• Author: Islamweb

Supplication is the most important rank of servitude and one of the best acts of worship. It involves humiliation, submissiveness, and total return to Allah, desiring the good He offers, invoking Him by worship, seeking His Help, and imploring Him.

The verses enjoining fasting in the Noble Quran are intertwined with the Almighty’s saying: “And when My servants ask you, [O Muhammad], concerning Me - indeed I am near. I respond to the invocation of the supplicant when he calls upon Me. So let them respond to Me [by obedience] and believe in Me that they may be [rightly] guided.” [Quran 2: 186]

Here are some reflections on this verse:

Reflection 1: The above noble verse stresses the importance of supplication in the life of the Muslim; it is like a shield that protects the believer from the worries of life. Many verses urge Muslims to stick to supplication, such as Allah’s saying: “And your Lord says, ‘Call upon Me; I will respond to you.’” [Quran 40: 60] and “Call upon your Lord in humility and privately.” [Quran 7: 55]

It was narrated in the Sunan (the four Hadith collections: Abu Dawud, At-Tirmidhi, An-Nasa'I and Ibn Majah) that the Prophet (sallallaahu ‘Alayhi wa Sallam) said: “Supplication is worship.” (Narrated by the compilers of the Sunan and others). This Hadith indicates that supplication is a type of worship. Ar-Razi said: “Whoever abolishes supplication has denied the Quran.”

Reflection 2: The noble verse clearly states that Allah does not let a supplication that a Muslim makes in vain; He is never distracted from hearing supplication; rather He is All-Hearing of every supplication. Some Hadiths confirm and establish this meaning. The Prophet () said: “Allah would be shy when a man extends his hands to Him [in supplication], asking Him for some good to turn them away empty.” (Narrated by Imam Ahmad)

At-Tirmidhi narrated that the Prophet () said: “Whenever a Muslim supplicates Allah, He accepts his supplication or averts any similar kind of trouble from him unless he prays for something sinful or something that may break the ties of kinship.”

It was also narrated that the Prophet () said: “Whoever wishes that Allah would respond to him during hardship and grief, then let him supplicate plentifully when at ease.” (Narrated by At-Tirmidhi)

At-Tabari reported that ‘Aai’shah (may Allah be pleased with her) said: “Whenever a believing servant supplicates to Allah with a supplication, it will not end until it is fulfilled immediately for him in this world, or saved for him in the Hereafter, so long as he is not in a hurry or despairs.” ‘Urwah said: “I said: O mother! How are his hurry and despair?” She said: He says: “I asked [for something], but I was not given [it], and I prayed [for something], but it was not answered.”

Reflection 3: Some of the Quran exegetes are of the view that the verse generally indicates that every supplication would be answered, and every supplicant would be responded to. Then they said: This generality is qualified by another verse, which is the saying of Allah, the Almighty, “…and He would remove that for which you invoked Him if He willed…” [Quran 6: 41] where answering supplication and responding to a supplicant is contingent on Allah’s will. Some Quran exegetes expressed the incorrectness of this view and proposed that the answer promised in verse [Quran 2: 186] is an answer in general, as suggested by the word ‘when,’ and not in entirety. That is to say that not every supplicant is answered; rather the collective sense is intended. Therefore, there is no need to restrict the answering of supplication to the divine will. According to those Quran exegetes, it is out of the grace and generosity of Allah over His servants that He answers their supplications, but this does not negate the non-acceptance of the supplication of one who does not fulfill the conditions of the acceptance of supplication, such as being sincere and believing that the disposition of all matters is in the Hands of Allah, the Almighty.

Ibn ‘Ashour said: “The verse indicates that the answer to the supplication of a supplicant is a favor from Allah over His servants. However, this does not necessitate that the supplication of every person at all times will be answered since the statement does not indicate generality.”

Reflection 4: Ibn ‘Ashour observed that the verse goes “indeed I am near” rather than “tell them that I am near” for brevity, as the unsaid part is evident from the first part “And when My servants ask you, [O Muhammad], concerning Me.” It also indicates that the word ‘ask’ in the verse is presumptive and does not denote actual occurrence. Another subtle meaning is that Allah, the Almighty, took charge of answering their requests Himself and removed anything that would connote mediation on the part of the Prophet (). It is also to bring to our attention that a servant is very close to Allah at supplication times.

Reflection 5: “fal yastajibu li” means: (i) let them demand my answer if they call upon me, or (ii) let them respond to Me when I call them to believe and obey, just as I answer them when they call Me for their needs. The Arabic verbs “ajaba” and “istajaba” are synonymous, meaning to respond to one’s request and fulfill his demand.

Reflection 6: “and believe in Me” means that they must duly believe in Me; that they must believe that Allah is One with no partner; that they must believe in His power that created and brought everything to existence according to precise determination; and that He is the One Whose help is to be sought in adversity and Who is the refuge in distress.

Reflection 7: Obedience to Allah, the Almighty, in all that He commands and forbids, and duly believing in Him, are the way to achieve guidance in this worldly life to help a believer realize its reality know what it is, and adhere to act righteously in it; therefore, the Almighty said, “that they may be [rightly] guided.” That is, they hope through sincere faith and recourse to Him, Glory is to Him Alone, to be guided by being on the path of righteousness that is not crooked; and subsequently they shall become reformed in themselves, people shall be reformed through them, and they all shall follow the path of guidance.

Abu Hayyan said: “Concluding the verse with the hope of guidance is the best of all things. When Allah commanded them to respond to Him and believe in Him, He reminded them that this obligation is only intended for the servant’s guidance through obedience to Him. The said guidance does not privilege Him with any benefits, as its fruit goes explicitly to the servant.

Reflection 8: Scholars pointed out another wisdom behind this verse that instigates supplication to be mentioned in the middle of the injunctions of fasting. According to them, this verse gives a hint that a supplication made upon the completion of fasting (of Ramadan) is accepted, and even when breaking the fast of every day (of Ramadan). Therefore, one should be very particular about making supplications at that time. It is also understood that the fasting person’s supplication is more likely to be answered, that the supplication made in the month of Ramadan is more likely to be acceptable, and that supplications can be made at the end of each day of Ramadan (when breaking one’s fast).

Reflection 9: The favorable times of accepting supplication are: shortly before dawn, during the latest third part of the night, at the time of breaking the fast, at the time between Adhan and Iqamah, at the times of extreme necessity, in travel, during sickness, when rain falls, when the ranks are drawn up for battle in the Cause of Allah, during the two ‘Eids, and the particular time on Friday the Prophet () informed, which is between Iqamah for the Friday prayer until the prayer is finished. The good places for accepting supplication include the Ka’bah, the Haram, and at sacred ritual sites, such as ‘Arafat, Jamarat, Safa, and Marwah.

Finally, the door of supplication is wide open, and it is not permissible for anyone, righteous or otherwise, to deem it closed for himself or anyone else. Sufyan ibn ‘Uyaynah said: "None of you should ever leave off making supplication nor allow what [bad deeds] you commit to preventing you from it, for indeed Allah answered Iblees (Satan), who is the evilest of creation [when he said to Allah] “He said, ‘My Lord, then reprieve me until the Day they are resurrected.’” [Quran 15: 36].” In response, Allah said: “So indeed, you are of those reprieved.” [Quran 15: 37]. Therefore, a Muslim should strive hard in supplication and not slacken to do so.