7 Practical Steps to Make Long Du’a

If you’ve been for ʿUmrah or Hajj you may have noticed a worrying trend during Ṭawāf and Saʿī.

Many pilgrims spend their circuits of Tawāf scrolling on their phones. Browsing apps, replying to messages, taking pictures, or video-calling relatives. Others spend the entire saʿī corridor chatting away, and I have even come across a clip of a group singing poetry!

A question we should ask ourselves is:

It raises deeper questions:

• Do we struggle to make du’ā?
• Or rather, do we struggle to speak to Allah?
• Do we lack that closeness where a conversation with Allah ﷻ can flow for minutes, hours, or an entire night?

وَقَالَ رَبُّكُمُ ٱدْعُونِىٓ أَسْتَجِبْ لَكُمْ ۚ إِنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ يَسْتَكْبِرُونَ عَنْ عِبَادَتِى سَيَدْخُلُونَ جَهَنَّمَ دَاخِرِينَ 

Your Lord has proclaimed, “Call upon Me, I will respond to you. Surely those who are too proud to worship Me will enter Hell, fully humbled.” [1]

Not long ago, a brother asked me for advice before travelling for ʿUmrah. I shared with him a simple method for making long, deep, structured du’ā. He then encouraged me to write it up for others, in hope that it may be of benefit bi’idhnillāh.

These practical steps can be used for:
• The seven circuits of Ṭawāf
• Saʿī between Ṣafā and Marwah
• Laylat al-Qadr, especially for sisters who cannot pray
• Iʿtikāf – for those who end up socialising instead of secluding themselves
• Fridays between Asr & Maghrib – Sāʿatul Istijābah
• The greatest Day of the year – ʿArafah – where your du’ā can continue for hours on end
• The last 1/3 of every night

Before listing the steps, we begin with two essential mindsets.

Mindset 1: Be prepared to beg

Ibn al-Qayyim states in al-Dāʾ u wa al-Dawāʾ:

وَمِنْ أَنْفَعِ الْأَدْوِيَةِ الإِلْحَاحُ فِي الدُّعَاءِ

“One of the most beneficial remedies is persistence in du’ā.”[2]

We become irritated or burdened when people ask us for favours repeatedly.

Yet Allah ﷻ loves it when you persist in asking Him. He loves when you return again and again and again repeating the same request. The more you beg, the more you manifest your state as a servant and affirm His ﷻ status as your Master.

Ibn al-Qayyim then cites the ḥadīth of our Messenger ﷺ:

مَنْ لَمْ يَسْأَلِ اللَّهَ يَغْضَبْ عَلَيْهِ

“Whoever does not ask Allah, Allah becomes angry with him.” Sunan Ibn Mājah

Mindset 2: Start decorating your garden

Our second mindset is taken from Ibn al-Qayyim’s narration, quoting his teacher, Ibn Taymiyyah who said: 

“What can my enemies do to me?
My Jannah and my garden are in my heart.
They never leave me.
If I am imprisoned, it is seclusion [with Allah].
If I am killed, it is martyrdom.
If I am exiled, it is a journey [for Allah].” [3]

This is the heart that already carries a piece of Jannah. It tastes a bit of Jannah every day in this world before physically entering paradise in the next.

A serenity and contentment that travels with the believer wherever he goes, it doesn’t leave him.

What follows are seven practical methods to cultivate that garden in your heart, and to turn your du’ā into a deep and intimate conversation.

Seven Practical Steps for Long Du’ā

1. Praise Allah ﷻ

Begin by glorifying your Rabb ﷻ. Ask yourself: “Who is Allah?”
Mention His Names and what He has done for you.

• Praise Allah ﷻ for Islam and īmān.

• Reflect on the 5 pillars of Islam & 6 pillars of īmān
• Praise Allah ﷻ for allowing you to be from the Ummah of Muhammad ﷺ.
• Take time to reflect on how close you feel to the Messenger ﷺ today and how you hope that relationship will be when you finally meet him.
• Go all the way back to before your birth
• Reflect on your ancestors.
  • If you were born Muslim, Allah ﷻ placed Islam in your lineage; He could have placed you elsewhere.
  • If you embraced Islam later, remember that special day, and reflect on your future Muslim progeny.
• Go through your life year by year. Revisit your childhood: From day 1 to the age of 10.
• Reflect on the blessings you may often forget.
  • Try to include every faculty you are blessed with, day after day:
    – the ability to think and reason,
    – memory and imagination,
    – sight, hearing, and speech,
    – movement, coordination, and will.

After trying to thank Allah for every blessing, now thank Him ﷻ for every trial.

Thank Him ﷻ for every challenge He ﷻ allowed you to overcome, for the trial may have brought you closer to Him ﷻand taught you what your blessings could not.

This may begin to soften your heart and open the doors to more du’ā.

You may end up on certain occasions not needing the rest of the seven steps, as you were so engrossed in becoming shākir (grateful)!

2. Seek Forgiveness

Now revisit your life again, but through the lens of sin and regret.

• Go back to your adolescence, when you became bāligh and accountable. Those teenage years when the angels started to record your sins.
• Recall your public and private sins.
• How many prayers did you miss, especially Fajr?
• How many Ramadans were incomplete?
• How many opportunities for Ḥajj or Zakāh were delayed unnecessarily?
• Were/are you drowning in riba (usury)?
• How many hours did you procrastinate despite Allah ﷻ preserving your health, wealth, provision, resources and Dīn?

3. Present Your Wishes and Aspirations

Now express everything you want in this world.

This is the part of du’ā we are most familiar with but we often restrict du’ā to this alone.

Too often we start asking without reflecting on what has been mentioned before, or on what is to follow.

Consider breaking down your wishes into three:

(1) Short-term goals

Studies, work, marriage, health and finances, for example.

Think about:

• the rest of this week (be specific);
• upcoming events this month;
• the year ahead.

(2) Long-term goals:

Examples may include:

• raising righteous children;
• sadaqah jāriyah projects;
• reading all the biographies of the prophets and companions;
• memorising Qur’ān;
• studying its entire Tafsīr.

(3) High ambitions:

Examples may include:

• asking Allah ﷻ to make you a means of liberation for Al-Aqsa;
• to be a means of unity for the entire Ummah;
• memorising 1000s of ahādīth,
• whatever you cannot conceive of today but you will work towards tomorrow!

Ask for what you think is almost impossible, because doing so is your conviction that nothing is impossible for Allah ﷻ.

4. Speak About Your Future Transition to the Hereafter

This is another step that can make du’ā flow for hours.

• Describe to Allah ﷻ the death you wish for.
• Describe your janāzah day. Who washes you. Who carries you. Which masjid hosts your prayer. Who attends your burial.
• Describe your grave. How you want to answer the angels. How the window looks and if you can see Jannah or Jahannam.
• Describe the Scales and the Sirāt and how you wish to cross with ease.
• Describe your fear of Jahannam and beg for protection. Describe the details of Jahannam; the fire, the coal, boiling oil, the ‘fruit’ of Zaqqūm and more.
• Describe meeting the Prophet ﷺ, the Ṣaḥābah, and your ancestors.
• Describe your home in Jannah, your gatherings, your gardens, your family and desires.
• Describe the moment you see the Face of Allah ﷻ for the first time.

Repeat these moments until your heart begins to move and your eyes begin to tear up.

5. Return to Your Heart: Its Diseases & Defects

Now that your heart has travelled through this emotional journey of the Ākhirah, it is time to return it from the Hereafter to the heart that is beating right now within your chest.

• List every disease of the heart: hypocrisy, jealousy, laziness, anger, arrogance, pride, hastiness, impatience…
• Ask Allah ﷻ to purify your character and replace every vice with a virtue.
• Recall your shortcomings with people and ask Allah ﷻ to heal what you broke, and to be able to overlook grudges.
• Ask Allah ﷻ to beautify your character with the character of His Prophet ﷺ.

6. Du’ā for the Ummah

Now widen the scope.

• Make du’ā for every Muslim nation by name.
• Make du’ā for their oppressed and their resistance.
• Make du’ā against the oppressors – name the individuals.
• Make du’ā for righteous leaders and khilāfah.
• Make du’ā for the thousands of innocent Muslim prisoners in the East and West.
• Make du’ā for the masājid, organisations, projects, and efforts around the world.
• Ask Allah ﷻ to unite the Ummah, protect al-Aqṣā and the Haramain, and grant victory wherever believers stand for justice.

Visualise the images you have seen of the oppressed. Pour your heart out for your shortcomings towards them.

7. Du’ā for Family, Friends, and Every Person You Know

This is one of the most powerful sections.

• PRACTICAL TIP: Go through every contact on your phone.
• Make du’ā for them as if it were their janāzah day. How would you feel praying over them?
• Make du’ā for their children, grandchildren, and descendants until the Day of Judgement.
• Make du’ā for all your ancestors who carried Islam to you.

If you get tired, remember that the angels say “Āmīn, and for you the same” every time you make du’ā for another person in their absence.

حَدَّثَنَا إِسْحَاقُ بْنُ إِبْرَاهِيمَ، أَخْبَرَنَا النَّضْرُ بْنُ شُمَيْلٍ، حَدَّثَنَا مُوسَى بْنُ سَرْوَانَ، الْمُعَلِّمُ حَدَّثَنِي طَلْحَةُ بْنُ عُبَيْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ كَرِيزٍ، قَالَ حَدَّثَتْنِي أُمُّ الدَّرْدَاءِ، قَالَتْ حَدَّثَنِي سَيِّدِي، أَنَّهُ سَمِعَ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم يَقُولُ ‏ “‏ مَنْ دَعَا لأَخِيهِ بِظَهْرِ الْغَيْبِ قَالَ الْمَلَكُ الْمُوَكَّلُ بِهِ آمِينَ وَلَكَ بِمِثْلٍ ‏”‏ ‏.‏

Umm Dardā’ reported: My husband reported that he heard Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) as saying: He who supplicates for his brother behind his back (in his absence), the Angel commissioned (for carrying supplication to his Lord) says: Āmīn, and it is for you also. [4]

How to utilise the above during Umrah

These seven steps can form the structure of your Ṭawāf:

• Circuit 1: Praise
• Circuit 2: Forgiveness
• Circuit 3: Wishes
• Circuit 4: The Hereafter
• Circuit 5: Diseases of the heart
• Circuit 6: The Ummah
• Circuit 7: Family and friends

They can equally be applied to the seven journeys between Ṣafā and Marwah.

After utilising this template, consider making your own list. For example, you may want to dedicate one entire circuit to make du’ā for just one family member.

24/7 Du’ā

After the 7 steps we are not finished.

Du’ā is not restricted to raised hands or when your forehead is on the ground – although those are the greatest moments. If we gradually build a habit of having frequent conversations with Allah ﷻ, our du’ās will begin to resemble those of the Prophets: flowing, intimate and continuous.

To understand this mindset deeply, I encourage you to listen to this 38-minute reminder which explains how du’ā can become a 24-hour lifelong conversation.[5]

Actions

• Share this article with someone who may struggle with du’ās in Arabic.
• Have a dedicated journal/app to write down your lengthy du’ā list.
• Check out the free resources available such as this,[6] to further enhance your du’ā experience.
• Don’t delay – make a plan this Friday between Asr & Maghrib – try to see how long you make du’ā and attempt to make it longer the following Friday.

A Final Word

Remember this principle:

What does this mean?

The 5 minutes you pray Asr or 5 minutes you make du’ā is not rewarded with 5 minutes or 5 years in Jannah. It’s eternity in Jannah for your 5 minutes!

Now imagine you have made du’ā for 5 hours, you are only improving the quality of your future home.

And don’t be too concerned about the outcome – being inspired to make du’ā is itself a sign that Allah ﷻ intends good for the servant because Allah ﷻ does not inspire du’ā and then neglect the sincere Dāʿi (one who calls upon Him)!

قال أمير المؤمنين عمر بن الخطاب:

إنِّي لا أحمل هم الإجابة، ولكن هم الدعاء، فإذا ألهمت الدعاء فإن الإجابة معه .

‘Umar b. al-Khattāb radiyAllāhu ‘anhu said: “I do not carry the concern of the response; rather, I carry the concern of making du’ā. If I am inspired to make du’ā, then the response comes with it.” [7]

May Allah ﷻ decorate our Jannah with our du’ā, prostrations, sabr and sacrifice.

Source: Islam21c

Notes:

[1] al-Qur’an 40:60

[2] al-Dāʾ u wa al-Dawāʾ

[3] al-Wābil al-Ṣayyib (1/48)

مَا يَصْنَعُ أَعْدَائِي بِي

أَنَا جَنَّتِي وَبُسْتَانِي فِي صَدْرِي

أَيْنَ رُحْت فَهِيَ مَعِي لَا تُفَارِقُنِي

أَنَا حَبْسِي خَلْوَةٌ

وَقَتْلِي شَهَادَةٌ

وَإِخْرَاجِي مِنْ بَلَدِي سِيَاحَةٌ

[الوابل الصيب من الكلم الطيب]

[4] Sahīh Muslim

[5] https://youtu.be/cF0aEEyICvo

[6] https://lifewithallah.com/publications/i-am-near/ 

[7] al-Fawa’id by Ibn al-Qayyim (141)

[8] al-Qur’an 2:186