THE ROUND TABLE

Masood N. Khan, MD

Muslims should understand the meaning of duas mentioned in Qur’an and make them the guiding posts in their journey through life.

That was the conclusion of our discussion on the Round Table recently.

Dua is an important part of our relationship with Allah and our endeavor to seek His help at various stages of our life. As we face challenges, testing situations and occasions of helplessness in life, our duas give us strength and equip us with a resolve to move forward with new energy.

Duas should make us self-scrutinize ourselves, introspect and struggle to change by giving up our old erratic ways.

Duas that are mentioned in Qur’an are indeed to be considered a divine order to understand them and use them sincerely and consciously for our benefit.

Duas, given in Quran have the following unique value points:

  1. They are extremely meaningful and the choice of divine words in which they are enveloped is highly eloquent.
  2. The spectrum of their application in human life is very wide, and the aims and goals one can achieve through them are purposeful and lofty.
  3. If one understands the very purpose of dua and does not use it superficially as a ritual, every Quaranic dua provides a force of determination and resolve that enables us to retrace our steps and embark on a new path of moral, physical and spiritual well being.
  4. Made up of divine words Quranic duas are sure to have an inherent effect of their own which perhaps we are unable to realize with our finite mind.

It is often observed that we feel good, practicing a kind of extravagance in making duas that consist of flowery vocabulary, lengthy sentences and verbosity – a deceptive selfassurance for sure! Yet they all pale in meaning and purpose compared with duas given in Qur’an. And it is the meaning and purpose that makes a dua efficacious. There should be an active effort on our part to memorize Quranic duas, understand them and use them with a sincere heart.

The Round Table presents here as an example, a beautiful dua given in Qur’an, in verse 20 of Surah 27 (Al-Naml), offered by Prophet Sulaiman.

“My Lord inspire me so that I may forever be grateful for thy favors which thou hast bestowed upon me and my parents, and grant me the will to act in conformity with your divine order. And include me by Thy mercy, among Thy righteous servants.” AMEEN !

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