Dua is the most powerful weapon of a believer. It can change fate, while no action of ours ever does. It is the brain of ‘Ibadah or worship. With it we can never fail; without it, we can never succeed. With all the suffering and disasters Muslims are facing in various parts of the world, the question of Dua can be directed to all of us today. It is not that we have forgotten Dua completely; we refer to it regularly. But, our ideas and practice regarding Dua have become distorted. Often it is reduced to the level of a ritual. It is belittled through actions and sometimes even with words. Almighty Allah says:

And your Lord said: Invoke Me, I will respond to your (invocation). Verily, those who scorn My worship they will surely enter Hell in humiliation.[Surah al-Ghafir, Verse 60]

The Almighty Allah states:
When the suffering reached them from Us, why then did they not learn humility? On the contrary, their hearts became hardened (with arrogance), and Satan made their (sinful) acts seem alluring to them. [Surah al-An’am, Verse 43]

THE EXCELLENCE OF DUA 

There are numerous Ahadith relating to the excellence of Dua.

HADITH NO. 1
Sayyiduna Rasoolullah SallAllaho Alaihi wa Sallam states that Almighty Allah says:

I am with the supposition of My servant. [Recorded in Bukhari (Hadith 7239), Muslim, Tirmidhi, Nisaa’i, and Ibn Maja on the authority of Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah]
This means that as a servant imagines or has an opinion concerning Allah, the Merciful Lord accordingly reacts with him. Knowledge and Qudrat is with everything but there is special proximity of mercy with those who make Dua to Him. What bigger mercy can a servant ask for than being blessed with the Divine Proximity of the Sublime Lord? Thousands of acceptances and millions of desires and intentions may be sacrificed in such Divine Proximity!

HADITH NO. 2
There is nothing nobler to Allah than Dua. [Recorded in Tirmidhi, Ibn Maja, Ibn Habban, and Hakim narrated by Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah. Also cited in Tahzib al-Kamil, Vol. 4, Page 309]
HADITH NO. 3
The Prophet of Allah SallAllaho Alaihi wa Sallam narrates from his Lord who says:

Oh children of Adam Alaihis Salam! Until such time you make Dua to Me and have trust and hope in Me, I will continue forgiving your sins no matter what they are, and I do not care of anything (i.e. He is Independent.) [Tirmidi on the narration of Sayyiduna Anas ibn Malik, Hadith 3463]

HADITH NO. 4
The Beloved Habib SallAllaho Alaihi wa Sallam states:
Do not get fed up with Dua, for no one will perish with (continuously asking) Dua [Narrated by Ibn Habban and Hakim, Sahih Ibn Habban, Hadith 872]

HADITH NO. 5
Sayyiduna Rasoolullah SallAllaho Alaihi wa Sallam states:
Dua is a weapon of a Muslim, a Pillar of Deen, and the light of the skies and earth. [Narrated by Hakim from Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah and Abu Yala from Sayyiduna Ali al-Murtudah, Hadith 6163]

HADITH NO. 6
It is narrated that Sayyiduna Rasoolullah SallAllaho Alaihi wa Sallam said:
All those calamities and misfortunes (Bala) that descend and that which will descend in the future can be averted and protected from, by Dua. So, Oh servant of Allah! Observe Dua [Narrated by Tirmidhi and Hakim from Sayyiduna Abd Allah ibn Umar, Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 3471]

HADITH NO. 7
It is reported that Sayyiduna Rasoolullah SallAllaho Alaihi wa Sallam said:
When Bala descends, Dua intercepts it, and then both wrestle till Qiyamah. (i.e. Dua does not allow the Bala to descend to the earth.) [Reported by Bazar, Tabrani, and Hakim from Umm al-Mu’minin Sayyidah Aishah Siddiqah, Mustadrak al-Hakim, Hadith 1813]

HADITH NO. 8
The Habib of Allah SallAllaho Alaihi wa Sallam states:
Dua is the essence of worship.

HADITH NO. 9
It is reported that the Noble Prophet of Islam SallAllaho Alaihi wa Sallam said:
Must I not inform you of that thing which will protect you from your enemy and increase your sustenance? Make Dua to Allah day and night because Dua is a weapon of a Mumin. [Narrated by Abu Yala from Sayyiduna Jabir bin Abdullah, Hadith 6164]

HADITH NO. 10
Sayyiduna Rasoolullah SallAllaho Alaihi wa Sallam states:
Allah casts His Anger on those who do not make Dua to Him. [Reported by Imam Ahmad, Ibn Abi Shaybah, and Al-Bukhari in Adab al Mufrad, Tirmidhi, Ibn Maja, and Hakim on the authority of Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah, Hadith 3295]
Such concepts and meanings are also reported in the Hadith al-Qudsi as follows:

One who does not make Dua to Me, I will direct My Anger at him. (Allah save us from this!) [Reported by Al-Askari in his Mawaiz]
Oh, Beloved! Dua is an amazing wealth that Allah blessed His servants with, and through it gave them honor. There is nothing more effective and powerful in fulfilling needs in desperation besides Duas. Likewise, nothing is more potent in removing Bala than Duas. A person benefits from five things of a single Dua:
1. He is included in the category of Abids (worshippers) because Dua by nature is Ibadah, in fact, the secret of Ibadah.
2. In Dua one acknowledges one’s inferiority and dependency in relation to the Omnipotent Lord and His Divine mercies.
3. Obedience to the sacred Shari’ah because it has laid great stress in making Dua’s and Divine Anger on those who doubt making Dua.
4. It is a great Sunnah of the Prophet SallAllaho Alaihi wa Sallam as he made Dua frequently and ordered others to do the same.
5. It is a deterrent of Bala and achiever of goals as mentioned in the Holy Quran. If a man seeks security from Allah I from calamities, then the Merciful Lord will give it to him. If one seeks a desire to be fulfilled, the Sublime Creator will shower His mercies on him or else blesses him with Thawab in the Akhirah.
The Master of the Sinless, Sayyiduna Rasoollulah SallAllaho Alaihi wa Sallam states:

A servant’s Dua is never void of three things:
1) either his sins are forgiven,
2) or he benefits from this Duniya
3) or virtues are accumulated for him in the akhirah.

When the servant will observe this Thawab accumulated for him in the akhirah in recompensation for that which was not fulfilled in the Duniya, then he will desire that none of his desires should have been fulfilled in the Duniya, but rather be accumulated for the Akhirah.
This desire and benefit are for him who desires so in this Duniya when making Dua. It is advised that when making Dua, this ethic should be considered seriously.