How to Build Your Laylatul Qadr Du’a List | Khutbah by Dr. Omar Suleiman

As Laylatul Qadr approaches, have you thought about what you will ask Allah for?

The last ten nights of Ramadan are the most powerful nights of the year, especially the odd nights. These are moments filled with mercy, forgiveness, and the opportunity for life-changing du’a.

In this khutbah, Dr. Omar Suleiman shares four essential du’as you should make during the last ten nights of Ramadan that can transform your life in this world and the next.

00:00 Opening Praise and Salawat
01:52 Entering the Final Days of Ramadan
02:30 How to Build Your Duʿa Framework
03:16 The Four Qualities the Prophet Told Us to Hold On To
04:02 The Simplicity of the Prophetic Method
06:30 The Story of “Dandana” and the Power of Simple Duʿa
09:13 Why the Prophet Taught Aisha This Duʿa for Laylatul Qadr
10:15 Begin Duʿa with Praise and Tawheed
14:21 Seeking Forgiveness for Yourself and Others
17:05 Ask Allah for the Highest Levels of Jannah
18:45 Seeking Protection from the Hellfire
20:29 Expanding Your Duʿa for the Ummah
22:31 Closing Du'a

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:49

Aminarabal Amin wa ulsakumsi be Taku Allah, Wakad Amarana Bil Hak, Wakara Ta'ala, Ya you Aladina Amen, Utah Laha Hakatu Katihi Walla Tamutuna Illa and Tim Muslimun. Ya you and Nasu Taku Rabakum Ladi Hala Hakum and Nafsi Mahida. Wa Hala Kaminha Zojaha, Wabamin Hu Marija and Katira Wani Saa. What tapullah Ladita Sauna Bihi Wal Raham in Allah Kana Alikum Rakiba, Ya you Aladina Amenu Takullaha Wakulu Kawan Sadida, Yuslah Lakum Amah, Lakum Wayal Thur Lakum Dunu Bakum, Wamayutwaha Warasulahu Fakadafazafan Ali Mathum Ama Barat. We begin by praising Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala by bearing witness that none has the right to be worshipped or unconditionally obeyed except for him. And we bear witness that Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam is his final messenger. We ask Allah to send his peace and blessings upon him, the prophets and messengers that came before him, his family and companions that served alongside him and those that follow in his blessed path until the day of judgment. And we ask Allah to make us amongst them. Allah Amin. Dear brothers and sisters, as we enter into the final phase of Ramadan, may Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala allow us to be amongst those that catch Laylatul Qadr. Allah ma'amen. I wanted to use this khutbah as an opportunity to build out a dua framework because many times people ask, how should we make dua in this time? What dua should we say here? What's a way to draw it all out? And of course, the first reminder is that your dua should be sincere and let your heart speak with whatever words come. As long as they do not transgress the bounds of dua and they follow the sunnah of the Prophet, then those are the best dua's. But what this actually ended up becoming is more of how to build a dua framework in general. So it's not necessarily specific to Laylatul Qadr. But really something, subhanAllah, elaborating on one narration from the Prophet about what a person should hold on to in Ramadan. Now, the narration that I'll cite, it's a long narration. An Imam bin Husayma Raheimallah classes it as authentic, Al-Bayhaqi, and others, Hafad ibn Rajab includes it in his monumental work. Some of the scholars they dispute the authenticity of the hadith, but if you take every piece of it, then there is something to back up every sentence of it, and there is a wording here that I want to focus on. And it's the hadith of Salman al-Farsi radiallahu ta'ala anhu that is narrated that the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said, that verily there has come upon you a blessed and mighty month. Shahrun fihi laylatunha, a month in which there is a night that is greater than a thousand months. But here's what I want you to pay attention to in terms of a framework. He says, Sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, fastekiru fihi min arba ih. So hold on to four qualities in this month that is ahead of you. Hold on to these four qualities. Now, usually when you hear a dua or a hadith that says, do these two things, do these four things, you might be expecting something that's foreign to you, or something that's very different, or a wording that's unfamiliar to you. But the beauty of the prophetic methodology is that it's comprehensive, it's simple, it's easy to remember. Because the Prophet does not want you lost in poetry. The Prophet is giving you consistent methodology. And so you get your one-on-one time with the Prophet. What should I do? Sallallahu Alaihi. Ask Allah to be spared. Ask Allah for forgiveness. Very simple prescriptions. But it's the way that this narration words it that is incredible. So four qualities that you should increase in. And he says, Two of those qualities, you increase in your pleasing of your Lord. Two of those qualities, you increase in your pleasing of your Lord. In fact, this was the wording that caught my attention most and that I want to spend the majority of the khutbah on. And two things that you cannot live without. Two things that you please your Lord by, and two things that you cannot live without, that there is no way for you to be independent of. So he says, as for the two things that you please your Lord with, that you say, that you bear witness to the oneness of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, and that you seek forgiveness from Him. These are the two things that will increase your closeness to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and you really need to increase in this time of Ramadan where you are seeking this blessed month. As for the two qualities that you cannot live without, that you ask Allah for Jannah and that you ask Him to protect you from the fire. These are four extremely simple things, but I want you to dig into the framing rather than simply four things that we all know as basic Muslims. Bearing witness to the oneness of Allah, seeking forgiveness from Allah, asking Allah for paradise, and then asking Allah to protect you from the fire. Why is this so significant? There is an authentic narration in Sun Abi Dawood, and I want to give you a framing of it. Imagine if you walked into the masjid and you saw the Prophet and his most elite companions, specifically Mu'ad ibn Jabal, Radiallahu Ahu, and they're making these beautiful du'as, and you can hear they're dangana. Dangana means the humming sounds, like the murmuring sound. So if you're walking into the masjid and you see the Prophet sitting and making du'a, and then you see Mu'ad ibn Jabal and people like Abu Bakr and Umar making du'a, and it just seems to flow so beautifully. You can't make out the exact words that they're saying, but it's just a beautiful flow. And then you're like, I'm gonna go to Allah and make dua, and I have no idea what these people are saying. Clearly, what they are saying is far different than what I'm saying. I come to Allah with a very broken dua, it doesn't rhyme, it's not poetic, it doesn't sound in any way like what I'm hearing from the Prophet and Mu'a'. So this man who's a simple man, he comes to the Prophet and he says, Ya Rasullah, I don't understand your dandana and the dandana of muash. I don't get it. I don't understand what you're saying, what you're murmuring, what you're humming. Now the Prophet could have said, Alright, now take out your notebook and write. Right? Or listen to what I have to say and memorize this. But instead, the Prophet said, Keifat is salah, what do you do when you pray? What do you say when you pray? You see the prophetic wisdom? Instead of telling him what he says, he says, Well, what do you say? So he said, At shahadu, first I say, Ashadu Allah Allah, shawna Muhammad Rasulullah, I simply say the shahada, and I say, Allah Jannu wa'uzu bikiman. I ask Allah to grant me paradise and to protect me from the fire. My whole dua is bearing witness to the oneness of Allah and by implication shahadah, to the Prophethood of Muhammad, because maybe he's a new Muslim, maybe he just learned the shahada. And I ask Allah for paradise and I ask Allah to protect me from the fire. That's it. The Prophet said, Hawlaha nudandan. He said, Me and Mu'ad, all we do is we take those four things and we build around them. You're good. That's good enough. And so what do you say to someone who just converted to Islam and like this Arabic seems overwhelming, and I've got to memorize this and I've got to memorize that? You bear witness to the oneness of Allah, you send praise on the Prophet, ask Allah for Jannah, ask Allah to protect you from the fire. You're good. Build on that. That's fine. Whether it's Arabic, English, whatever it may be, that's fine. Build on the principles on what brought you into this deen in the first place. And so that's why even when our mother Aisha radiallahu anha, and there's wisdom to this as well. Ask the Prophet for a du'a to say in the last ten nights, Aisha is an incredibly intelligent woman. Aisha radiallahu anha could memorize a book on the spot, right? I mean, this is an incredibly literate, thorough, intelligent, eloquent woman, poetic woman. Allahuman na ka'afu and tu ibul afu farfu anni. Just say, oh Allah, you are Al Afu, you are the forgiver, you love to forgive, so forgive me. Of the wisdoms, is that Aisha radiallahu anha is going to repeat thousands of things that the Prophet taught her. Imagine if Aisha radiallahu anha gave us something that we have to read off a paper and we're gonna be walking around in the last ten nights trying to remember this. But the Prophet was making that dua. And Aisha radiallahu ta'ala anha was making that dua. However, let me come back to the narration. Four foundations, at least, that we can build a dua structure around because it is wonderful to prepare yourself for dua. It is wonderful to get yourself ready for how you're going to exert yourself with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Two things by which you please your Lord. The first one is that renewal of tawheed, that renewal of the oneness of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and your covenant with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and praising Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and sending salawat on the Prophet. Whether it is the last ten nights, or it is as you are on your way to do umr or hajj and you're saying, La bayk Allahumma la bayk, or it is as you're standing on the day of Arafah and you're saying, La ilaha lullah wahdahua sharikala alhamdulillah, wahu ala kulish, it always starts with this. And Surat al-Fatiha gives you that equation as well. The first half is for your Lord, the second half is for you. And that is in the Hadith Qutsi, that I have divided Surat al-Fatiha into two. The first half for the Lord, the second half for my servants. And so that first half is the praise of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, a tanaa, a tawheed, a thana, all of those things by which you renew that covenant with Allah. And in that, you don't have to simply repeat the prophetic prescriptions, though they are beautiful. The elaborations of tawheed. So Alhamdulillah, Alhamdulillah Anama Alain Abil Islam, Alhamdulillah Anzal al-Kitab, Alhamdulillah. You can grow the hamd with different prophetic prescriptions, and that's beautiful. You can grow the tahli, the la ilahalullah, with prophetic prescriptions, and that's beautiful. But the point is renewing that oneness of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and the praise of Allah Azza and the praise and the salawat on the Prophet because before you ask, you anchor. Before you ask, you anchor. You anchor yourself in the one that you are about to ask for. And you say the things that are pleasing to him, subhanahu wa ta'ala. So before you ask Allah for anything, even of the akhirah, you renew that covenant with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and you anchor yourself in that praise. And you seek his forgiveness. And the ulama mentioned that of the benefits of this is that seeking forgiveness is how you clear the pathway to anything that you're going to ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala for. And of the profound nature of even the way Quran words, the greatest gift, which is Jannah and what is attained in Jannah. Yaqfir Lakum Zanubakum, wayudhilkum jannat. Allah will forgive you for your sins, then He'll enter you into paradise. Almost to say that just as seeking forgiveness is a requirement to the entrance into paradise, that if forgiveness is attained, then paradise is guaranteed. And so every time Allah talks about duchur al-Jannah, entering into paradise, there is the forgiveness that comes before them. And so tastak firunahu is to clear the way. SubhanAllah the Prophet tells us that every night there is a dua for the fasting person that's accepted, correct? Like we make dua at the time of iftaq. And Abdullah Amr, every single night in Ramadan, he would say, Allah's aluqah machhiraq. O Allah, I seek your forgiveness. The last ten nights, inna ka'afu into hibura afwa fa'fu anni, you are the pardon, you love to pardon, so pardon me. Every single night at the time of the breaking of the fast, Allah's aluqa mahfiraq. Oh Allah, I ask you for your forgiveness. If Allah forgives me, everything comes good after that. Because sins block barakah in this life, they block the blessing of anything I'm gonna ask Allah Azwajal for in this life, and they block the acceptance or the entrance into anything I'm gonna ask Allah for in the next life. And so the focus on asking Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala for forgiveness, cleaning the heart, clearing the way of all of the obstacles. And in the framework that I want you to think about, because you're not just making dua for yourself in the last ten nights, you're not just making dua for yourself in general, the greatest thing that you can make dua for for someone else is forgiveness as well. And that's why, even for your parents, before you ask Allah, oh Allah grant my parents good health, oh Allah grant my parents a nice house, oh Allah grant my parents comfort, oh Allah make this easy for them. Allah Azza says the greatest gratitude that you show to your parents, Allah. Rabbi Hamuma Kamarabun. Oh Allah, forgive my parents. Forgive them, forgive them. Because that's the greatest thing you could ask for them. What do you make dua for the previous generations when you think about those who came before? Right? Tagfir, you tastaghfir. You seek forgiveness. For those who preceded us in faith. You seek forgiveness for your brothers and sisters. Yes, even in Ghazzah, in Falastin, and all over the world. You seek forgiveness for them. Because forgiveness is the greatest thing that could be given to them that clears the way for everything else. So ask Allah to forgive you. Ask Allah to forgive your parents. Ask Allah to forgive your ummah. Ask Allah to forgive those who came before. Ask Allah to forgive those that will come afterwards. And so this is the second thing. And in that process as well, you'll notice that the Prophet is showing the humility in seeking forgiveness by showing us that we should seek forgiveness from Allah for the hidden sins and the obvious sins. Ma'aswarna wa ma'aalana. Ma'akadamna wa ma'akharna. That which we have done, that which we have yet to do. What we know and what we don't know. There are sins that we commit that we don't even know. And to admit to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala in the process that Allah Azza has blessed us with so much and that there was no justification whatsoever in presenting those sins to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. These are two things, and subhanAllah, when you're talking about the divine attributes, human qualities only give us a window. If you're really mad at someone, and you know that your your child is going to come and ask you for something. And before they ask you for something, you still hold something like they never really showed regret. They never actually sought forgiveness for something that they did that was very upsetting. They never showed any humility in that. The moment that they do that, look how much your heart softens to your child. Like, oh wow, he's really sorry. She's really sorry. She gets it. Two things that you you please your Lord with. And then ask. What do you ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala? SubhanAllah, the words that caught me in this narration, la hina abikum anhuma. Ask Allah for the things that you cannot live without. I want to be real here for a moment. Ask Allah for money, but you can live without money. Ask Allah for health, but you can live without health. Ask Allah for all of these things of this world, but you can technically exist without those things. You can survive in the ultimate sense without those things. But ask Allah for them. But the Prophet is saying, prioritize the things that you could not survive without. And what are the things you absolutely could not survive without? The entire incentive of what exists at the end of this purpose of living, entrance into paradise and protection from the fire. So go there and start with that. So you ask Allah for Al-Jannah, Tasalun Allah al-Jannah. And when you ask Allah for paradise, ask Allah for the highest of paradise. So you just admitted your sins and you should be feeling low. But because of the fact that you're admitting your sins to the Most High, then those lowly sins disappear. Ask Allah for the highest of paradise. Ask Allah for Al-Firdawus al-aqla. Ask Allah to be the rafiq of the Prophet in Jannah, to be His companion in Jannah. Ask and ask and ask and ask of the highest levels of paradise. And ask Allah to grant other people Jannah that you love as well. Pray that Allah enter them into Al-Iliyen as well. Ask Allah that your family be with you. But let that be the North Star that you're constantly asking Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala for now. This is before you get to the risk, the sustenance. Ask Allah for Jannah. And then ta'uudun abihi mina, ask Allah for protection from the fire. I want to share something here that some of the ulama of Taskiyah mentioned. That one of the best ways to increase your du'at when you're asking Allah for Jannah is to ask Allah to grant you the qualities of the people of Jannah. And ask Allah to facilitate for you the deeds of the people of Jannah. That way you will extend. So you're not just asking Allah for Jannah and then the parts of Jannah that you want and the people that you want in Jannah, but you're asking Allah for the qualities and the deeds that get you into Jannah. So, oh Allah, facilitate this for me and open this for me. And you can then build out your list of the dreams and the aspirations you have for the sake of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And then the same is true with Watja'u and Abihi mina. And you seek refuge and protection from hellfire, that ask Allah to protect you from hellfire. And ask Allah to protect you from the qualities that lead you to hellfire. Ask Allah to protect you from hypocrisy. Ask Allah to protect you from insincerity. Ask Allah to protect you from the deeds, the lying, the cheating, the weak moments where the shaitan can exploit and you get pulled into committing certain sins. The arrogance and the pride and the desires and the things that lead you astray. Ask Allah to clear those away. Not just protect you from hellfire, but protect you from being with the people of hellfire and like the people of hellfire. And when you see your brothers and sisters suffering, ask Allah that they will not suffer again in the hereafter. That what has taken place for them of suffering in this life will not be repeated of suffering in the afterlife, that it is an expiation. Now, with all of that being said, and I'm at the end of my khutbah already, as you come into the end and you include your ummah. No one of you believes until he loves for his brother what he loves for himself. Hibri Akimay Hibri Nasi, right? Everything that you will ask for yourself, you ask for your brothers and sisters. Subhanallah, as we're witnessing right now the expansion of the war on the innocents, on the war on the Mustad Afin. The schoolgirls that were killed in Gaza, now schoolgirls in Iran. The starvation that took place and that continues to take place in Sudan, you will see it expand to the regions that will fall apart because the natural resources cannot reach them anymore. Because when the global economy crashes, the last to suffer will be the global elite, right? It's always the poor people that have to eat the pain in the middle. And now our Ummah has to suffer. And there is a common reflection that I was hearing from brothers and sisters that I was checking upon over the last few weeks that live in some of those Gulf countries where they can just see the things in the sky. All they do is they can see it in the sky and they can hear the explosions. And most of them, I don't want to say all of them because it might have been just one person who didn't respond with this in their reflection. SubhanAllah, this made us think of the people of Hazla. How could they live with this without the protection and air defenses and things of that sort? Like we are on the edge just seeing explosions in the sky. How could they live? With this destruction constantly falling upon them. It doesn't need for you to live an experience to pray for someone that is in that experience. You know enough about your suffering, ummah. Bring them to your dua. Bring them to your dua bidnillan. Everything you ask Allah for yourself, ask Allah for them as well. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala protect them as we seek protection. And may Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala grant them acceptance as we seek acceptance. And may Allah allow us to be amongst those who are accepted in Laylatul Qadr and beyond. And may Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala forgive us for all of our sins and protect us from the fire and accept all of our good deeds and enter us into the highest level of paradise. Allah Amin Aqulukhalbihada was takhalladi waqmuri saw musimen festahiru inahulfurim. Al Ahiya Iman Humal Amat in Nakasamir un Karibun Mujibut Dawat. Allah Makhril in our hamna, wafu anna, wala to adibna, robana walanna and fusanawa inam taffurana, lanaku nanamin al Hasreen, Allahfu and Karim to Hibula Farna, Allah Mafirli Walidina, Robberhamakimarabuna Sigara, Rabana Habla nam in Azwajina with Uriyatina, Kurwa Tayun, Wajanal Mutahina Imama, Allah Monsur Ihwana Muslafina Fima Shari Ardubiha, Allah Mun Surham Fi Firistin with his Sudan with Kulli Makan, Allah Ma'akabi Adaika Addin, Allah Ahlikibalimina Bidwalim, Afrijjahwa Mbanium Sarimin, Abadullah, Allahia Murbahdi War Isan wa Ita e Kurba, Wayanha Anil Fasha will munkari Wal Bahi, Ya edukum la alakum Tada Karun, Fatkurullah Kurkum, Washkuru Ali Nai Zidlakum, Walla the Kurullahi Akbar Wallahu Yarama Matasnaun Waqima Salah,