The true believer sees through the realties of things and their essence, he knows well that everything is from Allah and to Allah. Thus he seeks with his deeds to please the Ever-Living, Who never dies; the Rich (Free of all wants and needs), Whose Treasures never expire; the Almighty, Who is Free of weakness.
Never deem worldly comfort a sign of the Good Pleasure of Allah and His Contentment with the one on whom He bestows it, for this is not the criterion betokening His Good Pleasure. And certainly not all those who are living in great luxury in this world will have the same in the Hereafter, because the first to resist the Religion of Allah are the luxurious people in the life of this world, whom Allah has granted money, luxury, and influence. Allah, all praise and glory be to Him, says concerning that luxurious group of people, who turned men away from the Way of Allah, and resisted His Messengers (what means):
“And nothing prevents their contributions from being accepted from them except that they disbelieved in Allah and in His Messenger (Muhammad); and that they came not to As-Salât (the prayer) except in a lazy state; and that they offer not contributions but unwillingly. So let not their wealth or their children amaze you (O Muhammad); in reality Allah’s Plan is to punish them with these things in the life of the this world, and that their souls shall depart (die) while they are disbelievers.” (At-Tawbah, 9: 55)
Allah, all praise and glory be to Him, has given them wealth and children, which are the adornment of the life of this world. But has Allah given them these boons because He is pleased with them? No, for the glorious verse shows that Allah has granted them such adornment embodied in children, that they remain disbelievers till the death hour, without ever showing repentance.
The continuity of Allah’s bestowal was but an allurement to them while they are negligent. Had Allah impoverished them, they might have repented and turned to Him, calling on Him, ‘O Lord.’ And had Allah deprived them of blessings, they might have awakened. But The Truth, Blessed and Exalted be He, out of His extreme Wrath upon them, incurred by their tenacious disbelief, does not want them to repent or return to Him. That is why He gave them the means and causes that will keep them from turning to The Causer; giving them of worldly gains what makes them live in its lap, while forgetting The Bestower, and inwardly believing that they are self-given blessings. The Almighty says (what means):
“And when We bestow Our Grace on man (the disbeliever), he turns away and becomes arrogant, far away from the Right Path.” (Al-Isrâ’, 17: 83)
Supplication in itself is an acknowledgement of man’s inability to achieve what he wants, therefore Allah eases for the disbelievers the gains that will make them continue in their inexorable disbelief, and their alienation from Him.
The sign of the acceptance of supplication is that man accepts his destiny, for the moment that Allah sends down on man’s heart tranquility and contentment, then his supplication is surely answered, because in such case Allah casts into his heart what makes him feel that he is beyond need of the thing he asks for and it no longer crosses his mind.
A great consolation indeed to every supplicant whose prayer is not yet answered, for there are voices that Allah loves to hear, therefore He tells His Angels to postpone His servant’s need to hear his dear voice calling on Him. Perhaps yours is a voice dear to Allah.
When man begs only for worldly gains, he is actually asking for a transient provision that will inevitably end, either by his death or its expiration. Allah, all praise and glory be to Him, says:
“O son of Adam! I have created this world for you, and created you for Myself, so do not be occupied by what is yours in place of what you are for.”
This noble sanctified hadith lays our hands on the wisdom behind this entire life, why we were brought to it? And what is its purpose? So that everyone living this worldly life becomes fully aware of his reality. For Allah has created this entire universe to serve man with no volition of its own, and created man to worship Him; that is why we should not occupy ourselves with what is created for our sake, and lose track of Him, we are created for.
This does not mean that Allah, all praise and glory be to Him, demands from us to forgo worldly life to the disbelievers, as such is the ultimate wish of the disbeliever: that religion halts at the threshold of the Masjid, and never crosses beyond it, and to have the believers renouncing worldly life to the disbelievers. On the contrary, the Law of Allah does not exclude worldly affairs, but instructs us to inhabit land and develop it. For the believer must strive in the life of this world, cultivating lands, erecting factories, building schools and universities, and establishing projects he can profit by. He must struggle to propagate the call to truth, or to defend an aggrieved person, or to fight an oppressor, or to execute one of the prescribed penalties of Allah that is suspended, or to fight against disbelief and atheism.
It is the duty of the believer to work and never ask help from others, for he should suffice himself, and provide for his family, moreover he should work to earn what exceeds his need, or else how would he secure enough money for charity, if he earned what only sustains him, and how then would the poor and sick, who are unable to work be assisted.
There is a lot of work for the believer to do in this worldly life, but such work must be in compliance with the Law of Allah, and never swerves from it, thus Allah, all praise and glory be to Him, will ease things for man as long as he works while keeping Allah in his heart.
This is concerning the answered supplication, but what about the unanswered one? That is what we will expatiate on, if Allah wills, in the next chapter.
Naammee ooff AAlllaahh,, tthhee M Moosstt BBeenneeffiicceenntt,, tthhee M Moosstt M Meerrcciiffuull
Chapter Six Invoking For Evil
Before we end our discussion about invoking for good, we must touch upon invoking for evil, how could that be? It is the feeling of injustice that drives one to invoke Allah against the unjust one: to afflict him with sickness, or to bring upon him a disaster, or to be bereaved of one of his children, or be subjected to bankruptcy until the abject condition of finding nothing to eat, or any other curses.
Sometimes man calls down evil upon himself, which is in case of anger. Thus he might pray Allah to die, to have those whom he sustains feel his true worth and appreciate the efforts he exerts!! Or one might feel that he has become a burden on his family because of his illness, so he prays Allah to be relieved and relief others (of his troubles), all these invocations besides others we see and hear ourselves.
Before we talk about invoking for evil, we have to stress that Allah, Whose Majesty reigns supreme, loves to pardon people. We find many verses in Noble Qur’an urging us to pardon and suppress anger, for Allah, all praise and glory be to Him, describes those who pardon and suppress their anger as ‘Gooddoers’. Allah, the Most Exalted, says (what means):
“Those who spend [in Allah’s Cause - deeds of charity, alms, etc.] in prosperity and in adversity, who repress anger, and who pardon men; verily, Allah loves Al-Muhsinûn (the gooddoers).”(Âl-‘Imrân, 3: 134)
And in another verse (what means):
“And to forego is nearer to At-Taqwa (piety, righteousness, etc.). And do not forget liberality between yourselves. Truly, Allah is All-Seer of what you do.” (Al-Baqarah, 2: 237)
Also Almighty Allah says in another verse (what means):
“And let not those among you who are blessed with graces and wealth swear not to give (any sort of help) to their kinsmen, Al-Masâkîn (the poor), and those who left their homes for Allah’s Cause. Let them pardon and forgive. Do you not love that Allah should forgive you? And Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.” (An-Nûr, 24: 22)
All these glorious verses and others have descended in different occasions, all exhorting to pardon and forgive. Pardon was even extended to the one who spread the slander about ‘Â’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her), whose name was Musatah bin Athâthah bin ‘Abbâs bin ‘Abdul-Mutalib bin ‘Abd-Manâf.
After the uttered slander, Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) deprived Musatah of what he used to donate as charity (by ties of kinship and for his poverty), but Allah, all praise and glory be to Him, revealed the noble verse saying (what means), ‘Let them pardon and forgive.’ Upon which Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with her) resumed giving him money and pardoned him. All this shows us to what extent the believers are asked to pardon, and not to return evil for evil, as affirmed by the hadith narrated on the authority of Uby, who said:
“When Allah, the Exalted and Ever-Majestic, revealed to His Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) the Qur’anic verse saying (what means), ‘Show forgiveness, enjoin what is good, and turn away from the foolish (i.e. do not punish them),’ (Al-A'râf, 7: 199) the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said, ‘What is this, O Jibrîl (Angel Gabriel, peace be upon him)?’ He answered, ‘Allah has ordered you to forgive those who have wronged you, and give those who have deprived you, and to keep good relations with those (relatives) who have severed the ties of kinship with you.’”
‘Uqbah bin ‘Âmir (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated, “I met the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), I was the first to greet, then I clasped his hand and said, ‘O Messenger of Allah! Tell me the best of deeds.’ He said, ‘O ‘Uqbah! Keep good relations with those (relatives) who have severed the ties of kinship with you, give those who have deprived you and turn away from those who have wronged you.’”
When ‘Â’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) asked the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) to teach her a supplication to say on Lailatul Qadr [the Night of Revelation] – that blessed night on which the believer is the closest he can be to Allah – he (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) taught her to say: “O Allah! You are the Ever-Pardoning, the Most Generous, loves to pardon, so pardon us.”
Invoking evil upon unjust people, if prompted by jealousy aroused for the sake of religion, is acceptable and sanctioned. As the invocation of Nûh (Noah, peace be upon him) against his people, and the invocation of Mûsâ (Moses, peace be upon him) against Pharaoh’s people, when he called Allah to, ‘Destroy their wealth, and harden their hearts, so that they will not believe until they see the painful torment,’ (Yûnus, 10: 88). The desired end from such an invocation is the superiority of Allah’s Religion on earth, the defeat of the disbelievers and hypocrites, and to champion the Religion of Allah.
If that is the basis, then invocation is required and will be fulfilled, but if one invokes evil upon others for no reason, or out of envy and spite, the Divine Answer will be, ‘The evil you have prayed to befall others, will befall you.’ That if he was invoking for something related to worldly life, and not by way of supporting Allah’s Religion. On the other hand, if there is someone obstructing the way of the call to Allah’s Religion, by killing Imams, banning Prayers, and struggling to spread disbelief and atheism, no harm will ever come to you from the evil you invoke upon him, as you are doing it for the sake of Allah and championing His Religion. Or you are supporting a person treated unjustly.
Supplication of the aggrieved is required
The Noble Qur’an allows the one who has suffered injustice to invoke against the one who has wronged him. He thus leaves to Allah taking reprisal from the one who has injured him; to bring him back his ravished rights which he could not claim back himself. The Noble Qur’an says (what means):
“Allah does not like that the evil should be uttered in public except by him who has been wronged. And Allah is Ever All-Hearer, All-Knower.” (An-Nisâ’, 148: 4)
But what is the reason behind such an allowance? Simply because the entreaty that the aggrieved person utters is a kind of healing to his injured self, and Allah, Blessed and Exalted be He, wants to heal the souls. So if there is someone who has suffered injustice, there should be an outlet for him to unburden his heart of the distress and pain caused him by this injustice. Allah, the Exalted and Ever-Majestic, allows him to relieve his soul, for when he supplicates he will feel spiritually better, his heart will calm, and his passion will subside.
Other than these two cases: championing religion, or suffering injustice, invoking for evil will not be accepted by Allah, all praise and glory be to Him, as the glorious verse says (what means):
“And were Allah to hasten for mankind the evil (they invoke for themselves and for their children, etc. while in a state of anger) as He hastens for them the good (they invoke) then they would have been ruined.”(Yûnus, 10, 11)
Allah, all praise and glory be to Him, wants man to always interact with the events in this world, and not to invoke Divine Wrath unless for outspoken injustice, or for championing the Religion of Allah. Even if the aggrieved person did not invoke, Allah, Blessed and Exalted be He, would still avenge His wronged servant. The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said in a noble hadith:
“Fear the invocation of an aggrieved person, for there is no barrier between it and Allah.”
Also the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said:
“Verily, Allah gives respite to the oppressor, but when He seizes him He never releases him, them he recited (the noble Qur’anic verse which means), ‘Such is the Seizure of your Lord when He seizes the (population of) towns while they are doing wrong. Verily, His Seizure is painful, and severe.’ (Hûd, 11: 102)”
Allah, all praise and glory be to Him, says in a Sanctified hadith:
“O son of Adam! You have prayed against the one who has wronged you, and the one whom you have wronged has prayed against you. If you wish, We will answer your prayer, and the prayer against you, and if you wish, We will postpone you both till the Day of Resurrection to be both embraced by My pardon.”
The invocation of the aggrieved person is allowed, yet in case of the one who has been treated unjustly and at the same time has been unjust to others, Allah, all praise and glory be to Him, says it is better that he takes care, and not to invoke against the one who has been unjust to him, because he himself is unjust. For Allah will answer his invocation and the invocation against him. Injustice could be the most hideous sin, for the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said: “Injustice is darkness on the Day of Resurrection.”
Reckoning and Punishment are all deferred to the Day of Judgment, except for injustice done to people; its punishment is inflicted in both the life of this world and the Hereafter, for the aggrieved person must witness the day on which Allah will punish his oppressor, in order that injustice does not prevail on earth. If people were to see that there are oppressors who escape punishment and revenge in retribution for their committed injustice, this would encourage others to act unjustly, for as long as people do not witness a worldly punishment befalling the oppressor, they will adopt the way of injustice. That is why heaven inflicts a worldly punishment upon the oppressor, a punishment openly witnessed by all people. Retribution is not exacted between Almighty God and the oppressor alone, sheltered from people’s eyes, but punishment comes for the whole world to see, hear and know, to serve as a deterrent to every oppressor.
If man supplicates Allah saying, “All the praises and thanks be to Allah, the Lord of ‘Âlamîn (mankind, jinn, and all that exists),” for whatever hardships or adversities he may experience, by doing so he meets the Fate of Allah by giving thanks, and meets hardship by patience. Indeed, when Allah, Whose Majesty reigns supreme, taught us how to express thanks and gratitude, He has bestowed upon us a blessing that itself deserves thanking.
We have to discuss some of what is said about supplication, and shed light on supplication and fate, and how supplication alleviates fate and eases it, or serves as a shield from it.
One must understand that the Decree of Allah follows by exact order, and Almighty Allah has full Knowledge of all events. Thus, if one is destined to be relieved of a certain evil or a bad event this is also inscribed in his destined fate. One supplicates and the evil is removed. It is not true that the decreed fate awaits supplication to happen or not happen, for all things are within the Knowledge of Allah, decreed and known since eternity.
Each supplication is predestined whether it would be answered or not, and does not await your actual supplication for it to be accepted and answered. All things Allah has destined and fully comprehends in His Knowledge since eternity, for the pen (inscribing Fate) has dried (ceased writing), meaning that all destinies are written down. Supplication itself is predestined and the answer as well.
One of the righteous men was once talking to people about the Noble Qur’an and explaining its meanings till he reached the noble verse saying (what means):
“Every day He has a matter to bring forth”(Ar-Rahmân, 55: 29) [When asked about this verse the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said: Forgives sin, relieves of distress, raises people and degrades others, in another narration: Forgives sin, relieves of distress, and answers a supplicant]
Upon which one of the attendances stood up and asked, ‘And what is the matter that your Lord brings forth today?’ The man kept silent and did not answer, and then left the assembly and hurried to his house feeling distressed for not answering the laid question. When he slept he saw the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) in his dream. He told him if the inquirer came and asked you, ‘What is the matter that your Lord brings forth today?’ Tell him, ‘(Destined) matters He reveals and not originates, raising people and degrading others.’ On the next day the righteous man went to his assembly and found the inquirer sitting, and when he started his lecture about the meaning of the noble Qur’anic verse saying (what means), ‘Every day He has a matter to bring forth,’ the inquirer stood and repeated the same question, thus the righteous man answered him saying, ‘(Destined) Matter He reveals and not originates, raising people and degrading others.’ Whereupon the inquirer said, ‘Supplicate blessings on the one who taught you so.’ It is said that the asker was Al-Khadir [A servant upon whom Allah has bestowed divine secrets and supernal understandings, for Almighty says (of Al-Khadir what means:), “A servant among Our servants, unto whom We had bestowed mercy from Us, and whom We had taught knowledge from Us.” (Al-Kahf, 18: 65)].
We thus can see that Allah, all praise and glory be to Him, has predestined all things in this universe since eternity; that Allah, all praise and glory be to Him, only reveals them to us, and does not originate them, for they are already inscribed, and we know nothing about till Allah unveils them to us.
The willful actions of man like supplication is part of his fate, not decreed upon him to do, but decreed because Allah, all praise and glory be to Him, knows that he will do. Allah comprehends everything in His knowledge, and nothing is kept veiled from Him, a fact that at the same time does not divest you from acting according to your own free will, but Allah, all praise and glory be to Him, simply knows your choices, and His knowledge comprehends all things.
Having everything in the book of fate inscribed does not mean your subjection to a compulsive way of acting, but rather an Absolute Knowledge that Allah possesses of all your doings. For Allah, all praise and glory be to Him, knows all things that will happen, and the fact that He knows the matters you are free to choose, is a sign of His Omniscience. If Allah only knows the matters related to unfree choices, this would not be a total knowledge of all the universal events, which is far from Allah, for Allah possesses full knowledge of all the events that take place in the universe, those in which you have freedom of choice and those befalling you without choice.
Sometimes when one uses his knowledge, he can infer what will be the choice of others. If we assumed that a father gave a pound to each of his three sons, and asked each of them to buy whatever he likes. After they went out he said that he knew beforehand what each of them would buy: the first would get something to eat because he likes food, the second would buy a book, because he likes to read, and the third would buy a game because he likes to play. Did the father force them to buy such things, the answer is no, but simply the father knows their propensities and behavior.
If that is the case with human beings, how would it be when it comes to Allah, all praise and glory be to Him?
Thus, we confirm that all that occurs in the universe is fully within the knowledge of Allah, all praise and glory be to Him. When Allah created us and granted us the power of choice He knew in advance what choices we would make, choices that are neither forced on us nor are compulsory.
Nothing beyond the Knowledge of Allah
Thus, Almighty Allah comprehends all things in His Knowledge. Even the things of your own choice are never beyond the Knowledge of Allah, though chosen by your own free will, exercised freely without any compulsion from Allah. Your choice never escapes the Knowledge of Allah that comprehends all things. Recite the following glorious verse saying (what means):
“No calamity befalls on the earth or in yourselves but is inscribed in the Book of Decrees (Al-Lauh Al- Mahfûz), before We bring it into existence. Verily, that is easy for Allah. In order that you may not be sad over matters that you fail to get, nor rejoice because of that which has been given to you. And Allah likes not prideful boasters." (Al-Hadîd, 75: 22-23)
This noble verse shows how everything, no matter how minute it is or great, never escapes the Knowledge of Allah, even the leaf that falls from the tree, or the smallest seed deep in the earth. Glory be to Allah, nothing is hidden from Him so much as the weight of an atom (or small ant) on the earth or in the heaven, as states the Noble Qur’an (what means):
“Whatever you (O Muhammad) may be doing, and whatever portion you may be reciting from the Qur'ân, - and whatever deed you (mankind) may be doing (good or evil), We are Witness thereof, when you are doing it. And nothing is hidden from your Lord (so much as) the weight of an atom (or small ant) on the earth or in the heaven. Not what is less than that or what is greater than that but is (written) in a Clear Record.” (Yûnus, 10: 61)
We should understand that there is a phenomenal course and a legal course in the universe. Man is given freedom of choice in the legal course, related to the Divine law. But as for the phenomenal course, it signifies all the events that take place in the universe other than the Divine law. We have also aforesaid that we have to differentiate between the universal Course of Allah and His Course of enjoined duties.
Allah, all praise and glory be to Him, has created man having the power of free choice in the legal course of do and do not do. When Almighty Allah forbids us from drinking intoxicants, you have the choice to drink or abstain from drinking. When The Exalted and Ever-Majestic says, ‘Perform Prayers,’ you have the choice to pray or not to pray. But in both cases you never stepped beyond the Will of Allah, as He is the One who created you capable to do or not to do.
Supplication and its fulfillment are never beyond the Knowledge of Allah and His Will, supplication is a manifestation of your inability, and an admission of the Power and Might of Allah, be He highly blessed and exalted, in doing whatever He wants. The shown inability, submission, and awe, is what Allah, the Exalted and Ever-Majestic, wants from supplication, so that pride be subdued within us, and one feels that he possesses no mastery in the universe, but that Allah, all praise and glory be to Him, is The Disposer of everything. Thus, your supplication is an acknowledgment of your helplessness before the Power of Allah.
Each Messenger had an answered supplication, but the supplication of the Prophet Muhammad (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) is postponed till the Day of Judgment, which is the intercession. That does not mean that each Messenger had only one fulfilled supplication, for the Messengers had prayed and supplicated to Allah many times, and their supplications were all answered. If we read the story of Mûsâ (Moses peace be upon him) we would find that many of his prayers were answered apart from the one prayed for the destruction of Pharaoh’s people. Allah fulfilled many prayers of the Prophet Muhammad (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), and the intercession that would be granted to him on the Day of Judgment would not be confined to his nation only, but to the nations of all other Prophets…the followers of all the Prophets and Messengers. This is because the Messenger of Allah, Muhammad (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), is the most entitled to intercede for the nations of all the Prophets, because he has been sent to the entire universe…to all humanity. On the Day of Judgment the intercession of the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) would be for the sake of his nation and the nations of the other Prophets as well. The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said, “Had Mûsâ been alive during the time of my message, he would but have followed me.”
The Truth, praise and glory be to Him, says (what means):
“The Prophet is closer to the believers than their ownselves.” (Al-Ahzâb, 33:6)
Almighty Allah did not say, ‘Closer to the believers of his nation,’ but said to all the believers without exception. Meaning all those who believed in the Prophets (peace be upon them all) who came before the mission of the Messenger of Allah (Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace), and all those who believed in the Messenger of Allah (Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace) since he was entrusted to convey the Divine Message. This is the true meaning of the intercession of the Messenger of Allah (Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace) on the Day of Judgment. He is the one who would intercede for humanity at large to begin the Reckoning, and he would be the one to intercede for
all those who believed from the people of the earth, because he was sent to them all, as states the noble Qur’anic verse saying (what means):
“We have only sent you (O Muhammad) as a mercy to the worlds.” (Al-Anbiyâ', 21: 107)
This mercy encompasses all the responsible [who bear the trust of showing obedience to Allah] from man and jinn.
Intercession on the Day of Resurrection
The Messenger of Allah, Muhammad, (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) is the first intercessor and the first whose intercession will be accepted by Allah, as states the sanctified hadith related by the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace):
“On the Day of Resurrection the believers will assemble and say, ‘Let us ask somebody to intercede for us with our Lord.’ So they will go to Âdam (Adam, peace be upon him) and say, ‘You are the father of all the people, Allah created you with His Own Hands, and ordered the angels to prostrate to you, and taught you the names of all things; so please intercede for us with your Lord, so that He may relieve us from this place of ours.’ Adam will say, ‘I am not fit for this (i.e. intercession for you).’ Then Adam will remember his sin and feel ashamed thereof. He will say, ‘Go to Nûh (Noah, peace be upon him), for he was the first Messenger, Allah sent to the inhabitants of the earth.’
They will go to him and Nûh will say, ‘I am not fit for this undertaking.’ He will remember his appeal to his Lord to do what he had no knowledge of, then he will feel ashamed thereof and will say, ‘Go to Khalîl-r-Rahmân [the close servant to the Most Merciful, i.e. Ibrâhîm (Abraham, peace be upon him)].’ They will go to him and he will say, ‘I am not fit for this undertaking. Go to Mûsâ (Moses, peace be upon him), the servant to whom Allah spoke (directly) and gave him the Torah.’ So they will go to him and he will say, ‘I am not fit for this undertaking,’ and he will mention (his) killing a person who was not a killer, and so he will feel ashamed thereof before his Lord, and he will say, ‘Go to ‘Iesâ (Jesus, peace be upon him), Allah’s servant, His Messenger and Allah’s Word ["Be!" - and he was] and a spirit (Rûh) created by Him.’ ‘Iesâ will say, 'I am not fit for this undertaking, go to Muhammad the servant whose past and future sins were forgiven by Allah.’ So they will come to me and I will proceed till I will ask my Lord’s Permission and I will be given Permission. When I see my Lord, I will fall down in Prostration and He will let me remain in that state as long as He wishes and then I will be addressed: ‘(Muhammad!) Raise your head. Ask, and your request will be granted; say, and your saying will be listened to; intercede, and your intercession will be accepted.’ I will raise my head and praise Allah with a saying (i.e. invocation) He will teach me, and then I will intercede. He will fix a limit for me (to intercede for) whom I will admit into Paradise. Then I will come back again to Allah, and when I see my Lord, the same thing will happen to me. And then I will intercede and Allah will fix a limit for me (to intercede for) whom I will admit into Paradise, then I will come back for the third time; and then I will come back for the fourth time, and I will say, ‘None remains in Hell but those whom the Qur’ân has imprisoned (in Hell) and who have been destined to an eternal stay in Hell.’”
We beg Allah that we are from the people whom Allah answers their supplication and from the people whom Allah has graced with the intercession of the Prophet Muhammad, (may Allah bless him and grant him peace).
And from the people of Paradise whose close prayer will be…. “All praises and thanks are to Allah, the Lord and Cherisher of the Worlds.”
Manners Of Supplication 1. Sincerity and faithfulness to Allah.
2. To start one’s supplication with praising and thanking Allah, then to supplicate blessings and peace upon the Prophet Muhammad (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) and end one’s supplication the same way.
3. To ask Almighty Allah Alone.
4. To supplicate secretly with a present (sincere) heart. The Noble Qur’an says (what means: “Invoke your Lord with humility and in secret, He likes not the aggressors” (Al-A‘râf, 7: 55).
5. To supplicate Allah, all praise and glory be to Him, with humility and express your need of Him. Almighty Allah says in His Noble Book (what means),“Verily, they used to hasten on to do good deeds, and they used to call on Us with hope and fear, and used to humble themselves before Us” (Al-Anbiyâ', 21: 90).
6. To be patient, and not to expect an immediate response from Allah, all praise and glory be to Him, although this could happen. But if it does not, then you should be patient and continue supplicating Allah, all praise and glory be to Him, until you see the results. Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Messenger of Allah (may bless him and grant him peace) said, “The invocation of anyone of you is responded to by Allah (all praise and glory be to Him) if he does not show impatience by saying: I invoked Allah (all praise and glory be to Him) but my request has not been granted.” [Reported by Bukhary and Muslim].
7. To invoke Allah, all praise and glory be to Him, by His Beautiful Names and Supreme Attributes. Almighty Allah says in His Noble Book (what means), “And (all) the Most Beautiful Names belong to Allah, so call on Him by them”(Al-A‘râf, 7: 180).
8. To confess one’s sins and seek forgiveness, and to acknowledge blessings and express thanks for them. Allah, all praise and glory be to Him, says in His Noble Book (what means),“Dhan-Nun (Jonah), when he went off in anger, and imagined that We shall not punish him. But he cried through the darkness (saying): Lâ ilâha illa Anta (there is no god but You) Glorified be You, Truly, I have been of the wrongdoers” (Al-Anbiyâ', 21: 87).
9. To supplicate Allah, all praise and glory be to Him, by mentioning the righteous deeds you have done. ‘Abdullâh bin ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that he heard the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) saying: “While three men were walking, it started raining and they took shelter (refuge) in a cave in a mountain. A big rock rolled down from the mountain and closed the mouth of the cave. They said to each other, ‘Think of good deeds which you did for Allah's sake only, and invoke Allah by mentioning those deeds so that He may remove this rock from you.’”
10. When making supplication for others, start with yourself first then include others. Allah, all praise and glory be to Him, said about Nûh (Noah, peace be upon him):“My Lord, forgive me and my parents and him who enters my home as a believer, and all the believing men and women.” (Nûh, 71:28).
11. To ask Allah with firm will and seriousness, one should not say, for example, ‘O Allah, forgive me if you wish.’ The supplicant must be certain that his prayer shall be answered.
12. To perform ablution before supplication, if possible.
13. To face the Qiblah [Ka‘bah direction faced in prayers] during supplication.
14. To raise both hands during supplication.
15. To abstain from raising one’s eyes towards the sky while supplicating.
16. The voice of the supplicant should be neither so loud nor so low.
17-To observe humbleness and humility during supplication.
18. To repeat the supplication thrice.
19. Not to use rhymed prose in supplication.
20. To cry while supplicating, which expresses humility, sincerity and true need of your request.
21. To supplicate at times of ease as well as hardships.
22. Not to invoke against oneself, one’s family, children and wealth.
23. Supplication should not be for something evil, sinful or for severing ties of kinship.
24. To avoid all sins.
25. One’s food, drink and clothing should be gained through lawful means.
26. The oppressor should right the wrong he has done to others and repent.
27. To remember all Muslims and believers in one’s prayer, for part of the completion of true faith is to love for others what man loves for himself.
28. To turn to Allah with humility, hope and fear of Him.
29. To enjoin what is good and forbid what is evil.
O Allah, Place in my heart light, and in my tongue light, And in my ears light, and in my eyes light, And above me light, and beneath me light, And on my right light, and on my left light, And in front of me light, and behind me light, And in my soul light, And grant me a far transcendent light
Hadith – the noble Prophet Muhammad (Blessings and Peace of Allah be upon him)