Dua is essentially submission to the Creator and a demonstration of a person’s need for Allah. It can change fate, while no action of ours ever can. It is the essence of Ibadah or worship. Allah is listening to each and every Dua made in front of HIM and answers all the Duas. It is not that we have forgotten dua completely; we refer to it regularly. But our ideas and practice regarding dua have become distorted. Allah says:

قَالَ رَبِّ اشْرَحْ لِي صَدْرِي وَيَسِّرْ لِي أَمْرِي وَاحْلُلْ عُقْدَةً مِّن لِّسَانِي يَفْقَهُوا قَوْلِي

“My Lord! Expand for me my chest and ease for me my task and untie (the) knot from my tongue that they may understand my speech.” (Surah Taha, 20:25-28)

Often it is reduced to the level of a ritual. Dua should be the first and the last resort of the believer, with all his plans and actions coming in between. Dua means supplication, which means communicating with a deity, comes closer than invocation. It is an important part of our faith and belief. Allah gives a promise in the Quran: Allah says:

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ اسْتَعِينُواْ بِالصَّبْرِ وَالصَّلاَةِ إِنَّ اللّهَ مَعَ الصَّابِرِينَ

“O you who believe[d]! Seek help through patience and prayer. Indeed, Allah (is) with the patient ones.” (Surah Al-Baqarah, 2:153)

Dua is a conversation with Allah, our Creator, our Lord and Master, the All-Knowing, the All-Powerful. This act in itself is of extraordinary significance. It is the most uplifting, liberating, empowering, and transforming conversation a person can ever have. We turn to Him because we know that He alone can lift our sufferings and solve our problems. We feel relieved after describing our difficulties to our Creator. We feel empowered after having communicated with the All-Mighty. We sense His mercy all around us after talking to the Most Merciful. Allah says:

وَإِذَا سَأَلَكَ عِبَادِي عَنِّي فَإِنِّي قَرِيبٌ أُجِيبُ دَعْوَةَ الدَّاعِ إِذَا دَعَانِ فَلْيَسْتَجِيبُوا لِي وَلْيُؤْمِنُوا بِي لَعَلَّهُمْ يَرْشُدُونَ

“And when ask you My servants about Me, then indeed I am near. I respond (to the) invocation (of) the supplicant when he calls Me. So let them respond to Me and let them believe in Me, so that they may (be) led aright.” (Surah Al-Baqarah 2:186)

Dua is the conversation with Allah, our Creator, the All-Knowing, and the All-Powerful. This act of making Dua in itself is of exceptional significance. It is the most, liberating, empowering, and transforming conversation a person can ever have with his Lord. We raise our hands in front of Allah and ask Him everything His help, mercy, and forgiveness and He surely listens to us and fulfils our desires.

Dua is considered very powerful in Islam as it can change our fate and it can be the most powerful weapon for a Muslim at the time of grief and sorrow. Allah says in the Quran:

وَقَالَ رَبُّكُمُ ادْعُونِي أَسْتَجِبْ لَكُمْ إِنَّ الَّذِينَ يَسْتَكْبِرُونَ عَنْ عِبَادَتِي سَيَدْخُلُونَ جَهَنَّمَ دَاخِرِينَ

“And said your Lord, “Call upon Me; I will respond to you. Indeed, those who (are) proud to worship Me will enter Hell (in) humiliation.” (Surah Ghafir, 40:60)

When we make Dua we feel relieved after describing our difficulties to our Creator. In every difficulty, our first action is dua, as is our last. We ask Allah to show us the way to handle that difficulty; we seek His help in following the path He shows to us; we seek His aid in making our efforts successful.

By making Dua we get through the difficult situation that is the power of Dua. We ask guidance from ALLAH at the time of difficulty to show us the way to face this hurdle. Dua is the belief of all Muslims that ALLAH is the sole provider and creator of everything on earth.

Benefits of Making Dua

There are many benefits of making Dua from Almighty Allah some of them we have listed below:

• The loss of arrogance- When we make Dua we submit that Allah alone is the creator and He is The Powerful one and everything is under the control of Him. We are nothing in front of Him we have to ask from Him.
• The fulfilment of Dua- For the people that sometimes see that their Duas are not being accepted, there is either the option that the Dua will be accepted later on in this life or in the Hereafter or the option that the Dua will be accepted by other means. Holy Prophet (SAW) said about it: “Whoever does Dua to Allah, Allah fulfils his seeking or in exchange averts misfortune until the Dua is not related to sin or breaking some relation.” (Tirmidhi). So, if we do not see our Dua being accepted immediately, we should not despair because either it will help us against some misfortune, or it might be accepted later.
• Dua has the power to change the destiny- Prophet (SAW) said, “Dua turns away destiny and good deeds lengthen age.” (Tirmidhi)
• Dua opened the doors of Mercy- Holy Prophet (SAW) said, “For whoever the door of Dua opened, for him, the doors of mercy are opened.” (Tirmidhi)
• Praise Allah when you begin and send salutations upon our Prophet
• Be thankful for all the previous times that Allah answered our dua (because He always answered even if He answered in a way different to how we wanted it)
• Be humble in seeking
• Understand that you are asking from the Owner of all that exists – ask all of your wishes and do not feel shy
• Raise your hands to Him
• Make dua during all the best of times (travelling, fasting, on a Friday, after prayers, Laylatul Qadr, in Sajdah, etc.)
• Seek forgiveness for the sins that have been committed
• Ask repeatedly knowing that Allah loves the sound of dua
• Never give up regardless of what Satan tells you

How God Responds

There are four ways of how God responds to our dua:

• Gives us what we want now
• Stores it up for the hereafter
• Removes something evil from our future
• Gives us what we want at a time when Allah believes is appropriate

Dua can change our life and our fate. It is the strongest weapon. But it works only for those who try sincerely and seriously to use it. As Muslims, we should never give up, because we have the ultimate weapon to counter our fears, depression, oppression, and adversity in the shape of Dua. Dua can change our life, our outlook, and our fate. It is the most potent weapon. But it works only for those who try sincerely and seriously to use it.