Ramadan, the month of Quran, the month of worship, the month of Dua. At times, there are so many Duas you want to ask Allah, desperate for His Mercy, for Jannah, so many things to achieve in this Dunya that you need to make Dua for, yet when you reach sujood, you can’t think of anything specific to make Dua for. You go blank. Blank. Does this sound familiar? Many of us go through this often. There are just so many Duas we need to ask that sometimes we just go blank. There are so many Duas from the Sunnah, oh so beautiful and so comprehensive, which we haven’t memorized, to be able to ask Allah sincerely. Many Ramadans ago, I attended a lecture where the lecturer was talking about one of the first things she trained herself to do was to ask something short and comprehensive. Just two simple words. Yet the summary of what we need in Dunya and Akhirah. She told us say: اللهم ارض عني
Oh My Lord, Be Pleased with me. SubhanAllah. Is there anything else we need more than the Pleasure of Allah? If Allah is Pleased with us there is nothing else that can harm us. We work so hard for this Dunya and we also try to work hard for our Akhirah. Be it our Salah, fasts, Quran or sadaqah. We exert efforts to Please Him. But do we know if He is Pleased? We do not. Which is why it is very important for us to ask Him to be Pleased with us.
Beg Him: اللهم ارض عني Allah says:
قَالَ اللَّهُ هَٰذَا يَوْمُ يَنْفَعُ الصَّادِقِينَ صِدْقُهُمْ ۚ لَهُمْ جَنَّاتٌ تَجْرِي مِنْ تَحْتِهَا الْأَنْهَارُ خَالِدِينَ فِيهَا أَبَدًا ۚ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُمْ وَرَضُوا عَنْهُ ۚ ذَٰلِكَ الْفَوْزُ الْعَظِيمُ
“Allah being pleased with them, and they with Him. That is the great attainment.” [al-Maidah: 119]
Days go by and our to-do lists never end. There is always something to do and there seems to be no time to do it all. No matter your age, gender or marital status, we always have things to do or things we wish to do. This brings me to a beautiful Dua I’ve heard many of my Quran teachers making: الله يجعلك مباركا أين ما كنت
May Allah make you Blessed wherever you are. This one single, simple sentence encompasses all you want to do, wherever you go. This Dua is derived from the words of Isa (عليه السلام) mentioned in the Quran:
وَجَعَلَنِي مُبَارَكًا أَيْنَ مَا كُنتُ
“And He has made me blessed wherever I am” [Maryam: 31]
To have Barakah or be blessed is an amazing phenomenon. In this fast world where we never seem to have time, we badly need barakah in it. So if you are overwhelmed thinking of which idea, which project or which thought of yours you want to make Dua for, start by saying:
اللهم اجعلني مباركا أين ما كنت
Have you noticed, sometimes when some people pass away, nothing much is said about them, while for some, people go on days talking about all they did and the impact they left behind. There are those who passed away centuries ago and are forgotten but those who are remembered honourably to this day by those who are not even their family or closest friends. We all know the Hadith about the martyr who will be thrown into the Fire because his intention was for the people to call him a Shaheed. Doing a deed so that you are praised after death is a grave sin and could lead you to the Fire. However, don’t we all want to be of those who leave a legacy? Those who others remember well, and are spoken of honourably. A Dua of Ibrahim (عليه السلام) from the Quran represents this: وَاجْعَل لِّي لِسَانَ صِدْقٍ فِي الْآخِرِينَ “And grant me a reputation of honour (also translated as honourable mention) among later generations.” [Ash-Shu’ara: 84] Ya Salaam! What a concise and truthful Dua. We all would love an honourable mention after we die, among later generations.
Do you know how powerful this Dua of Ibrahim (عليه السلام) was? How it has been accepted? Do you know that we Muslims remember him multiple times a day? After the final Tashahhud we say:
اللَّهُمَّ صَلِّ عَلَى مُحَمَّدٍ وَعَلَى آلِ مُحَمَّدٍ، كَمَا صَلَّيْتَ عَلَى إِبْرَاهِيمَوَعَلَى آلِ إِبْرَاهِيم، إِنَّكَ حَمِيدٌ مَجِيدٌ، اللَّهُمَّ بَارِكَ عَلَى مُحَمَّدٍ وَعَلَى آلِ مُحَمَّدٍ كَمَا بَارَكْتَ عَلَى إِبْرَاهِيمَوَعَلَى آلِ إِبْرَاهِيمَ، إِنَّكَ حَمِيدٌ مَجِيدٌ
“O Allah, bestow Your favour on Muhammad and on the family of Muhammad as You have bestowed Your favour on Ibrahim and on the family of Ibrahim, You are Praiseworthy, Most Glorious. O Allah, bless Muhammad and the family of Muhammad as You have blessed Ibrahim and the family of Ibrahim, You are Praiseworthy, Most Glorious.” [Bukhari]
We being the Ummah of Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم mention Ibrahim عليه سلام and his family together with Rasoolullah صلى الله عليه وسلم each and every Salah as one who Allah Favoured and Blessed. And we will continue to do so until the Last Day. May Allah grant us good endings and grant us all an honourable mention. May He grant us the ability to reach out to Him in the way that Pleases Him most and may He accept us.
