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Surah Al-Baqara 2:186 “وَإِذَا سَأَلَكَ عِبَادِي عَنِّي فَإِنِّي قَرِيبٌ أُجِيبُ دَعْوَةَ الدَّاعِ إِذَا دَعَانِ فَلْيَسْتَجِيبُواْ لِى وَلْيُؤْمِنُواْ بِى لَعَلَّهُمْ يَرْشُدُونَ.” Noble Quran, Surah Al-Baqarah 2:186

Surah al-Baqarah 2:186 “And when My servants ask you concerning Me, then surely I am Near. I answer the invocation (dawa) of the supplicant (da’i)when he calls on Me (da’ani), so they should heed My call and believe in Me that they may walk in the right way.” (Al-Baqarah 2: 186)

Who is the First Da’i? The first da’i is Allah swt, not your neighborhood scholar nor the youtube sensation. Admire the words of Allah swt in the Noble Quran. Man is only a vehicle, not the ORIGINAL. All the original ideas come from Allah swt. Accept the dawa of Allah swt.

Are you going to answer? Allah says to answer His call. Again, the option of free choice comes into the equation. You are not forced against your will to listen to Allah’s message. We race to answer the phone when a loved one calls. Do we truly love Allah swt? Do we race to obey Him?

Gems from the Surah We can learn several things from this ayah: 1) Allah swt is near to us. 2) He responds to us. It might not be in a manner that human wisdom can grasp, but He answers us. 3) There are two tips for our spiritual success: to answer God’s call and to believe in Him.

Supporting hadith Furthermore, Imam Ahmad recorded that Anas said that the Prophet said: يَقُولُ اللهُ تَعَالى أَنَا عِنْدَ ظَنِّ عَبْدِي بِي وَأَنَا مَعَهُ إِذَا دَعَانِي "Allah the Exalted said, `I am as My servant thinks of Me, and I am with him whenever he invokes Me.’” This hadith reiterates what is in Surah 2, ayah 186 – that Allah swt is near to us.

Remember! “Originator of the heavens and the earth. When He decrees a matter, He only says to it, "Be," and it is.” (Surah Al- Baqarah, 2:117) It is SO easy for Allah swt to decree a matter. Your dua is easy for Him to answer. Have ‘yaqeen’ – certainty. Shaykh Yasir Qadhi says dua is the weapon of a believer.

Supporting hadith Imam Ahmad also recorded Abu Sa`id saying that the Prophet said: مَا مِنْ مُسْلِمٍ يَدْعُو اللهَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ بِدَعْوَةٍ لَيْسَ فِيها إِثْمٌ ولَا قَطِيعَةُ رَحِمٍ، إلَّا أَعْطَاهُ اللهُ بِهَا إِحْدَى ثَلَاثِ خِصَالٍ: إِمَّا أَنْ يُعَجِّل لَهُ دَعْوَتَهُ، وَإِمَّا أَنْ يَدَّخِرَهَا لَهُ فِي الأُخْرَى، وَإِمَّا أَنْ يَصْرِفَ عَنْهُ مِنَ السُّوءِ مِثْلَهَا No Muslim supplicates to Allah with a Du`a that does not involve sin or cutting the relations of the womb, but Allah will grant him one of the three things. He will either hasten the response to his supplication, save it for him until the Hereafter, or would turn an equivalent amount of evil away from him.

Just when you think you have made enough du’a There is a continuation to this hadith قَالُوا: إذًا نُكْثِرُ؟ قَالَ: اللهُ أَكْثَر They said, "What if we were to recite more (Du`a)?'’ The prophet pbuh said, There is more with Allah. Your dua is never too much for your Creator.

Imam Malik recorded that Abu Hurayrah narrated that Allah's Messenger said: يُسْتَجَابُ لأَحَدِكُمْ مَالَمْ يَعْجَلْ، يَقُولُ: دَعَوْتُ فَلَمْ يُسْتَجَبْ لِي One’s supplication will be answered as long as one does not become hasty and say ‘I have supplicated, but my supplication has not been answered.’

Whose dua never gets rejected? In the Musnad of Imam Ahmad and the Sunans of At-Tirmidhi, An-Nasa'i and Ibn Majah it is recorded that Abu Hurayrah narrated that Allah's Messenger said: ثَلاَثةٌ لَا تُرَدُّ دَعْوَتُهُمْ: الْإمَامُ الْعَادِلُ، وَالصَّائِمُ حَتَّى يُفْطِرَ، وَدَعْوَةُ الْمَظْلُومِ، يَرْفَعُهَا اللهُ دُونَ الْغَمَامِ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ، وَتُفْتَحُ لَهَا أَبْوَابُ السَّمَاءِ، يَقُولُ: بِعِزَّتِي لَأَنْصُرَنَّكَ وَلَوْ بَعْدَ حِين Three persons will not have their supplication rejected: the just ruler, the fasting person until breaking the fast, and the supplication of the oppressed person, for Allah raises it above the clouds on the Day of Resurrection, and the doors of heaven will be opened for it, and Allah says, `By My grace! I will certainly grant it for you, even if after a while.’

Surah Al-An’am (The Cattle) 6:71 قُلْ أَنَدْعُواْ مِن دُونِ اللَّهِ مَا لاَ يَنفَعُنَا وَلاَ يَضُرُّنَا وَنُرَدُّ عَلَى أَعْقَـبِنَا بَعْدَ إِذْ هَدَانَا اللَّهُ كَالَّذِى اسْتَهْوَتْهُ الشَّيَـطِينُ فِى الاٌّرْضِ حَيْرَانَ لَهُ أَصْحَـبٌ يَدْعُونَهُ إِلَى الْهُدَى ائْتِنَا قُلْ إِنَّ هُدَى اللَّهِ هُوَ الْهُدَى وَأُمِرْنَا لِنُسْلِمَ لِرَبِّ الْعَـلَمِينَ . “Say: Shall we indeed call on others besides Allah,- things that can do us neither good nor harm,- and turn on our heels after receiving guidance from Allah? - like one whom the devils have made into a fool, wandering bewildered through the earth, his friends calling, come to us', (vainly) guiding him to the path. Say: Allah's guidance is the (only) guidance, and we have been directed to submit ourselves to the Lord of the worlds.”

Are you a blind follower? Isn’t it amazing that the Surah 6, ayah 71 is in Surah Al-An’am – (Cattle)? For indeed if we follow the path of devils or our friends we are like cattle. Allah swt asked us to “Read!” We will know the truth when we research it ourselves without following others. Our only shepherd should be Allah swt. For only He cares for our salvation. Even our own selves can be enemies to us. Our parents, sometimes, want us to follow them.

Assess your invocations What kind of dua are you making to Rabb Al-Alameen (the Lord of the Universes)? Are you praying for material, worldly things? Are you making dua for yourself only? Do you remember to include not just your family and loved ones, but the entire Ummah? Do you remember to include your pious predecessors including prophet Muhammad pbuh?

Two duas of prophet Muhammad pbuh The first dua is taken from a conversation between Aisha (raa) and prophet Muhammad (pbuh): The Angel of the Mountains called and greeted me, and then said, "O Muhammad! Order what you wish. If you like, I will let Al-Akh-Shabain (i.e. two mountains) fall on them." The Prophet said, "No but I hope that Allah will let them beget children who will worship Allah Alone, and will worship none besides Him.” (Al-Bukhârî and Muslim) The following is an example of another dua: When the people of Makkah made things difficult for him, persecuted him and his companions and injured his face, he could still be heard saying while wiping blood off his face, “O Allâh! Forgive my people for they know not what they are doing.”

PARTING WORDS Brothers and sisters: Let us heed the call of Allah swt, individually and together as an Ummah. He is very near to us. Be patient.

PENULTIMATE I will end by leaving you with the next slide, the last slide, which is exactly the same as the first slide. To remind you that the Beginning is the End. We came from Allah swt and to Him do we return.