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For a number of non-Arabic speaking
Muslims, Duas are sometimes perceived as the good Arabic words Imams
utter after prayers. They usually resort to simply repeating "Ameen"
after everyone else, without understanding what they are asking Allah
for.
Other non-Arabic
speaking Muslims may try to memorize some of the major Duas in Arabic
and can and do understand what's being said.
But one thing that's often
forgotten about Dua is that it's direct communication with Allah. And
Allah is multilingual. He actually created and knows all languages,
whether it's the specific dialect of your village back home of the
street talk of urban America.
Allah also knows what's hidden in
the deep recesses of our hearts. Those feelings of pain, anguish,
resentment, love, hatred, bitterness, longing, etc. that we so
successfully hide from everyone else, including our closest family
members and friends.
So why not let it all out. Why not
let Allah be your "therapist". Let your prayer mat be your "couch" while
you reveal and ask the One who is in control, Who knows you better than
you know yourself, for all that you want in these next ten days and
especially, nights, of Ramadan.
There are Duas that are definitely
part of the Sunnah which you can and should use during Laylatul Qadr.
For example in this Hadith: It is
narrated from Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, that she said: I
said: 'O Messenger of Allah, if I know what night is the Night of Qadr
what should I say?.' He said: 'Say: O Allah you are embodiment of
forgiveness and you love to pardon so pardon me.' [Ahmad, Ibn Majah,
Tirmidhi]
However, Dua cannot be done in a
distracted manner, as the Prophet has said in a Hadith narrated by Abu
Huraira: Make Dua and be assured of being answered, and know that Allah
does not answer a Dua from a careless heart which is not concentrating (Tirmidhi).
Here are some examples of
personal, relevant Duas you can make in these remaining days of Ramadan,
Insha Allah (God willing):
1. Oh Allah, please forgive me for
all of the bad that I've done, and I continue to do. You are so Merciful
and kind, please forgive me, and help me stay away from all that's
wrong. It's so hard for me, and I'm so weak but You are the Strong.
Please increase me in sincerity.
2. Oh Allah, I beg You, please
guide my parents and my sister toward You. Do not let them die without
realizing who their Lord is. Let them see the truth and help them resist
the pressure of friends who try to turn them away from You.
3. Oh Allah, bless those fine
human beings with your bounties whose kind heart reaches out to their
Christian neighbors in Pakistan and Muslim neighbors in America.
4. Oh Allah, please guide my
neighbors, Mr. and Mrs. Curtis, toward You. They are such decent, good
people, and they are so good to us. They have never opposed us in our
Deen, and You have seen how they have been so open to us. Please guide
them to the right path.
5. Oh Allah, make every single
aspect of my life be for You and in service of Your Creation. Please
remove all false intentions that I have.
6. Oh Allah, save humanity from
being its own enemy. Protect Your creation from oppression. Save the
people of Iraq, Afghanistan, Palestine, Kashmir,and Chechnya from
internal and external oppressors and give them justice. Protect us all
from violence, fear and danger, You are our Protector.
7. Ya Allah, let me love You as
You deserved to be loved, and let me fear You as You deserve to be
feared, and let me leave this world serving Your creation for Your sake.
8. Oh Allah, increase me in
knowledge, but let this knowledge be with sincerity, not seeking fame,
glory, status, material wealth. Let this knowledge serve Your cause in a
way that You accept, and let it benefit humanity.
9. Oh Allah, please guide my
children and all children. They are surrounded by so much temptation and
Haram (forbidden things). Protect them my Lord from all of the evil
influences that are around them. Give them friends who will strengthen
their faith and help them stay on the Straight Path.
10. Oh Allah, guide me to seek my
knowledge of You and this blessed Deen (religion) from those who are
sincere, who possess the correct Islamic knowledge, who are moderate and
gentle, who are not harsh or impatient with me, and who understand where
I'm coming from, my situation as a Muslim in this country, living in
this world today.
11. Oh Allah, please help me stay
away from Haram in achieving the best of this world.
12. Oh Allah, don't let me ever
turn away from You, no matter how many trials and difficulties You test
me with. Let these difficulties serve to make me a stronger Muslim and
more sincere to You.
13. Oh Allah, bless our scholars
and leaders who are striving to establish Islam in this world on the
balanced path of Your beloved Prophet.
14. Oh Allah, bless all of those
who have taught me about You and Islam, from little Marya at the Islamic
school, who taught me the importance of being patient with little kids,
to Shaykh Ikram, who, despite his harshness, taught me the importance of
speaking the Truth, no matter how much others dislike it.
15. Oh Allah, give me the ability
to forgive all those who have hurt me in word and deed, especially my
brother ......, who has ignored every attempt I have made to reconcile
with him. And please Oh Allah, join our hearts.
16. Oh Allah, please get me out of
this horrible debt that is burdening me. Please give me means that are
Halal (Islamically permissible) to get out of this as soon as possible,
so that I can face You on the Day of Judgment free of all debts.
17. Oh Allah, open a way for my
son to marry as soon as possible. Let him marry a sister who is sincere
and devoted to You and who is compatible with him.
18. Oh Allah, open a way for my
daughter Salma to marry as soon as possible. Let her marry a brother who
is sincere and devoted to You and who is compatible with her.
19. Oh Allah, please grant my
friend Ali and his wife Shaheen healthy children. They so badly want
children and they Insha Allah would make such great Muslim parents.
Please grant them children who will grow up to be a source of Mercy for
them.
20. Oh Allah, help orphans and
poor wherever they are, but especially right now in Afghanistan. Give me
the means and ability to do whatever I can for them.
21. Oh Allah, guide and protect
our teenagers who need Your Help and Guidance from all of the
temptations of sex, drugs, alcohol and all of the other Harams in our
society.
22. Oh Allah, cleanse my heart of
the sicknesses of arrogance and pride and let me die as one of the
sincere, humble Muslims.
23. Oh Allah, all of my brothers
and sisters who are suffering for Your sake through torture, violence,
in jails, etc., around the world please forgive their sins and grant
them Paradise.
24. Oh Allah, I have been so
impatient and angry in my behavior, please give me patience and help me
control my anger for Your sake.
25. Oh Allah, open a way for me to
make Hajj as soon as possible, so that I can fulfill my obligation to
You.
26. Oh Allah, give my sister Lisa
patience with her cancer. She is in so much pain because of her
treatments. Please give her patience and let her sickness be a way for
her sins to be forgiven.
27. Oh Allah, bless brothers Ali,
Mike and Manzoor, who are always at our Masjid working on repairs,
cleaning bathrooms or keeping the place clean after everyone else has
left a mess.
28. Oh Allah, lift the veils from
the eyes of those who have been deceived into seeing Islam as something
bad because of ignorance and media stereotypes.
29. Oh Allah, bring all humans
closer to You and each other. Please do not make us Muslims a test for
them with our misrepresentation of Islam because of our bad behavior.
30. Oh Allah, help me stop my bad
habits of eating and talking too much.
31. Oh Allah, please help me give
up smoking this year. It's so hard to give up smoking after all of these
years, but only You can make it easy.
These duas are being written just
as guidelines. No names are real. Please adopt, modify, and write your
own Duas. If you like. share those with others in our forums. The point
is to get into talking to our Lord directly, in our style, in our
language. While talking to Him with our forehead on His earth in Sajdah
(prostration), we may reach a point where our words and minds may give
way to a reflective heart which may help us talk to our Lord. It is
Sajdah (the position of prostration in prayer) where a servants talks to
his Lord.
Please don't say that Allah knows
what you need. Yes, He does. But He also loves to hear from you.
Consider this Hadith: Abu Huraira related that the Prophet said: Allah
is angry with those who do not ask Him for anything (Tirmidhi).
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