In the name of Allah, the Most-Merciful, the All-Compassionate

"May the Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon You"

Bismillah Walhamdulillah Was Salaatu Was Salaam 'ala Rasulillah

As-Salaam Alaykum Wa-Rahmatullahi Wa-Barakaatuh

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1)Making Dua for something ‘sinful’?

 Do you sometimes make dua that involves a sin? If yes, then that’s something to be avoided completely. How can one ask Allah for something that He, the Exalted, has forbidden us? Instead, we should ask Allah for showing us the guidance to stay away from such haram and sinful things. If we have to ask Allah through dua, let’s not ask what is forbidden, but let’s ask to stay away from the forbidden.

According to Abu Saeed Al-Khudri (RA) said: The Messenger of Allah (SAW) said:

“There is no Muslim who calls upon Allah with a dua in which there is no sin or severing of family ties, but He will give him one of three things: either He will answer his prayer, or He will store up an equal amount of good (reward) for him, or He will ward off an equal amount of evil from him.” They said, “O Messenger of Allah, then we shall say a lot of dua?” He said, “Allah is Most Generous.”

[Narrated by Ahmad, 10709; Al-Mundhiri classed its isnaad as jayyid in Al-Targheeb wa’l-Tarheeb, 2/479; Al-Haafiz Ibn Hajar classed it as Saheeh in Al-Fath, 11/115]

Shaykh Al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah said:

The dua in which there is no transgression will be answered, or else the person will be given something equal to it. This is the best response. For the thing that he asked for may be unattainable or may be harmful to the person who prayed or to someone else, but he is ignorant and unaware of the harmful elements in it. But the Lord is Close and Ever-Responsive, and He is more compassionate towards His slaves than a mother towards her child. And He is the Most Generous, Most Merciful: if He is asked for a specific thing and He knows that giving it is not in the best interests of His slave, He will give him something of equal value, as a father does for his child when he asks him for something that is not good for him, so he gives him something of equal worth, and for Allah is the highest description.

[Majmoo’ Al-Fataawa, 14/368]

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2) Why make Dua when all matters are decreed?

Many of us hold the view that why make dua to Allah, when He has already preordained all matters? Withholding dua with this idea (or any other) in mind is a serious mistake and we would be missing on the blessings of Allah.

It was narrated from Ibn ‘Umar (RA) that the Prophet (SAW) said:

“Dua may be of benefit with regard to what has already happened or what has not yet happened, so adhere to dua, O slaves of Allah.”

[Narrated by Al-Tirmidhi, 3548 and classed as hasan by Al-Albaani in Saheeh Al-Jaami’, 3409]

In a hadith it says:

“The decree cannot be overturned except by dua.”

[Fataawa Noor ‘ala al-Darb by Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on him)]

Shaykh Al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah said in Majmoo’ Al-Fataawa [8/69]:

If a person says that he does not say dua or ask of Allah, because he relies on the divine decree, he is also erring, because Allah has made dua and asking means of attaining His forgiveness, mercy, guidance, support and provision. If good is decreed for a person he will attain by means of dua what he cannot attain without dua. What Allah has decreed and knows with regard to His slaves’ circumstances and destinies is only decreed on the basis of means, and decrees will be fulfilled at the appointed times. There is everything that happens in this world or in the Hereafter happens on the basis of cause and effect; Allah is the Creator of both cause and effect.

Disregarding the principle of cause and effect is contrary to reason.

Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen said in Al-Majmoo’ Al-Thameen min Fataawa Fadeelat Al-Shaykh Muhammad ibn Saalih Al-‘Uthaymeen [1/157]:

Dua is one of the means by which what is asked for is attained. In fact it wards off the divine decree and nothing wards off the divine decree except dua, and that may happen in two ways. For example, a sick person may pray to Allah for healing and be healed, and were it not for the dua he would have remained sick, but he was healed by means of the dua. But we say: Allah decreed that the sick person would be healed from this sickness by means of dua, and this is what was decreed. He thinks that were it not for the dua he would have remained sick, but in fact he did not ward off the divine decree, because the basic principle is that dua was decreed and that the healing would come by means of this dua, and this is the original decree that was decreed from eternity. The same applies to everything that is decreed to happen through some means or cause. Allah has made this means the cause for the thing to happen, and that was decreed from eternity, before it happened.

Source: Power of Dua Compiled, edited and adapted by Khalid Latif, www.thekhalids.org

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