Authentic Adhkar: Lesson 19

Sat 28st Jul 2018-07-21

Lesson 19: A Warning from Innovations in Dua

  • Importance of Sticking to the guidance of the Prophet () in making Dua for indeed Dua is a form of worship and worship itself should only be done in the way it has been legislated in the Qur’an and Sunnah
  • It is binding upon every Muslim to seek the guidance of the Prophet () and learn the sunnah of making dua
  • It is not permissible for a Muslim to make dua in specific ways (e.g. specific times of day, special places or words) unless it is upon the sunnah, however general duas are permissible
  • Shaykh Ul-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said supplication and dua are from the best of worship
  • The sahabah (companions) were very quick to reject innovations made by the people regarding specific ways of making dua
  • On the authority of ‘Amr ibn Salamah who said:” We were sitting at the door of ‘Abd-Allah ibn Mas’ood before Fajr prayer, so that if he came out, we could walk with him to the Masjid,, then Abu Moosa al-Ash’ari came to us and said: Has Abu ‘Abd al-Rahmaan come out to you yet? We said: No. So he sat with us until he came out, and when he came out we all stood up. Abu Moosa said to him: O Abu ‘Abd al-Rahmaan, just now I saw something in the mosque that I have never seen before, but I do not think it was anything but good. He said: What was it? He said: If you live, you will see it. He said: In the mosque I saw some people sitting in circles waiting for the prayer. In every circle there was a man, and in their hands they had pebbles. He would say: Say Allahu akbar (Allah is Most Great) one hundred times, and they would say Allahu akbar one hundred times. He would say: Say Laa ilaaha ill-Allah (there is no god but Allah) one hundred times, and they would say Laa ilaaha ill-Allah one hundred times. He would say: Say Subhaan-Allah (Glory be to Allah) one hundred times, and they would say Subhaan-Allah one hundred times. He said: What did you say to them? He said: I did not say anything to them; I was waiting to see what you think and I waited for your command. He said: Why did you not tell them to count their bad deeds and guarantee to them that their good deeds would not be wasted? Then he moved on and we moved on with him until he came to one of those circles, and he stood over them and said: What is this that I see you doing? They said: O Abu ‘Abd al-Rahmaan, these are stones with which we count the takbeers (‘Allahu akbar’), tahleel (‘Laa ilaaha illa-Allah’) and tasbeeh (‘Subhaan-Allah’). He said: Count your bad deeds, for I guarantee to you that none of your good deeds will be lost. Woe to you, O ummah of Muhammad! How quickly you have become doomed! His companions are still alive and his cloak has not worn out, and his vessel is not yet broken. By the One in Whose hand is my soul, you are either following a way that is more guided than the way of Muhammad () or you are opening the door to misguidance. They said: By Allah, O Abu ‘Abd al-Rahmaan, we intended nothing but good. He said: How many of those who intended good did not achieve it? The Messenger of Allah (sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) told us that some people would recite the Qur’an and it would not go any further than their collarbones. By Allah, I do not know, perhaps most of them are from among you. Then he turned away from them and ‘Amr ibn Salamah said: We saw most of the people of those circles fighting alongside the Khawaarij against us in the battle of Nahrawaan.” [Al-Daarimi, graded authentic by Al-Albaanee]
    • NOTE: Look at how Abdullaah Ibn Mas’ud rejected this innovation despite these people making worship. This shows us clearly that good intentions alone are not enough; one must perform worship upon the way shown to us by the Prophet ().
    • Doing a few actions upon the Sunnah is better than doing lots of actions upon innovation.
    • NOTE: Abdullaah Ibn Mas’ud did not reject them for doing dhikr and remembering Allah, rather it was their method and deviation from the Sunnah that he rejected
    • NOTE: these people were making dua with the right words (Subhaanallaah, Alhamdulillaah and Allaahu Akbar) but applying them in the wrong method (throwing pebbles), and Abdullaah Ibn Mas’ud rejected them. Imagine then nowadays how some Muslims use wrong words AND they use the wrong method (e.g. the Sufis who chant “Allaahu” repeatedly)
    • Point: therefore every muslim should study their religion and check to make sure their way of making dua is correct and not innovated
  • What is the Impact of these innovated types of dua?
    • The authentic supplications from the Qur’an and Sunnah are distinguished by perfection in their words and meaning
    • However when one lookas at the Sufia, you see that they are more preoccupied by their innovated supplications at the expense of the sunnah supplications and therefore become negligent of the Qur’an and Sunnah. Therefore if one follows a bidah, he will leave and oppose a part of the sunnah that would have covered that area
    • Ibnul Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) mentioned that:
      •  innovated supplications do not fulfil their goal
      •  innovated methods do not get any reward, therefore the person loses his reward
      • Ibnul Qayyim also mentions that duas made upon innovation will not be answered
      • Innovated supplications may have words that nullify the dua
      • Once someone starts performing innovated practices it is difficulty for him to exit except by the mercy of Allah
      • Choosing to do bidah instead of a sunnah means one has exchanged good for evil
      • Within the innovated duas there is a resemblance to the non-muslims (e.g. sufis do their remembrasnces similar to himms or in a tone done by christians)
      • Most of the people who do innovated practices do not understand what they are saying

Making Duas according to the Qur’an and Sunnah:

  • You can recite duas found in the Qur’an and authentic sunnha
  • e.g “And of them there are some who say: “Our Lord! Give us in this world that which is good and in the Hereafter that which is good, and save us from the torment of the Fire!” [Surah Al-Baqarah (The Cow) Verse 201]
  • If one wishes to make a good dua using words that are not specifically found in the Qur’an and Sunnah, then this is permissible as long as he/she does not do it in specific times/places and one does NOT transgress in dua
  • What does transgression in dua mean? This means that you should not make dua for something which is impermissible e.g. making dua for the harm fo someone, asking for something haraam or cutting the ties of kinship

 

  • Q&A:
    • Are you allowed to say “Ameen” after the Imam when he makes a dua in the khutbah?
    • Can you wipe your face when making dua?
    • Are there particular dua or remembrances for when moving into a new house?

 

Next Lesson insha Allah: The Mannerisms of making dua