بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم الحمد لله رب العالمين والصلاة والسلام على سيدنا نبينا محمد وعلى آله وصحبه أجمعين

Below is an Excerpt from the book “Explanation of the concise advice of Shaykh-ul-Islam ibn Taymiyyah” by Shaykh Sulayman ar-Ruhayli حفظه الله:

The status of du’a is great. Du’a is worship.

Allah Subhanahu w Ta’ala said:
وَقَالَ رَبُّكُمُ ٱدْعُونِىٓ أَسْتَجِبْ لَكُمْ ۚ إِنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ يَسْتَكْبِرُونَ عَنْ عِبَادَتِى سَيَدْخُلُونَ جَهَنَّمَ دَاخِرِينَ

And your Lord said: “Invoke Me, [i.e. believe in My Oneness (Islâmic Monotheism) and ask Me for anything] I will respond to your (invocation). Verily! Those who scorn My worship [i.e. do not invoke Me, and do not believe in My Oneness, (Islâmic Monotheism)] they will surely enter Hell in humiliation!”
— Al-Hilali & Khan [Surah Ghafir 40:60]

And Allah Subhanahu w Ta’ala said:
وَإِذَا سَأَلَكَ عِبَادِى عَنِّى فَإِنِّى قَرِيبٌ ۖ أُجِيبُ دَعْوَةَ ٱلدَّاعِ إِذَا دَعَانِ ۖ فَلْيَسْتَجِيبُوا۟ لِى وَلْيُؤْمِنُوا۟ بِى لَعَلَّهُمْ يَرْشُدُونَ
And when My slaves ask you (O Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم) concerning Me, then (answer them), I am indeed near (to them by My Knowledge). I respond to the invocations of the supplicant when he calls on Me (without any mediator or intercessor). So let them obey Me and believe in Me, so that they may be led aright.
— Al-Hilali & Khan [Surah al-Baqarah 2:186]

The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said:
الدعاء هو العبادة
Du’a is Worship
Sunan Abi Dawud 1479

The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said:
لَيْسَ شَيْءٌ أَكْرَمَ عَلَى الله تَعَالَى مِنْ الدُّعَاءِ
There is nothing nobler to Allah the most high than du’a.
Sunan al-Tirmidhī 3370

Du’a has a great status with Allah the exalted and with the believers. For this reason, the person must make a great deal of Du’a and not become bored with it. And if a matter becomes doubtful to you ask Allah to guide you to the truth:

اللهم اهدني لما اختلاف فيه من الحق بإذنك
O Allah, guide me to the truth concerning what the people differ in, by Your permission

There was a man who opposed the sunnah. He was spoken to about this and the evidence was explained clearly to him, but he rejected it. He was told to say “O Allah, guide me to the truth concerning what the people differ in, by Your permission” but he refused to say it! And refuge is sought with Allah. This is obedience to the Shaytan, because the Shaytan never wants people to know good.

If someone is confused about his affairs, he must ask Allah to clarify them for him. And if he is confused concerning two matters, he must ask Allah to clarify the best of the two matters for him.

Shaykh-ul-Islam ibn Taymiyyah رَحِمَهُ ٱلله said:
He should not be hasty and say “I prayed but I did not get an answer.”

Du’a’ is worship; as such, it is not befitting for the slave to become bored of worship. Du’a’, as the scholars have mentioned, required patience. The Muslim must constantly supplicate and not become bored, because du’a’ is not merely asking for something; rather, du’a’ is worship. You worship Allah with your du’a’, so how can you become bored of worshipping Allah?! It is worship which contains a request, and the response to the request has been promised so long as the person does not become hasty. Allah has perfect wisdom. Perhaps Allah desires to elevate your status and increase your good deeds by way of your du’a’, so he delays the response. Therefore, by increasing your supplication, you combine two virtues: increasing your reward and [receiving] the answer to your du’a’. So do not become hasty.

The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said:
يُسْتَجَابُ لِأَحَدِكُمْ مَا لَمْ يَعْجَلْ يَقُولُ دَعَوْتُ فَلَمْ يُسْتَجَبْ لِي
“Every one of you will have his supplications answered, as long as he is not impatient and he says: I have supplicated but I was not answered.”

May Allah Subhanahu w Ta’ala preserve our beloved shaykh al’alama Sulayman ar-Ruhayli حفظه الله and reunite us all in jannatul firdaws Ameen.

Source:

“Explanation of the concise advice of Shaykh-ul-Islam ibn Taymiyyah” by Shaykh Sulayman ar-Ruhayli حفظه الله Pages 212-214