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Nahmada hu wa nusali ala rasoolahil kareem, Amma baad, faoothobila hi minash shaytaanir rajeem. Bismillahir Rahmanir Raheem. Assalaamu `alaykum waRahmatullahi Wabarakatoh, Praise be to Allaah, we praise Him and seek His help. We seek refuge with Allaah from the evil of our own souls and from our evil deeds. Whomever Allaah guides cannot be led astray, and whomever He leaves astray, cannot be guided. I bear witness that there is no deity, no god, no object worthy of worship except Allaah alone, with no partner or associate, and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger. Alhumdullilah today is our 4th session on the topic of al-dua. So far we have defined that dua is an act of worship which is something that is required of a Muslim. We also discussed how making dua to Allah Subhaanahu wa taala confirms tawhid in a person. And we also confirmed with evidences from the Quran that making dua to any creation of Allah is shirk and khufr and takes one out of the fold of al-Islam. And we have covered some of the many benefits of dua. Today InshaAllah we will try to cover the some of the etiquettes of making dua. And if you remember in our first lecture, I mentioned that the reason I selected this topic of dua was because I repeatedly see people making dua and not following some of the most common and basic etiquettes. Where do we get our etiquettes from? The commands mentioned in the Quraan and Sunnah to follow the laws of Allaah and His Messenger, and the prohibitions on introducing innovations into the religion are quite clear. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): Say (O Muhammad to mankind): If you (really) love Allaah, then follow me (i.e. accept Islamic Monotheism, follow the Quraan and the Sunnah), Allaah will love you and forgive you your sins *Aal Imraan 3:31+ Follow what has been sent down unto you from your Lord (the Quraan and Prophet Muhammads Sunnah), and follow not any Awliyaa (protectors and helpers who order you to associate partners in worship with Allaah), besides Him (Allaah). Little do you remember! [al-Araaf 7:3+

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And verily, this is My straight path, so follow it, and follow not (other) paths, for they will separate you away from His path [al-Anaam 6:153+ And the Prophet Sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam said: The most truthful of speech is the Book of Allaah and the best of guidance is the guidance of Muhammad, and the most evil of things are those which are newly-invented. And he Sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam said: Whoever innovates anything in this matter of ours (i.e., Islam), that is not part of it will have it rejected. (Narrated by al-Bukhaari, no. 2697; Muslim, no. 1718). We have already discussed that dua is an act of worship because the prophet Sal Allahu 'alayhi wa sallam as reported by Numan ibn Bashir that he Sal Allahu 'alayhi wa sallam said: Dua is worship. So it becomes clear that Dua must be done in accordance with how Allah Subhaanahu wa ta'ala and the Prophet Sal Allahu 'alayhi wa sallam has taught us. On a side note, Among the innovations that people have created is the celebration of the birthday of the Prophet Sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam in the month of Rabee al-Awwal. It is not reported in any sahee hadith or from the early generations of Muslims that they celebrated or recognized the birthday of the Prophet Sal Allahu 'alayhi wa sallam in any way. No special significance was given to that day, which is a disputed day in and of itself. Whatever form it takes and whatever the intentions of those who do recognize or celebrate this day are participating in an innovated matter. It is something which resembles the Christian holiday of Christmas and the Prophet Sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam said: Whoever imitates a people is one of them (narrated by Ahmad, 2/50; Abu Dawood, 4/314). And he said, Be different from the mushrikeen (narrated by Muslim, 1/222, no. 259) especially with regard to things that are the symbols or rituals of their religion. Related to Dua, the mawlid also often leads to exaggeration and excess in venerating the Prophet. And in many cases it even goes as far as calling upon him (making dua to him) and seeking his help, instead of calling upon Allaah. The Prophet Sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam forbade going to extremes in praising him, as he said: Do not exaggerate in praising me as the Christians praised the son of Mary, for I am only a Slave. So, call me the Slave of Allah and His Apostle." (narrated by al-Bukhaari, 4/142, no. 3445; al-Fath, 6/551).

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May Allah Subhaanahu wa ta'ala guide us and give us the correct understanding. Before we get to the etiquettes, let us quickly mention some of the pre-conditions for dua. Similar to how we cannot perform salah without wudu, or facing qibla, or covering our body, we need to be sure we have met the pre-conditions to make dua. 1. Tawhid by recognizing that only Allah Subhaanahu wa ta'ala can respond to dua. Allah Subhaanahu wa ta'ala tells us in surah al-Naml, surah 27, ayah 62: Who (else is there) that responds to the call of the one in distress when he calls out, and He removes evil (from him), and makes you inheritors of the earth? Is there any other god besides Allah? Little is it that you remember!
(Quran 27:62)

2.

3. 4. 5.

6.

And this is why dua is the greatest form of worship, and if misdirected to other than Allah, it is the greatest form of shirk. Not to be hasty as Abu Huraira radi Allahu anhu narrated that the prophet Sal Allahu 'alayhi wa sallam defined hastyiness in dua as: A worshipper says, I have prayed and prayed, and I dont see that it will be accepted, so he gives up hope of being answered, and leaves dua. (Muslim) To make dua for things that are good. To have good intentions. The presences of an attentive heart. The whole point is that you are asking Allah Subhaanahu wa ta'ala for something. Imagine asking your boss for a raise and just looking around, scratching yourself here and there. What are you going to get? We cannot make examples of Allah with His creation, but I am only saying this to try and make us understand that if we treat the creation with such respect when asking for something, then what about Allah Subhaanahu wa ta'ala? Does he not deserve so much more of our attention? To have purity in our sustenance. It is reported in Muslim narrated by Abu Huraira that the prophet Sal Allahu 'alayhi wa sallam said: O you who believe! Eat from the purse and good foods We have given you. Then he mentioned a traveler on a long journey, who is disheveled and dusty, and he stretches forth his hands to the sky, saying, O my Lord! O my Lord! while his food is unlawful, his drink is unlawful, his clothing is unlawful, and he is nourished unlawfully; how can he be answered?

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We often take care in how we spend our money by not buying haram meat, or a lottery ticket, but we often overlook the fact that our earning must also be halal. Are we earning by means of lying? Are we earning by means of cheating? Are we earning pure haram by consuming riba? Alhumdullilah these were some of the pre-conditions of making dua. So let us now look at a few points of the etiquettes while making dua InshaAllah. 1. Praising Allah Subhaanahu wa ta'ala and praying upon the prophet Sal Allahu 'alayhi wa sallam before making dua. You have probably had an old friend call you after a long time, and starts talking very nicely, telling you how good you are, and how nice you are, and then he asks you for some money. Then how about when you ask of Allah Subhaanahu wa ta'ala? It is narrated by Fudhalalh ibn Ubayd that the prophet Sal Allahu 'alayhi wa sallam was once sitting in the masjid, when a person entered and prayed two rakaat. After he finished, he said, O Allah, forgive me and have mercy on me!. The prophet Sal Allahu 'alayhi wa sallam said: You have been hasty, O worshipper! When you finish your prayer, then sit down and praise Allah with the praise that He is worthy of, and pray upon me, then state your dua. After that another man prayed, and then praised Allah and prayed upon the prophet Sal Allahu 'alayhi wa sallam. The prophet Sal Allahu 'alayhi wa sallam said to him: O worshipper! Make your dua and it will be answered! (al-Tirmidhi) 2. Raising ones hands while making dua. This is an etiquette known by all Muslims. There are a lot of hadith that mention this. It is important that the palm of our hands face upwards, and not the back of ones hands. Malik ibn Yasar narrated that the prophet Sal Allahu 'alayhi wa sallam said, If you ask Allah, then ask him with the palms of your hands outwards, and not with the outward portion of your hands (i.e. with the palms facing down) (Abu Dawood) There are three different positions we can be in. One is to point with forefinger of our right hand, similar to what we do during the tashahhud.

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There are sahee hadith that show the prophet Sal Allahu 'alayhi wa sallam used to point with his finger during tashahhud as you see many people do today. One of the explanations of why he did this is because he was making dua. The second is to raise our hands as we normally do to the level of our shoulders, and the third was usually done in extreme situations where the prophet Sal Allahu 'alayhi wa sallam would raise his hands over his head, arms stretched without joining his hands. The manner in which the hands would be raised was the level of the shoulders and placed together with the palms facing up, or our own face. Think of the beggar we see on the streets. We see them sometimes just point with one finger and ask, then there are those that sit with hands out, and then there is the really desperate who sits with hands stretched out. Are we not all begging Allah Subhaanahu wa ta'ala for his bounties? Then does He Subhaanahu wa ta'ala not deserve much more than the beggar asking of us? The general rule is to raise our hands when making dua. While we are talking about raising the hands, we should mention when we should NOT raise our hands. The prophet Sal Allahu 'alayhi wa sallam would not raise his hands during the khutbah of Jumah. So when we make dua during the khutbah, it is not sunnah for the imam or the people in the congregation to raise their hands, unless it is dua istisqa (the special prayer for rain), in which case we should raise our hands. It is also from the sunnah to not raise our hands when making general dua such as when entering or exiting the house, or the masjid, or the washroom, or the morning and evening adhkaar. 3. To be in a state of wudu and to face the qiblah is preferred as the prophet Sal Allahu 'alayhi wa sallam would do this. 4. To cry with sincerity and humility in front of Allah Subhaanahu wa ta'ala. 5. To expect the best from Allah. It is reported in al-Tirmidhi that the prophet Sal Allahu 'alayhi wa sallam said: Make dua to Allah in a state that you are certain that your dua will be responded to. In another hadith reported by Muslim from Abu Huraira radi Allahu anhu , the prophet Sal Allahu 'alayhi wa sallam said:

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Allah, Subhaanahu wa ta'ala has said, Whatever My servant assumes of Me, that is how I will treat him, and I am with him when he remembers Me. 6. To pray quietly as Allah Subhaanahu wa ta'ala has told us in surah al-Araf, surah 7, ayah 55: Call upon your Lord with humility, and in secret, Verily, He does not like the aggressors. (Quran 7:55) Once the companions were travelling and loudly engaging in dhikr. The prophet Sal Allahu 'alayhi wa sallam said: O people! Be gently on yourselves, for you are not calling someone who is deaf or absent. Rather you are calling the One Who hears everything, EverClose. (Bukhari) Imagine our state when we ask others for something, do we scream or talk in a loud voice? It respectful and a sign of humility and humbleness to ask in a soft voice. It is also a sign of strong iman as it proves you believe that Allah can hear you regardless of your volume. It also helps us to focus on the dua rather than distract ourselves. It also helps us to continue our dua without tiring. And lastly, it helps prevents a person from being the target of envy and jealousy. It has even been narrated that Ibn Masood once forced a group of people out of the masjid because they were raising their voices loudly while remembering Allah. In this he said, I dont think except that you are innovators! The Prophet Sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam said: Whoever among you lives (for a long time) will see many differences. I urge you to follow my Sunnah and the way of the rightly-guided khaleefahs who come after me. Hold on to it firmly. Beware of newly-invented matters, for every innovation is a going astray. (Narrated by Ahmad, 4/126; al-Tirmidhi no. 2676). To conclude, I want to remind you of what Allah Subhaanahu wa ta'ala has told us, rather commanded us to do in the Quran. Im telling you not to do something, you say we should do it, or vice versa. We now have a difference of opinion. Allah Subhaanahu wa ta'ala says what could mean:

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O you who believe! Obey Allaah and obey the Messenger (Muhammad), and those of you (Muslims) who are in authority. (And) if you differ in anything amongst yourselves, refer it to Allaah and His Messenger, if you believe in Allaah and in the Last Day. That is better and more suitable for final determination [al-Nisaa 4:59+ Referring to Allaah means referring to His Book, and referring to the Messenger Sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam means referring to his Sunnah after he has passed away. The Quraan and Sunnah are the reference point in cases of dispute. We will end with that today InshaAllah and continue the etiquettes of making dua next week InshaAllah. We ask Allaah to help us adhere to His Book and the Sunnah of His Messenger until the Day when we will meet Him. May Allaah grant blessings and peace to our Prophet Muhammad and his family and companions. We ask Allah Subhaanahu wa ta'ala to guide us and to accept our dua. Ameen. We ask Allah Subhaanahu wa ta'ala to forgive our sins and mistakes. Ameen. We ask Allah to give us the best in this dunya and the best in the akhira. Ameen. And we ask Allah to ease the situation of all Muslims around the world. Ameen ya Rabil Alameen. Subhaanaka Allaahumma wa bihamdika, 'ash-hadu 'an laa 'ilaaha 'illaa 'Anta, 'astaghfiruka wa 'atoobu 'ilayka.

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============ Khutbah Part 1 ============ Inna AlHamdalilah, nahmaduhu wa nastaeenuhu wa nastaghfiruh, wa naoothu billahi min shuroori an fusinaa, wa min sayeeaati aamaalina, may yah dihil laahu fala mudillalah wa mayudlil falaa haadiya lah Ashadu An Laa Ilaaha illAllah wahdahu la shareeka lah, wa ash hadu anna Muhammadan abduhu wa rasooluh Ya ayyuha allatheena amanoo, ittaqoo Allaha haqqa tuqatihi wala tamootunna illa waantum muslimoona Ya ayyuha alnnasu, ittaqoo rabbakumu allathee khalaqakum min nafsin wahida, wakhalaqa minha zawjaha. wabaththa minhuma rijalan katheeran wanisaaa. Wattakul Allaha allathee tasaaloona bihi waalarham. inna Allaha kana AAalaykum raqeeba. Ya ayyuha allatheena amanoo ittaqoo Allaha waqooloo qawlan sadeeda - Yuslih lakum aAAmalakum, wayaghfir lakum thunoobakum, waman yutiAAi Allaha warasoolahu faqad faza fawzan AAatheema. Amma bad, fa inna khayral hadeethi kitabullah, wa khayral hadee, hadee Muhammadin sal Allahu 'alayhi wa sallam, wa sharrol omoori muhdathaatuhaa wa kulla muhdathatin bidah, wa kulla bidatin Dalaalah, wa kulla dalaalatin finnar innallha wa malaaikatahu yusallna alan nabi. Y ay yuhal latheena manu sall alayhi wasalli m tas leema. Allahumma salli al Muhammad, wa ala li Muhammad, kama salayta ala Ibrahim, wa ala ali Ibrahim. Allahumma barik ala Muhammad, kama barakta ala Ibrahim, wa ala ali ibrahim. Fil la meen, innaka hameedun majeed. Aqoolo qawli hadha, wastaghfirullaha li wa lakum, walee sa-e-ril Musleemeen, Fastaghfiruhu innahu wal ghafoorroor Raheem. ============ Sit for Dua ============

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============ Khutbah Part 2 ============ Bismillah, WalHamdulillah was Salatu Wassalamu ala Rasulullah Aoothu Billahi minnash shaytaanir Rajeem, SURAH Allahumma salli ala Muhammadin wa ala aali Muhammadin, kama salaiyta ala Ibrahima wa ala aali Ibrahima innaka Hamidun Majeed. Allahumma barik ala Muhammadin wa ala ali Muhammadin, kama barakta ala Ibrahima wa ala ali Ibrahima, innaka Hamidun Majeed. Allahuma Eghfir Lil Muslimeena wal Muslimat. Stop for aameen Wal Moumineena wal MouminaatStop for aameen Al-Ahyaee minhum wal amwatstop for aameen Innaka sameeun mujibul dawat stop for aameen Rabbana atina fidunya hasanatanw wa fil akhiratee hasanatanw wakeena azabunaar. Ibada Allah: Inna Allah Yaamuru Bil Aadli wal Ihsan, wa Itaee Zil Qurbaa, Wa Yanhaa Anil Fahshaaee wal munkaree wal baghyi. YaIzukum Laallakum tazakkaroon Fadth kuroonee adth kurkum, wash kuroolee walaa tak furoon wala thikrul-Laahi akbar, Wal-Laahu yalamu maa tasnaoon. Aqimi Salah, Straighten the lines, shoulder to shoulder and dont leave any gaps. Please turn off cell phones istawoo staqeemu wa'atadelu Wa`alaykum Assalaamu waRahmatullahi Wabarakatoh