From The Chaplain’s Desk: The Power Of Dua

I’m going to open this article by sharing two stories that highlight the power and effectiveness of duʿā.

Abū Hurairah narrates that he would frequently invite his mother to accept Islam, and she would always refuse. One day, he was encouraging her to accept the truth and she responded with some hurtful speech regarding the Prophet ﷺ. She rebuked her son and insulted the Prophet ﷺ. This pained Abū Hurairah as he was a man with a very soft and tender heart. He came to the Prophet ﷺ crying and said, “O Messenger of Allah! I would invite my mother to Islam and she would reject it. I invited her again today and she said some things regarding you that I disliked. Supplicate to Allah ﷻ to guide Abū Hurairah’s mother.” The Prophet ﷺ raised his hands and said, “O Allah, guide Abū Hurairah’s mother!” 

He left happy with the Prophet’s supplication and returned to his mother’s home. When his mother heard him approaching the door she asked for him to wait outside as she was bathing. As soon as she finished, she opened the door and said, “O Abū Hurairah! I bear witness that there’s no one worthy of worship except Allah and I bear witness the Muḥammad is the Messenger of Allah!” This brought indescribable joy to Abū Hurairah’s heart and he went back to the Prophet ﷺ. This time he came to him with tears of joy and told him what happened. He said, “Rejoice O Messenger of Allah, for Allah ﷻ has accepted your duʿā. He has guided Abū Hurairah’s mother to Islam. He also said, “O Messenger of Allah! Supplicate to Allah to make my mother and I beloved to the believing men and women.” The Prophet ﷺ said, “O Allah! Make this servant of yours and his mother beloved to every believing man and woman.” As a result, Abū Hurairah would say, “No believing man or woman hears of me except that they love me.” [Sahih Muslim 2491]

That is the amazing and transformative power of duʿā. It has the ability to make the seemingly impossible possible. Through the duʿā of the Prophet ﷺ, Abū Huraira’s mother’s heart was opened and she surrendered to Allah ﷻ. This is a woman who just a few moments before had refused to accept Islam and insulted the Prophet ﷺ.

The second story is from Anas .

He narrates that once while the Prophet ﷺ was delivering a khuṭbah, a man entered the masjid, interrupted the Prophet ﷺ, and said, “O Messenger of Allah! Our wealth has perished and the roads have been cut off. Supplicate to Allah to send us rain.”

يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ هَلَكَتِ الأَمْوَالُ وَانْقَطَعَتِ السُّبُلُ، فَادْعُ اللَّهَ يُغِيثُنَا

The Messenger of Allah ﷻ raised his hands and said, “O Allah send us rain! O Allah send us rain! O Allah send us rain!” Anas said, “By Allah, when he raised his hands there were no clouds in the sky.” Then all of a sudden, a cloud appeared in the middle of the sky, spread, and it started to rain. “By Allah, we didn’t see the sun for a week.” [Agreed upon]

That is the power of duʿā. It has the ability to make the seemingly impossible possible. Within a moment it can change circumstances, situations, and conditions.

Supplication [PC: Imad Alassiry (unsplash)]

Duʿā, supplication, calling upon Allah ﷻ, is one of the absolute most powerful and amazing tools that we have as believers. The Prophet ﷺ said, “Duʿā is the weapon of the believer.” Just as a weapon is used for protection and defense in a physical sense, duʿā (prayer) is seen as a spiritual and emotional weapon that we as believers can use to seek help, guidance, and strength from Allah ﷻ. This saying underscores the belief that turning to Allah ﷻ in prayer is a source of comfort, solace, and empowerment for us, especially in times of difficulty, hardship, or when facing challenges. It encourages us to have faith in the efficacy of our supplications and the divine support that can be obtained through sincere prayer.

Duʿā is a direct line of communication between a believer and their Lord and Creator. It is considered to be the essence or epitome of worship. The Prophet ﷺ said, “Duʿā is the essence of worship.” When we raise our hands in supplication to Allah ﷻ it shows that we recognize the reality of our relationship with Him. We recognize that we are His servants and that He is our Lord and Creator. We acknowledge and admit that we don’t have the power, ability, or capability to do anything without the help and assistance of Allah ﷻ. When we supplicate to Allah ﷻ, we are affirming all of His divine names and attributes. We are affirming that He ﷻ is our Lord, Creator, Sustainer, Provider, Nourisher, the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing, and the All-Knowing. When we engage in duʿā we are affirming that Allah ﷻ is in charge of this entire universe and everything it contains; that He alone is the King of all kings.

By supplicating to Allah ﷻ we are fulfilling our obligation of calling upon Him. And the beautiful thing is that when we call upon Him, He answers. Allah ﷻ says,

“And your Lord says call upon me and I will respond to you.” [Surah Ghafir: 40;60]

In this verse, Allah ﷻ Himself is instructing us to call upon Him. Allah ﷻ is instructing us to worship Him and make duʿā. And then He ﷻ gives us a promise that He will respond. Similarly, in Sūrah al-Baqarah Allah ﷻ says,

“[Prophet], if My servants ask you about Me, I am near. I respond to those who call Me, so let them respond to Me, and believe in Me, so that they may be guided.” [Surah Baqarah: 2;186]

This verse is very significant in helping us nurture, develop, and cultivate a stronger relationship with Allah ﷻ. Oftentimes, we may think of Allah ﷻ as being very distant or far. Because we can’t see Allah ﷻ in the life of this world, we may feel that He is distant, or God-forbid absent from our daily life and affairs. But Allah ﷻ tells us that He is near; He is close. An aspect of that proximity is that He answers our prayers.

“I respond to those who call Me…” Again, Allah ﷻ gives us a guarantee that He will respond to our calls when we call upon Him. But here, Allah ﷻ makes His acceptance of our supplications conditional. “So let them respond to Me, and believe in Me, so that they may be guided.” Allah ﷻ is telling us that if we want Him to respond to our call, we have to respond to His. Allah’s call is found in the Quran; it is living our lives according to the guidance of the Quran and following the practical example of the Prophet ﷺ. If we want our prayers to be accepted, we have to try our best to follow the instructions, guidance, commands, and prohibitions of Allah ﷻ and His Messenger ﷺ.

When a person frequently calls upon Allah ﷻ it shows that they have firm faith and a strong relationship with their Lord and Creator. Allah ﷻ promises that He will respond to His servants if they call upon Him seeking His help, assistance, and guidance. 

However, from experience, we know that we don’t always get what we ask for. A common question people ask is “Why are my prayers not being answered?” The Prophet ﷺ provides a response to this question in the following ḥadīth.

Abū Hurairah narrates that the Prophet ﷺ said, “There is not a man who calls upon Allah with a supplication, except that he is answered. Either it shall be granted to him in the world, or reserved for him in the Hereafter, or his sins shall be expiated for it according to the extent that he supplicated – as long as he does not supplicate for some sin, or for the severing of the ties of kinship, and he does not become hasty.” The companions said: “O Messenger of Allah, and how would he be hasty?” He ﷻ said: “He says: ‘I called upon my Lord, but He did not answer me.’”

We cannot and should not underestimate the power of supplication. It is one of the most important things we can continue to do for our brothers and sisters in Gaza. Oftentimes our word choice and rhetoric are reflective of our beliefs and inner feelings. When we hear people speaking about supplicating for our brothers and sisters they make it seem like a cop-out or something insignificant. Oftentimes we hear people saying, “The least we can do is make duʿā for them.” That is not the least we can do. Duʿā is one of the most important things we can do to help our brothers and sisters who are experiencing ethnic cleansing and genocide. It is one of the most powerful tools and weapons we have in our arsenal.

May Allah ﷻ grant the people of Gaza continued strength, patience, perseverance, tawakkul, and victory. May He ﷻ remove the injustice and oppression from their lives and bring an end to the brutal occupation. May Allah ﷻ liberate al-Aqṣā. From the river to the sea Palestine will be free!

Related:

– 5 Steps To Grow From Passive To Active Bystanders During The Genocide Of Gaza

– Why Our Prayers for Gaza May Not Be Answered