Asalamualikoum wa rahmatullahi wa baraktu.
welcome to another episode of Ramadan Strong.
Alhamdulilah by Allah's favor, grace and mercy, we made it to Ramadan again.
May Allah (swt) accept from us all.
Prophet Muhammed (pbuh) taught us in a beautiful hadith that dua'a is the essence of worship.
meaning through dua'a we are guided to what truly means to be a servant of Allah.
That there is nothing that is more virtuous, more honorable, or more beloved to Allah (swt)
than to make dua'a to him with humility.
we are blessed in a month when our deeds are constantly being multiplied and there is so
much barakah in our time.
That being said, what are we doing to truly benefit from this month, strengthen our relationship
with Allah (swt) and make this Ramadan different than those that have come before.
Through dua'a we are able to fully acknowledge the relationship that we have with Allah (swt)
and utilize all the opportunities that we have during this beautiful month to nourish
that relationship.
Attitude is very important.
when we are calling out to Allah (swt) we first and foremost need to understand who
we are calling out to.
The prophet Muhammad (pbuh) taught us "ind'o Allah wa'ento mokne'oon bi al 'jaba", "call
out to Allah and be certain that you are going to be answered" that your dua'a is going to
be answered.
And the prophet (pbuh) goes on further to say Allah (swt) does not answer a heart that
is not present that is not fully aware that is not fully conscious of who they are calling
out too.
We are calling out to Allah (swt) the creator of the world we should understand that Allah
is capable of all things and that there is nothing impossible for Allah (swt).
Furthermore, when we are calling out to Allah (swt) we should be aware of all the opportunities
that we can call out to him where our dua'as are more likely to be accepted.
The prophet Muhammad (pbuh) taught us so many different times where we can make dua'a and
our dua'a will be accepted.
For example, making dua'a on the last hour on friday.
making dua'a while it is raining, making dua'a while we are fasting.
while we are breaking out fast, and so on and so forth.
These are opportunities where our dua'as are more likely to be accepted.
Also we should use the ways and methods we were taught by our beloved prophet Muhammed
(pbuh) to make dua'a.
So when we are opening our dua'a we should praise Allah (swt) and send "salawat" upon
the prophet (pbuh) and then converse with Allah (swt) and ask for the things that we
need.
We should humble ourselves.
when we look to the example of prophet Muhammed (pbuh) and the prophets who came before, they
would always praise Allah (swt), they would humble themselves when they would ask from
Allah (swt) and then they would make their call.
Understanding all of these things will put us in a position where our dua'as will be
more than likely accepted and where we are able to further nourish this relationship
with Allah (swt).
Lastly when we are put in position where we are starting to see all of our dua'as being
accepted or even sitting and thinking about all the times Allah (swt) has accepted our
dua'as before, we should be pushed to be grateful to Allah (swt).
We should show gratitude to our creator for all the opportunities, all the times where
He has accepted our dua'a.
So during this beautiful month, yes we should definitely make so much dua'a, but we should
return that dua'a being accepted with gratitude to Allah (swt).
Ibn 'Ata'allah rahimahuAllah would say that when Allah (swt) inspires your tongue to ask,
know that He wants to give.
So have that "hosn el thn billlah" have that good thought of Allah (swt) that he will never
return your hands empty when you sincerely call out to him.
JazakAllah khayr for tuning in, may Allah (swt) accept from all of us during this blessed
month of Ramadan and may he allow us to truly benefit from every single moment.
Wasalamualikoum wa rahmatollahi wa barakatu.