You will Always Find Allah where You Put Him in Your Life
And when My servants ask you, [O Muhammad], concerning Me — indeed I am near. I respond to the invocation of the supplicant when he calls upon Me. So let them respond to Me [by obedience] and believe in Me that they may be [rightly] guided. — Qur’an 2[Al-Baqarah]:186
At some point in your life, you get broken down to rock bottom. This is because Allah The Most-High is carrying out an experiment with your life. It’s not that He hates you, in fact, God often puts to trial those whom He loves. He is trying to see your sincerity, patience, reliance, and steadfastness. He puts you through those difficulties because He knows something better is in stock for you. So when your trial comes, bear in mind that no one will be able to bail you out except Him— The One Who put you in that situation.
Many of us must have read stories of different prophets revealed in the holy scriptures. These stories depict their trials and a show of human nature. The only difference between them and us is just that they were divinely guided. Sincerely, many prophets suffered more than what we are experiencing today. Remember when Jesus was blasphemed and they attempted to kill him. Prophet Muhammad PBUH lost all his loved ones. Yusuf was kidnapped, sold, and ended up in jail. These are just but a few and they all had happy endings.
Think for a moment, wouldn’t you want to see signs that Allah is truly accepting the dua’ you’ve made? Well, trust me I do. And I believe this is how many of us feel as well. It will only increase us in faith and love for Allah. So, one of the best instances to drive my point is this example of our forefather Ibrahim Alayhi Salam. We are only trying to relate this with ourselves as ordinary human beings for us to understand. Abraham, a Messenger of God, went through a series of trials as well. Although, we all know him to be a beloved friend of Allah.
And (remember) when Abraham said, ‘My Lord, show me how You give life to the dead,’ He said, ‘Do you not believe, then?’ ‘Yes,’ said Abraham, ‘but just to put my heart at rest.’ So God said, ‘Take four birds and train them to come back to you. Then place them on separate hilltops, call them back, and they will come flying to you: know that God is All-Mighty, All-Wise.’ — Qur’an 2[Al-Baqarah]:260
A meticulous way to understand how Dua’ works
We often confuse dua’ – prayer to be a ‘tit for tat’ game. Like we ask Allah for something and we get it instantly. Nope! It doesn’t work like that always. Dua’ literally means to call, to cry out onto Allah. It’s a process of communication between a slave and his Lord. The goal is to reach out to Allah for your need, showing desperately how you want His help. That sincere humble conversation is the most valuable thing for a believer. Dua’ transforms a believer to have hope and think positively of Allah.
One of the biggest mistakes we make in our dua’ is restricting Allah. Allah’s provision is endless and nothing is impossible for Him to do. Never limit the ability of Allah to provide a solution for you. Do not despair of Allah’s mercy and when you ask, ask without reservation. The key to acceptance of dua’ is hope, never lose hope in Allah. Zakariyya got this inspiration from Mar’yam when he saw her with fresh fruits out of season. He asked where did she get it from? She said: ‘Allah provided me with it’. This pushed him to ask Allah for a child even when he knew he was old and his wife was barren. And you know what, Allah gave it to him.
There’s no dua’ you make that goes unanswered. The response might come in one of three ways vis-a-vis:
- You ask for something and Allah gives it to you immediately. Great! Then recognize this as a blessing and be grateful to Him for it. This happened to Musa after helping the girls with their animals. He made dua’ to Allah and shortly after, the girls’ father rewarded him.
- You ask for something and Allah delays giving it to you. At this point, you begin to turn to Allah in earnest and become dearer to Him. You become more focused in your worship, and not despair or lose hope. This happened to Yaqub the father of Yusuf when he lost his son and Yusuf himself when imprisoned.
- You ask for something and Allah withholds giving it to you. This is because it’s bad for and you don’t know. He will give you something better in return, or save good for you in the hereafter. This was eminent from the life of our beloved prophet Muhammad PBUH.
If it worked for me, then it will surely do for you too
Permit me to share a personal story here, not because I am a saint but to let you know this works, and to connect us back to trusting and working with HIM Alone. Having good expectations and hopes from your Lord is one of the best forms of relieving yourself of grief, anxiety, and stress. For no one hopes for good from the Creator of the heavens and gets anything less than what he expects. And if you think the other way, your thoughts synchronize. That’s why I often tell people, you will always find Allah where you put Him in your life. So, here’s my story. I needed someone to help me with some stuff that I could hardly achieve except with their help. I had gone a long way with them but you know what, they failed me at the last minute. I played all my part, but as Allah ordained, that good never came through them. One thing that kept me humble and motivated was how I cried to Allah in the middle of the night. I backed up my request with fasting, charity, and extreme trust that Allah is Able to do all things. I never lost hope, even until the very end.
When everything seemed bleak as if I was doomed, then Allah opened the door of His mercy — a better alternative to achieve my objective. The people, the process, the resources, boom! Everything started to click like a miracle. It was then that my heartfelt the tranquility of my dua’ being accepted by Allah. Not just the way I was thinking actually, for Allah knew the method I wanted earlier wasn’t good for me. Hence, He gave me another alternative which was best for me. We just need to believe in the process with firm conviction. The challenge with many of us today is that we want to be ‘Muslims by the noun’ — just by name, and not ‘Muslims by the verb’ — living Islam.
Things to do in order to maximize the acceptance of your dua’
- Have unshakable faith in Allah: History will not forget the story of Prophet Musa and the red sea. When the Pharaoh got closer, the children of Israel exclaimed: ‘we will be overtaken’. Moses had a perfect depiction of Tawakul. What did he say?
Moses said, ‘No, my Lord is with me: He will guide me’ — Qur’an 26[Ash-Shu’ara]:62
- Have the intention your dua is accepted: This starts with sincerity between you and Allah. Do not harm anyone but have good intentions for them. Think positive of your Lord, He is the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing.
Your Lord says, ‘Call on Me and I will answer you; those who are too proud to serve Me will enter Hell humiliated.’ — Qur’an 40[Al-Ghafir]:60
- Begin your supplication with gratitude: Always give praise, thanks, and adoration to Allah Alone. When you express gratitude for the little things, He will surely give you the greater things you ask for.
And [remember] when your Lord proclaimed, ‘If you are grateful, I will surely increase you [in favor]; but if you deny, indeed, My punishment is severe.’ “ — Qur’an 14[Ibrahim]:7
- Make your livelihood of pure means: This hadith explains it best… Narrated Abu Hurayrah: The Messenger of Allah PBUH said, “Allah the Almighty is Good and accepts only that which is good. And verily Allah has commanded the believers to do that which He has commanded the Messengers. So the Almighty has said: “O (you) Messengers! Eat of the tayyibat [all kinds of halal (legal) foods], and perform righteous deeds.” [23:51] and the Almighty has said: “O you who believe! Eat of the lawful things that We have provided you.” — Qur’an 2[Al-Baqarah]:172. Then he PBUH 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!,” while his food is haram (unlawful), his drink is haram, his clothing is haram, and he has been nourished with haram, so how can his supplication be answered?” — Muslim
- Target the periods in which dua’ is accepted: There are enormous times in which supplications are accepted. Here are a few: between adhan and iqamah, last third part of the night, in sujood position, upon breaking your fast, while traveling, during rainfall, and numerous others.
- The manners and approach of making dua’: Since you can’t see Your Lord, then make your Supplication a means of interaction between you and Him. Hence, humble yourself before God because you are in need of Him not otherwise. Raise your hands, preferably face the qiblah, praise Him by His virtues and beautiful names, send salutations upon the prophet. Seek His forgiveness for your shortcomings. If you have to weep, cry profusely onto your Lord like a hungry baby to his Mom.
“Charity does not decrease wealth. No one forgives, but Allah increases him in honor, and no one humbles himself before Allah but Allah raises him in status.” — Muslim
- Devote yourself to prostration: Sujood is one of the greatest things a believer should do often. It’s the one thing that turned Shaytaan to become accursed. Supplicate to Allah in this position.
Abu Huraira reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “The servant is closest to his Lord during prostration, so increase your supplications therein.” — Muslim
So in sum, think positively about Allah, rely solely upon Him, and believe He is able to do all things. Do not make Allah your last option but the first. Consult Him for every affair and you will always find Him ahead of you in all ramifications.I Our dua’ is a means of connecting back to Allah. Let’s harness this tool honestly and earn the honor of Allah. Remember Allah’s promise is true, so do not let the chief deceiver delude you of this.
Oh, Allah! Make us of your slaves who make dua’ to you and get accepted. Increase us in reliance upon You Alone, elevate us through prostrations and blot out our sins. For You Alone are The Most Powerful One Who is able to do all things. Ameen!
PS: And Success comes only by the will of Allah! If you find this piece beneficial, it’s by Allah’s Grace. It’s no scholarly work and we accept our mistakes. Suggestions are welcomed in making this effort better as well. You are free to share by any means for enlightenment purposes. Kindly give a “click-clap” to enable other readers on Medium to see this post. We ask Allah to keep us guided and steadfast upon the right path. We hope you’d read from us again next time in sha Allah!
Yaumul Jumu’ah 30th Muharam 1442 AH / Friday 18th September, 2020.
