The Book of Du'a (Supplications)
كتاب الدعوات
Chapter 4: Superiority of Auliya' and their Marvels
The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "There were Muhaddithun (the recipients of Divine inspiration) among the nations before you. If there is any of such Muhaddith among my followers, he must be 'Umar."[Al- Bukhari].In Muslim, this Hadith is narrated by 'Aishah (May Allah be pleased with her), and in both these narrations Ibn Wahb has said that the meaning of Muhaddithun is recipients of Divine inspiration.
Chapter 1: Issues regarding Supplications, their Virtues and Supplications of the Prophet (pbuh)
I asked the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) to teach me a supplication. He (ﷺ) said, "Beg Allah for safety (from all evils in this world and in the Hereafter)." I waited for some days and then I went to him again and asked him: "O Messenger of Allah Teach me to supplicate something from Allah." He said to me, "O Al-`Abbas, the uncle of Messenger of Allah! Beseech Allah to give you safety (Al-`afiyah ) in this life and in the Hereafter."[At- Tirmidhi].
I asked Umm Salamah (May Allah be pleased with her), "O Mother of the Believers! Which supplication did the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) make frequently when he was in your house?" She said: "He (ﷺ) supplicated frequently: 'Ya muqallibal-qulubi, thabbit qalbi 'ala dinika (O Controller of the hearts make my heart steadfast in Your religion)."[At- Tirmidhi].
The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "Recite frequently: 'Ya Dhal-Jalali wal-Ikram! (O You, Possessor of glory and honour)."'[At- Tirmidhi].
The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) made many supplications which we did not memorize. We said to him: "O Messenger of Allah! You have made many supplications of which we do not remember anything." He said, "Shall I tell you a comprehensive prayer? Say: 'Allahumma inni as'aluka min khairi ma sa'alaka minhu nabiyyuka Muhammadun sallallahu 'alaihi wa sallam. Wa 'a'udhu bika min sharri mas-ta'adha minhu nabiyyuka Muhammadun sallallahu 'alaihi wa sallam. Wa Antal-Musta'anu, wa 'alaikal-balaghu, wa la hawla wa la quwwata illa billah (O Allah, I beg to You the good which Your Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) begged of You; and I seek refuge in You from the evil where from Your Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) sought refuge. You are the One from Whom help is sought and Your is the responsibility to communicate (the truth). There is no power or strength except with Allah the Exalted, the Great."'[At- Tirmidhi]
One of the supplications of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) was: "Allahumma inni as'aluka mujibati rahmatika, wa 'aza'ima maghfiratika, was-salamata min kulli ithmin, wal-ghanimata min kulli birrin, wal-fawza bil- jannati, wannajata mina-nar (O Allah! I beg You for that which incites Your Mercy and the means of Your forgiveness, safety from every sin, the benefit from every good deed, success in attaining Jannah and deliverance from Fire)."[Al-Hakim].
Chapter 3: Some Verdicts Pertaining to Supplications
The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), "The supplication of every one of you will be granted if he does not get impatient and say (for example): 'I supplicated my Rubb but my prayer has not been granted'."[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].The narration of Muslim is: "The supplication of a slave continues to be granted as long as he does not supplicate for a sinful thing or for something that would cut off the ties of kinship and he does not grow impatient." It was said: "O Messenger of Allah! What does growing impatient mean?" He (ﷺ) said, "It is one's saying: 'I supplicated again and again but I do not think that my prayer will be answered.' Then he becomes frustrated (in such circumstances) and gives up supplication altogether."
Chapter 4: Superiority of Auliya' and their Marvels
The Companions of As-Suffah were poor people. The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Whoever has food enough for two people, should take a third one (from among them), and whoever has food enough for four persons, should take a fifth or sixth (or said something similar)." Abu Bakr (May Allah be pleased with him) took three people with him while Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) took ten. Abu Bakr (May Allah be pleased with him) took his supper with the Prophet (ﷺ) and stayed there till he offered the 'Isha' prayers. After a part of the night had passed, he returned to his house. His wife said to him: "What has detained you from your guests?" He said: "Have you not served supper to them?" She said: "They refused to take supper until you come." [Abdur-Rahman (Abu Bakr's son) or the servants] presented the meal to them but they refused to eat. I (the narrator) hid myself out of fear. Abu Bakr (May Allah be pleased with him) (my father) rebuked me. Then he said to them: "Please eat. By Allah! I will never eat the meal." 'Abdur-Rahman added: Whenever we took a morsel of the meal, the meal grew from underneath more than that morsel we had till everybody ate to his satisfaction; yet the remaining food was more than what was in the beginning. On seeing this, Abu Bakr (May Allah be pleased with him) called his wife and said: "O sister of Banu Firas! What is this?" She said: "O pleasure of my eyes! The food has increased thrice in quantity." Then Abu Bakr (May Allah be pleased with him) started eating. He said: "My oath not to take the meal was because of Satan." He took a morsel handful from it and carried the rest to the Prophet (ﷺ). That food remained with him. In those days there was a treaty between us and the pagans and when the period of that treaty elapsed, he (ﷺ) divided us into twelve groups and every group was headed by a man. Allah knows how many men were under the command of each leader. Anyhow, all of them ate of that meal.[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].There are some more narrations in both Al-Bukhari and Muslim with very minor differences in wordings and in details.
Arwa bint Aus brought a suit against Sa'id bin Zaid bin 'Amr bin Nufail (May Allah be pleased with him). She complained to Marwan bin Al-Hakam that he had wrongfully taken possession of a portion of her land. Sa'id said: "How can I take a portion out of her land while I have heard a denunciation from the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ)." Marwan asked him: "What did you hear from the Messenger of Allah?" He said, "I heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) saying, 'He who takes a span of land unjustly will be made to wear seven earths round his neck on the Day of Ressurection'." Marwan said to him: "I don't seek proof from you after this." Sa'id supplicated: "O Allah! If she is a liar, deprive her of her eye sight and cause her to die in her land." 'Urwah said: "She did not die till she became blind. While she was walking in her land (concerning which the dispute arose) she fell down into a pit and died."[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].In another narration of Muslim, Muhammad bin Zaid bin 'Abdullah bin 'Umar said that he had seen Arwa blind, feeling for on the walls with her hand and saying: "I am ruined by the curse of Sa'id." Later she fell in a well in the same disputed land and died.
Chapter 1: Issues regarding Supplications, their Virtues and Supplications of the Prophet (pbuh)
The Prophet (ﷺ) used to supplicate: "Allahumma inni a'udhu bika min fitnatin-nari, wa 'adhabin-nari, wa min sharril-ghina wal-faqri (O Allah! I seek refuge in You from the trials and the torment of the Fire and from the evils of wealth and poverty)."[Abu Dawud and At- Tirmidhi].
My uncle Qutbah bin Malik (May Allah be pleased with him) said that the Prophet (ﷺ) used to supplicate: "Allahumma inni a'udhu bika min munkaratil-akhlaqi, wal-a'mali, wal- ahwa'i (O Allah! I seek refuge in You from undesirable manners, deeds, and aspirations)."[At-Tirmidhi].
I asked: "O Messenger of Allah, teach me a prayer." He (ﷺ) said, "Say: Allahumma inni a'udhu bika min sharri sam'i, wa min sharri basari, wa min sharri lisani, wa min sharri qalbi, wa min sharri maniyyi (O Allah! I seek refuge in You from the evils of my hearing, the evils of my seeing, the evils of my tongue; the evils of my heart and the evils of passions)."[Abu Dawud and At- Tirmidhi].
The Prophet (ﷺ) used to supplicate: "Allahumma inni a'udhu bika minal-barasi, wal- jununi, wal-judhami, wa sayyi'il-asqami' (O Allah! I seek refuge in You from leucoderma, insanity, leprosy and evil diseases)."[Abu Dawud].
The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) used to supplicate: "Allahumma inni a'udhu bika minal- ju'i, fa-innahu bi'sad-daji'u; wa a'udhu bika minal-khiyanati, fa- innaha bi'satil-bitanah' [O Allah! I seek refuge in You from hunger; surely, it is the worst companion. And I seek refuge in You from treachery; surely, it is a bad inner trait]."[Abu Dawud].
Chapter 3: Some Verdicts Pertaining to Supplications
The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "A slave becomes nearest to his Rubb when he is in prostration. So increase supplications in prostrations."[Muslim].
Chapter 4: Superiority of Auliya' and their Marvels
The inhabitants of Kufah complained to 'Umar (May Allah be pleased with him) against Sa'd bin Abu Waqqas (May Allah be pleased with him) and 'Umar (May Allah be pleased with him) appointed 'Ammar (May Allah be pleased with him) as Governor of Kufah in his place. Their complaint was that he did not even conduct As-Salat (the prayers) properly. 'Umar (May Allah be pleased with him) sent for Sa'd and said to him: "O Abu Ishaq, the people claim that you do not offer the Salat properly." Sa'd replied: "By Allah! I observe Salat according to the Salat of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), and I make no decrease in it. I prolong Qiyam (standing) in the first two Rak'ah in Maghrib and 'Isha' prayers and shorten in the last ones." 'Umar (May Allah be pleased with him) said: "This is what I thought of you, O Abu Ishaq!" Then he sent with him a man (or some men) to Kufah to investigate the matter about him (from the people of Kufah). The inquiry was conducted in every mosque and all the people in these mosques praised him; but in the mosque of the Banu 'Abs, a man, with the name of Usamah bin Qatadah and surname Abu Sa'dah, stood up and said, "Sa'd bin Abu Waqqas did not participate in Jihad and he did not distribute the spoils equitably and did not judge justly." On this Sa'd said: "I shall make three supplications in respect of him: O Allah! If this slave of Yours is a liar and seeker of notoriety, please prolong his life and lengthen his period of adversity and afflict him with trials." (And so did it happen.) Thereafter, when the man was asked about his condition he would say, "I am an old man afflicted with trials and overtaken by the curses of Sa'd."'Abdul-Malik bin 'Umair (a subnarrator) said: I saw this man with eyebrows hung over his eyes as a result of his old age and he walked aimlessly, following young girls and winking at them.[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].
My father called me on the evening before (the battle of) Uhud and said: "I perceive that I shall be among the first from among the Companions of the Prophet (ﷺ) to be martyred, and after him you are the dearest to me. I am under the burden of debt. Pay it and treat your sisters well." Next morning he was among the first to be killed, so I buried him along with another in the same grave. Thereafter, I did not like that I should leave him with another in the grave. So I dug up his corpse after six months and he was in the same condition in which he was on the day when I buried him, except that there was a scratch on his ear. Then I buried him in a separate grave.[Al- Bukhari].
The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) sent an espionage mission of ten men under the leadership of 'Asim bin Thabit Al-Ansari (May Allah be pleased with him). They proceeded till they reached Al-Had'ah, a place between 'Usfan and Makkah and the news of their arrival reached a section of the tribe of Hudhail, called Banu Lihyan. About one hundred men, who were all archers, hurried to follow their tracks. When 'A sim and his companions came to know of their pursuers, they took refuge in a safe place. The infidels encircled them and said to them: "Come down and surrender, and we promise and guarantee you that we will not kill anyone of you." 'Asim bin Thabit (May Allah be pleased with him) said: "By Allah! I will not come down to be under the protection of disbelievers. O Allah! convey this news to our Prophet (ﷺ)." Then the infidels shot arrows at them till they killed 'Asim. Three men came down relying on their promise and covenant. They were Khubaib, Zaid bin Ad-Dathinah and another man. When the disbelievers captured them, they tied them up with the strings of their bows. The third of the captives said: "This is the beginning of first betrayal. By Allah! I will not go with you. I have a good example in these (martyrs)." So they dragged him and tried to compel him to accompany them, but he refused. At last they killed him. They took Khubaib and Zaid bin Ad- Dathina with them and sold them as slaves in Makkah. This incident took place after the battle of Badr.Khubaib was bought by the sons of Al-Harith bin 'Amir bin Naufal bin 'Abd Manaf. It was Khubaib who had killed Al-Harith in the battle of Badr. Khubaib remained a prisoner with those people for a few days till the sons of Al-Harith resolved to kill him.When Khubaib (May Allah be pleased with him) got wind of this plot, he borrowed a razor from one of Al- Harith's daughters in order to remove his pubic hair. Her little son crawled towards Khubaib because of her carelessness. Later on, she saw her son on his thigh and the razor was in his hand. She got scared so much that Khubaib noticed the agitation on her face and said: "Are you afraid that I will kill him? No, I will never do that." She later remarked (after Al-Khubaib got martyred): "By Allah! I never saw a prisoner better than Khubaib." She added: "By Allah! I saw him once eating of a bunch of grapes in his hand while he was chained and there was no such fruit at that time in Makkah. Probably it was a boon which Allah bestowed upon Khubaib."When they took him out of the Haram of Makkah to kill him outside its boundaries, Khubaib requested them to let him offer two Rak'ah of voluntary prayer. They allowed him and he offered two Rak'ah prayer. Then he said: "Had I not apprehended that you would think that I was afraid of death, I would have prolonged the prayer. O Allah! Count their number; slay them one by one and spare not one of them." He then recited these poetic verses:'I do not care how they kill me as long as I get martyred in the Cause of Allah as a Muslim. I received my death for Allah's sake. If Allah so desires, He will bless, the amputated limbs of the torn body.'Then the son of Al-Harith killed him. It was Khubaib who set the tradition for any Muslim sentenced to death in captivity to offer two Rak'ah of voluntary prayer. On that day the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) informed his Companions of the martyrdom of Khubaib. Later on, when some disbelievers from Quraish were informed that 'Asim had been martyred, they sent some people to fetch a significant part of his body to ascertain his death. (This was because) 'Asim had killed one of their chiefs. So Allah sent a swarm of wasps, resembling a shady cloud, to hover over the body of 'Asim and to shield him from their messengers, and thus they could not cut off anything from his body.[Al- Bukhari].
Chapter 1: Issues regarding Supplications, their Virtues and Supplications of the Prophet (pbuh)
A slave who had made a contract with his master to pay for his freedom, came to me and said: "I am unable to fulfill my obligation, so help me." He said to him: "Shall I not teach you a supplication which the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) taught me? It will surely prove so effective that if you have a debt as large as a huge mountain, Allah will surely pay it for you. Say: 'Allahumm-akfini bihalalika 'an haramika, wa aghnini bifadlika 'amman siwaka (O Allah! Grant me enough of what You make lawful so that I may dispense with what You make unlawful, and enable me by Your Grace to dispense with all but You)."[At- Tirmidhi].
The Prophet (ﷺ) taught my father two statements to recite in his Du'a. These are: "Allahumma al-himni rushdi, wa a'idhni min sharri nafsi (O Allah! Inspire in me guidance and deliver me from the evils within myself)."[At-Tirmidhi].