As-salamu `alaykum wa rahmatullah
Wow, how incredible masha’Allah! This book of du’as that you see above, was gifted to a friend of mine. Please read the story behind it:
“…I stumbled across this selection of Duas that had been gifted to my husband and me when we lived in Istanbul. When the brother gave it I thought it was a beautiful gesture in itself, to guide us and give us a reminder to ask Allah by way of these Prophetic Duas. I folded it away and put it to the side, the brother then said to us “That’s hand written.” I was amazed and re-opened it, Subhan Allah, so perfect! Could it really be written by hand? I looked for any slight error, slight bump in the smoothness of the each line and curve. Mashallah, there were none to be found. “That’s not all”, he said, “this was written by a sister who had learned and received ijazah in the art of calligraphy. She then tragically lost her right arm in a terrible accident. She felt such sadness without her ability to write that she decided to go back and learn again with her left hand. She strove and worked hard and that there in your hands is what she achieved with her left hand.”
Allahu Akbar! It is one of the most inspiring stories and most treasured item I have. That great things can be achieved, that loss is only as stifling as we allow it to be, that work and learning in the path of Allah is made easy and facilitated by Him so always aim high. I never met this sister, I don’t even know her name but this sheet of paper with her hand written Duas lifts me every time I cross paths with it alhamdulilah.”
Yes, you can all wipe that tear away now and make a special du’a for this inspiring sister (and also my friend who shared the picture and story).
Mashallah! Just a suggestion, why dont you create your own website with these valuable articles. There are sometimes advertisements with not good pictures. If you have your own webpage, it would be much better. Thanks.
Yes, I’ve started noticing these sneaky ads! Insha’Allah I will set up a new site. Barak’Allahu fik for reminding me.
This is my email address ,I would like to receive from you any valuable emails you send to your friends ,jzak
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Amazing is the best of my one word summaries.
Written by Hilaal Bint Ahmad I believe it says. It’s hard to read from the picture but that’s what I was able to read. Subhanallah this was a heart warming story.
As a side note you can purchase the option to get rid of ads completely if you’re doing this through wp.
Beautiful writing, maa shaa’ Allaah. May Allaah guide the sister to that which is pleasing to Him, grant her patience, continue to make her a source of inspiration, and reward her with Jannah. Aameen.
Indeed the sister’s name is Hilaal bint Ahmad, as indicated at the end of the card and pointed out by “fati’s recipes”…
However, there is an important note to be made, and that is that these ad’iyah (pl. of du’aa) are not “Prophetic” as such. Correct me if I’m mistaken, but I have never come across that particular wording for Sayyid al-Istighfaar, and never heard of as-Salaat al-Munjiyah. I cannot read/understand Turkish, but it seems the rest of the ad’iyah also have “when to say them” and so on…and they seem to be a mix between wordings which have been narrated and others which have not.
Please keep in mind that it is very important to stick to the wordings of the ad’iyah and athkaar as narrated in the Sunnah, because they are “متعبد بألفاظها” meaning that you must worship Allaah via the exact wordings which have been narrated.
Marvel at the calligraphy, but please stick to what has been authetically narrated from our beloved Prophet – صلى الله عليه وسلم.
Jazakillahu khayran sister muhaajirah. I agree that in general, Prophetic du’as are the best that the Sunnah has recommended, but we also have to remember that the chapter of supplications in general is a vast field. I don’t personally see anything wrong with the du’as listed by the sister in her calligraphic work, they are all based on Qur’anic and Prophetic ad’iya. The Sayyid al-Istighfar would still stand correct because the only additions she has made are the Names of Allah which is fine according to scholars, from what I know. I’m sure you’ve heard of the various ways of saying the Basmallah for example where it can be said with additional Names of Allah and more detail of refuge.
Also, the du’as on the left page are fine too, the 2nd paragraph I believe has gathered some recommended du’as to say in the case of illness, as it lists Qur’anic verses and Names of Allah pertaining to shifa.
What would be wrong is if someone says for example, ‘Say this du’a such and such number of times, and this will happen’ – without any textual evidence, and this is wrong because it’s dealing with jaza’ (reward/results) and one needs proof for that. Obviously du’as that contain shirk elements or statements that are contradictory to principles within the religion would also be wrong.
But anyhow, not to delve too much into this topic(!), I think it’s a beautiful thing to practise caution, but we also have to realise that not everything is a case of clear halal and haram, or Sunnah and Bid’ah because there are areas within ‘Ibadah that are quite open and vast; and personal du’as are one of them. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve read statements of past scholars especially from the Salaf where they would repeat du’as (that are not particularly mentioned in ahadith) which were filled with tawhid and earnest, and others would be inspired by that and also call upon Allah similarly. It’s a connection a person develops with Allah, and so long as you abide by guidelines, I don’t see why it would be wrong 🙂 wallahu a’lam.
Wa iyyaaki.
This will be – in shaa’ Allaah – my one and only follow-up on this, as not to prolong the topic.
Du’aa is of two kinds: mutlaq and muqayyad.
Du’aa mutlaq is making du’aa in general, and it is indeed a vast area so long as you abide by the guidelines (no shirk, using authentic names and attributes of Allaah, not asking for haraam, etc.), as you have correctly stated above. However, it is one thing to call upon Allaah using His names and attributes on a personal level, and it’s another to have your “formula” written for others to follow – if you know what I mean. Sure, call upon Allaah earnestly using His names and attributes, repeat, use words from yourself that contain no objectionable things; however, even if it “works” for you, you are not to recommend to others to follow your words to “achieve” the same results or just to follow them in general. They can either call upon Allaah on their own, or just follow what has been reported.
Du’aa muqayyad is that which was restricted by the Sunnah in terms of its wordings, number of repetitions, and times. These ones we are not allowed to “add to” or modify as such. An example of this which is quite clear in the Sunnah – and this is in Saheeh al-Bukhaaree – is the hadeeth of al-Baraa’ ibn ‘Aazib where he had learned the du’aa to be said prior to sleeping, and was repeating it to the Prophet – sallallaahu alayihi wa sallam – in order to ensure its proper memorization. al-Baraa’ said “wa rasoolika allathee arsalta” instead of “wa nabiyyika allathee arsalta” — a seemingly innocent exchange of the word “prophet” for “messenger”; however, the Prophet – sallallaahu alayihi wa sallam – corrected him by saying “No, [rather say] wa nabiyyika allathee arsalta”. The scholars have concluded based on this narration that the wordings of athkaar are “tawqeefee” i.e. must be based strictly on what has been revealed in the Qur’aan or authentically reported in the Sunnah.
Based on the above, Sayyid al-Istighfaar has been reported in various authentic narrations with minimal variation in wording, and one must stick to these narrations, not adding words prior or after the wordings of the du’aa itself as was done in the card above.
Also, to attribute to a particular form of sending salaat upon the Prophet sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam as the “munjiyah” – one that will ‘save you’ – is baseless.
And if that Turkish writing over the “shifaa collection” says to say it 33 times, then this is also baseless.
The card also calls upon Allaah using “yaa Baaqee” and this has not been established as an authentically reported name of Allaah.
As for the Basmalah having “additions”…I am not aware of this. I do know there are several ways of seeking isti’aatha (refuge) and the various forms that I know are not mere “additions” to the “standard” one we know; rather, they have all been reported.
Lastly, as I said above, I do not intend to follow-up again, as the aim is not to debate the topic; rather it is to clarify to the readers that although the original post and story are inspiring and the calligraphy is brilliant, this does not mean that the content is to be ‘taken wholesale’ and used by the readers in their du’aa.
It really saddens me how far many people are from the Sunnah, and how easily they fall for ‘any’ du’aa book they come across…there are many examples of this especially in al-Masjid al-Haraam…and sometimes it contains shirk and the person doesn’t even know!
Worship of Allaah is not based on what we desire or think is ‘alright’, rather it is based on evidence. We hear very often at the commencement of khutab and lectures that verily the best speech is the Book of Allaah, and the best guidance is the guidance of Muhammad – salallaahu alayhi wa sallam…yet we fail to apply that in our lives. May Allaah forgive our shortcomings.
Baarakallaahu feeki, and forgive the lengthy – but necessary – comments.