dua Mashlool

"And your Lord says, 'Call upon Me, and I will respond to you,'"

- Holy Quran, Chapter 40 (The Believer), verse 60

The concept of dua is a fascinating one.

A lowly, weak, and humble servant approaches his King. He stumbles into his Master's courtyard, pleading, his back heavy with the weight of petty sins. As his eyes leak with tears of remorse, he cannot help but be reminded of the vastness of his Creator's mercy.

One dua that is special in nature for several reasons, is dua Mashlool. This dua is taught to us by none other than Imam Husayn (as), through his father, Imam Ali (as).

The circumstances through which Imam Husayn (as) learnt this particular supplication is narrated below.

Once when Imam Ali (as) and Imam Husayn (as) were doing tawwaf around the Holy Ka'ba during hajj, they saw a young man clinging onto the cloth of the Ka'ba and weeping profusely.

On the orders of his father, Imam Husayn (as) approached the man and asked him what was going on.

The youth told Imam (as) that he was a son who had been rude to his father. He would talk to him indecently, and never showed respect towards him.

Once, the young man told Imam Husayn (as), he pushed his father away from him in disgust. To this, his father told him that he would never forgive him and that he would read a dua against him for what he has done.

That dua that his father read paralysed his son from waist down. The grief stricken youth begged Imam Husayn (as) to help him. So Husayn (as) returned to Imam Ali (as) and told him the story of the youth who was paralysed because of his father's supplication.

After Imam Ali (as) asked if the youth was sincere in his remorse, the Commander of the Faithful advised the following.

He said to Husayn (as), let him recite this specific dua, called dua Mashlool. "Whenever a person is ill, or in grief, or in a bad situation, let him recite dua Mashlool after the salaat of Isha, and you will see the illness will be removed."

So Imam Husayn (as) took this bit of advice to the young man and taught him the dua of Mashlool, instructing him to recite it after Ishaa that night.

The next day, Imam Husayn (as) saw the man walking beside the Ka'ba. He asked him what had happened and the youth told Imam that the previous night he saw the Holy Prophet (s) in his dreams.

The Prophet (s) approached the man and said come towards me, for you have recited dua Mashlool. The Prophet (s) then proceeded to touch the man in the area where he was paralysed and when the awoke, his paralysis had been cured fully.

There are lessons to be learnt from this painful, yet beautiful story.

How many times do we find ourselves being disrespectful to our parents? An impulsive comment here, a snide remark there.

The station they occupy is so high that we cannot even come close to comprehending it. The Prophet (s) said that paradise lies beneath the feet of the mother. Just imagine, heaven lies underneath them.

Another point we can take from this story is the sheer power of dua. These passages we recite on Thursday nights or Friday mornings are not just ordinary readings from old books.

Rather, they are special, divine formulas for us to turn to.

Duas carry within them weapons with which we can shed the curtains that separate us from our Lord. God loves it when a servant, especially a youth, turns towards Him.

Therefore, let us attempt to appreciate these beautiful methods of communication our Imams have taught us.

An old madressa teacher of mine back home always used to say, "If you want Allah to talk to you, recite the Quran. If you want to talk to God, then recite dua."