al-Dua min al-Kitab wa al-Sunna
- Author died
- 1440 AH
- Editions
- Ministry of Islamic Affairs, Endowments, Call and Guidance, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
al-Dua min al-Kitab wa al-Sunna (Supplication from the Quran and Sunnah) is a devotional handbook compiled by the Saudi scholar Saeed bin Ali bin Wahf al-Qahtani (d. 1440 AH / 2018 CE), collecting Quranic and prophetic prayers alongside the virtues, etiquettes, and optimal times for supplication.
Composition and Context
Al-Qahtani originally authored an extensive four-volume compendium titled al-Dhikr wa al-Dua wa al-Ilaj bi-l-Ruqa min al-Kitab wa al-Sunna (Remembrance, Supplication, and Healing with Ruqyah from the Quran and Sunnah), which he commenced in Shaban 1405 AH and completed around Rabi al-Awwal 1406 AH. In Shaban 1408 AH, he abridged its third volume—dedicated to supplication—into the concise manual al-Dua min al-Kitab wa al-Sunna to facilitate ease of use, adding further prayers and beneficial points. The author undertook similar extractions from other sections of the parent work, abridging the remembrance section as Hisn al-Muslim in 1409 AH, the spiritual healing section as al-Ilaj bi-l-Ruqa in 1414 AH, and the etiquettes of supplication as Shurut al-Dua wa Mawani al-Ijabah in 1416 AH.
Structure and Contents
The book is arranged into introductory guidance followed by compilations of revealed and transmitted supplications:
- Names of Allah: A presentation of the Beautiful Names of God (al-Asma al-Husna) based on textual proofs, serving as an opening preface for invoking God.
- Virtues of Supplication: Textual evidence from Quranic verses and prophetic traditions highlighting the merits of supplication, such as وَقَالَ رَبُّكُمُ ادْعُونِي أَسْتَجِبْ لَكُمْ ("And your Lord says: Call upon Me; I will respond to you") and the prophetic statement الدُّعَاءُ هُوَ الْعِبَادَةُ ("Supplication is worship").
- Etiquettes and Causes of Response: A list of twenty-four etiquettes and factors that facilitate answered prayers (Adab al-Dua wa Asbab al-Ijabah), including sincerity (ikhlas), opening and concluding with praise of God and blessings upon the Prophet ﷺ, certitude of response, persistence without impatience, presence of heart, raising the hands, facing the Qiblah, ablution when feasible, lawful sustenance, and avoidance of sin or severing kinship ties.
- Times, Circumstances, and Places: An enumeration of thirty-eight specific occasions and locations favorable for the acceptance of supplication, including Laylat al-Qadr, the depth of the latter part of the night, between the call to prayer (adhan) and the second call (iqamah), following obligatory prayers, during rainfall, in prostration (sujud), the final hour of Friday, when drinking Zamzam water, upon affliction, on the Day of Arafat, inside the Kaaba, and at al-Safa and al-Marwah.
- Textual Supplications: A comprehensive collection of supplications drawn directly from the Quran—beginning with Surat al-Fatiha—followed by general supplications narrated from the Prophet ﷺ that are not restricted to specific times or rituals.
Commentaries
The Kuwaiti scholar Maher bin Abd al-Hamid bin Muqaddam wrote an explanation of the text titled Sharh al-Dua min al-Kitab wa al-Sunna. Al-Qahtani reviewed the commentary, corrected linguistic points, authenticated and sourced its narrations, created detailed indices, and contributed a foreword to it dated Ramadan 1431 AH.
Answer updated