[7] Dua, Its Circumstances, and Its Relationship to Destiny

Recap: Ibn al-Qayyim’s Method, and Why Dua Alone Isn’t Enough

Ibn al-Qayyim’s consistent method is to support every point with evidence rather than stating things briefly his character is to go into detail rather than give an overview. The book was written in direct response to a questioner who described being caught in a calamity, having tried every available measure without any decrease in it in fact the calamity only increased. Part of what that person said was that he had made dua and gotten no result.

Ibn al-Qayyim’s response on this point: dua is the greatest of all the means Allah has given His servants, but simply making dua is not by itself sufficient for its acceptance other conditions have to be present alongside it. Much of what has been covered in previous lessons concerns exactly these conditions: what affects whether a dua is accepted.

Recap: The Manner of Making Dua

Previously covered etiquette is briefly restated: making dua with humility, turning first to the presence of Allah and then to the Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم, and seeking forgiveness before presenting the request — genuinely asking Allah’s pardon for one’s sins before asking for anything else. After that, the dua itself should be presented with humility, and with ilhah — repeated, persistent asking, returning to the same request rather than asking once and stopping.

Giving Charity After Dua

Ibn al-Qayyim adds here that after completing a dua, a person should give charity (sadaqah) in Allah’s path. Some scholars connect this to how the Qur’an frequently pairs prayer and charity together — “Aqim as-Salah” and “Aatuz Zakat” (establish prayer and give zakat). There are two types of zakat: the obligatory kind, calculated and given to specific categories of people, and general charity — sadaqah — given more broadly. The Qur’an brings prayer and zakat together repeatedly, and by extension, dua (which happens largely within prayer) is treated the same way — followed by charity.

The lecturer shares a personal account: a scholar he knew used to give charity — sometimes small, sometimes larger — after every one of the five daily prayers, without fail. Asked where this practice came from, the scholar explained it as following directly from how Allah paired prayer and zakat in the Qur’an — as if the instruction were: having prayed and made your dua, now show some generosity to Allah’s servants, so that Allah may show generosity to you in turn.

A New Chapter: The Circumstances of Dua (Ẓurūf ad-Du’ā’)

فَإِذَا حَصَلَ ذَلِكَ فِي بَیْتٍ مِنْ بُیُوتِ هللاَّ ِ، كَانَ أَفْضَلَ وَأَحَبَّ إِلَى هللاَّ ِ. یَتَّ فِقُ دُعَاؤُهُ بِاضْطِرَارٍ عِنْدَ قَبْرٍ فَیُجَابُ، فَیَظُنُّ الْجَاھِلُ أَنَّ السِّ رَّ لِلْقَبْرِ، وَلَمْ یَعْلَمْ أَنَّ السِّ رَّ لِالِ ضْطِرَارِ وَصِدْقِ اللُّ جْأِ إِلَى هللاَّ ِ، اسْتِعْمَالَ ھَذَا الدَّ وَاءِ بِمُجَرَّ دِهِ كَافٍ فِي حُصُولِ الْمَطْلُوبِ، كَانَ غَالِطًا، وَھَذَا مَوْضِعٌ یَغْلَطُ فِیھِ كَثِیرٌ مِنَ النَّ اسِ. وَمِنْ ھَذَا قَدْ وَھَذَا كَمَا إِذَا اسْتَعْمَلَ رَجُلٌ دَوَاءً نَافِعًا فِي الْوَقْتِ الَّ ذِي یَنْبَغِي اسْتِعْمَالُھُ عَلَى الْوَجْھِ الَّ ذِي یَنْبَغِي، فَانْتَفَعَ بِھِ، فَظَنَّ غَیْرُهُ أَنَّ فَأُجِیبَتْ دَعْوَتُھُ، فَیَظُنُّ الظَّ انُّ أَنَّ السِّ رَّ فِي لَفْظِ ذَلِكَ الدُّ عَاءِ فَیَأْخُذُهُ مُجَرَّ دًا عَنْ تِلْكَ األُْمُورِ الَّ تِي قَارَنَتْھُ مِنْ ذَلِكَ الدَّ اعِي، وَإِقْبَالُھُ عَلَى هللاَّ ِ، أَوْ حَسَنَةٌ تَقَدَّ مَتْ مِنْھُ جَعَلَ هللاَّ ُ سُبْحَانَھُ إِجَابَةَ دَعْوَتِھِ شُكْرًا لِحَسَنَتِھِ، أَوْ صَادَفَ وَقْتَ إِجَابَةٍ، وَنَحْوُ ذَلِكَ، ]1[ فَصْلٌ ظُرُوفُ الدُّ عَاءِ وَكَثِیرًا مَا تَجِدُ أَدْعِیَةً دَعَا بِھَا قَوْمٌ فَاسْتُجِیبَ لَھُمْ، فَیَكُونُ قَدِ اقْتَرَنَ بِالدُّ عَاءِ ضَرُورَةُ صَاحِبِھِ

“A chapter: The Circumstances of Dua. Often you find supplications that a people made and were answered, where what accompanied the dua was the supplicant’s dire need and his turning toward Allah, or a prior good deed of his which Allah made the answering of his call a reward for, or it coincided with a time of response, and similar factors and so his dua was answered. The one who assumes then thinks the secret lies in the wording of that dua itself, and takes the wording alone, stripped of the circumstances that accompanied that supplicant. This is like a man who uses a beneficial medicine at the right time and in the right manner and benefits from it, and another person assumes that using this medicine alone is sufficient to obtain the result he would be mistaken, and this is a point at which many people go wrong. In the same vein, a person’s dua made out of desperation at a grave may coincide with being answered, and the ignorant person assumes the secret lies with the grave, not realizing the secret lies in the desperation and the sincerity of turning to Allah and had this occurred in one of the houses of Allah, it would have been better and more beloved to Allah.”

The lecturer explains this with the concept of hal the state a person is in when supplicating. Sometimes a dua is answered because of the intensity of that state: the person supplicates in a condition of genuine, desperate need, feeling there is no way out except through Allah. Sometimes it’s because a person had done some prior good deed, and the acceptance of the dua comes as a form of thanks for that. Sometimes it coincides with a specific time when Allah particularly listens to His servants.

The mistake some people make is concluding that specific wording carries some hidden power, independent of the state that accompanied it. Ibn al-Qayyim gives the example of pilgrims performing Tawaf or Sa’i during Hajj or Umrah, where some are advised to recite from a small booklet, believing there’s a special secret in the exact words, when what actually matters is that heart and tongue are unified, not the specific phrasing memorized from a book. The medicine analogy makes the same point: someone sees another person recover using a particular

medicine and assumes the medicine alone guarantees the result, without accounting for how and under what conditions it was actually used (i.e., according to a proper prescription).

The Misconception About Graves

Building on this, Ibn al-Qayyim addresses a specific misconception: people who supplicate at graves and have their duas answered, leading others to assume the grave itself carries some special power. His response is that the acceptance had nothing to do with the location, it was the person’s state of humility, submission, and intense need that led to the dua being answered. Had that same state i.e the same humility, submission, need, and persistence occurred anywhere else, the dua would have been answered there too, and in fact would have been better, since it would not have been directed at or associated with the grave.

The lecturer adds a personal observation from his own experience: women who had not been granted children traveling fifty or sixty kilometers, often on foot, to shrines carrying visible signs of their distress, weeping, in evident inner turmoil and having some of their needs met as a result. Ibn al-Qayyim’s point applies directly here: it wasn’t the shrine or the person buried there that caused the acceptance, but the intensity of the person’s need and their helplessness, which Allah responded to out of His mercy.

The Lesson for Us

Ibn al-Qayyim addresses two misconceptions here: first, that special power resides in humans (including at their graves) rather than in Allah’s response to genuine need; second, that some particular place carries inherent power to guarantee acceptance, when the real factor is always the intention and state of the person supplicating.

The lecturer applies this reflectively: many people want Allah to put them on the path of guidance, or to grant them the knowledge they seek but do we feel that same desperate intensity in our hearts when we ask for these things as those who travel great distances to a shrine feel for their worldly needs? It’s often easier to reach that state of desperation for worldly matters than for matters of religion which is part of why, despite repeated dua, many struggle to walk consistently on the path of a sincere worshiper. The intentions and states present in sincere worshippers’ duas are often missing from ours.

A New Chapter: The Conditions of the Accepted Dua

ثَمَّ مَانِعٌ مِنَ اإلِْجَابَةِ، لَمْ یَحْصُلِ األَْثَرُ. ھَذِهِ الثَّ الَثَةِ تَخَلَّ فَ التَّ أْثِیرُ، فَإِنْ كَانَ الدُّ عَاءُ فِي نَفْسِھِ غَیْرَ صَالِحٍ، أَوِ الدَّ اعِي لَمْ یَجْمَعْ بَیْنَ قَلْبِھِ وَلِسَانِھِ فِي الدُّ عَاءِ، أَوْ كَانَ السِّ الَحُ سِالَحًا تَامًّا الَ آفَةَ بِھِ، وَالسَّ اعِدُ سَاعِدُ قَوِيٍّ ، وَالْمَانِعُ مَفْقُودٌ؛ حَصَلَتْ بِھِ النِّ كَایَةُ فِي الْعَدُوِّ ، وَمَتَى تَخَلَّ فَ وَاحِدٌ مِنْ ]2[ فَصْلٌ شُرُوطُ الدُّ عَاءِ الْمُسْتَجَابِ وَاألَْدْعِیَةُ وَالتَّ عَوُّ ذَاتُ بِمَنْزِلَةِ السِّ الَحِ، وَالسِّ الَحُ بِضَارِبِھِ، الَ بِحَدِّ هِ فَقَطْ، فَمَتَى كَانَ

“A chapter: The Conditions of the Accepted Dua. Supplications and seeking refuge are like a weapon, and a weapon depends on the one wielding it, not on its edge alone. When the

weapon is complete and free of defect, the arm wielding it is strong, and no obstacle is present, harm is inflicted on the enemy. Whenever any one of these three is missing, the effect fails to occur: if the dua itself is not sound, or the supplicant did not unite his heart and tongue in the dua, or there was an obstacle preventing the answer, the effect does not occur.”

Three conditions, illustrated with the image of a sword:

1. The sword must be sharp, the dua itself must be sound and proper.
2. The arm wielding it must be strong, heart and tongue must be joined together in the dua, not just words spoken without the heart’s presence.
3. No barrier between the sword and the target, there must be nothing obstructing the dua’s acceptance.

A very sharp sword is useless if the person holding it lacks the strength to even lift it. Equally, a strong arm and sharp sword are useless if a wall stands between the person and their target the sword cannot cut through it. In the same way, a strong dua alone is not enough; the certainty and presence of heart behind it matters, and any obstacles standing in the way of its acceptance must also be removed.

This is presented as Ibn al-Qayyim’s summary of everything covered on dua up to this point, and it directly answers the original questioner’s complaint of having supplicated repeatedly without result.

A New Chapter: Dua and Destiny (Al-Du’ā’ wal-Qadar)

]3[ فَصْلٌ الدُّ عَاءُ وَالْقَدَرُ

“A chapter: Dua and Destiny.”

Ibn al-Qayyim introduces this as addressing a well-known question people raise: if something is already decreed to happen, does dua actually change anything? And if something is not decreed, could dua make it happen anyway?

The Objection

قُدِّ رَ لَمْ یَقَعْ، سَوَاءٌ سَأَلَھُ الْعَبْدُ أَوْ لَمْ یَسْأَلْھُ. وَھَاھُنَا سُؤَالٌ مَشْھُورٌ وَھُوَ: أَنَّ الْمَدْعُوَّ بِھِ إِنْ كَانَ قَدْ قُدِّ رَ لَمْ یَكُنْ بُدٌّ مِنْ وُقُوعِھِ، دَعَا بِھِ الْعَبْدُ أَوْ لَمْ یَدْعُ، وَإِنْ لَمْ یَكُنْ قَدْ

“Here there is a well-known question: that what is asked for, if it has been decreed, its occurrence is inevitable whether the servant supplicates for it or not, and if it has not been decreed, it will not occur, whether the servant asks for it or not.”

The doubt is stated plainly: if Allah has already written that a person will obtain something, then dua is unnecessary, it will happen regardless. If Allah has not written it, then dua is equally

useless, it won’t happen no matter how much one asks. Either way, the objection concludes, dua accomplishes nothing.

Response One: The Objection Is Self-Contradictory

عَلَى مُبَاشَرَةِ األَْسْبَابِ الَّ تِي بِھَا قِوَامُھُ وَحَیَاتُھُ، فَالْحَیَوَانَاتُ أَعْقَلُ وَأَفْھَمُ مِنْ ھَؤُالَءِ الَّ ذِینَ ھُمْ كَاألَْنْعَامِ بَلْ ھُمْ أَضَلُّ سَبِیالً. لَمْ یُقَدَّ رْ لَمْ یَكُنْ، فَالَ حَاجَةَ إِلَى التَّ زْوِیجِ وَالتَّ سَرِّ ي، وَھَلُمَّ جَرَّ ا. فَھَلْ یَقُولُ ھَذَا عَاقِلٌ أَوْ آدَمِيٌّ ؟ بَلِ الْحَیَوَانُ الْبَھِیمُ مَفْطُورٌ لَمْ تَأْكُلْ، وَإِنْ لَمْ یُقَدَّ رَا لَمْ یَقَعَا أَكَلْتَ أَوْ لَمْ تَأْكُلْ. وَإِنْ كَانَ الْوَلَدُ قُدِّ رَ لَكَ فَالَبُدَّ مِنْھُ، وَطِئْتَ الزَّ وْجَةَ أَوِ األَْمَةَ أَوْ لَمْ تَطَأْ، وَإِنْ طَرْدَ مَذْھَبِھِمْ یُوجِبُ تَعْطِیلَ جَمِیعِ األَْسْبَابِ فَیُقَالُ ألَِحَدِھِمْ: إِنْ كَانَ الشِّ بَعُ وَالرِّ يُّ قَدْ قُدِّ رَا لَكَ فَالَبُدَّ مِنْ وُقُوعِھِمَا، أَكَلْتَ أَوْ فَظَنَّ تْ طَائِفَةٌ صِحَّ ةَ ھَذَا السُّ ؤَالِ، فَتَرَكَتِ الدُّ عَاءَ وَقَالَتْ: الَ فَائِدَةَ فِیھِ، وَھَؤُالَءِ مَعَ فَرْطِ جَھْلِھِمْ وَضَالَلِھِمْ، مُتَنَاقِضُونَ فَإِنَّ

“A group assumed this question was sound, so they abandoned dua, saying there is no benefit in it. These people, along with their excessive ignorance and misguidance, are self-contradictory for the necessary conclusion of their position requires the nullification of all means whatsoever. It would be said to one of them: if satiety and quenched thirst have been decreed for you, their occurrence is inevitable whether you eat or do not eat, and if they have not been decreed, they will not occur whether you eat or do not eat. And if a child has been decreed for you, it is inevitable, whether you have intercourse with your wife or slave or do not; and if not decreed, it will not occur so there is no need for marriage or taking a concubine, and so on. Would any sane person, any human being, say such a thing? Rather, even dumb animals are innately disposed to engage with the means by which their sustenance and life are maintained, so these animals are more rational and more understanding than these people, who are like cattle, or rather further astray.”

Ibn al-Qayyim calls this reasoning extreme ignorance and misguidance, and points out that it contradicts the very people who raise it, since they don’t apply this logic to any other area of life. He illustrates with hunger and thirst: by the same reasoning, if Allah has decreed that your hunger will be removed, it will be removed whether or not you eat; if He has not decreed it, no amount of eating will remove it so why eat at all? No reasonable person actually behaves this way; a hungry person goes looking for food, and a thirsty person goes looking for water, regardless of any theoretical argument about decree.

The same applies to marriage and children: if righteous offspring are decreed for a person, the objection would suggest they’ll arrive whether or not the person marries; if not decreed, marriage won’t produce them either so why marry? No one actually reasons this way in practice.

Ibn al-Qayyim goes further, saying that people who genuinely hold this view in practice are, in this respect, less sensible than animals, animals themselves pursue means for what they need. Camel owners take their camels out to search for fodder; the camels don’t simply wait in place on the theory that decreed fodder will appear regardless. Living things generally understand, instinctively, to pursue means toward what they need, the objection to dua ignores this obvious principle when applied specifically to dua, while everyone (in practice) accepts it everywhere else in life.

Response Two: Dua as Pure Worship With No Real Effect (Rejected)

وَارْتِبَاطُ الدُّ عَاءِ عِنْدَھُمْ بِھِ كَارْتِبَاطِ السُّ كُوتِ وَالَ فَرْقَ. الْمَطْلُوبِ بِوَجْھٍ مَا وَالَ فَرْقَ عِنْدَ ھَذَا الْمُتَكَیِّ سِ بَیْنَ الدُّ عَاءِ وَاإلِْمْسَاكِ عَنْھُ بِالْقَلْبِ وَاللِّ سَانِ فِي التَّ أْثِیرِ فِي حُصُولِ الْمَطْلُوبِ، وَتَكَایَسَ بَعْضُھُمْ وَقَالَ: االِشْتِغَالُ بِالدُّ عَاءِ مِنْ بَابِ التَّ عَبُّ دِ الْمَحْضِ یُثِیبُ هللاَّ ُ عَلَیْھِ الدَّ اعِيَ، مِنْ غَیْرِ أَنْ یَكُونَ لَھُ تَأْثِیرٌ فِي

“Some of them tried to be clever and said: engaging in dua is purely an act of worship for which Allah rewards the supplicant, without it having any effect whatsoever on obtaining what is sought. For this clever one, there is no difference between supplicating and withholding the heart and tongue from it, in terms of effect on obtaining what is sought the connection of dua to the outcome, for them, is like the connection of silence to it, with no difference.”

On this view, dua is worth doing purely as an act of worship in itself . Allah rewards a person for supplicating but it plays no actual role in bringing about the outcome asked for. Whether a person supplicates or stays silent makes no practical difference to what happens.

Response Three: Dua as a Mere Sign, Not a Cause (Also Rejected)

التَّ أْثِیرُ السَّ بَبِيُّ وَخَالَفُوا بِذَلِكَ الْحِسَّ وَالْعَقْلَ، وَالشَّ رْعَ وَالْفِطْرَةَ، وَسَائِرَ طَوَائِفِ الْعُقَالَءِ، بَلْ أَضْحَكُوا عَلَیْھِمُ الْعُقَالَءَ. وَاإلِْزْھَاقُ مَعَ الْقَتْلِ لَیْسَ شَيْءٌ مِنْ ذَلِكَ سَبَبًا الْبَتَّ ةَ، وَالَ ارْتِبَاطَ بَیْنَھُ وَبَیْنَ مَا یَتَرَتَّ بُ عَلَیْھِ، إِالَّ مُجَرَّ دُ االِقْتِرَانِ الْعَادِيِّ ، الَ أَمَارَاتٌ مَحْضَةٌ لِوُقُوعِ الثَّ وَابِ وَالْعِقَابِ الَ أَنَّ ھَا أَسْبَابٌ لَھُ. وَھَكَذَا عِنْدَھُمُ الْكَسْرُ مَعَ االِنْكِسَارِ، وَالْحَرْقُ مَعَ اإلِْحْرَاقِ، فَإِنَّ ذَلِكَ دَلِیلٌ وَعَالَمَةٌ عَلَى أَنَّ ھُ یُمْطِرُ. قَالُوا: وَھَكَذَا حُكْمُ الطَّ اعَاتِ مَعَ الثَّ وَابِ، وَالْكُفْرُ وَالْمَعَاصِي مَعَ الْعِقَابِ، ھِيَ الْعَبْدُ لِلدُّ عَاءِ كَانَ ذَلِكَ عَالَمَةً لَھُ وَأَمَارَةً عَلَى أَنَّ حَاجَتَھُ قَدِ انْقَضَتْ، وَھَذَا كَمَا إِذَا رَأَیْتَ غَیْمًا أَسْوَدَ بَارِدًا فِي زَمَنِ الشِّ تَاءِ، وَقَالَتْ طَائِفَةٌ أُخْرَى أَكْیَسُ مِنْ ھَؤُالَءِ: بَلِ الدُّ عَاءُ عَالَمَةٌ مُجَرَّ دَةٌ نَصَبَھَا هللاَّ ُ سُبْحَانَھُ أَمَارَةً عَلَى قَضَاءِ الْحَاجَةِ، فَمَتَى وُفِّ قَ

“Another group, cleverer still than these, said: rather, dua is a mere sign that Allah has set up as an indicator of the fulfillment of a need. Whenever the servant is enabled to supplicate, that is a sign to him, an indicator that his need has already been resolved like seeing a cold black cloud in winter, which is a sign and indicator that it will rain. They said: this is likewise the case with acts of obedience and reward, and disbelief and sin with punishment, these are mere indicators of the occurrence of reward and punishment, not causes of it. And likewise, for them, breaking and the thing broken, burning and the thing burnt, the departure of life and killing, none of these is a cause at all, and there is no real connection between a thing and what follows from it, only mere habitual co-occurrence, not causal effect. In this they contradicted plain sense, reason, revealed law, natural disposition, and the entire body of rational people rather, they made the rational people laugh at them.”

This second rejected view goes further than the first: dua isn’t even a worship-only act with no effect, it’s simply a coincidental marker Allah has attached to outcomes, the way a cold black winter cloud happens to precede rain without actually causing it. On this account, obedience doesn’t cause reward, sin doesn’t cause punishment, breaking doesn’t cause something to be broken, burning doesn’t cause something to burn, and killing doesn’t cause death everything is mere habitual co-occurrence, with no real causal link anywhere. Ibn al-Qayyim describes this position as contradicting plain sense, reason, revealed law, and natural human disposition alike

a view so far removed from how people actually reason that it draws ridicule from anyone thinking clearly.

Response Four: Dua as a Genuine Means (The Correct View)

وَكَذَلِكَ قُدِّ رَ دُخُولُ الْجَنَّ ةِ بِاألَْعْمَالِ، وَدُخُولُ النَّ ارِ بِاألَْعْمَالِ، وَھَذَا الْقِسْمُ ھُوَ الْحَقُّ ، وَھَذَا الَّ ذِي حُرِمَھُ السَّ ائِلُ وَلَمْ یُوَفَّ قْ لَھُ. قُدِّ رَ الشِّ بَعُ وَالرِّ يُّ بِاألَْكْلِ وَالشُّ رْبِ وَقُدِّ رَ الْوَلَدُ بِالْوَطْءِ، وَقُدِّ رَ حُصُولُ الزَّ رْعِ بِالْبَذْرِ، وَقُدِّ رَ خُرُوجُ نَفْسِ الْحَیَوَانِ بِذَبْحِھِ، مُجَرَّ دًا عَنْ سَبَبِھِ، وَلَكِنْ قُدِّ رَ بِسَبَبِھِ، فَمَتَى أَتَى الْعَبْدُ بِالسَّ بَبِ، وَقَعَ الْمَقْدُورُ، وَمَتَى لَمْ یَأْتِ بِالسَّ بَبِ انْتَفَى الْمَقْدُورُ، وَھَذَا كَمَا وَلِلصَّ وَابِ أَنَّ ھَاھُنَا قِسْمًا ثَالِثًا، غَیْرَ مَا ذَكَرَهُ السَّ ائِلُ، وَھُوَ أَنَّ ھَذَا الْمَقْدُورَ قُدِّ رَ بِأَسْبَابٍ، وَمِنْ أَسْبَابِھِ الدُّ عَاءُ، فَلَمْ یُقَدَّ رْ

“The correct view is that there is a third category here, other than what the questioner mentioned: that what is decreed was decreed by means, and among its means is dua. It was not decreed independent of its cause, but was decreed together with its cause so whenever the servant brings about the cause, the decreed thing occurs, and whenever he does not bring about the cause, the decreed thing does not occur. This is just as satiety and quenched thirst are decreed by means of eating and drinking, a child is decreed by means of intercourse, the harvest is decreed by means of sowing seed, and the departure of an animal’s life is decreed by means of slaughtering it. Likewise, entering Paradise is decreed by means of deeds, and entering the Fire is decreed by means of deeds. This category is the truth, and this is what the questioner was deprived of and not granted success in understanding.”

The correct understanding, according to Ibn al-Qayyim, is that Allah has connected desired outcomes in this world to means and dua is one of those means, just like any other. Thirst is connected to the means of drinking water; hunger to the means of eating; offspring to the means of marriage; crops to the means of cultivation; obtaining meat to the means of slaughtering an animal. In exactly the same way, Allah has made dua a means for His servants to reach what they seek whoever takes up that means is granted, by Allah’s decree, the outcome connected to it, and whoever abandons dua has abandoned the means through which that outcome was to be reached.

Dua Is Among the Strongest of Means

الدُّ عَاءِ، وَالَ أَبْلَغَ فِي حُصُولِ الْمَطْلُوبِ. فِي الدُّ عَاءِ، كَمَا الَ یُقَالُ: الَ فَائِدَةَ فِي األَْكْلِ وَالشُّ رْبِ وَجَمِیعِ الْحَرَكَاتِ وَاألَْعْمَالِ، وَلَیْسَ شَيْءٌ مِنَ األَْسْبَابِ أَنْفَعَ مِنَ الدُّ عَاءُ مِنْ أَقْوَى األَْسْبَابِ وَحِینَئِذٍ فَالدُّ عَاءُ مِنْ أَقْوَى األَْسْبَابِ، فَإِذَا قُدِّ رَ وُقُوعُ الْمَدْعُوِّ بِھِ بِالدُّ عَاءِ لَمْ یَصِحَّ أَنْ یُقَالَ: الَ فَائِدَةَ

“Dua Is Among the Strongest of Means. Given this, dua is among the strongest of means so if the occurrence of what is asked for was decreed by means of dua, it is not correct to say there is no benefit in dua, just as one would not say there is no benefit in eating, drinking, and all movements and actions. Nothing among the means is more beneficial than dua, nor more effective in bringing about what is sought.”

’Umar Sought Victory Through Dua

أَسْتَجِبْ لَكُمْ{ ]سُورَةُ غَافِرٍ: ٠٦[ وَقَالَ: }وَإِذَا سَأَلَكَ عِبَادِي عَنِّ ي فَإِنِّ ي قَرِیبٌ أُجِیبُ دَعْوَةَ الدَّ اعِ إِذَا دَعَانِ{ مَا أَرْجُو وَأَطْلُبُھُ … مِنْ جُودِ كَفَّ یْكَ مَا عَلَّ مْتَنِي الطَّ لَبَا فَمَنْ أُلْھِمَ الدُّ عَاءَ فَقَدْ أُرِیدَ بِھِ اإلِْجَابَةُ، فَإِنَّ هللاَّ َ سُبْحَانَھُ یَقُولُ: }ادْعُونِي ھَمَّ اإلِْجَابَةِ، وَلَكِنْ ھَمَّ الدُّ عَاءِ، فَإِذَا أُلْھِمْتُمُ الدُّ عَاءَ، فَإِنَّ اإلِْجَابَةَ مَعَھُ، وَأَخَذَ الشَّ اعِرُ ھَذَا الْمَعْنَى فَنَظَمَھُ فَقَالَ: لَوْ لَمْ تُرِدْ نَیْلَ وَكَانَ أَعْظَمَ جُنْدَیْھِ، وَكَانَ یَقُولُ ألَِصْحَابِھِ: لَسْتُمْ تُنْصَرُونَ بِكَثْرَةٍ، وَإِنَّ مَا تُنْصَرُونَ مِنَ السَّ مَاءِ، وَكَانَ یَقُولُ: إِنِّ ي الَ أَحْمِلُ فِي دِینِھِ، كَانُوا أَقْوَمَ بِھَذَا السَّ بَبِ وَشُرُوطِھِ وَآدَابِھِ مِنْ غَیْرِھِمْ. وَكَانَ عُمَرُ - رَضِيَ هللاَّ ُ عَنْھُ - یَسْتَنْصِرُ بِھِ عَلَى عَدُوِّ هِ، عُمَرُ یَسْتَنْصِرُ بِالدُّ عَاءِ وَلَمَّ ا كَانَ الصَّ حَابَةُ - رَضِيَ هللاَّ ُ عَنْھُمْ - أَعْلَمَ األُْمَّ ةِ بِاَّ ِ وَرَسُولِھِ - صَلَّ ى هللاَّ ُ عَلَیْھِ وَسَلَّ مَ - وَأَفْقَھَھُمْ

“‘Umar Sought Victory Through Dua. Since the Companions, may Allah be pleased with them, were the most knowledgeable of the ummah about Allah and His Messenger صلى الله عليه وسلم, and the most understanding of His religion, they were the most steadfast in this means, and in its conditions and etiquettes, more than others. ‘Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, used to seek victory over his enemy through dua, and it was his greatest army. He would say to his companions: ‘You are not granted victory through numbers, you are granted victory from the heaven.’ And he would say: ‘I do not carry the concern of whether the response comes; I carry the concern of [being enabled to] supplicate. For if you are inspired to make dua, then the response accompanies it.’ A poet took up this meaning and put it into verse: ‘Had You not wanted me to attain what I hope for and seek, from the generosity of Your two hands, You would not have taught me to ask.’ So whoever is inspired to supplicate has, by that very fact, been intended to receive a response for Allah, glorified is He, says: {Call upon Me, I will respond to you} [Surah Ghafir: 60], and He said: {And when My servants ask you concerning Me, indeed I am near. I respond to the call of the caller when he calls upon Me…}”

‘Umar’s practice illustrates the point directly: he treated dua itself, not troop numbers as his greatest resource against the enemy, and described being inspired to supplicate as itself a sign that the response was already on its way, rather than something to separately worry about. The verse quoted makes the same point poetically: being given the capacity to ask is itself evidence that the One being asked intends to give.

Crucially, Ibn al-Qayyim adds that a person can fail here in two ways: either the dua itself lacks the proper etiquette and state described earlier, or even where the state is present, the person fails to also take up the practical means connected to what they’re asking for.

This is illustrated with the hadith on tawakkul (reliance on Allah): the Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم said that if people relied on Allah as they should, He would provide for them the way He provides for birds who leave their nests in the morning in search of provision and return in the evening having found it. The point drawn: the birds don’t simply stay in the nest and rely on decree alone they actively go out and search, and their reliance on Allah is paired with real effort. Correct tawakkul, in other words, combines sincere trust in Allah with actually taking the relevant means.

Applying This to the Original Question

The lecturer applies this directly: students of knowledge who want Allah to grant them guidance often supplicate for it, but supplication alone is not enough the means of guidance must also be taken, such as making the effort to attend the mosque for prayer. Likewise, someone who prays

for a capable, knowledgeable heart but doesn’t put in the study, doesn’t spend nights in study or worship, hasn’t taken the means connected to what they’re asking for.

This is presented as the answer, in part, to the original questioner: his dua may have lacked the proper state, or even where the state was present, he may not have taken up the practical means connected to escaping his calamity. The example given: an unemployed person who supplicates for work but never leaves the house to look for it will find their situation only grows harder, not easier, over time. Dua must be paired with the proper state, and with the means Allah has connected to the outcome being sought.

What Comes Next

The lecture closes by noting that the following session will look at how the Companions combined dua with the taking of means in their own lives, with examples from their biographies, and will turn to the Qur’an’s treatment of this same point noting that Allah addresses the necessity of taking means toward a desired outcome at, by the lecturer’s account, more than a thousand places throughout the Qur’an.