Outline
- Introduction
- Clarification
- The 7 Duas You Should Know By All Means
- Something to Keep You Closer to Him During Ramaḍān
- Conclusion
Introduction
Alhamdulillah.. All thanks and praise are due to the Almighty Allah. I send peace and blessings upon the most humbly submissive servant of Allah, Habībī Muḥammad, his household, his companions and all those who follow his guided path, till judgement day.
This article presents a list of 7 du‘as, which I believe –considering the time we live in and the challenges we’re faced with, every Muslim should know them, and include them to his book of daily supplications and invocations. One may make them his daily list of supplications, if he doesn’t have one already.
The importance of every single du‘a in the list is that, they are not said by me, nor by my ordinary teachers. They are selected from the Qur’an and the Sunnah. This means, they were either said by the Prophet himself, ṣallā Allāhu ‘alaihi wa sallam, by another Messenger of Allah, i.e. Sayyidina Ibrāhīm ‘alaihi al-salām, or by another pious servant of Allah; and endorsed by the Qur’an.
Clarification
Du‘a is known as the weapon of the believer. This, by default, implies the significance of du‘a, regardless of who said it. However, it gains more significance when it is recognized by the Qur’an to have been said by a pious servant of Allah, or was said by our beloved Prophet, ṣallā Allāhu ‘alaihi wa sallam.
The du‘as outlined in this list are not an exception from all the du‘as that were mentioned in the Qur’an or said by our holy Prophet ṣallā Allāhu ‘alaihi wa sallam. Their only uniqueness is that they are more holistic and impact the worldly affairs of the believer, as well at his affairs pertaining to the next life.
Please note that the list doesn’t include any du‘a that I know to have been prescribed to be recited in our obligatory prayers (ṣalāh) (click here to find Azkar regarding ṣalāh), or in other occasions, like morning and evening adhkār (azkār), Ramaḍān, lailatul-Qadr, Istikhārah, protection and others. This is because, the assumption is that you are already well equipped with those du‘as, although most of them are optional.
Now, here you are with the list of the 7 duas you should know by all means, followed by something special to keep you closer to Him during Ramaḍān as well as outside Ramaḍān.
The 7 Duas You Should Know By All Means
Du‘a #1: Seeking His Love and the Love for Any Thing that Brings Us Closer to His Love
Everyone has something to achieve from whatever he does. The Muslim is not an exception. However the difference between the Muslim and anyone else, is that while everyone else strives to fulfil their own desires, the Muslim’s ultimate goal is the attain Allah’s love and pleasure, even if that will be at the expense of his physical comfort. You are already informed that the Muslim is always spiritually peaceful and calm, for as long as he seeks to please Allah in all he does. Thus, the necessity of this du‘a comes in. The Prophet ṣallā Allāhu ‘alaihi wa sallam used to say this du’a:
اللَّهُمَّ ارْزُقْنِي حُبَّكَ، وَحُبَّ مَنْ يَنْفَعُنِي حُبُّهُ عِنْدَكَ. اللَّهُمَّ مَا رَزَقْتَنِي مِمَّا أُحِبُّ فَاجْعَلْهُ قُوَّةً لِي فِيمَا تُحِبُّ. اللَّهُمَّ مَا زَوَيْتَ عَنِّي مِمَّا أُحِبُّ فَاجْعَلْهُ فَرَاغاً لِي فِيمَا تُحِبُّ
O Allah, grant me Your Love and the love of anyone, whose love will benefit me in front of You. O Allah, make anything I love which You provided me, a strength for me in that which You love. O Allah, make anything I love, which You have taken from me, a space for that which You love.
The implication of this du‘a is that your heart will be filled with love for Allah. Once the heart is filled with love for Allah the Almighty, love for the Prophet(s) and the righteous servants of Allah becomes easy, achievable and desirable. Furthermore, your body becomes light in attending to activities that invites Allah’s pleasure, i.e. ṣalāh, standing for the truth and being with the truthful.
Du‘a #2: Seeking Piety, Purity and His Acceptance
Our existence in this life is for a divine purpose. It’s never for fun, and shall not be. However, we are surrounded with so many illusions and temptations. All that demonstrate the testing and trial nature of this life. In order to pass this test, while we do our part by putting in our best level of effort to withstand these challenges, we need to seek divine guidance and support. This is where this du‘a comes in. The Prophet ṣallā Allāhu ‘alaihi wa sallam used to invoke Allah and say:
اللَّهُمَّ آتِ نَفْسِي تَقْوَاهَا وَزَكِّهَا أَنْتَ خَيْرُ مَنْ زَكَّاهَا أَنْتَ وَلِيُّهَا وَمَوْلَاهَا. اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنْ عِلْمٍ لَا يَنْفَعُ وَمِنْ قَلْبٍ لَا يَخْشَعُ وَمِنْ نَفْسٍ لاَ تَشْبَعُ وَمِنْ دَعْوَةٍ لَا يُسْتَجَابُ لَهَا
O Allah, grant my soul its piety, you are the Best Who purifies it, You are its Guardian and Master. O Allah, I seek refuge in You from a non-beneficient knowledge, an unfocused heart, an unsatisfied soul (nafs), and an unanswered supplication (du‘a).
The implication of this du‘a is that, if its observer is not able to purify the society he lives in from filth, corruption and transgression, he will be able (at least) to purify himself and, in some cases, his loved ones, insha Allah.
Du‘a #3: Seeking Refuge from Worsening Conditions
We live in bounties and bestowals of Allah. We can’t enumerate them. Everything belongs to Him. Nothing belongs to us. We are only entrusted with them. Despite that we fail to realize, and are instead, engrossed and obsessed with the illusion of this temporal world and the materials therein. Our sins are enough to entitle us for His punishment (See Surah Fāṭir, 45 and Surah al-Naḥl, 61). It is with His bounty, and the mercy He has for the weak, the poor and, for that matter, the oppressed amongst us that intercede for us. It takes a blink of an eye for everything to change; if He commands for a change to occur.
You wouldn’t want to wake up just to find that you’ve lost your entire family (loved ones), position, legacy, wealth, savings or assets to a “natural” disaster or a crisis. It could be a flood, it could be a firebreak, it could be an earthquake, and in fact, it could be an accident. And it could be bankruptcy. This is why the Propeht ṣallā Allāhu ‘alaihi wa sallam used to say:
اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنْ زَوَالِ نِعْمَتِكَ، وَتَحَوُّلِ عَافِيَتِكَ، وَفُجَاءَةِ نِقْمَتِكَ، وَجَمِيعِ سَخَطِكَ
O Allah, I seek refuge in You from the demise of Your blessing, from the change of the good health [You granted me], from the sudden revenge of You, and from all Your wrath.
The implication of this du‘a is that you are likely to recover from any sickness, test or tribulation. No calamity leaves a permanent misery on you. Instead, they bring you closer to Him. This is so, if what befalls us is a test and not a punishment.
Du‘a #4: Seeking Refuge from Being in a Situation that Pleases Our Enemies
The first error human being ever committed was as a result of falling prey to an enemy. Since then, our battle with enemies; the visible and the invisible, was decreed to last for as long as we live on this earth. Dealing with enemies was, thus, included in the package of trials in our lives.
This is to say, unless we act pretentious, we can’t claim we have no enemies. The most beloved to Allah among us; the Messengers, had enemies. If you can have enemies for your failure, what more for your success? Furthermore, unless Allah saves you, the enmity, hatred and jealousy developed in the heart of a hatred person is capable in destroying your whole life,. That’s why Surah Al-Falaq and Surah Al-Nas were prescribed (Sunnah) to be recited after every obligatory prayer.
There’s nothing you can physically do to stop the effect of the evil act of your enemies. This is despite that you are not allowed to use evil to counter attack evil. This is more so, when witchcraft (siḥr) or evil eye (hasad, or ‘ain) is involved. But with du‘a, you have the most powerful firewall to protect yourself and your loved ones. The Prophet ṣallā Allāhu ‘alaihi wa sallam used to say with regards to this:
اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنْ جَهْدِ البَلَاءِ، وَدَرَكِ الشَّقَاءِ، وَسُوءِ القَضَاءِ، وَشَمَاتَةِ الأَعْدَاءِ
O Allah, I seek refuge in You from effort scourge, low-level of misery, ill of the destiny, and gloating of enemies.
The implication of this du‘a is that you will not be worried about what enemies will conspire against you. Allah has promised to protect you, provided you seek protection from Him alone. Don’t worry about how He is going to do that. Instead, focus and ensure that your belief/faith in Him is strong.
Du‘a #5: Seeking for Consistency in Committing to Ṣalāh
Our basic purpose of existence in this life is to worship Allah the Creator. And ṣalāh is known to be the backbone of our religion. The prescription of ṣalāh is simple. However, being consistent in establishing it is challenging, and requires a divine guidance and support.
Once consistency is achieved, you can’t be satisfied with any amount of worldly gain to miss your prayers. Similarly, you won’t be pleased with yourself, when you are consistent with the obligatory prayers, while your child(ren) is not bothered about it an inch. For that, and to show appreciation to your parents who brought you up righteously, we can include the du‘a of Sayyidinā Ibrāhīm ‘alaihi al-salām in our daily supplications. It says:
رَبِّ اجْعَلْنِي مُقِيمَ الصَّلاَةِ وَمِن ذُرِّيَّتِي رَبَّنَا وَتَقَبَّلْ دُعَاء * رَبَّنَا اغْفِرْ لِي وَلِوَالِدَيَّ وَلِلْمُؤْمِنِينَ يَوْمَ يَقُومُ الْحِسَابُ
“My Lord, make me an establisher of prayer, and [many] from my descendants. Our Lord, and accept my supplication. Our Lord, forgive me and my parents and the believers the Day the account is established.” [Surah Ibrahim, 40-41].
This du‘a implies that your heart will be full of love for Ṣalāh. And your mind becomes always-conscious about it. Your find solace and tranquility in it. You find solutions to your problems after performing one.
Du‘a #6: Seeking for All-Good and All-Righteous
The root of problems in this life is due to the fact that man wants good for himself alone. But we fail to realize that our knowledge pertaining to identifying and comprehending good is limited. In other words, our knowledge of good and bad is very limited. And our perception of good and bad is restricted and based on what we can see, feel, sense, smell and hear.
Such failure in identifying what’s realy good and what’s not; when something is good and when it’s not; and whether the good in hand is for us or for others, causes us to go for every thing anything, just to please our souls, even in the wrong way, and may invite His wrath.
The Prophet ṣallā Allāhu ‘alaihi wa sallam used to recite one of the most holistic supplications, which I believe you can’t afford not to know about it. It says:
اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَسْأَلُكَ مِنَ الْخَيْرِ كُلِّهِ عَاجِلِهِ وَآجِلِهِ، مَا عَلِمْتُ مِنْهُ وَمَا لَمْ أَعْلَمْ، وَأَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنَ الشَّرِّ كُلِّهِ عَاجِلِهِ وَآجِلِهِ، مَا عَلِمْتُ مِنْهُ وَمَا لَمْ أَعْلَمُ. اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَسْأَلُكَ الْجَنَّةَ وَمَا قَرَّبَ إِلَيْهَا مِنْ قَوْلٍ أَوْ عَمَلٍ، وَأَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنَ النَّارِ وَمَا قَرَّبَ إِلَيْهَا مِنْ قَوْلٍ أَوْ عَمَلٍ، اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَسْأَلُكَ مِمَّا سَأَلَكَ مِنْهُ مَحَمَّدٌ، وَأَعُوذُ بِكَ مِمَّا اسْتَعَاذَ مِنْهُ مُحَمَّدٌ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ، اللَّهُمَّ مَا قَضَيْتَ لِي مِنْ قَضَاءٍ فَاجْعَلْ عَاقِبَتَهُ لِي رُشْدًا
O Allah, I ask You for all goodness, now and later on, that which I know and that which I do not know; I seek refuge in You from all evil, now and later on, that which I know and that which I do not know. O Allah, I ask you for Paradise and the words and deeds that will bring me closer to it, and I seek refuge in You from Hell and from the words and deeds that would bring me closer to it. O Allah, I ask You for that which [the Prophet] Muhammad asked You for, and I seek refuge in You from that, which [the Prophet] Muhammad ṣallā Allāhu ‘alaihi wa sallam sought refuge from. O Allah, whatever You have decreed for me, make its consequences good.
This du‘a implies that the believer will find and see good in all he encounters. Even when he’s faced with rejection or unpleasant experiences. He’s able to see the positive side of hardship. He’s able to reflect and realize his sinful acts and then repent from them when ‘natural’ or ‘man-made’ disasters strike. His thoughts and inspirations become closer to the thoughts and inspirations of the chosen servants of Allah. The best of all is that nothing worldly provokes him, as his heart is filled with contentment and trust in Allah.
Du‘a #7: Seeking Good of Both Worlds
The Muslim believes that this world is temporal. There’s another life after our death. That life is eternal. Since the present life is a bridge to the next, it’s full of tests. Thus, it has sweet and sour moments. It has good and bad times. In fact, it has easy and difficult times. But non of the above reflects good until it has been decreed as good in the Sight of Allah. Also, attainment of good here doesn’t sucure one goodness in the next life, unless the good attained is righteous. The judgement day will showcase a lot of disappointments for many people. To avoid this disappointment, let’s put in our effort, and then seek guidance from Him to protect us and grant us goodness in both worlds. The Prophet ṣallā Allāhu ‘alaiahi wa sallam used to say, and in following his footsteps, the good servants of Allah say:
رَبَّنَا آتِنَا فِي الدُّنْيَا حَسَنَةً وَفِي الآخِرَةِ حَسَنَةً وَقِنَا عَذَابَ النَّارِ
“Our Lord, give us in this world [that which is] good and in the Hereafter [that which is] good and protect us from the punishment of the Fire.” [Al-Baqarah, 201].
The implication of this du‘a is that the believer seizes this present life to build his next life. And he knows his next life is determined by how righteous he makes use of his present life.
Something to Keep You Closer to Him During Ramaḍān
Generally, the life of the Muslim is filled with du‘a. Some du‘as are prescribed, and the majority are to be used regardless of time. With this regard, if you want a du‘a which you can use as your appetizer, to be keep your tongue and heart connected with Allah, when you're not engaged in any other du‘a, I would recommend the following du‘a.
اللَّهُمَّ إِنِـي أَسْأَلُكَ الـهُدَى وَالتُّقَى وَالعَفَافَ وَالغِنَـى
“O Allah, I seek from You guidance, piety, chastity and wealth.”
The implication of this du‘a is that, you'll be free from deviation, self-transgression, immorality, corruption and dependency on anyone other than Allah.
The purpose, for which all Messengers were sent was to guide us towards Allah. Once they are no longer present physically amongst us, that's where mischief, innovation in religion and self-claim holiness take place. By referring to Allah seeking for guidance, the believer will be guided through the light given in his heart.
Being a Muslim is something. Training one's soul (nafs) to embrace piety is another thing, differently. Piety is what safeguards the Muslim from abusing trust and power. With du‘a, we are granted piety.
The nature of son of Adam is that he's created with the inclination towards his desires. This is where, knowing the right path is different from knowing it (the right path) and following it. This is also when although one may be pious, he can fall victim to his desires which takes him out of decency. With du‘a, the believer is granted steadfastness in holding to his modesty. With that, …
Naturally, whether he recognizes it or not, man is dependent on Allah. However, he needs to seek help from fellow human beings in order to achieve some things. This is sometimes misunderstood, and as a result, the ultimate dependency which is supposed to be on Allah, is diverted and put on fellow human beings. Yes, we need to each other to succeed. But getting the right person to help us achieve our goals righteously depends on Allah’s help and decision. Therefore, when our dependency is on Allah, He controls the hearts of His slaves to attend to us when our needs arise.
Conclusion
Du‘a is the best way to present our humility before the Almighty. The more time you spend in du‘a, the likely you are rescued in your time of need. This means, you don’t have to come to du‘a, only when you’re desperate. But you should instead, turn your breaths into du‘a.
Looking at the du‘as outlined above, similar to all the du‘as of the Prophet ṣallā Allāhu ‘alaihi wa sallam, and the chosen servants of Allah and pious men, there is not mention of physical and material possession. However, if the Muslim is consistent with them, and his need for a material possession arises, even without saying much, Allah will subject to him his need.
To achieve that, we need to understand, and above all, strongly and firmly believe that Allah is One. He is the Provider. He is the Caretaker. He is the Sustainer. He should be at the pyramid of the focus of our hearts. If we do that, we shall be at the focus of His attention and care.
If any of these du‘as is new to you, it means one or more will be new to someone dear to you, without your knowledge. Don’t leave him/her uninformed. Kindly share this article with your loved ones. To download the the texts of the du'a, together with transliteration (romanized) and plural form, please click here.
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Until our next article, I leave you in Allah’s protection.
Allah knows best.
Allahu Hafiz 🙂
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