1. TODAY'S HADITHS
Hazrat Ayesha(radiyallahu anha) reported that: "The Messenger of Allah(sallallahu alaiyhi wassallam) used to go into devotional seclusion(i'tikaaf) during the last ten days of Ramadhaan. This was his practice until his death and his wives did the same." ( Bukhari, Muslim)
Hadhrat Ali Ibn Husain narrates from his father that Rasullullah(sallallahu alaiyhi wasallam) said: "He who observes the ten days I'tikaaf during Ramadhaan will obtain the thawaab of two Hajj and two Umrah." (Bayhaqi)
Hazrat Abdullah bin Abbas(radhiyallahu anhu) reported that Rasullullah(sallallahu alaiyhi wassallam) said: "Whosoever for Allah's sake did even one days i'tikaaf, Allah would keep him away from Jahannam by three gulfs(or trenches). (Tibrani)
Hazrat Ibn Abbas(radhiyallahu anhu) reported that Rasullullah(sallallahu alaiyhi wassallam) said (about him who engages in i'tikaaf) that he is safe from sin and he gets that reward also which everyone (outside i'tikaaf) gets for pious deeds. (Ibn Majah)
2. TODAYS FOCUS The Relationship Between Supplication and Ramadaan Making dua is a part of the month of Ramadan. There is a strong connection between the noble practice of supplicating to Allah and the honored month of Ramadan.
1. Telling Allah about your situation A mention of the mercy of thy Lord unto His servant Zakhariyyah-when he cried unto his Lord a cry in secret, saying, "My Lord! Lo! The bones of me wax feeble and my head is shining with grey hair, and I have never been unblest in prayer to Thee, my Lord. Lo! I fear my kinsfolk after me, since my wife is barren. Oh, give me from Thy presence a successor who shall inherit of me and inhereit of the house of Jacob. And make him, my Lord,acceptable (unto Thee)." (Maryam:2-6)
2. Al-Yaqeen and full awareness ("presence of the heart") The Prophet (sallallahu alaiyhi wassallam) said, "Ask Allah with certainty that He will answer your prayers, and know that Allah will not accept the supplication from an absent heart." (hasan, at-Tirmidhi)
3. Having patience Abu Hurayrah reported that the Prophet (sallallahu alaiyhi wassallam) said,"The person's supplication will be answered unless he asks for sin or severing the ties of kinship, except if the person is hasty." Then the Prophet (sallallahu alaiyhi wassallam) was asked about hastiness. So the Prophet (sallallahu alaiyhi wassallam) described it as, "The person says, 'I asked, and I have not seen the answer.' Then he leaves dua." (Sahih Muslim) NB. It is not considered hast in dua to ask for a speedy answer.
4. Asking with persistence The Prophet (sallallahu alaiyhi wassallam)) said, "When you ask Allah, ask with confidence." Some of the early Muslims used to say that the suppliant should be like a child when you ask Allah, crying until you are answered.
5. Asking in secret An example of this lies in the dua of Zakariyyah,"A mention of the mercy of thy Lord unto His servant Zakhariyyah-when he cried unto his Lord a cry in secret." (19:2) .Benefits of this secrecy include sincerity and belief in Allah's attributes (Hearing, Seeing,Closeness).
6. Omitting details in the actual request Such as in the ayah, "Our Lord, give us good in this world, good in the hereafter, and save us from the punishment of the fire." (2:201) Aisha(R.A.) narrated that the Prophet (sallallahu alaiyhi wassallam) used to like comprehensive supplications, and he would leave others. (Abu Dawud) One of the Sahaba saw his child asking, "O Allah, give me the right palace on the right side of jannah." So he told his child, "Do not do that. Rather, ask Allah to enter you into jannah and to protect you from the fire."
7. To ask Allah by His names and attributes Allah's are the fairest names. Invoke Him by them. (7:180)
8. Not consuming Haram On the authority of Abu Hurairah, The Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alaiyhi wassallam) said,"Allah the Almighty is good and accepts only that which is good. Allah has commanded the faithful to do that which he commanded the messengers, and the Almighty has said: 'O ye messengers! Eat of the good things and do right.' And Allah the Almighty has said, 'O ye who believe! Eat of the good thingswherewith We have provided you.' Then he (sallallahu alaiyhi wassallam) mentioned [the case of] a man who, having journeyed far, is disheveled and dusty and who spreads out his hands to the sky [saying] : "O Lord! O Lord!" Meanwhile, his (the traveler's) food is unlawful, his drink unlawful, his clothing unlawful, and he is nourished unlawfully; so how can he be answered! (Related by Muslim)
9. Thinking well of Allah (Husnu thun bi'llah) When the wife of Imran said, "My Lord! I have vowed unto Thee that which is in my belly as a consecrated (offering). Accept it from me, Lo! Thou, only Thou, art the Hearer, the Knower!" (3:38) "And your Lord hath said: Pray unto Me and I will hear your prayer. Lo! Those who scorn My service, they will enter hell, disgraced." (40:60) "An unto Thamud their brother Salih. He said, "O my people! Serve Allah, ye have no other God save Him. He brought you forth from the earth and hath made you husband it. So ask forgiveness of Him and turn unto Him repentant. Lo, my Lord is Nigh, Responsive. (11:61) Hadith Qudsi "I am as my servants thinks of me, and I am with him whenever he mentions me."
10. Asking Allah by one's good deeds Bukhari and Muslim relate the hadith of the Prophet (sallallahu alaiyhi wassallam) of the story of three men, who each supplicated to Allah by a good deed they had done earlier in their lives. As the story goes, "Three persons of a people before you were on a journey when they were overtaken by a storm and therefore they took shelter in a cave. A rock slipped down from the mountain and blocked the exit from the cave. One of them said, 'The only way for deliverance left is to beseech Allah in the name of some virtuous deed.'" One of the men mentioned a good deed which they had done for Allah, and supplicated, "O Lord, if I did this thing seeking only Thy pleasure,then do Thou relieve us of the distress wrought upon us by this rock." The rock moved, but not enough to free the men. So, the other two made similar supplications by their good deeds until the rock moved enough to free them. (Source: By Yousuf Jaafar Idris Source: iisna)
O Allah! keep me alive as a Muslim and let me die as a Muslim.
O Allah! I seek from You health and piety, security, good morals and willingness on fate.
O Allah! make me most grateful to You and to remember You in abundance and act upon Your advice and to remember Your will.
2. TODAYS FOCUS The Relationship Between Supplication and Ramadaan Making dua is a part of the month of Ramadan. There is a strong connection between the noble practice of supplicating to Allah and the honored month of Ramadan.
1. Telling Allah about your situation A mention of the mercy of thy Lord unto His servant Zakhariyyah-when he cried unto his Lord a cry in secret, saying, "My Lord! Lo! The bones of me wax feeble and my head is shining with grey hair, and I have never been unblest in prayer to Thee, my Lord. Lo! I fear my kinsfolk after me, since my wife is barren. Oh, give me from Thy presence a successor who shall inherit of me and inhereit of the house of Jacob. And make him, my Lord,acceptable (unto Thee)." (Maryam:2-6)
2. Al-Yaqeen and full awareness ("presence of the heart") The Prophet (sallallahu alaiyhi wassallam) said, "Ask Allah with certainty that He will answer your prayers, and know that Allah will not accept the supplication from an absent heart." (hasan, at-Tirmidhi)
3. Having patience Abu Hurayrah reported that the Prophet (sallallahu alaiyhi wassallam) said,"The person's supplication will be answered unless he asks for sin or severing the ties of kinship, except if the person is hasty." Then the Prophet (sallallahu alaiyhi wassallam) was asked about hastiness. So the Prophet (sallallahu alaiyhi wassallam) described it as, "The person says, 'I asked, and I have not seen the answer.' Then he leaves dua." (Sahih Muslim) NB. It is not considered hast in dua to ask for a speedy answer.
4. Asking with persistence The Prophet (sallallahu alaiyhi wassallam)) said, "When you ask Allah, ask with confidence." Some of the early Muslims used to say that the suppliant should be like a child when you ask Allah, crying until you are answered.
5. Asking in secret An example of this lies in the dua of Zakariyyah,"A mention of the mercy of thy Lord unto His servant Zakhariyyah-when he cried unto his Lord a cry in secret." (19:2) .Benefits of this secrecy include sincerity and belief in Allah's attributes (Hearing, Seeing,Closeness).
6. Omitting details in the actual request Such as in the ayah, "Our Lord, give us good in this world, good in the hereafter, and save us from the punishment of the fire." (2:201) Aisha(R.A.) narrated that the Prophet (sallallahu alaiyhi wassallam) used to like comprehensive supplications, and he would leave others. (Abu Dawud) One of the Sahaba saw his child asking, "O Allah, give me the right palace on the right side of jannah." So he told his child, "Do not do that. Rather, ask Allah to enter you into jannah and to protect you from the fire."
7. To ask Allah by His names and attributes Allah's are the fairest names. Invoke Him by them. (7:180)
8. Not consuming Haram On the authority of Abu Hurairah, The Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alaiyhi wassallam) said,"Allah the Almighty is good and accepts only that which is good. Allah has commanded the faithful to do that which he commanded the messengers, and the Almighty has said: 'O ye messengers! Eat of the good things and do right.' And Allah the Almighty has said, 'O ye who believe! Eat of the good thingswherewith We have provided you.' Then he (sallallahu alaiyhi wassallam) mentioned [the case of] a man who, having journeyed far, is disheveled and dusty and who spreads out his hands to the sky [saying] : "O Lord! O Lord!" Meanwhile, his (the traveler's) food is unlawful, his drink unlawful, his clothing unlawful, and he is nourished unlawfully; so how can he be answered! (Related by Muslim)
9. Thinking well of Allah (Husnu thun bi'llah) When the wife of Imran said, "My Lord! I have vowed unto Thee that which is in my belly as a consecrated (offering). Accept it from me, Lo! Thou, only Thou, art the Hearer, the Knower!" (3:38) "And your Lord hath said: Pray unto Me and I will hear your prayer. Lo! Those who scorn My service, they will enter hell, disgraced." (40:60) "An unto Thamud their brother Salih. He said, "O my people! Serve Allah, ye have no other God save Him. He brought you forth from the earth and hath made you husband it. So ask forgiveness of Him and turn unto Him repentant. Lo, my Lord is Nigh, Responsive. (11:61) Hadith Qudsi "I am as my servants thinks of me, and I am with him whenever he mentions me."
10. Asking Allah by one's good deeds Bukhari and Muslim relate the hadith of the Prophet (sallallahu alaiyhi wassallam) of the story of three men, who each supplicated to Allah by a good deed they had done earlier in their lives. As the story goes, "Three persons of a people before you were on a journey when they were overtaken by a storm and therefore they took shelter in a cave. A rock slipped down from the mountain and blocked the exit from the cave. One of them said, 'The only way for deliverance left is to beseech Allah in the name of some virtuous deed.'" One of the men mentioned a good deed which they had done for Allah, and supplicated, "O Lord, if I did this thing seeking only Thy pleasure,then do Thou relieve us of the distress wrought upon us by this rock." The rock moved, but not enough to free the men. So, the other two made similar supplications by their good deeds until the rock moved enough to free them. (Source: By Yousuf Jaafar Idris Source: iisna)
O Allah! keep me alive as a Muslim and let me die as a Muslim.
O Allah! I seek from You health and piety, security, good morals and willingness on fate.
O Allah! make me most grateful to You and to remember You in abundance and act upon Your advice and to remember Your will.