Significance of Dua

Ibn Rajab said in Fath al-Baari (1/20): You should understand that the original linguistic meaning of du‘aa’ is to ask or seek, so it is asking for what the supplicant wants to get and prefers to attain. Sometimes it is the du‘aa’ of asking of Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, and beseeching Him, such as when the person says “O Allah, forgive me; O Allah, have mercy on me.” And sometimes du‘aa’ is by taking appropriate measures by means of which one may attain what one wants, which is focusing on obeying and worshipping Allah, and remembering Him, and focusing on doing what He loves His slaves to do. This is the true essence of faith.

Shaykh ‘Abd ar-Rahmaan as-Sa‘di (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

Every time the Qur’an enjoins du‘aa’, and forbids calling upon anyone other than Allah, and praises those who call upon Allah in du‘aa’, that includes both the du‘aa’ of asking and the du‘aa’ of worship.

End quote from al-Qawaa‘id al-Hassaan (no. 51).

Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said: Beseeching Allah and turning to Him and asking of Him by virtue of the righteous deeds that He has enjoined – such as the du‘aa’ of the three who hid in the cave, who called upon Allah by virtue of their righteous deeds [as mentioned in the hadith], and beseeching Allah by virtue of the du‘aa’ and intercession of the Prophets and the righteous – is something concerning which there is no dispute. In fact, it comes under the heading of the waseelah [means of nearness to Him] that Allah enjoined in the verses (interpretation of the meaning):

“O you who have believed, fear Allah and seek the means [of nearness] to Him”

[al-Maa’idah 5:35]

“Those whom they invoke seek means of access to their Lord, [striving as to] which of them would be nearest, and they hope for His mercy and fear His punishment”

[al-Israa’ 17:57].

Seeking means of nearness to Him is seeking to do acts of worship through which one may draw close to Him. In other words, one seeks to draw close to Him by means of that which may bring one closer to Him, may He be glorified, whether that is by means of doing acts of worship and obedience, and complying with His commands, or it is by means of asking of Him and seeking His protection, and turning to Him to bring benefit or ward off harm.

Du‘aa’, in the Qur’an, includes both meanings, du‘aa’ in the sense of worship and du‘aa’ in the sense of asking. Even though each meaning implies the other, some calamity may befall a person, so he finds himself in a situation where he has to ask that his needs be met and that he be granted relief from his distress, so he seeks to achieve that by asking of Allah and beseeching Him. Although this is also worship and obedience, his initial aim is to attain what he is seeking of provision, help and well-being in general terms. Then his calling upon Allah in du‘aa’ and beseeching Him is a means of increasing faith in Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, increasing knowledge of Him and love of Him, and finding joy in remembering Him and calling upon Him, which then becomes dearer to the individual and more important to him than the need that initially concerned him.

This is by Allah’s mercy towards His slaves: by means of worldly needs He drives them towards sublime religious goals.

A person may initially do what he is enjoined to do for the sake of worshipping Allah and obeying Him, and because of the love he has for Him and turning to Him in repentance, out of fear of Him and in compliance with His commands, even though that also leads to granting of provision, help and well-being. Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):

“And your Lord says, ‘Call upon Me; I will respond to you’”

[Ghaafir 40:40].

The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said, according to the hadith that was narrated by the authors of as-Sunan, Abu Dawood and others: “Du‘aa’ is worship.” Then he recited the verse (interpretation of the meaning): “And your Lord says, ‘Call upon Me; I will respond to you.’ Indeed, those who disdain My worship will enter Hell [rendered] contemptible.” [Ghaafir 40:60].

This hadith may be understood, on the basis of Qur’an, as referring to both types of du‘aa’. “Call upon Me” means: worship Me and obey My commands; I will answer your du‘aa’. And it was said that it means: Ask of Me; I shall give to you. Both meanings are true.

End quote from Iqtidaa’ as-Siraat al-Mustaqeem (2/312-313).

Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said concerning the verse (interpretation of the meaning): “Invoke your Lord with humility and in secret. He likes not the aggressors. 56. And do not do mischief on the earth, after it has been set in order, and invoke Him with fear and hope. Surely, Allah’s Mercy is (ever) near unto the good‑doers” [Al-A’raaf 7:55-56]:

These two verses include the etiquette of two types of dua: the dua of worship and the dua of asking. dua in the Qur’aan may refer to either of these types, or it may refer to both, because they are interconnected. dua of asking means seeking that which will benefit the supplicant, and asking to be spared that which will harm him, and for it to be warded off. So he asks for benefit and for harm to be warded off, and that is dua of asking. And the dua that is offered with hope and fear is the dua of worship. Therefore it is known that both types are interconnected. Every dua of worship implies dua of asking, and every dua of asking implies dua of worship.

Based on this, the words (interpretation of the meaning): “And when My slaves ask you (O Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم) concerning Me, then (answer them), I am indeed near (to them by My Knowledge). I respond to the invocations of the supplicant when he calls on Me (without any mediator or intercessor)” [al-Baqarah 2:186] include both types of du`a, and it is in terms of both that the verse is to be understood. It was said: I will give to him when he asks of Me, and it was said: I will reward him if he worships Me. Both are interconnected.

This does not come under the heading of using a common word in both of its meanings, or of using a word in a real and metaphorical sense, rather it is using it in its real sense which includes both things.

Think about it, because it is a matter that is of great benefit, but it is rarely paid attention to. Most verses of the Qur’aan point to both meanings and more, and it is of this type.

For example, Allah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“Say (O Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم to the disbelievers): My Lord pays attention to you only because of your invocation to Him”

[Al-Furqaan 25:77].

i.e., because of your du`a to Him. And it was said: (it means) because of His call to you to worship Him.

Based on that, what is meant is both types of dua, of which is the dua of worship is more apparent, i.e., He would not have paid attention to you were it not that you put your hope in Him. Worship of Him implies asking of Him, so both types are included.

And Allah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“And your Lord said: Invoke Me [i.e. believe in My Oneness (Islamic Monotheism) and ask Me for anything] I will respond to your (invocation)” [Ghaafir 40:60].

The word dua here includes both types, although dua of worship is more apparent, hence it is followed by the words (interpretation of the meaning): “Verily, those who scorn My worship [i.e. do not invoke Me, and do not believe in My Oneness, (Islamic Monotheism)] they will surely enter Hell in humiliation!”. So the word du`a in this verse may be interpreted in both senses.

Al-Tirmidhi narrated that al-Nu’maan ibn Basheer (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) say on the minbar: “du`a is worship.” Then he recited the verse (interpretation of the meaning): “And your Lord said: Invoke Me [i.e. believe in My Oneness (Islamic Monotheism) and ask Me for anything] I will respond to your (invocation)…”. Al-Tirmidhi said: a saheeh hasan hadeeth.

With regard to the verses (interpretation of the meaning):

“Verily, those on whom you call besides Allah, cannot create (even) a fly, even though they combine together for the purpose…” [Al-Hajj 22:73]

“They (all those who worship others than Allah) invoke nothing but female deities besides Him (Allah) …” [Al-Nisa’ 4:117]

“And those whom they used to invoke before (in this world) shall disappear from them…” [Fussilat 41:48]

everything that is mentioned in them is the dua or invocation of the mushrikeen to their idols. What is meant is the dua of worship which includes the dua of asking, although the meaning of dua of worship is more apparent.

The words (interpretation of the meaning): “so invoke Him making your worship pure for Him Alone (by worshipping Him Alone, and none else” [Ghaafir 40:65] refer to the du`a of worship. What is meant is: Worship Him alone and make your worship sincerely for Him alone, and do not worship anyone else along with Him.

With regard to the words of Ibraaheem (peace be upon him) in the verse (interpretation of the meaning): “ ‘Verily, my Lord is indeed the All‑Hearer of invocations’” [Ibraaheem 14:39], what is meant by hearing here is hearing in a specific sense, which is the hearing of response and acceptance, not hearing in the general sense, because Allah hears all that can be heard. As that is the case, dua here means the dua of worship and the du`a of requesting, and the Lord’s hearing of it means that He rewards the praise and answers the request, so He hears both.

With regard to the words of Zakariya (peace be upon him) in the verse (interpretation of the meaning): “ ‘and I have never been unblest in my invocation to You, O my Lord’” [Maryam 19:4], it was said that what is meant is the du`a of asking, meaning: You always answered me and never rejected me or deprived me. So he is seeking to draw closer to Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, by means of His previous answers and kindness. This is clear in this case.

With regard to the words of Allah (interpretation of the meaning):

“Say (O Muhammad): Invoke Allah or invoke the Most Gracious (Allah)…” [Al-Isra’ 17:110],

The well known view is that this is the du`a of asking, and this is the reason for revelation. They said: The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) used to call upon his Lord, sometimes saying Ya Allah and sometimes saying Ya Rahmaan, so the mushrikeen thought that he was calling upon two gods, so Allah revealed this verse.

With regard to the verse (interpretation of the meaning): “Verily, We used to invoke Him (Alone and none else) before. Verily, He is Al‑Barr (the Most Subtle, Kind, Courteous, and Generous), the Most Merciful” [al-Toor 52:28], this is the du`a of worship which includes asking with hope and fear. What it means is: we used to devote our worship sincerely to Him alone, and thus they deserved that Allah should save them from the punishment of Hell, not just because of asking, which is something that is shared in common between those who are saved and those who are not, because everyone who is in heaven and on earth asks for that. “never shall we call upon any ilaah (god) other than Him” [al-Kahf 18:14] i.e., we will never worship anyone other than Him. Similarly Allah says (interpretation of the meaning): “Will you call upon Ba‘l (a well-known idol of his nation whom they used to worship) and forsake the Best of creators?” [Al-Saffaat 37:125].

With regard to the words (interpretation of the meaning): “And it will be said (to them): ‘Call upon your (so‑called) partners (of Allah)’, and they will call upon them…” [al-Qasas 28:64], this is dua of asking. Allah will rebuke and humiliate them on the Day of Resurrection, by showing them that their partners (whom they ascribed to Allah) will not answer their duas or supplications. But it does not mean worship them. It is similar to the verse in which Allah says (interpretation of the meaning): “And (remember) the Day He will say: ‘Call those (so‑called) partners of Mine whom you pretended.’ Then they will cry unto them, but they will not answer them” [Al-Kahf 18:52]. End quote.

Majmoo’ Fatawa Ibn Taymiyah (15/10-14).