The Proper Way To Make Dua

Question: I would like to know the proper way to make du’aa’ during prayer, as the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) did it. Is it after the prayer or between the two prostrations or whilst standing or when?

Source: muslimlinkpaper.com

By: Shaykh Muhammad Saalih al-Munajjid

Answer: Praise be to Allah. 

First:

Note that there is not one particular part of the prayer when du’aa’ should be offered, rather there are several parts of the prayer where the scholars have stated that the Messenger of Allah offered du’aa’, from the opening takbeer to the final tasleem.

It is also Sunnah to make du’aa’ after the prayer and there are several du’aa’s that we will mention below insh’allah. It should be noted that the best of guidance is the guidance of Muhammad and the best of du’aa’s are those which are in accordance with the Sunnah of the Prophet . The wording of the Messenger of Allah is the best of wording, because he is the most knowledgeable of all people about the Arabic language, and the most eloquent in speech. Allah enabled him to express the most profound of meanings in few words, which is called conciseness of speech.

It was narrated that Abu Hurayrah said: I heard the Messenger of Allah say:
“I have been sent with concise speech.” Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 6611; Muslim, 523. 

Al-Bukhaari said: I heard that conciseness of speech means when many meanings which it would have taken books to write before are summed up in a phrase or two, and so on.

Based on this, if you want to say du’aa’ in your prayers at the points at which it is prescribed and recommended (mustahabb) to say du’aa’, the best of du’aa’s are those which are said in the wording of the Prophet .

Dr. Muhammad Salah – Raising the hands during a dua (Video)

 Regarding raising the hands when making du’aa:
It is important to note that du’aa’ is an act of worship, and every act of worship should only be done on the basis of evidence (daleel). The basic principle here is that the hands should be raised when making du’aa’, except when the du’aa’ is part of another act of worship, in which case raising the hands is regarded as an additional action (and should not be done). Examples of such acts of worship include salaah (prayer), khutbah (sermon), tawaaf (circumambulation of the Ka’bah), sa’ee (running between al-Safaa and Marwah), etc. Salaah includes du’aa’ at the beginning of the prayer, in rukoo’ (bowing), when standing up from rukoo’, in the two sajdahs (prostrations) and in the sitting between the two prostrations — but whoever raises his hands in these places is considered to have committed an act of bid’ah (reprehensible innovation). The same applies to raising the hands when making du’aa’ on the minbar, except in the case of istisqaa’ (praying for rain). And the same applies when making du’aa’ when doing tawaaf or sa’ee.

When there is evidence to show that it is permissible to raise the hands in certain situation, then there is no dispute. Any du’aa’ which has not been narrated in a report and which is not part of another act of worship is regarded as general du’aa’; in this case there is nothing wrong with raising the hands. It was narrated that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) spoke of a man who raised his hands to the sky and said, “O Lord, O Lord,” whilst his food was haraam, his drink was haraam, his clothing was haraam, he had been nourished with haraam, so how could his du’aa’ be answered?

And the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Allaah feels shy to let His slave raise his hands to Him and bring them back empty.” — and other ahaadeeth.

With regard to raising the hands after a naafil prayer, if that is not a du’aa’ that is regularly offered, such as when a man is faced with some emergency, and he calls upon Allaah at that moment, there is nothing wrong with that. But if he regularly makes du’aa’ and raises his hands after praying an obligatory prayer, there is no clear daleel to support doing so.

Islamqa.com

Muslims in England and Wales doubled in 10 years

Source: theguardian.com

By: Aisha Gani

The Muslim population of England and Wales is growing faster than the overall population, with a higher proportion of children and a lower ratio of elderly people, according to an analysis of official data.

One in three Muslims is under 15, compared with fewer than one in five overall. There are also fewer elderly Muslims, with 4% aged over 65, compared with 16% of the overall population.

In 2011, 2.71 million Muslims lived in England and Wales, compared with 1.55 million in 2001. There were also 77,000 Muslims in Scotland and 3,800 in Northern Ireland.

The Muslim Council of Britain’s (MCB) study of data from the 2011 census found that Muslims are still a small minority of the overall population – one in 20. This contrasts with popular perceptions held by Britons, who overstate the proportion of Muslims in the country by a factor of four, according to a recent survey by Ipsos Mori.

Half the Muslims in England and Wales were born there and almost three-quarters (73%) identify themselves as British. Two-thirds of Muslims are ethnically Asian and 8% are white.

Shaytaan his tactic: “Wasawis, I get Bad thoughts all the time”

Source: islam.stackexchange.com

By: Tabrez Ahmed

You are not the only one who is victimized by the whispers of shaitan. Even in the time of Prophet such incidents have been witnessed.

Sunan Abi Dawood (Kitab Al-Adab) :: Hadith 5112

Narrated Abdullah ibn Abbas:
A man came to the Prophet and said: Messenger of Allah! one of us has thoughts of such nature that he would rather be reduced to charcoal than speak about them. He said: Allah is Most Great, Allah is Most Great, Allah is Most Great. Praise be to Allah Who has reduced the guile of the devil to evil prompting. Ibn Qudamah said “reduced his matter” instead of “reduced his guile”.
Ibn Qudamah said “reduced his matter” instead of “reduced his guile”.

But our beloved Prophet has assured us that unless such kind of evil whispers are ignored and the evil thoughts are not acted upon, Allah forgives us.

Sahih al-Bukhari :: Hadith 6664

Narrated Abu Huraira:
The Prophet said, “Allah forgives my followers those (evil deeds) their souls may whisper or suggest to them as long as they do not act (on it) or speak.”

Study: U.S. regime has killed 20-30 million people since World War Two

Source: countercurrents.org

By: James A. Lucas

After the catastrophic attacks of September 11 2001 monumental sorrow and a feeling of desperate and understandable anger began to permeate the American psyche. A few people at that time attempted to promote a balanced perspective by pointing out that the United States had also been responsible for causing those same feelings in people in other nations, but they produced hardly a ripple. Although Americans understand in the abstract the wisdom of people around the world empathizing with the suffering of one another, such a reminder of wrongs committed by our nation got little hearing and was soon overshadowed by an accelerated “war on terrorism.”

But we must continue our efforts to develop understanding and compassion in the world. Hopefully, this article will assist in doing that by addressing the question “How many September 11ths has the United States caused in other nations since WWII?” This theme is developed in this report which contains an estimated numbers of such deaths in 37 nations as well as brief explanations of why the U.S. is considered culpable.

How Can I Fix My Character? (Video)

 The Question & Answer Series – How Can I Fix My Character? This video illustrates the importance of honestly looking at your own self and overcoming certain addictions that we may have. Narrated by Ustadh Nouman Ali Khan.
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Illustrated lesson: Nouman Ali Khan – How Can I Motivate My Friends About Islam? (Video)

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UNDERSTAND YOUR IDENTITY AND GAIN SELF CONFIDENCE: ART OF CONNECTION WITH BELAL KHAN (VIDEO)

Source: muslimmatters.org

By: Belal Khan

John Hopkins basketball coach was quoted saying,

“People often fail because they give up what they want most for what they want now.”

The challenge that a lot of us have, especially growing up in the US and the times we live in today where there’s a lot of connection and communication, is answer the question, “What’s the identity that we want to adapt?”

Knowing the answer will lead to self confidence needed to stand for something.

Proof that press conferences are a sham, bankers are dishonest (Video)

 Proof that press conferences are a sham, bankers are dishonest, and there are still some excellent real journalists out there.

Here’s a handy tip for any international bankers traveling to a press conference: don’t try to pretend you understand the anger and frustration of ordinary people by telling a cute anecdote about a conversation with a local taxi driver…it could spectacularly backfire, as the above video shows.