We all make duas. Many of us make duas many times per day. But what exactly is a dua or prayer?
A dua is a specific request to God.
And what are you actually asking God to do when you make a specific request? It's an important question and deserves consideration.
When you make a dua...what you are really doing is asking God to change the normal course of events, into another course of events in such a way that the dua comes true. In other words, you are asking God to intervene in the natural laws He has set up for mankind here on earth. And to be more specific, you are asking God to use His forces of the Unseen to make your dua come true.
So when viewed from this perspective, when you are making a dua, you are really saying..."God, recruit your forces of the Unseen, which only you know, to help make my specific request come true."
Carrying this line of reasoning further...what then are God's forces of the Unseen? Well we know angels are a big of part of that. And Jinn too. And there are likely all types of other forces we have not been made aware of. Some examples of the use of angels in the Qur'an include:
1. God sent thousands of angels down to help the Prophet (pbuh) and the Believers against the disbelievers during the battle of badr. The much smaller force of believers triumphed against the much larger force as a result.
2. There are 8 angels that hold up God's throne.
3. We each have 2 recording angels and 2 guardian angels.
4. On the Day of Judgement, each of us will have 2 angels assigned to us, one to lead us on and the other to bear witness.
5. The angel of death will take our soul away when we die.
6. The archangel Gabriel is generally given the honour of transmitting God's messages to the Prophets.
So we can see from these examples God employes angels to do His bidding. Angels also have 2, 3 or 4 pairs of wings implying there are different types or classes of angels.
In some instances, God also employs Jinn to do His bidding. We know Solomon had mastery over the Jinn by God's leave. There were Jinn who dove for him, built all kinds of palaces, cauldrons and many types of fineries. However, unlike angels who are made specifically to obey God, Jinn are given free will, and hence seem to be reluctant when God specifically forces them to obey Him. For example, when the Jinn found out sometime after Solomon's death that he had passed away, they lamented doing, what they considered demeaning work, unnecessarily longer than they had to.
So by and large, in my opinion, when you make a dua, you are really asking God to send down angels and other unseen forces to intercede in the normal course of events to somehow make things happen according to your own specific request.
But now, here's the really important part. God has said in the Qur'an that He has made it His duty to help the Believers. If this is so, and it must be so because God does not break His promise, it is reasonable to conclude that one of the key ways God achieves this (although if God wanted He could simply say "Be" and it is) is by sending the angels down to the Believers just as he did during the battle of badr.
Now I want the reader to contemplate something. Doesn't it make sense the greater the belief of the Believer the more God will help him? So if the Believer only believes a little, God will send only a little help. It could be by instructing only one angel to help only a little for example. Now if the Believer is strong in his belief and trust in God, then God would help him more (e.g. by sending many angels with each given large help tasks). Doesn't that make sense?
Now can anyone have a stronger and truer faith in God than the prophet Muhammad (pbuh) or the previous messengers? I think not. And since the messengers had the highest and purest faith, they received the highest level of help from Allah. This is one of the reasons why the Prophet (pbuh) succeeded in his mission.
There is a lesson here for all of us. I think it is obvious is it not? If we want God's help, I mean truly want it, we have to truly earn it. And we truly earn it by striving to attain the highest level of pure faith possible. It's not easy, it doesn't occur over night...it can take years.
It is in fact, a life long journey, but the only journey that has true meaning.
A dua is a specific request to God.
And what are you actually asking God to do when you make a specific request? It's an important question and deserves consideration.
When you make a dua...what you are really doing is asking God to change the normal course of events, into another course of events in such a way that the dua comes true. In other words, you are asking God to intervene in the natural laws He has set up for mankind here on earth. And to be more specific, you are asking God to use His forces of the Unseen to make your dua come true.
So when viewed from this perspective, when you are making a dua, you are really saying..."God, recruit your forces of the Unseen, which only you know, to help make my specific request come true."
Carrying this line of reasoning further...what then are God's forces of the Unseen? Well we know angels are a big of part of that. And Jinn too. And there are likely all types of other forces we have not been made aware of. Some examples of the use of angels in the Qur'an include:
1. God sent thousands of angels down to help the Prophet (pbuh) and the Believers against the disbelievers during the battle of badr. The much smaller force of believers triumphed against the much larger force as a result.
2. There are 8 angels that hold up God's throne.
3. We each have 2 recording angels and 2 guardian angels.
4. On the Day of Judgement, each of us will have 2 angels assigned to us, one to lead us on and the other to bear witness.
5. The angel of death will take our soul away when we die.
6. The archangel Gabriel is generally given the honour of transmitting God's messages to the Prophets.
So we can see from these examples God employes angels to do His bidding. Angels also have 2, 3 or 4 pairs of wings implying there are different types or classes of angels.
In some instances, God also employs Jinn to do His bidding. We know Solomon had mastery over the Jinn by God's leave. There were Jinn who dove for him, built all kinds of palaces, cauldrons and many types of fineries. However, unlike angels who are made specifically to obey God, Jinn are given free will, and hence seem to be reluctant when God specifically forces them to obey Him. For example, when the Jinn found out sometime after Solomon's death that he had passed away, they lamented doing, what they considered demeaning work, unnecessarily longer than they had to.
So by and large, in my opinion, when you make a dua, you are really asking God to send down angels and other unseen forces to intercede in the normal course of events to somehow make things happen according to your own specific request.
But now, here's the really important part. God has said in the Qur'an that He has made it His duty to help the Believers. If this is so, and it must be so because God does not break His promise, it is reasonable to conclude that one of the key ways God achieves this (although if God wanted He could simply say "Be" and it is) is by sending the angels down to the Believers just as he did during the battle of badr.
Now I want the reader to contemplate something. Doesn't it make sense the greater the belief of the Believer the more God will help him? So if the Believer only believes a little, God will send only a little help. It could be by instructing only one angel to help only a little for example. Now if the Believer is strong in his belief and trust in God, then God would help him more (e.g. by sending many angels with each given large help tasks). Doesn't that make sense?
Now can anyone have a stronger and truer faith in God than the prophet Muhammad (pbuh) or the previous messengers? I think not. And since the messengers had the highest and purest faith, they received the highest level of help from Allah. This is one of the reasons why the Prophet (pbuh) succeeded in his mission.
There is a lesson here for all of us. I think it is obvious is it not? If we want God's help, I mean truly want it, we have to truly earn it. And we truly earn it by striving to attain the highest level of pure faith possible. It's not easy, it doesn't occur over night...it can take years.
It is in fact, a life long journey, but the only journey that has true meaning.
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