Sources of Barakah

9. Dua/Asking Allah for forgiveness

 We should make Dua and ask Allah for Barakah. The baby who cries will get the milk, similarly, the one who asks will receive. If we take note of some of the Duas of Nabi S.A.W. we’ll notice that he used to make Dua for Barakah. We always say: “May Allah bless you”. That’s a source of Barakah.

There is a greater chance of our Duas being accepted when we ask from the heart. While asking for ourselves, we should also ask Allah to bless others. This is also from the Sunnah of Nabi S.A.W. When invited to someone’s house, Nabi S.A.W. advised us to make the following Dua for the host: “O Allah, bless for them, that which You have provided them, forgive them and have mercy upon them.”

 In our Duas, we should also ask Allah to forgive us for our sins. We also learn from the Quraan that asking for forgiveness is a great means of Barakah. Allah mentions…

 فَقُلْتُ اسْتَغْفِرُوا رَبَّكُمْ إِنَّهُ كَانَ غَفَّارًا. يُرْسِلِ السَّمَاءَ عَلَيْكُمْ مِدْرَارً. وَيُمْدِدْكُمْ بِأَمْوَالٍ وَبَنِينَ

وَيَجْعَلْ لَكُمْ جَنَّاتٍ وَيَجْعَلْ لَكُمْ أَنْهَارً

“And said, ‘Ask forgiveness from your Lord; Verily, He is Oft-Forgiving. He will send rain to you in abundance. And give you increase in wealth and children, and bestow on you gardens and bestow on you rivers.” [Qur’an: Chapter 71, Verses 10-12]

 10. Avoiding Sins

 It is important to note that along with sins affecting our Aakhirah, it affects us in this world as well. Our sins could be a means of depriving us from blessings and provisions.

Messenger of Allah [saw] said: “Nothing increases one’s life span except righteousness and nothing repels the Divine decree except supplication, and a man may be deprived of provision by a sin that he commits.’” [Sunan Ibn Majah]

If we wish to stop sinning, the first thing we need to do is to stop blaming others or circumstances and take responsibility of our wrongdoings: Putting blame on others is the trait of Shaytaan, but accepting the mistake and acknowledging our wrong is a great step towards change.

We should also try to Identify our temptations and the personal traits/situation which leads to them. Work on those traits and try controlling them. View the situations from different angles and try to avoid those situations. Make plans and set goals so that we can eventually remove sinful acts from our lives.