Dought & clear, - There is nothing wrongwith offering du‘aa’ together after a lecture

Is it permissible to offer du'aa' together, such as if the imam offers
du'aa' after giving a lecture, for example?
Praise be to Allah.
|Du'aa' is one of the best acts of worship by means of which the
Muslim may worship his Lord. Allah, may He be exalted, says
(interpretation of the meaning):
"And your Lord said: 'Invoke Me, (i.e. believe in My Oneness (Islamic
Monotheism)) (and ask Me for anything) I will respond to your
(invocation). Verily! Those who scorn My worship (i.e. do not invoke
Me, and do not believe in My Oneness, (Islamic Monotheism)) they will
surely enter Hell in humiliation!'"
[Ghaafir 40:60].
It was narrated from an-Nu'maan ibn Basheer, that the Prophet
(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: "Du'aa' is worship.
Your Lord said:'Invoke Me, I will respond to your (invocation).'"
Narrated and classed as saheeh by at-Tirmidhi, 2969; also narrated by
Abu Dawood, 1479; Ibn Maajah, 3828; classed as saheeh by al-Albaani
inSaheeh Abi Dawood.
Here we should point out an important matter about which many people
are confused, namely the difference between "making dhikr together"
and "offering du'aa' together". The former has no basis in Islam;
there is no proof that the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be
upon him) remembered his Lord (i.e., dhikr) with his Companions in
unison, or that he would remember his Lord (recite dhikr) and his
Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) would repeat after him.
But with regard to offering du'aa' together, there is a basis for
doing so in Islam, and it may take many forms. In Qunoot an-nawaazil
(du'aa' of qunoot at times of calamity) and qunoot in Witr prayer, the
Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) would offer du'aa'
and his Companions would say Ameen behind him. The majority of
scholars are of the view that the worshippers should say Ameen to the
du'aa' of the khateeb on Friday, and when praying for rain (istisqa'),
and there are many other various ways of offering du'aa' together.
With regard to innovated (bid'ah) ways of offering du'aa' together,
there are several forms:
1.When a Muslim calls together a group of people solely for the
purpose of offering du'aa'
It was narrated that Abu 'Uthmaan said: A governor wrote to 'Umar ibn
al-Khattaab, saying: Here there are some people who gather together
and offer du'aa' for the Muslims and the governor. 'Umar wrote back to
him saying: Come (to me) and bring them with you. So he came, and
'Umar said to the doorkeeper, Bring me a whip. When they entered upon
'Umar, he began to strike their governor with the whip.
Narrated by Ibn Abi Shaybah in hisMusannaf, 13/360. Its isnaad is hasan.
2.People gathering to offer du'aa' in unison
Shaykh Bakr Abu Zayd (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
Dhikr recited together in unison, in secret or openly, where a
specific du'aa', narrated in texts or otherwise, is repeated, whether
that is done by everyone or one of them prompts the others, with or
without raising the hands – all of these are actions that require a
shar'i basis from the Qur'an or Sunnah, because that comes under the
heading of worship, and acts of worship are based on tawqeef (i.e.,
they should be limited only to that which is mentioned in the Qur'an
and saheeh Sunnah) and on following (the Qur'an and saheeh Sunnah),
not on innovations and inventions. Hence we looked in the texts of the
Qur'an and Sunnah, and we did not find any evidence to support this
form of dhikr. Hence we can be sure that there is no basis for it in
sharee'ah. Anything for which there is no basis in sharee'ah is an
innovation (bid'ah). Therefore dhikr and du'aa' that are done in
communal form are innovations and every Muslim who follows the example
of the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)
must refrain from and avoid them, and adhere to what is prescribed.
Based on that, offering du'aa' together in unison, whether it is
du'aa' at any time or following a certain activity, such as after
reading Qur'an or after an exhortation or lesson – all of that is
innovated.
Tasheeh ad-Du'aa', p. 134, 135
With regard to the du'aa' of a lecturer or teacher at the end of his
lesson, and the audience saying Ameen to his du'aa', it seems to us
from the Sunnah of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon
him) that this is permissible, and indeed mustahabb (encouraged).
It was narrated that Ibn 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said:
The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)
rarely left a gathering without offering these supplications for his
companions: "O Allah, give us a share of fear of You that will prevent
us from disobeying You, (a share) of obedience to You that will help
us to reach Paradise, and (a share) of certainty that will enable us
to withstand the calamities of this world; cause us to enjoy our
hearing, sight and strength so long as we are alive, until we die;
avenge us against those who wrong us; support us against those who
wrong us; do not make our calamity in our religious commitment; do not
make this world our main concern and all that we know about; do not
send against us those who will show no mercy to us."
Narrated by at-Tirmidhi, 3502; classed as hasan by al-Albaani inSaheeh
at-Tirmidhi.
An-Nawawi included it in his bookal-Adhkaar, in a chapter entitled
"Du'aa' of a person in a gathering for himself and those who are with
him."
Shaykh 'Abd al-'Azeez ibn Baaz (may Allah have mercy on him) was asked:
Sometimes, after giving a lecture or a lesson, the lecturer offers
du'aa' and raises his hands; should we sit with him during the
communal du'aa' or should we leave after the lecture, before the
du'aa'?
He replied:
There is nothing wrong with offering du'aa' after a lecture,
exhortation or reminder; there is nothing wrong with offering du'aa',
calling upon Allah to help and guide those present, and to grant them
good intentions and good deeds. But I do not know of any evidence for
raising their hands in such cases, and I do not know of any report to
that effect from the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon
him) except some texts that speak in general terms of raising the
hands when offering du'aa', and say that it is one of the means of
having the supplication answered. But I do not remember any report
from the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) to suggest
that after he had exhorted or reminded the people, he would raise his
hands and offer du'aa'. If he used to do that, the Sahaabah (may Allah
be pleased with them) would have reported it, because they did not
omit anything but they reported it (may Allah be pleased with them).
So it is preferable and more on the safe side not to raise the hands
in such cases, unless there is evidence to that effect. With regard to
the speaker offering du'aa' for them after he has finished speaking,
and saying. "May Allah forgive us and you" or "May Allah guide us and
you," or "May Allah cause us and you to benefit from what we have
heard," and so on, there is nothing wrong with that, and if they say
Ameen, there is nothing wrong with that either. End quote.
Fataawa Noor 'ala ad-Darb, tape no. 610.