Shariah Principles on the acceptability and unacceptability of

Du‘ā’u (Prayer) in Islam

Adeoye, Tawaliu Oriowo (PhD), Department of Religious Studies, Olabisi Onabanjo

University, Ago-Iwoye. Telephone: 08058834773

E-mail: adeoye.tawaliu@gmail.com & adeoye.tawaliu@oouagoiwoye.edu.ng

ABSTRACT

Islam like the other religions in the world recognises the efficacy of du‘a’u
(prayer) as a means of having direct communication with the Supreme Being.

Keywords:

Introduction
Islamic Perception on Du‘ā (Prayer)

The term ‘Du‘ā’ (Plural ‘Da‘wāt’) is derived from an Arabic word da‘a which literally

means 'call out' or to 'summon' (Cowan, 1960:283). Technically, it is defined as ‘an individual

prayer, supplication, request or plea which may be spontaneous with personal petitions or a

composed individual prayer or a special prayer for occasion of distress’ (Glasse, 2002: 125).

Glasse also differentiates between Du‘ā such as Yaa Lateef, which is supplication, and the

obligatory, ritual, or canonical prayer (Ṣalāt ), which is performed five times a day. Khan (1974)

looks at it from another dimension by dividing Du‘ā into religious and mundane perspectives.

Examples of Du‘ā in the realm of religion includes asking Allah to increase one’s faith or asking

Him to forgive one’s sins. The other example of Du‘ā pertaining to the world would include

such things as asking Allah to increase one’s wealth, to demand for cure from a disease, or to be

granted more children. These two categories are what Sa‘eed (1994) also refers to as Du‘ā al-

mas'alah (the Du‘ā of asking), and Du‘ā al-'ibādah (the Du‘ā of worship) respectively. He also

explains further that Du‘ā al-mas'alah is one that occurs when one asks for the fulfilment of a

need, or that some harms be removed from him/her. Du‘ā al-'ibādah on the other hand is

concerned with every single act of worship. These would include the daily obligatory prayer

(Ṣalāt, alms to the poor (Zakāt) fasting (Sawm) e.t.c.

Another angle to the issue of Du‘ā is to know about its ramifications as far as Islam is

concerned. One of this is to inquire whether Du‘ā as a request includes healing and medication.

Having argued that the concept of medication and that of healing are interwoven and can

therefore be used interchangeably, Sanni (2013) is of the opinion that ‘any prescription given by

Allah in the Qur’ān and the one given by the Prophet (S.A.A.S.) for the healing of any illness is

seen as medication for such illness’ (p. 178). While the issue of their synonymy is open to
debate, it suffices to note that Medical treatment, known in Arabic parlance as At-Tibb (Cowan,

1960: 550) draws its references from the Qur’ān, one of which says, “We reveal from the Qur’ān

that which is healing and mercy for the believers” (Q17:82). Another verse is more specific in its

confirmation of the role of Allah as a Healer as enunciated in the Qur’ān where Prophet Ibrahim

says: ‘When I am sick it is He who cures me’ (Q26:80). This shows that from Islamic viewpoint,

the principle of medication and healing is hinged on the conception that it is Allah alone that can

heal and provide appropriate medication for all forms of physical, spiritual, socio-economic

problem and affliction (Sanni, 2013: 12).In addition, a tradition narrated by Abdullah b. Mas‘ūd

reported the Prophet to have said: “Hold fast with two medicines, Honey and the Qur’ān”. It is

perhaps in view of this instruction that the Prophet Muhammad developed what is popularly

known as ‘At-Tibb An-Nabawi’ (The Prophetic Medicine). Al-Jawziah (2008) has given two

meanings to At-Tibb An-Nabawi (The Prophetic Medicine). He refers to it firstly as ‘a term

which refers to the words and actions of the Prophet that involves treating of diseases and which

enhances the health of patients’. According to him, ‘it also implies the Islamic Prayer Formula

(incantations) that the Prophet practised on himself, on others, instructed others to perform, and

that he himself is thereto subjected’. There is also apt evidence in the tradition related by

Hudhayfah who said it is part of the character of Prophet Muhammad that whenever he was

faced with any adversity or sorrow he sought Allah’s assistance by observing Ṣalāt (prayer) (p.

12). In essence, therefore, the Prophetic Medicine is not one systematic medical system as “it

covers precautionary medicine, remedial medicine, mental health, spiritual cures or ruqyah, and

it even implies the surgical treatments. Thus, this sort of medication involves both the physical

and spiritual ailments that may afflict the human body” (p 12) It has been found that medication

in Islam includes Animal Sacrifice, Herbs and Shrubs, Hantu (Sanni, 2013)
 The essence of prayer is contained in the command of Allah to the people; asking them

to humbly call upon Him with the promise that He will respond to their prayers and fulfil their

needs. This is presented in the following verse:

ِ َّ ‫ِإ‬ ِ
َ ‫ب لَ ُك ْم َّن الذ‬
‫ين‬ ْ ‫ـم ْادعُ وىِن‬
ْ ‫َأس تَج‬ ْ ‫ال َربُّ ُك‬
َ َ‫َوق‬
‫ين‬ ِ
‫ر‬ ِ ‫يستَ ْكرِب و َن عن ِعبادتِى سي ْدخلُو َن جهنَّم د‬
‫اخ‬
َ َ َ ََ ُ ََ َ َ ْ َ ُ ْ َ
And your Lord says, ‘Call on Me, I will answer your
prayer, but those who are too arrogant to serve me will
surely find themselves humiliated in Hell (Q40:60)

To confirm that Allah is ever ready to accept prayers, He (Allah) clearly gives assurance

to His servants in the following statement:

ِ ‫فَِإيِّن قَ ِر‬ ‫ك ِعبَ ِادي َعيِّن‬

‫َّاع‬
ِ ‫يب َد ْع َو َة الد‬
ُ ‫يب ُأج‬ ٌ َ َ‫َوِإ َذا َس َأل‬
‫َولُْيْؤ ِمنُواْ ىِب لَ َعلَّ ُه ْم َيْر ُش ُدو َن‬ ‫ان َف ْليَستَ ِجيبُواْ ىِل‬
ِ ‫ِإذَا دع‬
ََ
ْ
When My servants ask you (O, Muhammad) concerning
Me, I am indeed closer to them. I listen to the prayer of
every supplicant when he calls upon Me. So, let them
obey Me and believe in Me, so that they may be led
aright. (Q2:186)

The importance of ‘Du‘ā’ is corroborated in a sacred Hadith (Hadith Qudsi) where Allah

informs Prophet Muhammad as follows:

Allah said, ‘There are four characteristics of which one is

Mine, one yours, common between Me and you, and one is
common between you and My other servants. The one that is
Mine is that you shall not associate any other god with me, the
one that is for you is that when you do a good deed I shall
reward you for it. The one that is common between Me and
you is that when you supplicate I shall respond to your
supplications, and the one that is common between you and
My other servants is that you should like for them what you
like for your own selves. (Sabiq, 1991:109)
 In another Hadith, the Prophet (S.A.A.S) is reported to have said: “Nothing is dearer to

Allah than one’s supplication to Him. Whoever wants Allah to answer his prayers during

difficult times, should supplicate to Him more and more in times of ease’’ (Sharaf, 2005:725).

There is a special emphasis on Du‘ā in Muslim spirituality and early Muslims took great care to

record the supplications of Muhammad and they transmitted them to subsequent generations.

These traditions precipitated new genres of literature in which Prophetic supplications were

gathered together in single volumes that were memorised and taught. Collections such as Kitāb

al-adhkar and Shams al-Din al-Jazari's al-Hisn al-Hasin exemplify this literary trend and gained

significant currency among Muslim devotees keen to learn how Muhammad (S.A.A.S)

supplicated to his Lord.

Du‘ā literature is not however restricted to Prophetic supplications; many later Muslim

scholars and sages composed their own supplications, often in elaborate rhyming prose that

would be recited by their disciples. Popular Du‘ā would include Jazuli's Dala'ilal-Khayrat,

which at its peak spread throughout the Muslim world, and Imām al-Shadhili's Hizb al-Bahr

which also had widespread appeal. Du‘ā literature reaches its most lyrical form in the Munajat,

or 'whispered intimate prayers' such as those of Ibn 'Ata Allah al-Iskandari. Among the Shia

schools, the Al-Sahifa al-Sajjadiyya records Du‘ā attributed to Ali and his grandson Zayn al-

Abidin.

It is however generally agreed upon by Muslim scholars that the greatest of the Da‘awat

(prayers) is the obligatory prayer observed five times a day (Al-Hafidh, 2004). They made ample

reference to numerous portions of the Holy Qur’ān one of which reads:

ِ َ‫الص لَو َة طَ رىَفِ النَّه ا ِر و ُزلَف اً ِّمن الَّي ِل ِإ َّن احْل س ن‬

‫ت‬ ََ ْ َ َ َ َ َّ ‫َوَأقِ ِم‬
‫ين‬ ِ
‫ر‬ ِ‫ك ِذ ْكرى لِل َذك‬ َ
ِ‫ـت ذل‬
ِ ‫السـيَِّئ‬
َّ ِ ‫ي ْذ‬
‫ه‬
َ َ َ ‫نْب‬ ُ
 And perform the Ṣalāt, at the two ends of the day and in
some hours of the night. Verily, the good deeds remove
the evil deeds. That is a reminder for the mindful. And be
patient; verily Allah loses not the reward of the good-
doers. (Q11:114)

Sabiq (1991) identifies nine conditions that need to be present in order for a Du‘ā

(prayer) to be accepted. The first one is to have the firm belief that only Allah accepts prayers.

This is supported by the Qur’ān in Surah Al-Naml Verse 62 that says;

ِ ِ
‫الس وءَ َوجَيْ َعلُ ُك ْم‬
ُّ ‫ف‬ ُ ‫ضطََّر ِإ َذا َد َع اهُ َويَ ْكش‬ ْ ‫يب الْ ُم‬
ُ ‫ََّأمن جُي‬
‫ض َِأءلَـهٌ َّم َع اللَّ ِه قَلِيالً َّما تَ َذ َّك ُرو َن‬
ِ ‫اَألر‬
ْ َ‫ُحلَ َفآء‬
Or, Who listens to the distressed soul when it calls on
him, and Who relieves its suffering, and makes you
inheritors of the earth? So is there any god besides Allah?
Little it is that you heed. (Q27:62)

Prophet Muhammad (S.A.A.S) also says: “If you ask, then ask of Allah, and if you seek

help, then seek the help of Allah.” In another narration, he is reported to have said: “Make Du‘ā

to Allah when you are certain of a response.” (Sharaf, 2005). Another condition is that the person

offering the Du‘ā must be sincere. Sharaf (2005) is of the view that sincerity implies that a

Muslim prays to God alone. Reference to this can be found in Quran 72:18, which states:

ِ
َ ‫فَالَ تَ ْدعُواْ َم َع اللَّه‬
ً‫َأحدا‬
So invoke not any one along with God. (Q72:18)

ُ‫اعة‬ َّ ‫اب اللَّ ِه َْأو َأَتْت ُك ْم‬

َ ‫الس‬ ُ ‫قُ ْل ََأر َْأيتُ ُكم ِإ ْن َأتَـ ُك ْم َع َذ‬
‫ني‬ ِ ِ ‫َأ َغير اللَّ ِه تَ ْدعو َن ِإن ُكنتم‬
َ ‫صادق‬ َ ُْ ُ َْ
Say! Think you to yourselves, if there come upon you
the wrath of God, or the Hour [that you dread], would
you then call upon other than God? - [reply] if you
are truthful. (Q6:40)
 Considering the above portions of the Holy Qur’ān, it is established that sincerity plays

an inevitable role in making one’s supplications acceptable and answerable before Allah.

Furthermore, patience is another condition for the acceptance of prayer in Islam. Qur’ān

reference to this is contained in Qur’ān 2 verse 46 which says:

ِِ ِ َّ ‫الص ِ و‬ ِ ِْ
َ ‫الصالَة َوِإنَّ َه ا لَ َكبِ َريةٌ ِإالَّ َعلَى اخْلَـاشع‬
‫ني‬ َ ‫استَعينُواْ ب َّرْب‬
‫ين يَظُنُّو َن َأنَّ ُهم ُّمالقُوا َرهِّبِ ْم َوَأنَّ ُه ْم ِإلَْي ِه َر ِجعُو َن‬ ِ َّ
َ ‫الذ‬
And seek help in patience and As-Ṣalāt (the prayer) and
truly, it is heavy and hard except for Al-Khashi`in (those
who fear God). They are those who are certain that they are
going to meet their Lord and that unto Him they are going
to return.

To underscore the importance of patience, the Prophet was asked, "O Messenger of

God...What does it mean to be hasty?" Prophet Muhammad (S.A.A.S) responded "A worshipper

says, 'I have prayed and prayed, and I don't yet see that it will be accepted; so he gives up hope

of being answered, and leaves Du‘ā (Ibn Kathir, 1992:272). Sabiq (1991) corroborates this

statement in his explanation of the consequence of hastiness in prayer when he asserts that to be

hasty in Du‘ā is a cause of its rejection in Islam. The above tradition teaches that Muslims

should avoid hastiness and should not give up Du‘ā just because of a mere perception that God

will not respond to it.

In terms of the language to be used in Islamic worship, while Arabic is the language of

liturgy, Muslims are given the privilege to complement their supplication in Arabic with their

local languages. Huda (2012) succinctly puts this in perspective when he states that apart from

the daily ritual prayers, encouragement is given to Muslims to call upon Allah for forgiveness,
guidance, protection and strength throughout the day and these can be done through personal

supplications or prayers (Du‘ā) rendered in their own words in any language.(p.2).

Purity has a predominant role to play in the effective conduct of prayer and its

acceptance. For instance, it was reported in Hadith 10 of an-Nawawi’s collections “Allah, the

Most High is pure and will never accept anything except what is pure.” In the same Hadith, the

Prophet draws an example from the story of a man who embarked on a long journey and became

dishevelled. Despites this, he raised his hands in supplication shouting ‘Oh Lord! Oh Lord!’

While his food was something forbidden, his drinks was something forbidden, his cloth was

something forbidden and his total nourishment was also something forbidden. The Prophet then

asked ‘how would his supplication be answered? For one’s Du‘ā to be therefore accepted by

God, it must be for something pure and good.

Another factor that has great influence on the efficacy of prayer is good intention. In

Islam, it is imperative that a person making Du‘ā have the best of intention for whatever he or

she is asking. An example would be if someone asks for an increase in wealth, he should intend

with that increase in wealth to spend more on the poor and on his relatives. The first Hadith of

an-Nawawis quotes the Prophet to have said: “the reward of deeds depends on the intentions and

every person will get the reward according to what he has intended…’’ (Abdul, 1980:5)

High level of concentration is also required in supplication to achieve the desired result.

Prophet Muhammad (S.A.A.S) is reported to have said, "Make Du‘ā to God in a state that you are

certain that your Du‘ā will be responded to, and know that God does not respond to a Du‘ā that

originates from a negligent, inattentive heart.” (Sabiq, 1991:110). It is therefore noteworthy that

a Muslim is enjoined to make Du‘ā with a mindful heart. Moreover, one must be aware of what

he is saying and should believe in his or her heart that his Du‘ā will be responded to by God.
 On specific time that is most suitable for prayer in Islam, the Sharī‘ah does not restrict

prayer to any specific time of the day. The reason has to do with its status among other forms of

worship. For example, if something more important comes up than Du‘ā, then that takes

precedence (Sabiq, 1991). One of these is the call to prayer. If the Adhan (call to prayer in

Islam) is called in Islam, one must respond to it by going for congregational prayer. Another

example concerns the Du‘ā that involves young ones who do not have to continue such Du‘ā

when their parents beckon. This indicates that their immediate responses to the parents’ call

takes precedence over Du‘ā. Islam greatly emphasize obedience and kindness to ones parents.

(Sabiq, 1991)

Notwithstanding, the above position, Islam gives preference to certain periods that a

Muslim may target in making supplications. Such periods include the day of ‘Arafah (a day to

Ileya Festival), during the month of Ramadan, Friday, the last part of the night, at dawn, during

prostration, at time of rainfall, the period between the Adhan and Iqāmah, at the time of

encounter of armies, at times of panic, and when one’s heart is soft and tender. Sabiq (1991)

reports that the Prophet was once asked, “What supplication finds the greatest acceptance?” He

answered: “A prayer offered in the middle of the latter part of the night and after the prescribed

prayers (Solawāt)” (p.111). On the same issue, another tradition explains that Abu Hurairah

reported, that the Prophet says: “The servant is nearest to his Lord when he is prostrating to Him,

so make supplication in this state.” There are very many Ahādīth found in various books on this

subject (Abu Bakr, n.d)

Apart from the factors that enhance the effective performance of Du‘ā and its acceptance
as mentioned above are similar others presented by Sharaf (2005) and Huda (2012). These
include:
i. Facing the direction of the Qiblah
ii Raising One’s hands to one’s shoulders.
iii Starting the supplication with Allah’s Praise and Blessing on His Prophet
iv Supplicating with attention and humility, in a voice neither loud nor low
v avoidance of supplication for something sinful.
vi avoidance of hastiness in the response to supplication
vii By not attaching conditionalities to supplication
viii Choosing all- encompassing statements for supplication
ix Avoidance of supplicating against (cursing) oneself, family or property.
x When supplicating for someone, one must begin with him/herself

NOTE

Try to read through and make necessary inputs in terms of:

1. How do people pray today i.e in terms of the elements of Bid’a, syncretism or heresy?

2. What are those things that make prayers unacceptable?

3. Which kind of prayers can a Muslim offer?

4. What are the forbidden prayers in Islam?

5. Any other ones relating to the title

6. Conclusion.

PLEASE, LETS MAKE IT VERY SNARPY SO AS TO GET IT EDITED AND PUBLISHED IN/ON
TIME.