The Messenger of Allah ﷺ once heard a person making duʿā’ during prayer. He did not glorify Allah nor invoke salawāt upon the Messenger of Allah ﷺ in his supplication.
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ remarked, “He was too hasty.”
He called him and said, “When one of you makes duʿā’, he should start off with praising and glorifying His Lord (ʿazza wa jall), and should then invoke ṣalawāt on the Prophet. He should then make duʿā’ for whatever he wishes” (Abū Dāwūd).
Praising Allah is the master key for duʿā’. We praise Him because of our love and reverence of Him. Allah is truly worthy of all praise for His very existence, His mercy, beauty, generosity and all of His other Names and Attributes. All of His Attributes are perfect; be they of His majesty (jalāl) or beauty (jamāl). His favours are endless, and His actions full of wisdom. He cares for our well-being more than we do ourselves, and is more merciful to us than even our own mothers.
We naturally praise those who show us kindness; only ingratitude or envy blinds a person to another’s goodness. If this is our response to people, how much more should we praise the Creator who brought us into existence and continually blesses us?
Praising Allah: A Gift From Him
Being able to praise Allah is an unmatched gift from Him. Any servant who praises Allah is only able to do so because of His permission for such praise. Our praise of Him is, in fact, a blessing from Him which deserves even more praise. Even if we spent our entire life praising Him, it would be insufficient.
Though many of us may regularly make duʿā’, we fail to use this gift of praising Allah. Sadly, it does not spring from our hearts as it should, because we have failed to recognise and know Allah as He deserves to be known. Allah says, “They did not hold Allah in His true esteem” (39:67). When we recognise the greatness, grandeur and glory of Allah, our praises for Him will flow easily and naturally.
Imām al-Nawawī (raḥimahullāh) said: “The true benefit of this (i.e. praising Allah) is for the servants themselves, because they praise Him — and He rewards them for it — so they benefit. As for Him — Glorified and Exalted be He — He is free of all need from the worlds. Their praise does not benefit Him, nor does their neglect of His praise harm Him in the least.”
Praising Allah: A Means of Acceptance
Praising Allah and invoking salawāt upon the Prophet ﷺ opens the doors of acceptance for our duʿās.
ʿAbdullāh b. Masʿūd (raḍiy Allāhu ʿanhu) said: “I was praying while the Prophet ﷺ, Abū Bakr, and ʿUmar were present. When I sat (for the final tashahhud), I began by praising Allah, then sending blessings upon the Prophet ﷺ, and then I made duʿā’ for myself. The Prophet ﷺ said: ‘Ask, and you will be given. Ask, and you will be given’” (Tirmidhī).
In another narration, Umm Sulaym (raḍiy Allāhu ʿanhā) came to the Prophet ﷺ and said, “O Messenger of Allah, teach me some phrases which I can supplicate with in my ṣalāh.” He ﷺ said, “Say subḥānAllah ten times, alḥamdulillāh ten times, Allāhu Akbar ten times, then ask Him for your needs. He ﷻ will say, ‘Yes, Yes!’” (Nasā’ī).
Allah Loves to Be Praised
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “There is no one who loves to be praised more than Allah, and for that reason, He praised Himself” (Bukhārī).
Praising Allah is one of the most commendable acts a slave can perform. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ told us that the best words a slave can utter after the Qur’ān are the words of praise and glory (Aḥmad).
Praising Allah is the only worship that will be performed by the inhabitants of Paradise; and will be the manner in which they ask from Allah. Allah says, “Their call therein will be ‘how Perfect You are, O Allah’ and their greeting therein will be ‘peace’ and the end of their call will be ‘Praise be to Allah, the Lord of all the worlds’” (10:10).
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ also said, “The inhabitants of Paradise… will praise and glorify Allah as easily as you breathe” (Muslim).
Praising Allah Is Duʿa
The Prophet ﷺ said, “The best duʿā’ is alḥamdulillāh” (Ḥākim).
Ibn al-Qayyim (raḥimahullāh) explained: “He referred to ‘alḥamdulillāh’ as duʿā’, even though it is pure praise. This is because ḥamd (praise) includes both love and glorification. And love is the highest form of seeking one’s beloved. So the one who praises Allah is, in truth, seeking Him — and is more deserving of being called a supplicant than someone who simply asks for a particular need…”
Moreover, alḥamdulillāh is a form of gratitude for Allah’s blessings, and gratitude brings increase. Allah says: “If you are grateful, I will surely increase you [in favour]” (14:7).
Surah al-Fatihah: The Perfect Example of Praise and Duʿa
Sūrah al-Fātiḥah beautifully demonstrates the ideal way of calling upon Allah, combining both praise and supplication.
The actual request in this sūrah is brief compared to the lengthier section of praise that precedes it. This structure teaches us the proper etiquette of duʿā’: to first glorify Allah, then humble ourselves, and finally present our request.
Ibn al-Qayyim (raḥimahullāh) said: “Since asking Allah for guidance to the Straight Path is the noblest of requests, and attaining it is among the most honourable of gifts, Allah taught His servants how to ask Him for it. He instructed them to begin by praising Him, glorifying Him, and exalting Him; and then to express their servitude and affirm His Oneness.
These are two means to attaining what they seek: asking Him through His Names and Attributes, and asking Him through their servitude to Him. With these two means, a supplication is rarely rejected.”
The Prophets Praised Allah
When we reflect on the duʿās in the Qur’ān made by the Prophets (as), we can only marvel at the courtesy, shyness and humility which shines through their words. Each duʿā’ is a testimony to their awareness of, and deep intimacy, with their Lord. Rather than rushing to make their requests, they praised Allah, glorified Him, and asked through His Most Perfect Names.
Their duʿās are filled with profound praise, deep humility, heartfelt neediness and utmost reliance on Allah. Some of these duʿās contain no explicit requests at all; they consist of a pure praise and surrender to Allah. They conveyed a desperate need with such sincerity that the supplication becomes a plea without words.
We also see the centrality of praise in the ḥadīth about the intercession on the Day of Judgement, where believers will ask various Prophets to intercede with Allah (ʿazza wa jall). Upon their refusal, they will approach the Messenger ﷺ who will be given permission to present himself before Allah (ʿazza wa jall). He ﷺ said:
“When I will see my Lord, I will fall down in prostration before Him and He will leave me in prostration as long as He wishes, and then it will be said to me, ‘O Muḥammad! Raise your head and speak, for you will be listened to; and ask, for you will be granted your request; and intercede, for your intercession will be accepted.’ I will then raise my head and praise my Lord with certain praises which He will inspire me, and then I will intercede” (Bukhārī).
The Prophet’s ﷺ special praise of his Lord will be a means for his intercession to be accepted.
The angels have also shown us how to make duʿāʾ by praising Allah (ʿazza wa jall). Before asking for forgiveness for ‘those who have repented and followed Your way’ they initiated their duʿā’ by saying, ‘Our Lord, You have encompassed all things in mercy and knowledge…’ (40:7).
How Can We Praise Allah?
- Praise Him as He has praised Himself. This is the best way to praise Allah. This can be learnt by reciting the Qur’ān, reflecting upon it and forming a strong bond with it, since it is replete with Allah praising Himself.
- Praise Him as our beloved Messenger ﷺ praised Him. Of all creation, no one surpassed the Prophet ﷺ in knowing Allah and appreciating Him as He deserves.
- Praise Him with words used by the Companions (radiy Allāhū ʿanhum) and the pious predecessors.
- Praise Him with your own words emanating from your heart, so long as they do not contradict sound beliefs.
- Praise Him through His Beautiful Names, which is among the best and most meaningful ways to glorify Him.
“The best slaves of Allah on the Day of Judgement will be those who frequently praise Him” (Tirmidhī).
Surah al-Talaq Reflections
