Can Dua Cause Miracles To Happen?

As mentioned earlier, Dua can have a transforming effect and along the same lines can cause miracles to happen. As will be described later, Allah brought many miracles in the lives of the prophets as described in the Qur’an. As Allah is the Supreme Being, He can make anything happen.

Al-Bukhari [933] and Muslim [897] narrated that Anas ibn Maalik said:

The people were stricken with drought at the time of the Prophet (sallAllahu ‘alaihi wa sallam), so whilst the Prophet (sallAllahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) was delivering the khutbah one Friday, a Bedouin stood up and said, “O Messenger of Allah, our wealth has been destroyed and our children are hungry, Pray to Allah for us.” So he raised his hands [Al-Bukhari added in his muta’allaq report:  and the people raised their hands with the Messenger of Allah making dua], and we did not see any cloud in the sky.  But by the One in Whose hand is my soul, hardly   had   he   lowered   (his   hands)   but   there appeared clouds like mountains, and hardly had he come down from his minbar but I saw rain running down his beard. It rained that day, and the day after, and the day after, until the following Friday. Then that Bedouin or someone else stood up and said, “O Messenger   of   Allah,   our   buildings   have   been destroyed and our wealth had been flooded. Pray to Allah for us.” So he raised his hands and said, “O Allah, around us and not on us.” Each time his hand pointed to part of the clouds they parted, and the clouds formed a ring around Madeenah. The wadis flowed with water for a month and no one came from any direction but he spoke of the heavy rain.

In this context, let’s review the story of what happened to the great Sahaabi Al-‘Alaa Al-Hadrami, who was one of the most prominent scholars and devoted worshippers, one of the close friends (awliyaa’) of Allah whose dua are answered. During the campaign against the apostates of Bahrain, he pitched camp, but before the people could settle down, the camels bolted, carrying away all the provisions of the army, including  their tents and water, leaving them with nothing but the clothes they were wearing. It was night-time, and they could not restrain even one camel. The people were filled with indescribable distress and alarm, and some of them began making wills to one another (because they felt that death was inevitable). Al-‘Alaa’ called the people together and said:

 “O people, are you not Muslims?  Are you not striving for the sake of Allah?  Are you not the Ansaar (supporters) of Allah?” They said, “Of course.” He said, “Then be of good cheer, for Allah will not forsake anyone who is in your situation.” When the time for Fajr prayer came, he called the people to pray and led them in prayer, then he knelt up, and the people did likewise. He started to pray (make dua), raising his hands, and the people did likewise. They prayed until the sun rose, and the people began to look at the mirages caused by the sun,  shimmering  one  after  another,  all  the  while fervently praying. When he reached the third, Allah created a great stream of fresh water beside them.  ‘Alaa’ walked towards it, and the people followed   him,   then   they   drank   and   washed themselves. Before the sun had reached its zenith, the camels started to come back from all directions, bringing the supplies loaded on them, so the people did not lose anything at all, and they were able to give water to the camels. This is one of the signs of Allah witnessed by the people during that campaign. [Al-Bidaayah wa’l-Nihaayah:  Dhikr  riddat  ahl  Al-Bahrayn wa ‘awdatihim]