The word “du’a” is the verbal noun of the verb “da’a”, which means “to call out, to summon.”
With that said, du’a is a fundamental aspect of Islam, and without it, one’s eman cannot be intact. Allah mentions du’a in the Qur’an to signify many things, such as:
Worship:
وَلاَ تَدْعُ مِنْ دُونِ اللَّهِ مَا لاَ يَنْفَعُكَ وَلاَ يَضُرُّكَTranslation: “And do not call besides Allah that which will not harm you or benefit you…” [Surah Yunus, 10:106].Praise:
يَوْمَ يَدْعُوكُمْTranslation: “The Day that you will be called…” [Surah Isra, 17:52]The seeking of aid:
وَادْعُوا شُهَدَاءَكُمْ مِنْ دُونِ اللَّهِTranslation: “And call upon your witness besides Allah…” [Surah Baqarah, 2:23]
As for the Islamic meaning of the word du’a, many scholars defined it in similar ways.
Ibn al-Qayyim defined it as, “asking what is of benefit to the person, and asking the removal of what is harming him, or (asking) the repelling of it (before it afflicts him).” [Bada’i al-Fawa’id, 3⁄2]
Muhammad al-Sayed Tantawi defined it as, “the appeal to Allah, all Glory be to Him, of a request, by asking Him, with desire for all good that is with Him, and to be submissive to Him in asking what is desired, and in obtaining what is hoped for.” [Kitab ad-Du’a]
Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) is surely the** greatest, and we _must** ****_thank Him for His bounties upon us. Think about it–what would our condition be like if we didn’t have Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) to turn to? If Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) didn’t give us the power of du’a where would we go in times of need? Inshallah ta’ala we are able to truly look to Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) for everything, and always make constant du’a to Him.