Prophet Muhammad, may God praise him, said, “A slave
becomes nearest to his Lord when he is in prostration. So increase
supplications in prostrations.’’ 1 “The supplication of every one
of you will be granted if he does not get impatient and say, `I
supplicated my Lord but my prayer has not been granted’.’
At this point in understanding exactly what dua is, it would be
easy for someone from a Christian background to think that dua is
prayer. Dua certainly holds certain similarities to the prayer of
Christians, however it should not be confused with what Muslims
call prayer. Prayer or in Arabic-Salat, is one of the pillars of Islam,
and in performing the five daily prayers a Muslim actually engages
in a physical form of Dua asking God to grant them Heaven
through their actions. Throughout the prayer one also supplicates
to God directly.