A summary of a lecture on the Philosophy of Duas by Qom student

• Duas is the weapon of the believer.

• The Salat achieves acceptance if accompanied with duas. Esp the Tasbih e Zehra is very beneficial.

• Presence of heart is essential for a dua ,Recitations of mere words without the longing of the heart is insufficent. We have to be in a state of seeking/begging from the All powerful creator

• Duas can be in any language BUT using those words used by his chosen servants have greater effect.

• Duas with the references of HIS chosen people & recitation of Salwaat before & After dua have greater effect.

• Duas don't reach the level of acceptance due to our sins (refer Dua Kumail words) esp those where we have not given the rights of believers incl Khums, Cutting of relations with relatives. etc

• We need to pray to HIM so that HE bestows on us a state where our hopes are ONLY from HIM 100% (Inqitah state, cut off form all other sources) This state is sought by the learned & pious.

• We need to ask from/Remember HIM in every small / insignificant thing too & then HE will answer in our bigger crisis situation as well.

• Scientists acknowledge that Duas have a positive impact on the well being of the individual (though Islam is not dependant upon certification of this from scientists)

• Duas without action is inappropriate eg praying for rizq but without making any efforts in that direction will not produce results.

Ulema mention that there are 3 situations (Maslehats)

    1.  HE will give whether we ask for it or not

    2.  HE will NOT give whether we ask or not

    3.  HE will give ONLY if we ask

We do not know, which sought after condition/thing falls in which of the above 3 categories & hence we pray for everything .All prayers have rewards in the hereafter.

In the 3rd category too there are those things which HE gives but AFTER a period of time (Eg Musa (as) dua to drown Firon was answered after 30 years). or HE gives only if the asking is for x no of times eg HE will give if asked for from HIM for say 25 times.

• HE gives sometimes very quickly if he does NOT like the method used by seeker

• HE delays the giving if HE likes the voice /method of the seeker so that he continues to ask of HIM.

Sura No. 2 Baqarah : Ayat 216 says :"And it may be that you dislike a thing while it is good for you, and it may be that you love a thing while it is evil for you, and Allah knows, while you do not know."

Eg a child who wants to have a colorful snake in his hand will cry for it , BUT we as elders know the poison that it contains & harm it can bring & hence do not provide the thing to him.

Sometimes Wealth / Children can also deviate us from the straight path eg A Prophet (as)'s companion who was very poor but recited Jamaat salat every day in the first Row & slowly when he became more prosperous, even started to make his salat Qaza.

For every delay / unanswered dua a believer will be rewarded. On the day of judgement he will receive his book of deeds which contains many many good deeds which he did not perform & he will mention that this book is not his. BUT HE will inform that those additions are to compensate him for the unanswered duas. The believer will then mention; Alas it would be better for me if NONE of my duas were answered !

He has hidden His Answering (your supplications) in Your prayers to Him so then do not consider any part of your prayers to Him as being insignificant as it is possible that within that prayer lies His Answering while you are not aware."

How many times we have called upon Allah (SWT), waiting patiently for an answer? We sit down to recite the extended supplications such as those in Sahifatul Sajjadiyah and the other beautiful pleas contained in Mafaatihul Jinaan thinking that the longer the prayer, the better chance that Allah (SWT) will accept it. We fail to realize that even one short dua of a few lines has as much a chance of being accepted by Allah as the 'longer' duas. The key to acceptance of a dua of any length is to ensure that we have maintained the prerequisites of supplication mentioned in the Quran and Prophetic words of wisdom, and to pray with a pure intention. If the prayer is fulfilled by Allah (SWT), we should realize that that is what was best for us in this life and the next; if it is deferred to the next world, then we need to accept that what we wanted may have been detrimental for our life in this world and more importantly, our status in the next life. We must accept that after all, Allah (SWT) knows best.