321 AMERICAN Journal of Language, Literacy and Learning in STEM Education www. grnjournal.us 0AMERICAN Journal of Language, Literacy and Learning in STEM Education Volume 03, Issue 10, 2025 ISSN (E): 2993-2769 Features of Dua as a Speech Genre Karimova Vasila Vaxobovna Kokand State University, Department of Philology Doctor of Philosophy, Associate Professor e-mail: vasilavahobovna@gmail.com +998911459900 Abstract. This article analyzes the meanings of the concept of “dua” in explanatory dictionaries as well as its social, religious, and linguistic features. The study discusses dua in singular and plural forms, directed to oneself and to others, with an emphasis on markers of personhood, temporality, and locality. Based on folklore and religious narratives, the power of supplication, its acceptance, and the importance of gratitude are illustrated. The research concludes that dua, as a speech genre, represents a holistic linguistic phenomenon shaped by purpose, style, and composition. Key words: dua, speech genre, linguistic integrity, personhood, supplication, singular, plural. Introduction Prayer is the appeal of the human heart to God, the expression of inner experiences directed towards divine power. It is of great importance not only as a religious phenomenon but also as a social and linguistic one. In explanatory dictionaries, prayer is interpreted as "beseeching, supplicating to Allah." In the culture of Eastern peoples, prayer has long been an integral part of people's lives. The explanatory dictionary provides three meanings of prayer: 1) beseeching God, supplicating to Him, wishing good for oneself or others; 2) a chapter of the Quran recited during the Fatiha; 3) good wishes and intentions generally expressed for someone. Prayer is most often used in its third meaning, that is, it is made to express good wishes and good intentions for someone in general. Concepts associatively connected with the word "prayer" (such as prayer for life, prayer for goodness, prayer of greeting, to pray, supplicant, prayer reciter, to be in prayer, besides imprecation) are mainly used in a positive sense. The following thoughts are expressed about the importance of prayer in our lives: Seek help through supplication and invoke Allah in times of calamity and hardship. For prayer is a ship that never sinks. Prayer is an invincible army. Prayer is a soldier that never flees. To think that there is any way for you other than prayer, or to turn away from Allah relying on other means, is destruction and loss in both religion and worldly affairs. Sometimes, while praying, you may encounter some calamities. However, these situations arise due to your past sins or bad deeds. Even then, do not abandon your prayers. Rather, pray even more, supplicate with sincerity, grace, and tears. For the One who inspired you to pray will also bring it to a good end. Through prayer, Allah the Almighty has protected you from many calamities and averted great disasters from you. It is evident that people appeal to Allah through supplication during times of calamity and hardship. Indeed, Allah will bring it to a good end. This requires only patience and faith. Most importantly, after prayers are answered, very few people express gratitude. There is a story about this: 322 AMERICAN Journal of Language, Literacy and Learning in STEM Education www. grnjournal.us In people's prayers, there are specific features, and these features are divided into integral and differential signs. Along with the locality, personality, and semasiological features of prayer, the gender feature is also manifested. Each of these features can be integral or differential depending on the situation. Above, we examined prayers specific to women. Prayers specific to men's speech also have their own peculiarities. There is nothing on earth more powerful than prayer. A prayer from a sincere heart has the power to change and turn the scales of life. There are many stories and legends about the power of prayer. For example, An Egyptian with a heart condition went to Europe - to Britain - to get examined. After examining him, they said: "Your illness is serious, surgery is needed. But there is no complete guarantee of the result, your heart is weak!" "In that case, I will return to my homeland and bid farewell to my children," he said. He returned to his homeland and gathered his children. He called them to be patient. He said that this meeting might be the last, that he might not survive the operation. Then he wanted to visit some of his friends and prepare for his meeting with Allah. He himself says: "I went to see a friend at the office. There was also a butcher shop near the office. Looking around, I saw an elderly woman who had fallen to the ground and was collecting pieces of meat, bones, and fat from a garbage bin and putting them in a bag. I said to my friend, 'Look.' I went up to her. I was surprised by what she was doing. "What are you doing?" I asked. "I have five young daughters. They haven't eaten meat at all for a year. Even if they can't eat it, I want them to at least smell it!" she said. Her words brought tears to my eyes. I led her to the butcher and said: "You'll give this woman meat every week at my expense!" The woman kept saying: "No, no, I don't need it." "You'll come here every week and get as much meat as you need!" I said. "One kilo is enough for me," she said. "No, you'll get two kilos!" I said. I paid for the year in advance. Seeing this, the woman cried and prayed for me. My mood improved. I felt happy, satisfied with what I had done, and returned home with peace in my heart. My little daughter greeted me. "Papa, you seem very happy," she said. I told her the story. My daughter was smart, and crying while opening her hands, she said: "Oh Allah, help them just as my dear father helped that woman! Heal their pain!" Having finished the rest of my work, I said goodbye to my children and returned to Europe for the operation. The doctor examined me. Surprised, he asked: "Where did you get treatment, in which hospital?" "What do you mean?" I asked. "I'm asking where you went. Who treated you?" "I swear to God, I didn't go anywhere. I said goodbye to my children and returned," I said. "Tell the truth! Your heart disease has completely disappeared!" he said. "What are you saying, doctor?" I asked. "It's as if the patient wasn't you, but someone else." - As if the patient wasn't you, but someone else. Which hospital was it? How did they treat you? What medications did you take? Is there a list? "Please give it to me!" he said. "I wasn't treated anywhere!" I said, remembering the woman's prayers. Inwardly, I thought that Allah had truly restored my health because his condition was genuinely poor, and because my sincere righteous deeds and the heartfelt prayers of him and my righteous daughter were answered. Many of these stories are taken from real-life events and are used in lectures about the power of prayer. As noted above, prayer, being one of the speech genres, is a holistic linguistic entity. Any whole is divided into parts, or parts combine to form a certain whole. The question is how these parts are united and by what means, which helps to reveal the essence of the whole. 323 AMERICAN Journal of Language, Literacy and Learning in STEM Education www. grnjournal.us Dua, as a whole, arises through three processes. The first is purpose, the second is style, and the third is composition. Indeed, in every prayer there is intention, that is, a purpose; first the person is determined, then the reason is identified. Only then is the style chosen. As a result, a prayer is created. In terms of personhood, prayers are primarily directed towards individuals or groups. Prayers directed towards individuals are also of two types: directed at oneself and directed at others. For example, "Oh Allah! I ask You to make me steadfast in affairs and firm on the path of guidance. I ask You for things that necessitate Your mercy and make me worthy of Your forgiveness. I ask You to help me be grateful for Your blessings and to perform beautiful worship for You. I ask You for a sound heart and a truthful tongue. I ask You for what You deem best. I seek refuge in You from what You deem evil. I ask you to forgive me for what you consider bad. Indeed, You are the Knower of the unseen." The text of the prayer given in this example is directed at oneself. We know this from the use of the personal pronoun "I" (first person, singular) in the text of the prayer. Prayers addressed to oneself are usually said in prostration, after prayer, and are not publicly revealed. Or during the following times when prayers are more likely to be answered: at midnight, at a specific time, during rain, during illness, while traveling, when the rooster crows, after obligatory prayers, on the Night of Power, and when breaking the fast. Prayers directed at others are naturally said openly. Such a situation affects the person to whom the prayer is addressed. For example, Once upon a time, there was a rich man. He always gave a good dinner to guests who came to his house, but at the end, he would have them beaten up. One day, a man visited him as a guest. He shared in his hospitality and, before leaving, prayed for the benefactor. The wealthy man gave him gifts and saw him off. Then the guest asked: "Usually you have others beaten after hosting them. Why didn't you do the same to me?" "Others would eat my food and have me pray for the table. But you prayed for me. That was the reason," the rich man replied. Prayers addressed to others are said according to specific circumstances and reasons. Especially prayers made for one's brother in his absence. They often have an emotional character. Prayers made in such situations are accepted by Allah. Another type of prayer addressed to the majority is a prayer that includes others along with oneself. In such a prayer, one asks Allah to bless their sustenance with abundance, lawful income, and goodness. For example, Oh Allah, if You give wealth, give it not to our hearts, but to our hands. O Allah, if You grant us worldly wealth, gather it in our hands in obedience. May it not prevent us from worshipping You! O Allah, protect us from chasing after worldly wealth while we are sinning against You! O Allah, bless the sustenance You have distributed to us and make our hearts content with it! O Allah, make the Hereafter our greatest concern and dream! O my Generous Lord, shower Your goodness upon us! (Sheikh Muhammad Ratib Nabulsi) In the text of this prayer, the use of the suffix -imiz in such words as qalbimizga, qo'limizga, holimizda, bizlarga, qalbimizni, tashvishimiz va orzuimizga indicates the first person plural. Consequently, such grammatical means indicate that the prayer is addressed to a group. There are prayers whose acceptance is said to be certain to some degree. They are as follows: 1) times when there is a great opportunity for prayers to be answered; 2) persons whose prayers are answered. Special emphasis is placed on times when there is great potential for prayers to be answered. Such times include: prayers made during prayer and prostration, prayers between adhan and iqama, prayers on the day of Arafah, and prayers when the deceased's eyes are closed. It should also be emphasized that in the House of Allah, not only what a person asks for in their prayers verbally, but also what they contemplate in their heart is answered. It is evident that Allah sees everything, knows everything, and is capable of everything. 324 AMERICAN Journal of Language, Literacy and Learning in STEM Education www. grnjournal.us The people whose prayers are accepted include: a father's prayer for his child, a pilgrim's prayer, the prayer of one who walks in Allah's path, and the prayer of one performing Umrah. For example, Babur Mirza's prayer for Humayun. In our daily lives, we make many prayers, hear many prayers, and sometimes feel them in our hearts. Sometimes prayers are made out of learned habit. For instance, around the dining table, when a guest arrives, when going outside, when getting on transport, and so on. Particularly, prayers are made when guests arrive and when they leave. For example, "Well, amen," he raised his hands in prayer, "may peace, tranquility, and unity never leave us all. May we all be beloved servants of Allah and achieve our dreams and intentions." This prayer has a universal nature and is one of the most commonly used prayers in our daily lives. Many prayers are made, but not all are accepted by Allah. Sometimes prayers are answered with delay. In some cases, additional hardships may arise. There is a story about why some prayers are not accepted: Ibrahim Adham was asked, "Why are our prayers not accepted?" He replied, "If you know the truth but don't follow its commands, if you don't follow the Prophet's traditions, if you read the Quran but don't act upon it, if you consume our Creator's blessings without showing gratitude, if you know about Paradise but don't seek it, if you don't fear Hell, if you don't prepare for death as decreed by Him, if you place your parents' bodies in the grave with your own hands but don't learn from it, how can prayers with such shortcomings be accepted?!" (Fariduddin Attar, from "Tazkiratul-awliya") From the above analysis, it became clear that prayers are divided into two categories based on the number of people involved: singular and plural. Singular prayers are further divided into two types: those addressed to oneself and those addressed to others. There are also two types of plural prayers: prayers of many addressed to one person and prayers of one person addressed to many. In conclusion, it can be said that prayer, as a speech genre, holds an important place in social, religious, and linguistic terms. In its formation, the purpose, style, and composition are the main elements, and prayer is expressed in singular and plural forms, directed at oneself and others. Additionally, the issues of prayer acceptance and gratitude are reflected in the religious views and speech culture of the people. Reference 1. Attor, F. Tazkiratul-avliyo. – Toshkent: G‘afur G‘ulom nashriyoti, 2000. 2. Muhammad Rotib an-Nobulsiy. 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