Alhuda Bolton

Authentic Adhkar: Lesson 25

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alhudabolton
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Sat 22th Sep 2018

Lesson 25: Mistakes made when Raising the hands in dua

  • See lesson 24 for the issue of raising the hands and its importance
    • Raising the hands before Allah when making dua indicates our need and poverty for Allah subhaanahu wata’aalaa
  • It is important to know the methodology of The Prophet (ﷺ) in raising the hands (see Lesson 24) and to stick to this
  • We should avoid the bidah people have invented regarding raising the hands e.g. movements, positions etc which have not been established in the sunnah
  • Narrated Abdullah ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both): Ikrimah quoted Ibn Abbas as saying: When asking for something you should raise your hands opposite to your shoulders; when asking for forgiveness you should point with one finger; and when making an earnest supplication you should spread out both your hands. [Abu Dawud]
  • Ibn Taymiyyah explained there are 3 levels of raising the hands when making dua (See Lesson 24):
    • Raising the finger
    • Raising the hands up to the shoulders
    • Raising the hands extended higher than the shoulders
  • Therefore we must stick the way the Prophet (ﷺ) used to raise his hands or point with his finger and we must avoid the innovations invented by the people

Mistakes some people make when raising the hands

  • Some people when making dua let their hands be the level of their umbilicus (belly button) or waist, this shows one’s lack of importance which he/she are giving to the dua they are asking for. This is incorrect, rather the hands should be raised as mentioned above
  • Some people make movements with their hands or shake them in different directions and this has nothing to do with the sunnah.
  • Others wipe their hands before starting making dua, again this is not from the sunnah
  • Some others kiss their hands after they have finished making dua

Wiping the face after when raising the hands

  • All of the hadith which mention wiping the face are weak
  • However some scholars say that there are so many of these weak narrations that when combined, they get to an acceptable level.
  • However some scholars have the opinion that even when combined

Bidah: Touch the eyes and kissing the thumbs

  • Some people after making the dua use their thumbs to touch the eyes and then kiss the thumbs
  • These acts are not from the sunnah at all, none of them have been mentions

 

Sunnah Acts: Facing the Qiblah

  • Facing the Qiblah when making dua is the preferential direction.
  • Just as the Qiblah is our direction for salaah, then likewise it is also
  • There are many narrations which show that The Prophet (ﷺ) used to face the Qiblah when making dua
    • Narrated `Abdullah bin Mas`ud (may Allah be pleased with him): “The Prophet faced the Ka`ba and invoked evil on some people of Quraish, on Shaiba bin Rabi`a, `Utba bin Rabi`a, Al-Walid bin `Utba and Abu Jahl bin Hisham. I bear witness, by Allah, that I saw them all dead, putrefied by the sun as that day was a very hot day.” [Sahih al-Bukhari and Muslim]
    • It has been narrated on the authority of `Umar b. al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) who said: “When it was the day on which the Battle of Badr was fought, the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) cast a glance at the infidels, and they were one thousand while his own Companions were three hundred and nineteen. The Holy Prophet (may peace be upon him) turned (his face) towards the Qibla. Then he stretched his hands and began his supplication to his Lord: “O Allah, accomplish for me what Thou hast promised to me. O Allah, bring about what Thou hast promised to me. O Allah, if this small band of Muslims is destroyed. Thou will not be worshipped on this earth.” He continued his supplication to his Lord, stretching his hands, facing the Qibla, until his mantle slipped down from his shoulders. So Abu Bakr came to him, picked up his mantle and put it on his shoulders. Then he embraced him from behind and said: Prophet of Allah, this prayer of yours to your Lord will suffice you, and He will fulfill for you what He has promised you. So Allah, the Glorious and Exalted, revealed (the Qur’anic verse): “When ye appealed to your Lord for help, He responded to your call (saying): I will help you with one thousand angels coming in succession.” So Allah helped him with angels. Abu Zumail said that the hadith was narrated to him by Ibn `Abbas who said: While on that day a Muslim was chasing a disbeliever who was going ahead of him, he heard over him the swishing of the whip and the voice of the rider saying: Go ahead, Haizum! He glanced at the polytheist who had (now) fallen down on his back. When he looked at him (carefully he found that) there was a scar on his nose and his face was torn as if it had been lashed with a whip, and had turned green with its poison. An Ansari came to the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) and related this (event) to him. He said: You have told the truth. This was the help from the third heaven. The Muslims that day (i.e. the day of the Battle of Badr) killed seventy persons and captured seventy. The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) said to Abu Bakr and `Umar (Allah be pleased with them): What is your opinion about these captives? Abu Bakr said: They are our kith and kin. I think you should release them after getting from them a ransom. This will be a source of strength to us against the infidels. It is quite possible that Allah may guide them to Islam. Then the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) said: What is your opinion, Ibn Khattab? He said: Messenger of Allah, I do not hold the same opinion as Abu Bakr. I am of the opinion that you should hand them over to us so that we may cut off their heads. Hand over `Aqil to `Ali that he may cut off his head, and hand over such and such relative to me that I may cut off his head. They are leaders of the disbelievers and veterans among them. The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) approved the opinion of Abu Bakr and did not approve what I said. The next day when I came to the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him), I found that both he and Abu Bakr were sitting shedding tears. I said: Messenger of Allah, why are you and your Companion shedding tears? Tell me the reason. For I will weep, or I will at least pretend to weep in sympathy with you. The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) said: I weep for what has happened to your companions for taking ransom (from the prisoners). I was shown the torture to which they were subjected. It was brought to me as close as this tree. (He pointed to a tree close to him.) Then God revealed the verse: “It is not befitting for a prophet that he should take prisoners until the force of the disbelievers has been crushed…” to the end of the verse: “so eat ye the spoils of war, (it is) lawful and pure. So Allah made booty lawful for them.” [Sahih Muslim]
    • Narrated `Abdullah bin Zaid (may Allah be pleased with him): “Allah’s Apostle went out to this Musalla (praying place) to offer the prayer of Istisqa.’ He invoked Allah for rain and then faced the Qibla and turned his Rida’ (upper garment) inside out.” [Sahih al-Bukhari]
  • Therefore facing the qiblah is better for the one making dua as this is in keeping with the sunnah
  • However this is not obligatory as there are narrations which mentions times when The Prophet (ﷺ) made dua whilst not facing the Qiblah
  • Ibn Taymiyyah says that the Muslims are in agreement that the direction of the Qiblah which is legislated for when praying, is also the same qiblah as one would face when making dua or when going on Hajj etc
  • NOTE: When you are making the dua, your hands which are raised are facing the heaven as you are calling upon Allah who is the most high

Sunnah Acts: To Praise Allah at the beginning of the dua

  • When starting the dua, one should mention the praise of Allah and mention his beautiful and lofty names
  • If we look at the dua mentioned in the Sunnah (the book “Fortress of the Muslim”) we will find that many of them start with praising Allah
  • One of the best examples is the dua found within Surah Al Fatiha (The Opening)
    • Shaykh ul-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah said the most beneficial and one of the greatest types of dua is the dua within Surah Al Fatiha where one asks Allah for guidance, to be kept firm upon it and to be saved from the path of those who have earned his anger or those who have gone astray
    • Surah Al-Fatiha (The Opening) verses 1-7:
      • “In the Name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful.”
      • “All the praises and thanks be to Allah, the Lord of the ‘Alamin (mankind, jinns and all that exists).”
      • “The Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful.”
      • “The Only Owner (and the Only Ruling Judge) of the Day of Recompense (i.e. the Day of Resurrection)”
      • “You (Alone) we worship, and you (Alone) we ask for help (for each and everything).”
      • “Guide us to the Straight Way”
      • “The Way of those on whom You have bestowed Your Grace, not (the way) of those who earned Your Anger, nor of those who went astray.”
    • NOTE: Praise of Allah is mentioned first
  • Narrated Ibn `Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him): “Whenever the Prophet offered the night (Tahajjud) prayer, he used to say, “O Allah! All the Praises are for You; You are the Light of the Heavens and the Earth. And all the Praises are for You; You are the Keeper of the Heavens and the Earth. All the Praises are for You; You are the Lord of the Heavens and the Earth and whatever is therein. You are the Truth, and Your Promise is the Truth, and Your Speech is the Truth, and meeting You is the Truth, and Paradise is the Truth and Hell (Fire) is the Truth and all the prophets are the Truth and the Hour is the Truth. O Allah! I surrender to You, and believe in You, and depend upon You, and repent to You, and in Your cause I fight and with Your orders I rule. So please forgive my past and future sins and those sins which I did in secret or in public. It is You Whom I worship, None has the right to be worshipped except You .” (See Hadith No. 329,Vol. 8)” [Sahih al-Bukhari]
  • NOTE: in the dua above how the The Prophet (ﷺ) mentions the praise and oneness of Allah before asking for forgiveness
  • NOTE: there are 3 ways of making dua after you have made praise of Allah:
    • First way:
      • Send salutations upon the Prophet (ﷺ), then make your dua to Allah
    • Second way
      • Salutations upon the Prophet (ﷺ) at beginning, in the middle and again at end and mention your dua
    • Third way
      • To make salutations the Prophet (ﷺ) in the beginning and in the end and mention your dua in the middle
    • Sending the salutations upon the Prophet (ﷺ) is like a key to your dua. Ibn Qayyim says just like wudhu/purification is the key to the prayer, then likewise sending salutations upon the Prophet (ﷺ) is needed before entering onto your dua

Q&A:

  • Is it permissible to make dua in congregation at the burial site?
  • Should one face the Qiblah when reading the Quran?
  • Seeking forgiveness before making dua
  • Making du after prayer

Next week insha Allah: Is making dua in a melodious way permissible?