Etiquette and Condition of Supplication Compiled By: Abu Abu Hurayrah
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Etiquette and Condition of Supplication Compiled by: Abu Abu Hurayrah Introduction: Our religion is based upon Isnad (the chain of narration of men). This is a unique gift for this ummah which Allaah created as a cause and the effect of it is the manifestation of His promise that He will preserve this religion. That is why the famous scholar of hadith ‘Abdullah Ibn Mubarak said: َ ﱠ ُ َ َ َ ْ ُ ُ ﻗﺎل اﻣﺎم ﻣﺴﻠﻢ َو َﺣﱠﺪﺛِﻨﻲ ُﻣ َﺤﱠﻤُﺪ ْﺑ ُﻦ َﻋْﺒِﺪ اﷲِ ْﺑ ِﻦ ﻗ ْﻬ َﺰاذ، - ِﻣ ْﻦ أ ْﻫ ِﻞ َﻣ ْﺮَو - َﻗﺎل َﺳِﻤ ْﻌ ُﺖ َﻋْﺒَﺪا َن ْﺑ َﻦ ُﻋﺜَﻤﺎ َن، َﯾﻘﻮل ﱠ ْ ُ ُ َ َ ََ َ َ َ َﺳِﻤ ْﻌ ُﺖ َﻋْﺒَﺪ اﷲِ ْﺑ َﻦ اﻟُﻤَﺒﺎ َر ِك، َﯾﻘﻮل ا ِﻹ ْﺳَﻨﺎُد ِﻣ َﻦ اﻟﱢﺪﯾ ِﻦ َوﻟ ْﻮﻻ ا ِﻹ ْﺳَﻨﺎُد ﻟﻘﺎل َﻣ ْﻦ ﺷﺎَء َﻣﺎ ﺷﺎَء Ibn Al-Mubarak said: ‘The chain of narration is from the Dīn, and were it not for the chain of narration whoever wished could say what he wanted’. [This narration is recorded by Imam Muslim in the “muqadimmmah” of Saheeh Muslim with a chain that is musalsal with tahdeeth-Sama’aa and musalsal with the ahlil-Maru’] So, as Muslims, we must be careful to select what we register as religion. The Quran and sunnah both are preserved precisely and meticulously with this science of chain of narration. Every field has its scholars. The scholars who deal with this specific science are known as the muhaddith or the “Scholars of Hadith”. In short, if there is an authentic chain of narration, then the information is connected to the Prophet and the narration is tagged as “saheeh” or “Hasan” and therefore acceptable. If a piece of information can’t be reached with an authentic chain of narration that information “Da’eef/weak” hence the information is not acceptable. We are going to discuss below the “etiquettes and conditions of supplication”. We can only access the right information with regards to this subject if we base our discussion and knowledge only from authentic sources based upon authentic chains of narration… Supplications are of two types: a) Legislated supplications: These come with specific wordings and instructions from the Prophet (Sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) which are revelations from Allaah. We have to keep them as is. For example Du’a before eating, du’a when entering the bathroom, etc… b) General supplications: Supplications that are left open for people to ask Allaah in whatever language they choose to. For example: a person wants to ask Allaah to give him a job, or a car etc… there is no fixed words for these, left open to ask in any language he/she wishes. Etiquettes of learning the correct legislated supplications: 1. With regards to legislated supplications, all the following four points have to be based upon authentic hadith: ● The wordings of the supplication ● Any additional instruction associated with the supplication ● The virtues of the supplication ● The reward(s) of the supplication Below we will discuss in detail these four points by giving examples from the sunnah to make this matter as clear as the sun on a sunny day. The wordings of the supplication: Most of the time the supplications come with clear and precise wording from the Messenger of Allaah (Sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) and in some occasions, it is left open. So based upon these there are two types of supplications, a) Supplications with precise wordings: Most of the du’as fall in this category. For example: ‘Umar Ibn Abee Salamah reported that once he (when he was a little boy) was eating in the Prophet’s room and the Prophet (sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) corrected his eating manners by saying: ُ ْ ُ ْ ُ ْ ﯾﺎ ﻏﻼُم إذا أﻛﻠ َﺖ ، ﻓﻘﻞ ﺑﺴِﻢ ا ِﷲ ، وﻛﻞ ﺑﯿﻤﯿِﻨﻚ وﻛﻞ ﻣﱠﻤﺎ ﯾﻠﯿﻚ O little boy, when you eat, say “Bismillah” and eat with your right hand and eat from what is near you. [the main hadith is in Bukhari and Muslim and but this version is reported by Abu Awanah and others and has been authenticated by Imam Al-Albaani in his silsilah, 344 and said “Isnad is authentic according to the criterion of the two sheikhs] So, in such a situation we can’t add anything to the words of the Prophet, it is commonly taught to say “bismillahir-Rahmanir Raheem” before eating! This is of course wrong. The Prophet said say “Bismillah”, then why do we have to add “Ar-Rahmanir Rahim”? Other than the narration of Umar ibn Abee Salamah, there are other reports which shows clearly the sunnah of the supplication before eating is “Bismillah”. It is not allowed to add, delete or change anything from these wordings. In fact, we have the following hadith that is a clear instruction from the Prophet (Sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) not to even change one word from these supplications. ْ َ َ ﱠ َ َ َ ْ ﺻﺤﯿﺢ ﻣﺴﻠﻢ >> َﻋ ْﻦ اﻟَﺒ َﺮاُء ْﺑ ُﻦ َﻋﺎ ِز ٍب، أ ﱠن َر ُﺳﻮل اﷲِ ﺻﻠﻰ اﷲ ﻋﻠﯿﻪ وﺳﻠﻢ َﻗﺎل " إِذا أ َﺧﺬ َت َ ْ َ ُ َ َ ﱢ َ َ ُ ُ ﱠ َ َ َ َ َﻣ ْﻀ َﺠَﻌﻚ َﻓَﺘَﻮ ﱠﺿﺄ ُو ُﺿﻮَءك ﻟِﻠ ﱠﺼ َﻼِة ﺛﱠﻢ ا ْﺿﻄ ِﺠ ْﻊ َﻋﻠﻰ ِﺷﻘﻚ اﻷْﯾَﻤ ِﻦ ﺛﱠﻢ ﻗ ِﻞ اﻟﻠُﻬﱠﻢ إِﱢﻧﻲ أ ْﺳﻠ ْﻤ ُﺖ َو ْﺟِﻬﻲ إِﻟْﯿﻚ َ َ َ َْ ْ َ َ َ ً ً َ َ ْ َ َ ﱠ َ َ َوَﻓﱠﻮ ْﺿ ُﺖ أ ْﻣ ِﺮي إِﻟْﯿﻚ َوأﻟ َﺠﺄ ُت ﻇ ْﻬ ِﺮي إِﻟْﯿﻚ َر ْﻏَﺒﺔ َو َر ْﻫَﺒﺔ إِﻟْﯿﻚ َﻻ َﻣﻠ َﺠﺄ َو َﻻ َﻣْﻨ َﺠﺎ ِﻣْﻨﻚ إِﻻ إِﻟْﯿﻚ آَﻣْﻨ ُﺖ َ ﱠ َ ْ َ ﱠ َ ْ ْ َ َ َ َ َ َ ِﺑِﻜَﺘﺎِﺑﻚ اﻟِﺬي أْﻧ َﺰﻟ َﺖ َوِﺑَﻨِﺒﱢﯿﻚ اﻟِﺬي أ ْر َﺳﻠ َﺖ َوا ْﺟَﻌﻠُﻬ ﱠﻦ ِﻣ ْﻦ آ ِﺧ ِﺮ َﻛ َﻼِﻣﻚ َﻓِﺈ ْن ُﻣ ﱠﺖ ِﻣ ْﻦ ﻟْﯿﻠِﺘﻚ ُﻣ ﱠﺖ َوأْﻧ َﺖ َﻋﻠﻰ ْ ْ َ ْ ْ ﱠ َ ْ ْ ﱠ اﻟِﻔﻄ َﺮِة " . َﻗﺎ َل َﻓ َﺮﱠدْدُﺗُﻬ ﱠﻦ ﻷ ْﺳَﺘﺬِﻛ َﺮُﻫ ﱠﻦ َﻓُﻘﻠ ُﺖ آَﻣْﻨ ُﺖ ِﺑ َﺮ ُﺳﻮﻟِ َﻚ اﻟِﺬي أ ْر َﺳﻠ َﺖ َﻗﺎ َل " ُﻗﻞ آَﻣْﻨ ُﺖ ِﺑَﻨِﺒﱢﯿ َﻚ اﻟِﺬي أَ ْر َﺳﻠْ َﺖ " Al-Bara' b. 'Azib reported that Allah's, Messenger (may peace be upon said: When you go to bed, perform ablution as is done for prayer; then lie down on the right side and recite:" O Allah, I turn my face towards You and entrust my affair to You. I retreat unto You for protection with hope in You and fear of You. There is no resort and no deliverer (from hardship) but You only. I affirm my faith in Your books which You revealed and in to Your Messenger whom You sent." Make this as the last word of yours (when you go to sleep) and in case you die during that night, you would die upon Fitra (upon Islam). And as I repeated these words in order to commit them to memory, I said:" I affirm my faith in Your Messenger (Rasul) whom You sent." He (Sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said: Say:" I affirm my faith in the Apostle (Nabi) whom You sent." [Muslim\ As you can see, the Messenger of Allaah didn’t allow the noble companion to change even one of the words of the du’a. If we think logically we might not see any issue with it, but religion is not always logical. Religion is to follow the Messenger as he instructs. This lesson if we apply in all affairs of our religion, Allaah will protect us from falling into many errors and innovations prevalent in each and every Muslim lands/culture. b) Supplication with no precise wordings: َ َ َ ُ ﱠ َ َ ْ َ َ ﺳﻨﻦ اﺑﻦ ﻣﺎﺟﺔ << َﻋ ْﻦ أَﻧ ِﺲ ْﺑ ِﻦ َﻣﺎﻟِ ٍﻚ، َﻗﺎل َﻗﺎل َر ُﺳﻮل اﷲِ ـ ﺻﻠﻰ اﷲ ﻋﻠﯿﻪ وﺳﻠﻢ ـ " َﻣ ْﻦ َﺳﺄل اﻟ َﺠﱠﻨﺔ ﺛ َﻼ َث َ ْ ُ ﱠ َ ْ ْ َ َ َ ﱠ َ َﻣ ﱠﺮا ٍت َﻗﺎﻟ ِﺖ اﻟ َﺠﱠﻨﺔ اﻟﻠُﻬﱠﻢ أْد ِﺧﻠُﻪ اﻟ َﺠﱠﻨﺔ َوَﻣ ِﻦ ا ْﺳَﺘ َﺠﺎ َر ِﻣ َﻦ اﻟﱠﻨﺎ ِر ﺛ َﻼ َث َﻣ ﱠﺮا ٍت َﻗﺎﻟ ِﺖ اﻟﱠﻨﺎ ُر اﻟﻠُﻬﱠﻢ أ ِﺟ ْﺮُه ِﻣ َﻦ اﻟﱠﻨﺎ ِر " :said (ﷺ) It was narrated from Anas bin Malik that the Messenger of Allah “Whoever asks for Paradise, three times, Paradise will say: “O Allah, admit him to Paradise.” And whoever asked to be saved from Hell, three times, Hell will say: “O Allah, save him from Hell.” [reported by Imam Ibn Majah, authenticated by Imam Al-Albaani, Imam Muqbil and Sheikh Shuayb Al-Arnaout] As you can see, in this hadith the Prophet (Sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) instructs to ask for Jannah three times and asks to seek refuge from hellfire three times without assigning any specific wordings. So we can say for example in Arabic or even any language this du’a. In such cases, assigning specific words will not be allowed. We leave this open as the Prophet (Sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) left it open. Any additional instruction associated with the supplication Certains supplications of the Prophet (Sallallaau ‘alayhi wa sallam) come with additional instructions, such as but not limited to, the number of times, at a certain occasion/day/time/place, accompanied by certain action (blowing/wiping) etc… I َ َ َ َ َ ُ ﱠ َ َ ﱠ ﺻﺤﯿﺢ اﻟﺒﺨﺎري >> َﻋ ْﻦ َﻋﺎِﺋ َﺸﺔ، أ ﱠن اﻟﱠﻨِﺒ ﱠﻲ ﺻﻠﻰ اﷲ ﻋﻠﯿﻪ وﺳﻠﻢ َﻛﺎ َن إِذا أَوى إِﻟﻰ ِﻓ َﺮا ِﺷِﻪ ﻛﻞ ﻟْﯿﻠٍﺔ َﺟَﻤ َﻊ َﻛﻔْﯿِﻪ ُ َ ُ ْ ﱠُ َ ُ ْ َ ُ ْ َ ُ ْ َ ُ ُ ﺛﱠﻢ َﻧَﻔ َﺚ ِﻓﯿِﻬَﻤﺎ َﻓَﻘ َﺮأ ِﻓﯿِﻬَﻤﺎ { ﻗﻞ ُﻫَﻮ اﷲ أ َﺣٌﺪ } َو { ﻗﻞ أ ُﻋﻮذ ِﺑ َﺮ ﱢب اﻟَﻔﻠ ِﻖ } َو { ﻗﻞ أ ُﻋﻮذ ِﺑ َﺮ ﱢب اﻟﱠﻨﺎ ِس } ﺛﱠﻢ َﯾ ْﻤ َﺴ ُﺢ ِﺑِﻬَﻤﺎ َﻣﺎ َ ُ َ ْ َْ َ ْ ُ َ َ َ ا ْﺳَﺘﻄﺎ َع ِﻣ ْﻦ َﺟ َﺴِﺪِه َﯾْﺒَﺪأ ِﺑِﻬَﻤﺎ َﻋﻠﻰ َرأ ِﺳِﻪ َوَو ْﺟِﻬِﻪ َوَﻣﺎ أﻗَﺒﻞ ِﻣ ْﻦ َﺟ َﺴِﺪِه َﯾﻔَﻌﻞ ذﻟِﻚ ﺛ َﻼ َث َﻣ ﱠﺮا ٍت went to bed every night, he (ﷺ) Narrated 'Aisha: Whenever the Prophet used to cup his hands together and blow over it after reciting Surat Al-Ikhlas, Surat Al-Falaq and Surat An-Nas, and then rub his hands over whatever parts of his body he was able to rub, starting with his head, face and front of his body.