responded to.

Regarding the last verse of Surah al-Baqarah,

"O Our Lord! Do not punish us if we forget, or fall into error. O Our Lord! Do not place a burden on us, as you have placed upon those before us! Pardon us, forgive us, and have mercy on us..."

The prophet(saw) said, "Allah has said: Yes I have done so"

These du'as are of the Straight Path-the Path of those whome Allah has favoured; the prophets, the sincere, the martyrs and the righteous.

Of course this does not mean that one is obligated to stick to the du'as of the Quran and sunnah. However, there is no doubt that the speech of Allah and teh speech of the Messenger of Allah(saw) is a blessed speech and therefore the du'as narrated in them are more worthy than other du'as.

One who uses such du'as should be aware of the meanings of them. If one merely reads such du'as without understanding what he is reading, then he has contradicted most of the etiquettes of du'a, for how can he sincerely and humbly petition Allah when he does not even know what he is asking for?

17. To Start Du'a with One's Self

It is desirable that the person making du'a should first ask of it for himself. This is for a number of reasons. Firstly, a person should desire all good for himself. Thirdly, (yh I knw 2 follows one, but dnt worry u didnt miss out ) it increases him in his sincerity in his du'a, for verily mankind is weak, so when he makes du'a only for his brother, it is possible it will not be as sincere as when he makes du'a for himself and his brother.

However there examples of the prophet(saw) making du'a without mentioning one's self, but in general it is recommended to do so.

18. To Pray for All Muslims

Part of the completeness of one's iman is that a person loves for his brother what he loves for himself. Therefore just as he desires that he be guided to the truth and be forgiven for his sins, so too shopuld he desire for his fellow muslims.

The prophet(saw) is commanded in the Quran to: "..seek forgiveness(from Allah)for your sins, and the sins of the believing men and women." - Surah Muhammad

and the Prophet(saw) said: "Whoever seeks forgiveness for the believing men and women, then a good deed will be written for him for every single believing man and woman (that he prayed for)

Of particular importance is that a person prays for his own parents (if they are alive, or if they died as muslims). Allah specifically instructs the believers in this respect: "And lower unto them the wings of humility mercy, and say 'O My Lord! Have mercy on them, even as they took care of me while I was young'" - Surah al-Isra