All praise is due to Allah. We praise Him, seek His aid, and ask His forgiveness. May the blessing and everlasting mercy of Allah be bestowed on the Prophet Muhammad sws, his family, companions and those who follow him till this day. I am extremely pleased I chose to read this book this month, may Allah swt reward the author for putting together probably the most comprehensive and concise work on du'a in the English language.

By the publication of this book a new door to knowledge has opened for non-Arab speakers. For those who are not familiar with the author, Abu Ammar Yasir Qadhi was born in Houston, USA. He completed his primary and secondary education in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. He later went on to complete a Bsc in Chemical Engineering from the University of Houston. After graduating he enrolled to the Islamic University of M a d i n a h , where he completed a diploma in Arabic, he graduated with a BA from the college of Hadith and Islamic Sciences, and has subsequently completed an MA in Islamic Theology (Aqeedah).

Abu Ammar has lectured all over the western world, from University campuses, Dawah conventions and conferences throughout the UK, USA and Australia. He is the author of many written works such as Riyaa: Hidden Shirk, 15 Ways to Increase Your Earnings and Explanation of Shaykh Muhammad Ibn Abdul wahhab's four principles of shirk, as well as others. He is also the host to the programme Principles of Faith featured on the Islam Channel. Prior to reading this book, I was truly unaware of the importance and significance the action of du'a demanded, let alone come to realise there was a whole science behind it. Upon reading this book the reader come to realise that du'a is one of the greatest and most noble forms of worship a believer can perform. Du'a when performed in its correct manner is a plea from the very heart of the believer. It is a confession that depicts the true state of a person.

Humans by nature can become proud and arrogant; some even go as far as to believe they are invincible, reaching the very pinnacle of conceitedness and arrogance. And your Lord has said: "Call upon me, and I will answer you!" Verily, those who are (too) arrogant to worship Allah will enter Hell, humiliated! (Surah Ghafir, 60) Du'a consigns man to his proper status, a poor, weak created being who has no control of any matter, rather he is the controlled. Man has no right to have even the slightest amount of pride; he is the creation and will always be in need of the creator. Du'a is an implicit affirmation of every single Name and Attribute of Allah, for it affirms that Allah is the Creator, the Sustainer, the Controller of all Affairs, the all Hearing, all Seeing, most Merciful, All Powerful, the Ever-Capable.

Du'a is the essence of worship; this can be illustrated by the fact that when one makes du'a sincerely he/she is repenting from their sins, humiliated in front of His Lord, in a state of fear. They submit themselves to the will of Allah, earnestly desiring Allah's forgiveness, mercy and rewards, raising their hands, turning to Allah with the best of hopes from Him. Du'a is a noble, spiritual form of worship, allowing the worshipers to appreciate the majesty and eminence of the Creator. This is because the worshipper turns to his lord, at his time of Need, after all other types of aid have been severed and all other sources have been exhausted. Du'a delivers the contentment, peace and serenity every soul desires and craves for.

It is mandatory for every believer to understand truly what du'a is, its simplicity, its benefits, its correct methods and most of all its rewards for performing this noble act are something we all should know. This book is an excellent tool, to learn more about du'a, it answers some of the most common questions people have such as: what is du'a? What are its blessings, and its excellence? What is the proper etiquette that one must follow while making du'a? Why is someone's du'a responded to, and someone else's not? How can one increase their chances of getting their du'a answered? Are there specific times when we should make more du'a? How is du'a related to qadr (Divine Decree)? The author answers many other questions that people generally tend to have making this book an excellent and worthwhile read.

Another unique quality of this work, unlike many others is the author also produced a series of audio lectures to accompany this book. The lectures them selves are very enlightening, and together with the book make it an extremely educational experience. The lectures are available to download FREE of charge on many Islamic websites and forums, for more information how to obtain these feel free to email me, ( This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it ) One minute criticism of this book would be some important du'as have been translated in English for the benefit of the reader to understand the wisdom behind supplications made by the prophet sws. However not all are written in Arabic for the reader to learn and use. This is understandable as the author was trying to emphasise more on the understanding rather than listing various du'as.

The problem many Muslims have is they supplicate without actually understanding what they are saying, one should learn the wording the prophet sws used and more importantly learn their meanings. See Hisnul Muslim (Fortress of the Muslim). I would say in summary this book is an extremely informative book, which I would recommend to anyone and everyone. It is a book that makes the average lay man understand the importance of du'?, its merits, its significance, its relevance in our individual lives and in society, its blessings and ultimately the relationship it develops between the one who asks and the One who is Asked.