Answered by Ustadh Faraz A. Khan
Question: Concerning the dua when wearing a garment (alhamdu lillahil-lathee kasaanee…): If one makes this dua for each item that one wears during dressing e.g. shirt, trousers, socks etc can one gain reward per item or can it only be said once during dressing?
Answer: Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullah,
I pray this reaches you in the best of health and faith.
Allah Most High loves for his servant to remember Him and call on Him, and He is Most Generous with His abundant reward. Every time the servant calls on Him in supplication (du`a) or makes remembrance (dhikr) of Him, He definitely rewards the servant and answers his or her call. This is a general principle based on the Qur’an and Noble Sunna, and can serve to answer your question, inshaAllah.
Allah Most High states in the Qur’an, “And remember Me – I will surely remember you” [2:152], as well as “And your Lord says, ‘Call on Me – I will surely answer you’” [40:60].
He Most High also states, immediately after a few verses describing believers who make remembrance of Him and call on Him in supplication, “So their Lord answered their call, ‘Verily, I will not let any deed of yours – whether of a male or female – go to waste…’” [3:195].
And our Beloved Messenger [peace and blessings be upon him] is reported to have said, “Supplication is the very essence of worship” [Tirmidhi, Sunan; Tabarani, Awsat], as well as “Ask Allah from His bounty, for verily Allah loves to be asked.” [Bayhaqi, Shu`ab]
It is also reported that two bedouins came to the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), and one of them said, “Who is the best of people?” He (peace and blessings be upon him) replied, “He whose life is long and whose works are good.” Then the second one said, “The legal rulings of Islam are many for me, so give me something I can hold on to,” to which he (peace and blessings be upon him) replied, “Let your tongue always be moist with the remembrance of Allah, Exalted and Majestic” [Musnad Ahmed].
Based on the above, we have full hope and conviction in our All-Merciful Creator that He will reward you for each and every time you make any supplication or remembrance, inshaAllah.
And Allah alone gives success.
wassalam
Faraz A. Khan
Checked & Approved by Faraz Rabbani
Faraz A. Khan has lived in Amman, Jordan, for several years studying and teaching traditional Islamic sciences, with a focus on Hanafi jurisprudence, hadith studies, theology, logic, and Arabic grammar. He translated and annotated the classical Hanafi primer “Ascent to Felicity” (Maraqi ‘l-Sa`adat) by Imam Shurunbulali, recently published by White Thread Press.