One Dua For ALL Your Needs and Problems??

Assalam Alaykum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuhu! :)

May the peace, mercy and blessings of Allah swt be upon you!

Alhamdullilah Ramadan is only few hours away! I’m sure most of you have come across posts that encourage you to prepare for its arrival. Some of them being, “freeze samosas”, “stock up on that rooh afza”, “where do I find the giant Tang bottles?”… Right?? :P

On a serious note, there are many beautiful Ramadan reminders that I come across everyday and I cannot help but get excited like a 5 year old because, W-h-o  I-s  N-o-t  E-x-c-i-t-e-d  F-o-r  R-a-m-a-d-a-n???

It is the only month in the entire year when there is no negative energy or voices (shaytan ofcourse!), the gates of Jahannum are closed and the gates of Jannah are opened for everybody who engages in the worship of Allah and sincerely seeks His forgiveness, the reward of every good deed is multiplied (only Allah knows by how many times!) and the indescribable peace you’re at even in the extreme climates because you know your fast is only for the sake of Allah swt and if you experience any difficulty then be assured that a hugeeeee reward for it is coming In sha Allah! 

Among all these essential reminders, we are also encouraged to have a dua list since Ramadan is also a time for the acceptance of duas. The most significant hadith being;

“Whatever is prayed at the time of breaking fast is granted and never refused.” [At Tirmidhi]

There are soooooo many duas we have in our pockets. Some of the duas we recite are from the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad (saws) and from the Quran.

For eg: 

رَبَّنَا ءَاتِنَا فِي الدُّنْيَا حَسَنَةً وَّ فِي الأخِرَةِ حَسَنَةً وَّقِنَا عَذَابَ النَّار

“Our Lord! Give us in this world that which is good and in the Hereafter that which is good, and save us from the torment of the Fire.”

So this is a dua in the Quran in Surah Baqarah (verse 201) and it was also recited by Rasulullah (saws) after every obligatory prayer.

رَبِّ ارْحَمْهُمَا كَمَا رَبَّيَانِيْ صَغِيْرًا

“O Allah! Have mercy upon them (parents) as they had mercy upon me when I was small.”

The above mentioned dua is from Surah Isra (verse 24) that we are encouraged to recite after every prayer.

These duas are certainly very important because they’re from the Quran and supported by the Sunnah and we should be reciting them after our obligatory and voluntary prayers (for example, during tahajjud prayers) so Allah accepts these duas from us and also rewards us.

But apart from these duas, there are many needs and wants of an individual. It could be work, study or family related, whatsoever.

Coming to the title of this article, What if I tell you there’s one dua that could take care of all your needs and solve all your problems?

I don’t mean to say that we stop asking Allah for the things we need. Asking Allah or calling upon Allah is an act of Ibadah and Allah loves to hear you call out to Him. No matter how many times you nag Him, He loves it! 

Hey, did I just say NAG???

Yup! Nag Allah. 

For instance, you have a 3 year old who asks you for a chocolate. You don’t give it to them. They ask you again. You politely refuse by saying, “It’s not good for your teeth dear”. But they start to nag you. It gets you a little irritated and you refuse with a stern look. But when the tear taps turn on, you’re defeated. You finally oblige to their demands.

Similarly, the more you nag Allah, it increases the chances of your dua being accepted. But unlike the stern look you gave that child, Allah looks at you with mercy and love when you nag Him… Subhan Allah!

Anyway, coming back to the question. 

Do you want to know the ONE DUA that could be the answer to ALL your prayers?

Well, it’s Astaghfirullah. :)

You may wonder, “What?!! That is all it takes??”

Yup! Constant and sincere Astaghfirullah (or repentance) is all it takes.

In the time of Hasan al Basri, who was one of the most renowned scholars and jurists in Islam, there would be people coming to him, seeking a solution to their problems.

Once a man came to Hasan al Basri complaining of a drought in his land and wanted the scholar to provide him of a way out of this difficulty. Hasan al Basri asked the man to engage in constant istaghfar.

And then there was a man who came to the scholar and told him that he is in grave poverty. The scholar asked him to increase the saying of “Astaghfirullah”.

One man expressed his sadness over not having children. And Hasan al Basri asked the man to do istaghfar.

So the students of Hasan al Basri were curious as to why the scholar was providing istaghfar as the solution to every problem that was completely different from the other. 

Hasan al Basri replied, “It is from the Quran”.

In Surah Nuh (verses 10-12) Allah swt tell us that if we make istaghfar, ask Allah for forgiveness, He will send down from the sky, helpful rain for us. The rain is a sign of Allah’s mercy (which is why one of the times of acceptance of dua is during rain) and by saying that Allah will send down rain from the sky, it means that Allah will bestow His mercy upon us. Just as the rain fulfils the needs of the land, the crops and vegetation, Allah will fulfil each and every need of yours. All you need to do is to constantly seek His forgiveness. 

This reminds me of the famous story of Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal. 

Imam Ahmad was one such scholar who was regarded as the “Imam of the People of Sunnah” and because of his service and strong commitment for the deen of Allah, people all over the Muslim land knew about him. But since selfies and candid photographs were not introduced by them, no one knew what he looked like except for his students and people around him.

So one time, Imam Ahmad had to travel from his city to another. And by the time he reached his destination, it was already night. He decided to spend the night in the masjid and just as he was trying to fall asleep, the guard forced him to get out of the masjid (obviously because he didn’t know that the man he was driving out was one of the greatest scholars of Islam). Regardless of trying seek the permission of the guard to stay indoors, he dragged Imam Ahmad by his feet to the streets. Imagine, this was a man who would have people kiss his head and carry his books for him and he has been driven out of a masjid and brought to the middle of the road. 

There was a baker across the street who upon seeing the Imam, called him inside his bakery (or his store), gave him a place to rest and got back to making bread. The Imam thanked him and noticed that as the baker was making the dough, he kept saying “Astaghfirullah”.

So Imam Ahmad asked him for how long has he been reciting the Istaghfar consistently through this work? The baker replied that he has been on this practice for a long time.

The Imam then questioned him if he saw any benefits of constant Istaghfar?

Guess what the baker replied?

He said, “I realised that whatever dua I make, Allah accepts it. Except for one dua that He hasn’t accepted.”

Curious, the Imam asks him about the dua.

And the baker said, “I prayed to Allah that I see Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal because I haven’t seen him yet.”

This got the Imam into tears who hugged this man and exclaimed, “Subhan Allah! Allah has brought you Ahmad dragging him by his feet to your bakery.”

This is the power of Dhikr of Allah! The power of Istaghfar! It brought the greatest of all Imams from the comfort of his home to the store of a baker in another city, just on Istaghfar. Subhan Allah!

“How do I make time for Istaghfar in my busy life? I’m so caught up with work and family, I hardly get time to rest!”

If that’s what you’re wondering, I’ve taken care of that worry, In sha Allah!

Here are a few things that I follow which has helped me be consistent in making Istaghfar:

1. I make it a point to prepare myself mentally and emotionally that I’m about to seek Allah’s forgiveness and if I don’t put my heart and soul into it, I may not reap it’s benefits. This need not be more than 4-5 seconds as it is only an intention and I feel this is important because one, actions are judged on the basis of your intentions and two, it keeps your mind away from distractions and the whisperings of shaitan.

2. I prefer doing dhikr and istaghfar on my fingers because it is from the Sunnah of Rasulullah (saws). He (saws) would do the dhikr after the salah on the fingers of his right hand. And also because these fingers will be questioned and made to speak for the deeds it committed on the Day of Judgement.

Here’s how my mum taught me to count the dhikr on my fingers.

(I’ve made a picture for better understanding because it’s a lil difficult to put into words)

3. I encourage saying a 100 istaghfars after every salah and before you go to bed. I’ve counted these myself and each set of 100 istaghfars hardly takes 2 minutes (or even less). Imagine, you’d be taking only about 12 minutes from 1440 minutes in a day to seek Allah’s forgiveness.

Is 12 minutes too much to give in return of abundant mercy and blessings and getting all your needs and wants fulfilled? 

4. You could also do the dhikrs (Subhan Allah, Alhamdullilah, La ilaha illa Allah, Allahu Akbar, Astaghfirullah) when you’re stuck in traffic or working in the kitchen or doing the laundry or dusting the house. Or better, every time anger or frustration kicks in, calm yourself down immediately for the sake of Allah by saying a dhikr. Imagine the huge and abundant rewards you’d be stocking up for yourself in this world and the Hereafter! Subhan Allah.

Since it’s the month of Ramadan, it will be easier to get ourselves into the practice of constant dhikr and istaghfar! Also in this month our rewards are multiplied immensely! May Allah swt make it easy for us to utilise this month to the fullest and may He bestow upon us His gracious mercy, blessings, peace and contentment! 

Please don’t forget to include the oppressed, the needy and the ones under constant trials and sufferings in your duas. There are thousands out there who will be entering Ramadan in hunger, thirst and desperate need for shelter and clothing. While we are in the comfort of our homes, with the warmth of love and care, there are millions of children struggling to find safety and protection under constant fear of losing their lives and their family. For as much as you can, please provide them with your help and support. And if you’re unable to do so, make abundant duas for them because dua has the power to change the qadr.

Assalam Alaykum.