Al Minah Al `Aliyyah (42)

Advantage :

Someone might say: What can I ask for in du’a?

A person should make du’a to ask for whatever they want from this world or the Hereafter. It is better to use the du’as that are found in the Qur’an and the Sunnah, as they include all the good things in the world and the Hereafter. When someone asked the Prophet r this question, he answered with great words that collect all good things in the world and the Hereafter for the Muslim. Abu Malik al-Ashja’i reports through his father (may Allah be pleased with him) that he narrated that a man came to the Prophet r and said, “O Messenger of Allah! What should I say when I supplicate my Lord?” The Prophet r said: “Say: ‘O Allah! Forgive me, have mercy on me, give me soundness in this life and in the hereafter, give me sustenance.’” He would collect his finger except the thumb. Then the Prophet r said, “This supplication will give you the goodness of this life and the hereafter.”^[1]

In another narration, it is reported that when a man would meet the Prophet, he would order him to use these words for supplication, “O Allah! Forgive me, have mercy upon me, guide me, give me soundness in both lives, and give me substance.”^[2]

Advantage :

It is Sunnah to pray for your brother when he does not see or hear you, and it is an accepted du’a and the one who does so will be rewarded greatly. Imam Muslim (may Allah bless him) says in his Sahih hadith that Abi Al-Darda’ said that the Prophet said: “‘The du’a of a person for his Muslim brother in his absence will be answered. At his head there is an angel, and every time he prays for him for something good, the angel who has been appointed to be with him, says, ‘Ameen, may you have likewise.’^[3]

8- Increase the remembrance of Allah

Adh-Dhikr is a vast horizon with an all including connotation. It has two meanings:

General meaning:

It includes all types of worship: prayer, fasting, Hajj, reciting the Qur’an, Du’a, glorifying, praising and exalting Allah and every act of worship and obedience.

Sheikh al-Islam said: “Every righteous act that is done by the tongue or the heart, even if you just think it, will make you nearer to Allah. Learning Islamic sciences and teaching them and the promotion of virtue and the prevention of vice are also kinds of dhikr.

Specific meaning:

To make dhikr of Allah is to use the words of Allah the Almighty from the Qur’an or Sunnah which includes the exaltation and glorification of Allah, and belief of Tawheed.

The greatest dhikr is reciting the Qur’an, which prevented our ancestors from sleeping at night as they used to recite Qur’an to worship Allah. Allah said,

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“They used to sleep but little by night, invoking their Lord (Allah) and praying, with fear and hope. And in the hours before dawn, they were (found) asking (Allah) for forgiveness.”                            (51:17-18).

At night you would have found them reciting Qur’an and making the du’as according to the Sunnah. How great is the one who does so, and how humble are those who do not waste their nights in amusement and play.