Simply a phenomenal paradigm-shifting book. May Allah reward the Author generously for writing such a treatise.
It emphasizes the generosity of God and puts it in perspective.
Below are a few gems I picked up:
Humans, when you ask them for favors, get irritated. Allah, when you don't ask him, gets angry.
Allah is the All Generous, All Powerful. He is full of love and wants to give his servants more of his love.
I read something along the lines of this:
- If God takes all humans and Jinn and places them on a plane and satisfies each and everyone's wishes, that won't take anything of his Power and Kingdom, just as much as a needle, when placed in the ocean and removed, doesn't take any of the ocean's water.
Some people, maybe due to growing up in poor families or societies, train themselves to ask little, because people around them can't be generous. However, this is not good when you apply it to Du'a.
God has everything, and verily, the Heavens and Worlds are under his control and his only. He can do anything. He just says "kun" and it becomes, so why restrict one's wishes when asking Allah?
One should ask for more from the All Generous Creator.
- If you ask for a loaf of bread, realize that Allah, Al Kareem, Al Razzaq, can give you endless fields of fertile harvest and lifestock.
- If you ask Allah for a bicycle, realize that he can place in your favour the most fancy and most secure suite of cars and place private chauffeurs in your employ.
- If you ask Allah to lower your punishments, realize that he can put you in the high ranks of Heaven for Eternity.
Realize your lowly status compared to Allah. Make your Du'a with humility and grace, for you are a mere mortal and nothing in your life happens without the guidance of Allah, for without him, you could not take a single breath. If he wills, he can stop your heart right now and take your life. Everything in the world happens at the will of Allah, so don't be too arrogant. Don't stop making Du'a when it is not responded to. Don't make Du'a as an "experiment" as if you're testing Allah and putting Him on an exam as if he's your pupil (Astaghfirullah) and don't look up when making Du'a.
(CAUTION: when reading this last one, one may think that he should lower his status among men purposefully, to lower his posture and be lowly, but no. It is important that we walk among men as proud and upright as we can, to be strong, to be just and powerful, but only in front of Allah should we realize our triviality)
Don't make Du'a for matters corresponding to this world and neglect the Herafter.
One should also make Du'a on the small and big things in life, for nothing is too small, since everything, EVERYTHING, happens only by the will of Allah. Here's a story.
As I was reading the book, I was waiting for an airplane outbound to Qatar.
I read that one should make Du'a for the big things in life as well as the small. Now, I had a window seat on my boarding pass, but I always prefer lane seats as they provide more flexibility, so in my mind, I quietly said: "Allah, you are omnipotent and generous. Give me a way to get a lane seat."
In my mind, I thought I'd find someone who prefers window seats (they are common) and switch seats with them, but when I got on the airplane, I went to my window seat, and no one appeared in my row. I had the entire 3 seats by myself for a 10 hour flight. I asked Allah for a drop of water and he gave me a bucket. I asked him for 1 seat and he gave me three.