Iftiftah

Content of the first dua: This dua contains a request that a servant greatly needs. Ibn Rajab said: “This dua is a request to be truly kept far apart from one's sins, and what is meant is being kept far from the effects of sins and from their punishment, in this world or in the Hereafter, because sometimes what has been decreed of those sins enters into (the request for) being kept far from them while he does not know it, so he asks to be kept far from it, just as when one prays [translation not shown]. And (this dua) contains a request that his heart be cleansed of the filth of sins just as a white garment is cleansed of dirt, and it also contains a request that the heat of sins be extinguished from the heart with the most excellent things found in this world for cleansing and cooling, namely water, snow and cold water.” (Fathul Bari Libni Rojab 6/372) Shaykh Al-'Uthaimin also explained that this dua contains three requests. He said: «اللَّهُمَّ باعِدْ بيني وبين خَطَايَاي كما باعدت بين المشرق والمغرب» ومعناه: أنه سأل الله أن يُباعد بينه وبين خطاياه؛ كما باعَدَ بين المشرقِ والمغربِ، والمباعدة بين المشرق والمغرب هو غاية ما يبالغ فيه النَّاسُ، فالنَّاسُ يبالغون في الشيئين المتباعدين إمَّا بما بين السماء والأرض، وإما بما بين المشرقِ والمغربِ، ومعنى «باعِدْ بيني وبين خَطَاياي» أي: باعِدْ بيني وبين فِعلِها بحيث لا أَفْعَلُها، وباعِدْ بيني وبين عقوبِتها. وقوله: «اللَّهُمَّ نقِّني مِن خطاياي كما يُنقَّى الثوبُ الأبيضُ مِن الدَّنس»، هذه الجملةُ تدلُّ على أنَّ المرادَ بذلك الخطايا التي وقعت منه، لأنه قال: «نقِّني منها كما يُنقَّى الثوبُ الأبيضُ مِن الدَّنس». أي: كما يُغسل الثوبُ الأبيضُ إذا أصابه الدَّنس فيرجع أبيض، وإنما ذَكَرَ الأبيضَ؛ لأن الأبيض هو أشدُّ ما يؤثِّر فيه الوسخ؛ بخلاف الأسود، ولهذا في أيام الشتاء الثياب السوداء تبقى شهراً أو أكثر، لكن الأبيض لا يبقى أسبوعاً إلا وقد تدنَّسَ، فلهذا قال: «كما يُنقَّى الثوبُ الأبيضُ مِن الدَّنَسِ» وهذا ظاهرٌ أنه في الذُّنوب التي فَعَلَهَا يُنقَّى منها، وبعد التنقية قال: «اللَّهُمَّ اغسلْنِي مِن خطاياي بالماءِ والثَّلجِ والبَرَد إذاً؛ فالذي يظهر: أنَّ الجملةَ الأُولى في المباعدة، أي: أن لا أفعلَ الخطايا، ثم إن فَعلتُها فنقِّني منها، ثم أزِلْ آثارَها بزيادة التطهير بالماء والثَّلجِ والبَرَدِ، فالماء لا شَكَّ أنه مطهِّرٌ، لكن الثَّلجُ والبَرَدُ مناسبته هنا أنَّ الذُّنوب آثارها العذابُ بالنَّارِ، والنَّارُ حارَّة، والحرارةُ يناسبها في التنقية منها الشيء البارد، فالماء فيه التنظيف، والثَّلجُ والبَرَدُ فيهما التبريدُ. He explains: (اللَّهُمَّ باعِدْ بيني وبين خَطَايَاي كما باعدت بين المشرق والمغرب), meaning: a servant asks Allah to put distance between himself and his sins just as the distance between the east and the west was set; and the distance between the east and the west is a very great distance in people's reckoning, and people really do express two things far apart from each other with (the expression) “between the sky and the earth” or “between the east and the west”. And the meaning of this dua is: keep me far from sins so that I do not commit them, and keep me far from the punishment of those sins. And the words of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), (اللَّهُمَّ نقِّني مِن خطاياي كما يُنقَّى الثوبُ الأبيضُ مِن الدَّنس): this sentence shows that what is meant is the sins that cling to a servant, because the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said (نقِّني منها كما يُنقَّى الثوبُ الأبيضُ مِن الدَّنس), that is, just as a dirty garment is washed when dirt gets on it so that it becomes white again; because white is the colour most easily affected by dirt, unlike black. That is why black clothes in the cold season can last a month or more, whereas white clothes will last only a week once dirt gets on them. And this makes it clear that the sins one has committed can be cleansed. After being cleansed, a servant then says: (اللَّهُمَّ اغْسِلْ خَطَايَايَ بِالْمَاءِ وَالثَّلْجِ وَالبَرَدِ). Thus what is clear (from the content of the dua above) is that the first sentence, about keeping himself far from his sins, means asking that I not commit sins; then, if I do commit sins, cleanse me of them and remove the traces of those sins with additional purification using water, snow and small chunks of ice from the sky. As for water, there is no doubt that it purifies. As for snow and cold water, their fittingness (in this context) is that sins bring about the effect of punishment in the Fire, and the Fire is hot, and the cleansing that suits heat is something cold. So water is for cleaning, and snow and cold water are for cooling.” (Asy-Syarhul Mumti’ 3/49-50) It is also said that (الثَّلْجِ وَالبَرَد) [translation not shown] are mentioned for two reasons: 1. Because, to those who are fond of purifying themselves, both are water that has never been touched by any hand. 2. Both purify better than purifying with water that has already been mixed, and earnestly asking to be purified with these two kinds of water shows earnestness in asking for sins to be erased. (Kasyful Musykil Min Hadits As-Shohihain 4/285). Content of the second dua: This dua is full of the affirmation of Allah's oneness in His divinity (uluhiyyah), His lordship (rububiyyah), and His names and attributes, which are so beautiful, and which cause a servant to submit to and obey all of Allah's commands, so that he says (وَجَّهْتُ وَجْهِيَ), which the scholars explain: what is meant by turning one's face here is devoting all of one's deeds to Allah alone (glorified and exalted is He), in that a servant here devotes everything to Allah alone: his worship, his life, and even his death. (اللهُمَّ أَنْتَ الْمَلِكُ) Al-Malik is one of the names of Allah, which indicates His dominion, which is immensely great and perfectly complete, such that nothing among the creatures in this universe can rival His dominion. (لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا أَنْتَ) If a servant already knows that Allah is perfect, without the slightest flaw, then he should worship Allah alone, because the One who deserves to be worshipped is the Being who is perfect in His actions, His names, and His attributes. And after that we are also taught one of the manners of supplication, namely that it should begin with praise and extolment of Allah and only then the request; and the requests we need most are asking for forgiveness and asking to be given guidance. Then (لَبَّيْكَ وَسَعْدَيْكَ): these two words have many interpretations, one of them being what Al-Imam An-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) conveyed: وَالْأَظْهَرُ أَنَّ مَعْنَاهَا إِجَابَةً لَكَ بَعْدَ إِجَابَةٍ لِلتَّأْكِيدِ وَقِيلَ مَعْنَاهُ قُرْبًا مِنْكَ وَطَاعَةً لَكَ وَقِيلَ أَنَا مُقِيمٌ عَلَى طَاعَتِكَ وَقِيلَ مَحَبَّتِي لَكَ وَقِيلَ غَيْرُ ذَلِكَ وَمَعْنَى سَعْدَيْكَ أَيْ سَاعَدْتُ طَاعَتَكَ مُسَاعَدَةً بَعْدَ مُسَاعَدَةٍ “The more apparent view is that the meaning of labbaik is: I answer Your call after answering Your call, (the repetition being) for emphasis. It is also said that its meaning is: drawing near to You; and it is also said: obedience to You; and also: I remain steadfast upon obedience to You; and also: my love is for You alone; and other meanings. As for sa'daik, it means: I continually support obedience to You.” (Syarhun Nawawi ‘Ala Muslim 1/231) And the meaning of (وَالْخَيْرُ كُلُّهُ فِي يَدَيْكَ وَالشَّرُّ لَيْسَ إِلَيْكَ) [translation not shown]: here there is an etiquette in praising Allah, namely attributing all good to Him. As for the meaning of (وَالشَّرُّ لَيْسَ إِلَيْكَ), the scholars have several interpretations, among them: 1. Evil can never draw near to You. 2. Evil is not attributed to You item by item; so one does not say: “O Creator of apes and pigs”, or “O Lord of evil”; rather, we attribute in general terms: “O Creator of all things.” 3. That evil does not ascend to You, because what ascends is only good words and righteous deeds. 4. Evil is not evil when attributed to You, because You created it for a wisdom and a very great purpose; it is evil when attributed to creatures. 5. This negation is in the sense of attribution as in the saying “so-and-so ilaa (belongs to) Banu so-and-so”, when that person is part of that tribe. (So evil is not part of Allah.) (Syarhun Nawawi ‘Ala Muslim 6/59) And at the end of this dua, [translation not shown], there is the affirmation that nothing that happens lies outside Allah's will, which leads a servant to hang all his hopes on Him alone, and to ask of no one except Allah. Content of the third dua: The content of this dua is almost the same as the content of dua number two, except that there are slight differences in wording, among them an added takbir at its beginning. Content of the fourth dua: Almost the same as the content above, except for a slight addition in the meaning of (وَمَحْيَايَ وَمَمَاتِي لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ). Jamaluddin Abul Faraj Abdurrahman bin 'Ali Al-Jauzi said that the sentence above has two meanings: 1. No one has power over my life and my death except Allah. 2. My life is only for Allah, in carrying out obedience, and my death is only for Allah, in my return (to Him) hoping for His reward. (Kasyful Musykil Min Hadits As-Shohihain 1/205). Content of the fifth dua: The meaning of the words (سُبْحَانَكَ اللَّهُمَّ وَبِحَمْدِكَ) is explained in Syarh Shohih Al-Bukhori: المعنى: سبحانك اللهم بجميع آلائك، وبحمدك سبحتك That is: (سبحانك اللهم) by all Your favours, and I glorify You by praising You. (Syarah Shohih Al-Bukhori 2/415) And the meaning of (تَبَارَكَ اسْمُكَ): (تَبَارَكَ اسْمُكَ) أَيْ كَثُرَتْ بَرَكَةُ اسْمِكَ إِذْ وَجَدَ كُلَّ خَيْرٍ مَنْ ذَكَرَ اسْمَكَ (tabaarokasmuka) means: the blessing of Your name is very abundant; when someone mentions Your name, he will obtain every good. (Narrated by Muslim, no. 399) And this dua shows that a servant, when he says this dua, shows that he is among those who constantly remember their Creator, then declare Him free of every deficiency and affirm that perfection belongs to Allah alone. This dua also shows that the names of Allah are full of blessing, which makes a servant want to mention His names continually in order to obtain blessing from Him. Content of the sixth dua: This dua contains three matters, namely: 1. Declaring Allah free of blameworthy things or of anything that indicates imperfection, and affirming the opposite, namely perfection for Allah without any flaw or defect. 2. Affirming Allah's oneness in worship: that Allah is the only One who deserves to be worshipped, and nothing other than Him may be worshipped. 3. Magnifying Allah: that Allah is the Most Great, whose every command must be carried out and whose every prohibition must be abandoned; and when a servant magnifies Allah, he ought to put Allah first above everything. Content of the seventh dua: This dua contains magnifying Allah, praising Him and declaring Him free of imperfection, whose virtue is very great, as mentioned in the hadith narrated by Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with him); he said: بينما نحن نصلي مع رسول الله صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ؛ إذ قال رجل من القوم: … فذكره. فقال رسول الله صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ:” عجبت لها! فتحت لها أبواب السماء “. قال ابن عمر: فما تركتهن منذ سمعت رسول الله صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ يقول ذلك [translation not shown] (Narrated by Muslim, no. 601; narrated by An-Nasa'i in As-Sunanul Kubro 1/461, no. 962). Content of the eighth dua: The content of this dua is the same as what was explained in the content of the previous dua; however, in this dua there is a virtue for the one who says it, as mentioned in the hadith narrated by Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him): when a man recited this opening dua (istiftah), the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: لقد رأيت اثني عشر ملكاً يبتدرونها؛ أيهم يرفعها [translation not shown] (Sunan Abi Daud 1/203, no. 763; narrated by An-Nasa'i 1/468, no. 976; narrated by Ahmad, no. 12034) So it is fitting that we too say it when reciting the opening dua (istiftah), in order to obtain this particular virtue. Content of the ninth dua: (وَبِكَ خَاصَمْتُ، وَإِلَيْكَ حَاكَمْتُ) was explained by Al-Imam An-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him): وَبِكَ خَاصَمْتُ أَيْ بِمَا أَعْطَيْتَنِي مِنَ الْبَرَاهِينِ وَالْقُوَّةِ خَاصَمْتُ مَنْ عَانَدَ فِيكَ وَكَفَرَ بِكَ وَقَمَعْتُهُ بِالْحُجَّةِ وَبِالسَّيْفِ وَإِلَيْكَ حَاكَمْتُ أَيْ كُلَّ مَنْ جَحَدَ الْحَقَّ حَاكَمْتُهُ إِلَيْكَ وَجَعَلْتُكَ الْحَاكِمَ بَيْنِي وَبَيْنَهُ لَا غَيْرُكَ مِمَّا كَانَتْ تَحَاكَمُ إِلَيْهِ الْجَاهِلِيَّةُ وَغَيْرُهُمْ مِنْ صَنَمٍ وَكَاهِنٍ وَنَارٍ وشيطان وغيرها فلا أرضى الا بحكمك وَلَا أَعْتَمِدُ غَيْرَهُ (wa bika khoosomtu) means: with what You have given me of proofs (arguments) and strength, I dispute with whoever is obstinate and denies You. (wa ilaika haakamtu) means: I judge only by Your judgement, by which I judge whoever denies the truth, and I make You the Judge between me and him, and no one else, unlike the people of Jahiliyyah and others, who used to seek judgement from idols, soothsayers, fire, Shaytan and others. So I am not content with anything except Your judgement, and I will not rely on anything other than Your judgement. (Syarhun Nawawi ‘Ala Muslim 6/55) (أَنْتَ المُقَدِّمُ، وَأَنْتَ المُؤَخِّرُ): Imam An-Nawawi said that what is meant is: You are the One who brings forward whomever You will because of obedience to You, and You put back whomever You will in accordance with Your wisdom. (See Al-Minhaj Syarhu Shohih Muslim Ibn Al-Hajjaj 6/60). Content of the tenth dua: This dua contains the affirmation that Allah is the One who created the angels, and the affirmation that it is Allah who created the heavens and the earth, and it is known that the heavens and the earth each number seven, as Allah says: اللَّهُ الَّذِي خَلَقَ سَبْعَ سَمَاوَاتٍ وَمِنَ الْأَرْضِ مِثْلَهُنَّ يَتَنَزَّلُ الْأَمْرُ بَيْنَهُنَّ لِتَعْلَمُوا أَنَّ اللَّهَ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ وَأَنَّ اللَّهَ قَدْ أَحَاطَ بِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ عِلْمًا “It is Allah who has created seven heavens and of the earth, the like of them. [His] command descends among them so you may know that Allah is over all things competent and that Allah has encompassed all things in knowledge” (Saheeh International, Qur'an 65:12) (Surah At-Talaq: 12) This dua also contains the affirmation that Allah knows the unseen and the seen, both of which are equally clear in Allah's knowledge, with no difference between them. And in this dua we are also taught, for when we disagree: 1. When disagreeing, one should return the whole matter to the judgement of Allah and the judgement of His Messenger. Allah the Exalted says: يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ أَطِيعُواْ اللّهَ وَأَطِيعُواْ الرَّسُولَ وَأُوْلِي الأَمْرِ مِنكُمْ فَإِن تَنَازَعْتُمْ فِي شَيْءٍ فَرُدُّوهُ إِلَى اللّهِ وَالرَّسُولِ إِن كُنتُمْ تُؤْمِنُونَ بِاللّهِ وَالْيَوْمِ الآخِرِ ذَلِكَ خَيْرٌ وَأَحْسَنُ تَأْوِيلاً “O you who have believed, obey Allah and obey the Messenger and those in authority among you. And if you disagree over anything, refer it to Allah and the Messenger, if you should believe in Allah and the Last Day. That is the best [way] and best in result” (Saheeh International, Qur'an 4:59) (Surah An-Nisa: 59) 2. Always ask Allah to be guided to the right decision when disagreeing. 3. We must also believe that the guidance of tawfiq belongs to Allah alone. Content of the eleventh dua: This dua contains several great matters that a Muslim constantly utters, namely: 1. Magnifying Allah, whose greatness we cannot limit with anything. In this dua we magnify Allah by saying the takbir “Allahu Akbar”, the takbir being one of the symbols of Islam that we often hear and often say: in the adhan, in the prayer, when the days of Eid arrive, and on other occasions. 2. Praising Allah for all His favours and gifts, which are very many and without limit; when we praise Him, it is accompanied by love, veneration, and submission to all His commands. 3. Affirming Allah's oneness by negating every kind of object of worship and affirming that Allah is the only object of worship who deserves to be worshipped. 4. Asking Allah for forgiveness for all our sins and for our negligence in carrying out obedience to Him. 5. Then asking Allah again for four things: forgiveness; and provision that is lawful and good, which we ask only of Allah and no one else. Allah says: إِنَّ الَّذِينَ تَعْبُدُونَ مِنْ دُونِ اللَّهِ لَا يَمْلِكُونَ لَكُمْ رِزْقًا فَابْتَغُوا عِنْدَ اللَّهِ الرِّزْقَ وَاعْبُدُوهُ وَاشْكُرُوا لَهُ ۖ إِلَيْهِ تُرْجَعُونَ [translation not shown] (Surah Al-'Ankabut: 17) Also asking for guidance, to be upon the straight path and steadfast upon it, as well as health, or safety from every danger in this world and in the Hereafter. 6. Then asking for protection from the hardship of the Day of Resurrection. Content of the twelfth dua: This dua contains the magnification of Allah with respect to His lordship (rububiyyah): that Allah is the Being who owns all dominions, who possesses might, grandeur and majesty. When a servant knows the true reality of his Creator's greatness and knows that nothing can rival his Creator, it leads him to depend only on Allah, and not on anything else, which is weak and full of deficiencies.