A question I have always thought about it: why doesn’t ALLAH answer our supplications although ALLAH almighty had promised to answer them? Then, my journey of reading and comprehending the Holy Quranic verses started.….
ALLAH Almighty speaks to his beloved Muhamed “peace be upon him” in his Holy Quran: (and when my slaves ask you (O Muhamed) concerning me, then (answer them), I am indeed near (to them by My knowledge). I respond to the invocations of the supplicant when he calls on Me( without any mediator or intercessor). So let them obey Me and believe in Me, so that they may be led aright) [Al-baqarah: 186]. This is a proof that ALLAH almighty is close to us, hears and responds to our invocations. What has caught my attention is that ALLAH the majesty responds to our supplications, but how can we respond to him (When he calls on Me), and does he need our answers?
From here we can realize that ALLAH calls us to do things and we should reply to him. If we answer his call, he will answer ours. What are the things that we must perform in order to have our supplications answered? If we consider the prophet’s invocations and invocations of the righteous in the Quran, we notice that ALLAH answered all of their supplications, and he didn’t disregard any of his slaves. What is the secret? Let’s read the Al-Anbiya chapter and understand the supplications of the prophets “peace are upon them.”
Here, for example, our prophet Nuh (Noah) “peace be upon him” prays to his Lord to protect him from his community’s oppression, ALLAH almighty says: (and (remember) Nuh (Noah), when he cried (to Us) aforetime. We answered to his invocation and saved him and his family from the great distress) [Al-Anbiya].Then the chapter mentions our prophet Ayyub (Job) “peace be upon him” when his disease distressed him and he asked ALLAH to cure him. ALLAH almighty says: (and (remember) Ayyub (Job), when he cried to his Lord: “Verily, distress has seized me, and You are the Most Merciful of all those who show mercy” (83) So We answered his call, and We removed the distress that was on him, and We restored his family to him (that he had lost) and the like thereof along with them as a mercy from Ourselves and a reminder for all those who worship Us).
[Al-Anbiya:[83-84]. The supplication then moves to a difficult stage when our prophet Yunus (Jonah) was inside the whale’s stomach! So what did he do, how did he pray to ALLAH, and did ALLAH almighty answer his prayer? ALLAH says: (and (remember) Dhun-Nun (Jonah), when he went off in anger, and imagined that We shall not punish him, but he cried through the darkness (saying): La ilaha illa Anta [none has the right to be worshiped but You (O ALLAH], Glorified (and Exalted] be You [above all that (evil) they associate with You]! Truly, I have been of the wrongdoers (87) So We answered his call, and delivered him from the distress. And thus We do deliver the believers)[Al-Anbiya:87-88]. Thus, the response has come to save our prophet Yunus from this difficult distress while he is in darkness within darkness: the darkness of the deep sea, the darkness of the whale’s stomach, and the darkness of the night. However, our prophet Zachariah’s (Zakariyya) supplication was different; he didn’t comprise a disease, distress or oppression. Instead, he wished for a son to soothe his eye. He asked ALLAH: (and (remember) Zakariyya when he cried to his Lord: “O My Lord! Leave me not single (childless), though You re the Best of the inheritors”(89) So WE answered his call, and We bestowed upon him Yahya(John), and cured his wife)[Al-Anbiya:89-90].
After ALLAH almighty has mentioned his prophets’ supplications and responded to them, he said: (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-Anbiya:90]. Glory is to ALLAH! How easy we can answer any question. Only if we comprehend the Quran, we will find answers for everything we need. From this blessed verse, we can conclude that the secret of answering the supplication is that these prophets have achieved three conditions:
1- Hasten in doing good deed
The first step to achieve the way of answering the supplications is rushing in doing a good deed: (Verily, they used to hasten on to do good deeds): they don’t wait for someone to call them to do a good action, instead, they used to go themselves rushing in doing the good deed. This wording format (hasten) is a proof to show how speedy they were in doing anything to please ALLAH almighty, and Glory is to ALLAH, where are we compared to the prophets? How many of the believers have moneys, never the less, we rarely find one of them goes rushing to a poor or needy person, but wait until they approach him. He still may give the needy person some money or not- except whom ALLAH have mercy on him. And how many of the preachers of ALLAH need a small amount of money to spend in their way of preaching, and you hardly find who supports them or gives them some.
ALLAH almighty calls us all and says: (who is he that will lend to ALLAH a goodly loan so that He may multiply it to him many times? And it is ALLAH that decreases or increases (your provisions), and unto Him, you shall return)[Al-baqarah:245]. Let each of us ask himself a question: how many times in my life did I go harrying when I knew that someone needed my assistance, and I helped him with all I can afford? How many times did I go rushing to a human who went astray from ALLAH’s path, and I warned him, and preached him to pray or to leave the dreadful deeds? How many times in my life did I leave this worldly life and its demanding, and sit with ALLAH’s book reciting it and trying to memorize it? If you didn’t give something, how would ALLAH provide you what you desire? Hence, doing a good deed is more important than the supplication itself because ALLAH almighty mentioned hastening in doing good deeds before mentioning the supplication. He said: (Verily, they used to hasten on to do good deeds, and they used to call on Us)
2- Praying in hope and fear
The second step is the supplication, but how do we pray: (and they used to call on Us with hope and fear)? Hope means eagerness for ALLAH’s delights. And fear is being terrified from ALLAH’s almighty punishment. Therefore, our invocations must be asked in a way of intense hope and intense fear. From here, ask yourself dear reader: when you ask ALLAH almighty, do you notice that your heart is intended for ALLAH, and that you are being careful in pleasing him no matter what the result would be? Or is your heart directed only toward your request that you are asking for? This is another secret of answering the supplication.
When we pray to ALLAH almighty and seek something from him, do we remember the paradise and the fire for example? Do we remember during the prayer that ALLAH is proficient in answering our supplication and that nothing disables him neither in the earth nor in the sky? Do we keep in mind while asking ALLAH something, that He is greater than that thing, or do we fully focus on the thing we need and request from ALLAH? That’s why we don’t find any of the prophets seeking something from ALLAH except that they remember ALLAH’s power, mercy and his greatness during the situation. For instance, our prophet Ayyub (Job) said after asking ALLAH to heal him: (and You are the Most Merciful of all those who show mercy).
And our prophet Yunus(Jonah) which the Quran has described him as (Dhun-Nun); Dhu refers to “The” and Nun refers to “whale”. The strange thing in this noble prophet “peace be upon him” is that he didn’t seek anything from ALLAH! Instead, all he did is admitting two things. First, declaring about ALLAH’s oneness and greatness. He said: (La ilaha illa Anta [none has the right to be worshiped but You (O ALLAH], Glorified (and Exalted] be You [above all that (evil) they associate with You]!). Second, declaring that he was a wrongdoer when he left his people and went off in anger to the ship without seeking ALLAH’s permission for that action, so he admitted to ALLAH saying:(Truly, I have been of the wrongdoers).
The thing all the prophets did is that they all directed their supplication to ALLAH and remembered ALLAH’s greatness and ability, and they remembered their sins and weakness in front of ALLAH almighty.
3- Being humble to ALLAH almighty
The third and most important condition for answering the supplication is to be lowly and humble in front of ALLAH while performing invocation. Be humble while fearing ALLAH. ALLAH said: (and used to humble themselves before Us). The more humble you are while doing a supplication, the more chance it will be answered. Being humble does not only have to be when performing invocation. You should ask yourself: are you humble when performing your obligated prayers? Do you fear ALLAH while getting your sustenance and stay away from collecting sinful money? We realize why our noble prophet Muhamed “peace be upon him” assured the believer to acquire permissible food and drink so that his supplication might be answered. Did you ever think about forgiving a person who harmed you? Did you ever consider being patient for the sake of ALLAH toward someone who hurt you?
Or, did you ever ask yourself what are the things that ALLAH loves so you can do them to get closer to ALLAH and be one of his humbled slaves? These are questions we must point out and think about, and work on to be closer to ALLAH and to make sure that all our deeds, movements, and our senses are for the sake of ALLAH. That nothing we need from this life except to please ALLAH almighty. Is there a thing in this life more beautiful than to be pleased by ALLAH?
Lastly my dear brothers and sisters:
Are you going to hurry in doing good deeds? Are you going to sincerely direct your supplication to ALLAH? Asking him while recognizing that he is going to answer you? Praying in hope of his delights and fearing his punishment? Is your heart going to be frightened in front of ALLAH’s almighty words, while performing supplication, are you going to fear ALLAH in all your deeds?
If you decided from now on to practice this lesson, I want to tell you and assure you that ALLAH will answer your supplication, and this saying is based on experience I went through before you. One of its consequences is that ALLAH gave me more than I asked of him. And finally you should know that if a supplication was not answered in this life, then, ALLAH is either going to answer it for you in the judgment day when you need anything desperately in that day. Or that ALLAH will remove a distress, misfortune or suffering that might come along with answering the supplication.
Let’s pray to ALLAH with the righteous believers’ supplications that the Quran has told us about them: (Our Lord! Verily, we have heard the call of one (Muhamed) calling to faith: ‘believe in your Lord,’ and we have believed. Our Lord! Forgive us our sins and expiate from us our evil deeds, and make us die along with Al-Abrar( the pious believers of Islamic Monotheism(193) Our Lord! Grant us what you promised unto us through Your Messengers and disgrace us not on the Day of Resurrection, for You never break(Your)promise) Al-Imran:[193-194].
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By: Abduldaem Al-Kaheel
