Is there a specific du‘aa’ to help one understand?

Question

Praise be to Allah.

Firstly:

It should be noted that what will help most with
understanding is two things:

1.
Taking real measures to understand, by listening
attentively, focusing, memorising, reflecting and asking about anything one
finds difficult. These are very important matters, that may be difficult to
apply in the beginning, but they will become the best means of helping
oneself to understand if the learner practices doing them and gets used to
them, then they will become second nature to him.

2.
Sincerely turning to Allah, may He be exalted, and asking
Him to help one understand and learn. Knowledge is light that Allah casts
into one’s heart, but if the heart is far from Allah, he will not be ready
to receive this light. As for the heart that is close to Allah, by means of
worship, love, repentance, praying for forgiveness and turning to Him, it
deserves to attain divine help in understanding.

Ibn al-Qayyim stated in his great book I‘laam al-Muwaqqi‘een
a number of things that will help the mufti to understand and comprehend the
true nature of matters and new issues with which he is faced, which any
seeker of knowledge and truth may use.

He (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

The righteous mufti, if he is faced with a new issue, should
feel his real need in all situations – not only in the academic sense – for
the One Who could inspire him with the correct answer, the One Who teaches
what is good, the One Who guides hearts. He should ask Him to guide him to
the right answer and help him to come up with the correct response, guiding
him to His ruling that He has prescribed for His slaves with regard to this
issue. If he knocks at that door, then he has knocked at the door of
success, for the one who hopes for the help of his Lord is the most
deserving that He should not deprive him of it. Once he finds this
aspiration in his heart, this is a sign of success. In that case he has to
turn to and look at the source of guidance, the basis of soundness and the
foundation of wisdom, which is the texts of the Qur’an and Sunnah, and the
reports of the Sahaabah. Then he should strive his utmost to work out the
ruling on that new issue from those texts. Once he has attained it, he may
tell others about it, but if he is still not sure, he should hasten to
repent, seek forgiveness and remember Allah much. For knowledge is the light
of Allah which He casts into the heart of His slave, but desires and sins
are strong winds that extinguish that light, or almost extinguish it; at
least they will inevitably weaken it.

I saw Shaykh al-Islam (may Allah sanctify his soul) when he
was faced with difficult issues for which he could not find an answer and it
was very hard for him. He would flee from them and repent, pray for
forgiveness, ask Allah for help, turn to Him, ask Him to inspire him to find
the right answer and to bestow upon him from the treasures of His mercy.
Then divine help would start to reach him persistently, and he would soon
find the answer through divine inspiration. Undoubtedly whoever is guided to
realise his need for Allah and express it, and feel that need strongly in
his heart, is indeed most fortunate, and whoever is deprived of that will be
deprived of any achievement and any help. Once a person combines this sense
of need with striving his utmost to find out the truth about an issue, then
he is following the straight path. That is the grace of Allah, which He
bestows upon whomever He wills, for Allah is the Possessor of abundant
grace. End quote.

I‘laam al-Muwaqqi‘een
(6/67-68); annotated by Mashhoor Hasan Salmaan.

Ibn ‘Abd al-Haadi (may Allah have mercy on him) quoted from
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah his words:

I keep wondering and thinking about an issue or situation,
then I ask Allah, may He be exalted, for forgiveness a thousand times, more
or less, until I feel comfort in my heart, then the confusion concerning
that issue is soon resolved.

He said: Sometimes in that situation I may be in the
marketplace or the mosque, or on the road, or in the school, but that does
not prevent me from remembering Allah and seeking His forgiveness, and
persisting in that until I attain what I am seeking. End quote.

Al-‘Uqood ad-Durriyyah
(p. 6)

Secondly:

We have not come across any specific supplication attributed
to the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) that it is Sunnah
to recite when seeking proper understanding of an issue. Rather there are
adhkaar that were narrated from some of the early generation, or that are
based on the interpretation of some Prophetic hadiths, or are based on some
good supplications that are mentioned in those hadiths. Even though these
supplications are not limited to the situation mentioned, reciting it in
that situation is based on the understanding and ijtihaad of the early
scholars who did that.

If someone recites these adhkaar and du‘aas that were
narrated from the early generations, without believing that this is
something specific to this particular situation, or that reciting it in this
particular situation is Sunnah, or that it has a specific virtue, there is
nothing wrong with that.

Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) also said:

It is appropriate for the mufti to frequently recite the
supplication from the saheeh hadith:
Allaahumma Rabba Jibreela wa Mikaa’eela
wa Israafeel, faatir al-samawaati wa’l-ard, ‘aalim al-ghaybi wa’l-shahaadah,
anta tahkumu bayna ‘ibaadika fima kaanu fihi yukhtalifoon, ihdini
lima’khtulifa fihi min al-haqq bi idhnika, innaka tahdi man tasha’ ila
siraatin mustaqeem (O
Allaah, Lord of Jibreel (Gabriel), Michael and Israfeel, Creator of the
heavens and the earth, Knower of the unseen and the seen, You are the Knower
of the unseen and the seen, You will judge between Your slaves concerning
that wherein they differ. Guide me to the truth of that wherein they
differed by Your leave, for You guide whomsoever You will to the Straight
Path). Our shaykh –
namely Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah – often used to recite this. If he came
across difficult issues, he would say: O Teacher of Ibraaheem, teach me. And
he would often seek divine help with these words, following the example of
Mu‘aadh ibn Jabal (may Allah be pleased with him).

Some of the early generations used to say when issuing fatwas:
Glory be to You; we have no knowledge except what You have taught us, for
verily You are the All-Knowing , Most Wise.

Mak-hool used to say:
Laa hawla wa laa quwwata illa Billaah
(There
is no power and no strength except with Allah).

Maalik used to say: Ma sha Allah, laa quwwata illa Billaah
al-‘Aliy al-‘Azeem (As Allah wills; there is no
strength except with Allah, the Most High,
the Most Great).

Some of them used to say: “O
my Lord! Open for me my chest (grant me self-confidence, contentment, and
boldness); And ease my task for me; And make loose the knot (the defect)
from my tongue, (i.e. remove the incorrectness from my speech), That they
understand my speech ”
[Ta-Ha 20:25-28].

Some of them used to say: O Allah, help me, guide me, correct
me, enable me to attain what is right and earn reward, and forgive me if I
make a mistake or am deprived of an answer.

Some of them used to recite al-Faatihah.

We have tried that ourselves, and we found it to be among the
most effective means of finding the right answer.

What matters in all of that is having a good intention,
sincerity and a proper aim.

Imam Ahmad was asked: If it is too difficult for us to come
to you and ask you, who can we ask after you? He said: Ask ‘Abd al-Wahhaab
al-Warraaq, for he is most qualified to be guided to the right answer.

Imam Ahmad followed the advice of ‘Umar ibn al-Khattaab (may
Allah be pleased with him): Come close to the mouths of those who are
obedient to Allah and listen to what they say, because matters are made
clear to them.

That is because their hearts are close to Allah. The closer
the heart is to Allah, the more the confusion and distractions that result
from bad deeds will be removed from the heart, and the more perfect and
strong will be the light by means of which he sees the truth. The further
away the heart is from Allah, the more he is exposed to confusion and
distraction, and the weaker will be the light by means of which he could see
the truth. Knowledge is light that Allah casts into the heart, by means of
which a person may distinguish between right and wrong.

Maalik said to ash-Shaafa‘i (may Allah be pleased with them
both) the first time he met him: I see that Allah has cast light into your
heart, so do not extinguish it with the darkness of sin.

Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the
meaning): “O
you who believe! If you obey and fear
Allah, He will grant you a criterion ((to judge between right and wrong)”
[al-Anfaal 8:29]. Part
of that criterion is the light by means of which a person may differentiate
between truth and falsehood. The closer his heart is to Allah, the more
perfect his criterion will be. And Allah is the source of strength. End
quote.

I‘laam al-Muwaqqi‘een
(6/197-199)

And Allah knows best.