The Right Way of Supplicating Your Lord

14/07/2011| IslamWeb

A person must repent of the sins between him and Allah The Almighty, and free himself from the wrongdoings between him and people in order to gain forgiveness from Allah The Almighty in Ramadan. No doubt, those sins and misdeeds deny the acceptance of supplications by Allah The Almighty. At the same time, the wrongdoings between a person and other people return the supplication with failure. This is what the Messenger of Allah clarified in reference to the man who raises his hands towards the sky and sets out on long journeys, saying: "He is unkempt and covered with dust, raising his hands to heaven and saying, ‘O Lord! O Lord!’ while his food and drink are from unlawful sources, and he has been nourished with the unlawful; then, how could his supplication receive an answer?" [Muslim]

Here, the Messenger of Allah pointed out some impediments that hinder the response to supplication, i.e. one's food, drink and nourishment being from unlawful sources, in reference to all the other sins and misdeeds. In other words, if the unlawful is a reason why his supplication receives no answer, all other sins and misdeeds also hinder the supplication to reach his Lord The Almighty.

In order to have his supplication accepted, a believer should ask Him insistently, and exalt his Lord. The believer then should enter upon Allah The Almighty supplicating and asking Him persistently, repeating his invocation just as the Messenger of Allah used to repeat the supplication thrice.

Insistent supplication is very important. If Allah The Almighty sees His slave imploring Him, in a state of sorrow and grief, supplicating Him with an attentive and sad heart, submissive to Allah The Almighty, abasing himself before Him, and with tearful eyes, it is, most likely, that He will say (to His angels): "Give him (what he asks for)", as He says (in the Qudsi Hadeeth) (sacred narration): "Is there anyone with a demand so that I would give him (what he asks for)?" [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]

Let a supplicant say: "O Lord! You are The Generous, The Forgiving, The Beneficent, The Merciful, The Bestower (of favors), The Munificent, and The Doer of good; we have no lord other than You; and we have neither a refuge nor a way of salvation but to You. We are submitting our lying and sinning forelocks to You. We supplicate You with the supplication of the poor and needy, and implore You submissively and humbly."

Let him also sing the praises of his Lord: "Where could we go? There is neither a refuge nor a way to escape. Near whom should we stand? Whom should we implore? Towards whom should we raise our hands? To whom should we weep, be submissive, seek and endeavor?"

A believer should supplicate Him with hope and fear, in compliance with His Statement (which means):

• {Call upon your Lord in humility and privately; indeed, He does not like transgressors.} [Quran 7:55]
• {They used to hasten to good deeds and supplicate Us in hope and fear, and they were to Us humbly submissive.}[Quran 21:90]

He also Says in relation to His response to the supplication (what means): {So We responded to him and saved him from the distress. And thus Do we save the believers. And [mention] Zakariyya (Zechariah), when he called to his Lord, "My Lord, do not leave me alone [with no heir], while You are The best of inheritors." So We responded to him, and We gave to him Yahya (John), and amended for him his wife. Indeed, they used to hasten to good deeds and supplicate Us in hope and fear, and they were to Us humbly submissive.} [Quran 21:88-90]

The believers with attentive and humble hearts, tearful eyes and gentle souls, standing at the times when response to supplication is expected, raising the hands, facing the Qiblah (direction of prayer), and supplicating in the state of Tahaarah (ritual purity), praising Allah The Almighty and lauding Him, and invoking the blessing and peace of Allah upon the Messenger of Allah will have their supplications fulfilled, Allah willing.