31. Supplication
٣١۔ كتاب الدعاء
Encouragement to make dua for others when they are not in front of you
the Prophet ﷺ said, "The swiftest supplication to be answered is the dua of someone for another person who is not present."
عَنِ النَّبِيِّ ﷺ قَالَ: «أَسْرَعُ الدُّعَاءِ إِجَابَةً دُعَاءُ غَائِبٍ لِغَائِبٍ»
Abū Bakr al-Ṣiddīq was heard to say, "The dua of a brother in Allah is answered."
أَنَّهُ سَمِعَ أَبَا بَكْرٍ الصِّدِّيقَ ؓ: إِنَّ دَعْوَةَ الأَخِ فِي اللهِ تُسْتَجَابُ
An angels makes dua for the one who makes dua for another in his absence
Safwan b. Abdullah b. Safwan, who was married to the daughter of Abu al-Darda, said: I visited them in Syria and found Umm al-Darda in the house, but not Abu al-Darda.
She asked: Are you intending to go on hajj this year? Yes, I replied. She said: Make dua to Allah and ask for good for us. The Prophet ﷺ said: "The dua of a Muslim man for his absent brother is answered. At his head there is a guardian angel: whenever he asks Allah to give his brother good, the angel says: Amin, and may you have the same."
I met Abu al-Darda in the market and he said something similar which was related from the Prophet ﷺ.
قَالَ قَدِمْتُ عَلَيْهِمُ الشَّامَ فَوَجَدْتُ أُمَّ الدَّرْدَاءِ فِي الْبَيْتِ وَلَمْ أَجِدْ أَبَا الدَّرْدَاءِ
قَالَتْ: أَتُرِيدُ الْحَجَّ الْعَامَ؟ قُلْتُ: نَعَمْ. قَالَتْ: فَادْعُ اللَّهَ لَنَا بِخَيْرٍ فَإِنَّ النَّبِيَّ ﷺ كَانَ يَقُولُ: «إِنَّ دَعْوَةَ الْمَرْءِ الْمُسْلِمِ مُسْتَجَابَةٌ لأَخِيهِ بِظَهْرِ الْغَيْبِ، عِنْدَ رَأْسِهِ مَلَكٌ مُوَكَّلٌ: كُلَّمَا دَعَا لأَخِيهِ بِخَيْرٍ، قَالَ آمِينَ، وَلَكَ بِمِثْلٍ.»
قَالَ فَلَقِيتُ أَبَا الدَّرْدَاءِ فِي السُّوقِ فَقَالَ مِثْلَ ذَلِكَ يَأْثُرُ عَنِ النَّبِيِّ ﷺ
a man said: O Allah, forgive me and Muhammad alone! The Prophet ﷺ said: "You have veiled it from many people."
قَالَ رَجُلٌ اللَّهُمَّ اغْفِرْ لِي وَلِمُحَمَّدٍ وَحْدَنَا، فَقَالَ النَّبِيُّ ﷺ: «لَقَدْ حَجَبْتَهَا عَنْ نَاسٍ كَثِيرٍ»
Dua to seek forgiveness (istighfar)
Ibn Umar said: I heard the Prophet ﷺ asking Allah to forgive him a hundred times in this assembly with the words,
rabbi ighfir lī wa-tub ʿalayya wa-irḥamnī, innaka anta al-tawwābu al-raḥīm.
"My Lord, forgive me, accept my repentance, and have mercy on me. Indeed, You are the Accepter of repentance, the Most Merciful."
سَمِعْتُ النَّبِيَّ ﷺ يَسْتَغْفِرُ اللَّهَ فِي الْمَجْلِسِ مِئَةَ مَرَّةٍ: «رَبِّ اغْفِرْ لِي وَتُبْ عَلَيَّ وَارْحَمْنِي إِنَّكَ أَنْتَ التَّوَّابُ الرَّحِيمُ.»