Allah has commanded people to call upon Him humbly and sincerely, promising them He will respond to their prayers and fulfill their needs. Nu’man b. Bashir reported that the Prophet, peace be upon him, said, “Verily supplication is worship.”
Then he recited the Qur’anic verse, “And your Lord says, ‘Call on Me. I will answer your prayer, but those who are too arrogant to serve me will surely find themselves humiliated in Hell!’’ Qur’an 40.60. This is reported by Ahmad and Sunan.
‘Abdar Razzaq reported from Al-Hasan that the Companions asked the Prophet, peace be upon him, “Where is our Lord?” At this Allah sent down the following verse of the Qur’an, “When My servants ask you (O, Muhammad) concerning Me, I am indeed close to them. I listen to the prayer of every supplicant when he calls upon Me.’’ Qur’an 2.186 Abu Hurairah reported, “The Prophet, peace be upon him, said, “Nothing is more dear to Allah than one’s supplication to Him.’’ (Tirmizhi and Ibn Majah) Abu Hurairah also reported, “The Prophet, peace be upon him, said, ‘Whoever wants Allah to answer his prayers during difficult times, should supplicate to Him more and more in times of ease’.’’ (Tirmizhi)
Abu Ya’la related from Anas that the Prophet, peace be upon him, reporting from his Lord said, “Allah said, ‘There are four characteristics, of which one is Mine, one yours, one common between Me and you, and one is common between you and My other servants. The one that is Mine is that you shall not associate any other god with Me, the one that is for you is that when you do a good deed I shall reward you for it, the one that is common between Me and you is that when you supplicate I shall respond to your supplications, and the one that is common between you and My other servants is that you should like for them what you like for your own selves’.”
In a sound hadith the Prophet, peace be upon him, said, “Allah’s wrath is on the one who does not call upon Him for help.” ‘Aishah reported, “The Prophet, peace be upon him, said, ‘Precautions are of no avail against the decree of Allah, but the supplication benefits in the case of a calamity that strikes or is about to strike. And when a calamity descends the supplication intercepts it and holds it at bay until the Day of Resurrection’. (Reported by Al-Bazar, At-Tabrani, and Al-Hakim, who says its chain of authorities is sound) Salman Al-Farisi reported that the Prophet, peace be upon him, said, “Nothing can avert the decree of Allah except supplication, and nothing increases life except virtuous deeds.” (Tirmizhi) Abu ‘Awanah and Ibn Hibban reported that the Prophet, peace be upon him, said, “When one of you supplicates, he should ask Allah for something important and great, for nothing is difficult for Allah.”
Etiquette of Supplication
There are certain manners that must be observed while making a supplication to Allah. These are given in the following topics.
Pursuit of lawful means of Livelihood.
Ibn ‘Abbas reported, “Once, when I recited the verses of the Qur’an, ‘O you people! Eat of what is on earth, lawful and good’ (2.168) in the presence of the Prophet, peace be upon him. Sa’d b. Abi Waqqas got up and said, ‘O Messenger of Allah! Ask Allah to make me one whose supplication is heard.’ At this the Prophet, peace be upon him, said, ‘O Sa’d, consume lawful things and your supplications will be heard, and by Him in Whose hands is the soul of Muhammad, when a man puts into his stomach a morsel of what is forbidden his prayers are not accepted for forty days, and a servant of Allah whose body is nourished by usury or by what is forbidden becomes more deserving of the Hell fire.” (Al-Hafiz b. Marduwiyah)
Abu Hurairah reported that the Prophet, peace be upon him, said, “O people, Allah is Good and He, therefore, accepts only that which is good. And Allah commanded the believers as He commanded the Messengers by saying, ‘O Messengers, eat of the good things, and do good deeds; verily I am aware of what you do,’ Qur’an 23.51 and He said: ‘O those who believe eat of the good things that We gave you’.” Qur’an 2.172 The Prophet, peace be upon him, then made mention of a person who travels widely, his hair disheveled, and covered with dust. “He lifts his hands and makes supplication, ‘O Lord, O Lord,’ but his diet is unlawful, his drink is unlawful, and his clothes are unlawful, and his nourishment is unlawful. How then can his supplication be accepted?” (Muslim and Ahmad)
A: Supplicating at the most Opportune Times and Locations.
These are, for instance, the day of ‘Arafah, month of Ramadan, Friday, the last part of the night, at dawn, during prostration, at the time of rainfall, between the Azhan and Iqamah, at the time of encounter of armies, at times of panic, and when one’s heart is soft and tender. Abu Umamah reported, “The Prophet, peace be upon him, was asked, ‘What supplication finds the greatest acceptance?’ He answered: ‘A prayer offered in the middle of the latter part of the night and after the prescribed Prayers’.’ (Reported by Tirmizhi with a sound chain of authorities) Abu Hurairah reported, the Prophet, peace be upon him, said, “The servant is nearest to his Lord when he is prostrating to Him, so make supplication in this state.” (Muslim) There are very many hadith found in various books on this subject.
- Facing the Qiblah while making a Supplication
The Prophet (peace be upon him went out and prayed for rain and faced the qiblah).
- Raising One’s hands to one’s shoulders
Ibn ‘Abbas is reported as saying, “When asking for something from Allah, you should raise your hands opposite to your shoulders; when asking for forgiveness you should point with one finger; and when making an earnest supplication you should spread out both your hands.” This is reported by Abu Daw’ud. Malik b. Yassar reported that the Prophet, peace be upon him, said, “Supplicate Allah with the palms of your hands, and do not supplicate Him with their backs upwards.” Salman reported that the Prophet, peace be upon him, said, “Your Lord, the Blessed and the Exalted One, is Modest and Generous, and He loathes to turn away His servant empty-handed when he raises his hands to Him in supplication.”
D: Starting the Supplication with Allah’s Praise and Blessings on His Prophet
Fudalah b. ‘Ubaid reported that the Prophet, peace be upon him, heard a man supplicating during prayer. He did not glorify Allah, nor did he invoke blessings on the Prophet. The Prophet, peace be upon him, said, “He has been hasty.” Then he called the man and said either to him, or to someone else, “When any one of you prays, he should begin by glorifying and praising his Lord and then he should invoke blessings on the Prophet, peace be upon him, and after that he should supplicate Allah for anything he wishes.”
E: Supplicating with attention and humility, in a voice neither loud nor low.
Allah says: “Neither say your prayer aloud, nor speak it in a low tone, but seek a middle course between.” Qur’an 17.110 And “Call on your Lord with humility and in private, for Allah does not love those who go beyond bounds.” Qur’an 7.55
Abu Musa Al-Ash’ari reported, “Once the people raised their voices in supplication. At this the Prophet, peace be upon him, said, ‘Be easy on yourselves. You are not calling upon someone deaf or absent. You are calling upon one Who is All-seeing and All-hearing. He is nearer to you than the neck of your mount. O Abdallah b. Qais, shall I tell you a word that is one of the treasures of Paradise? It is: “There is no power nor any might except with the permission of Allah’’.’ (Muslim and Bukhari) Abdallah b. ‘Umar reported that the Prophet, peace be upon him, said, “Hearts are like vessels, some more attentive and capacious than others. When you supplicate Allah you should be certain of being answered, and know that Allah does not answer a supplication that comes from a careless and inattentive heart.” (Ahmad)
To be continued
