The Greatness of Supplications

Introduction

In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful. All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds. And peace and blessings be upon our master Muhammad and upon his family and companions.

Allah said in the Holy Qur'an, after I seek refuge with Allah from the accursed Satan, In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful:

And your Lord said: Call upon Me, and I will answer you. Indeed, those who are arrogant about My worship, they will enter the Fire of Hell.

And Allah said in another place:

And when My servants ask you about Me, I am near. I answer the supplication of the supplicant when he supplicates.

And the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: Du'a is the essence of worship.

Allah, the Great, has spoken the truth. And His Messenger, the Noble Prophet, has spoken the truth. And we are witnesses to that.

The Universal Human Need

As humans, we all have a need. And the need of each person will differ from time to time. And the urgency of that need will differ from person to person as well.

Let's take the analogy of a child. When a child is born, it always needs its mother. And as it grows up, it understands that whenever the child is faced with a need — whether it needs to be cleaned, it needs to use a bathroom, it needs to eat, drink, or if it's feeling too hot or too cold — it understands that if I cry, my mother will help me. That is why children cry. They have a need.

But when it grows up, now it is at a stage where it can help itself. Whatever it can do for itself, the child does. It can eat by itself, go to the bathroom. But when it reaches the stage where it cannot do anymore, then it asks the help of its parents. For example, if the child wants cookies that are at a place where it cannot reach, it will go ask its mother. Or it wants to do something it is not able to do, it asks the father. That is the need of a child.

But the parents, they have different needs. The needs of the parents are not the same as the child. Whatever they are able to do, they fulfill those needs by themselves. But when their capabilities and abilities come to an end, they seek the help of others — for example, their family members. Or if they need advice, they ask their parents if they are alive. Or they ask the help of the community.

But what happens when they reach such a stage that no one can help them? The community cannot help them. Their peers and colleagues cannot help them. Their brothers and sisters cannot help them. And we as humans, we are all going to face that sometime in our life.

For a person who is not a Muslim, then to him it is a roadblock. He faces depression. He doesn't know what to do. But Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has made us Muslims. And as Muslims, we have a solution for every problem. And in this case, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says in the Qur'an:

Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala tells us: supplicate to Me, and I will answer your prayers.

Allah is Always Near — Turning to Him First

But for us, the cycle is reversed. The first person — the first Being — we seek help from is Allah before anyone else. Because we believe Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is all-powerful. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has the ability to do anything. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has the ability to solve any problem. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has the ability to take us out from every situation. So why not ask Allah? And Allah has given this to us. This is a direct request from Allah. This is a path from Allah: seek from Me and I will give you.

But we have forgotten this. This message from Allah — that I am here to help you whenever you need me — we have forgotten this. Whenever we are faced with a situation like this, if someone asks us, "Do you believe Allah can solve this problem?" we will say yes. But why are we not turning to Allah?

The Sahabah, radiyallahu anhum, whenever they would come to Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, they would ask questions, and based on their questions, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala would reveal ayat of the Qur'an to answer them. They would ask about battle during the sacred months, and Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala reveals the ayah:

They ask you about battling in the sacred months. قُلْ — Say this, this is the command. And they would ask about gambling and wine, so Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala reveals the verse:

They are asking you about gambling and wine. Then Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says قُلْ — this is the command, this is the reality.

But when the Sahabah came to Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam and asked: Is our Rabb, our Lord, close that we whisper and He will hear us? Or is He very far that we have to shout and yell and scream, then He will hear us? — Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala changed the sequence entirely. The usual pattern was "they are asking you about this, say." But Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala changed the whole format of the question and answer:

Allah did not say "O messenger, tell them." When My beloved slaves come to you asking about Me — and Allah emphasized twice, عَنِّي — then definitely I am very close. I accept the supplication of the person who prays unto Me. So this is the way Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is addressing the situation.

Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala loves us. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala wants us to turn to Him. And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala knows, as our Creator, that we are going to have needs. We are going to hit roadblocks and we will need help. There are things we are not going to be able to do ourselves. Who do we turn to? Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says: Ask from Me and I will help you.

Du'a is Worship

On the other hand, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says, in the same verse that was recited:

There are going to be people who are proud. They don't want help from anyone. They do not want to seek help from anyone, because they think they have the ability. They want to do it all themselves. And here Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says: those who are too arrogant about My worship, that they do not worship Me — then definitely they are going to enter the Fire.

But here Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has referred to du'a and supplication as ibadah. What does that mean? That means Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is telling us that when you seek from Allah, when you put a request to Him, when you raise your hands and talk to Him — this is not only a request. It's not something that you are merely asking for yourself. That act of asking from Allah itself is worship.

How many of us have thought about that? We only raise our hands when we need something. But when we think about worship, we think about reciting the Qur'an, or praying salah, or even giving something in charity. But here Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is telling us clearly: you raise your hands — this is worship.

Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said in a hadith:

(Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 3371)

Du'a is the essence — the very marrow — of worship. Because here you are speaking directly to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. You raise your hands, and you know that there is no barrier between you and Allah. You are seeking directly from Allah. So there is no reason why anyone should not be seeking from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And as humans we all have needs — there isn't any person who doesn't have a need, although everyone's need may be different.

The Four Scenarios of Acceptance

Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala first tells us: make du'a to Me. Then Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says: I will accept your prayer. Many of us feel that we make du'a many times in our life. Whenever we face a problem, we raise our hands and make du'a. But it doesn't seem to get accepted. We feel that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is not hearing our supplication — or not accepting it.

But you have to understand: when Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says that He will accept your prayer, that acceptance can be in different forms, in different ways, at different times.

First: Immediate Acceptance

If a person makes du'a to Allah, it is possible that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala gives the person immediately what he asks for. And we have seen that in our lives. We want something, we make du'a — "Oh Allah, let this court case be thrown out," or "Oh Allah, let me get this," or "Oh Allah, make this easy for me" — and Allah makes it easy for us.

Second: Delayed Acceptance

Then there are other times when we do not see it immediately. That is because Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala knows: if I give this to My slave right now, it is not good for him. But Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will give that thing later, when it is good for him. The example is of a child who has a cold. He's in bed, but he tells his mother, "Mommy, I want ice cream." Will the mother give him ice cream? She will give him medicine and say, "When you get better, then we will buy ice cream. Because right now, this is not good for you."

And at times Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala loves the supplication, that is why Allah delays it. Allah knows that if He gives this slave right now, he will never come to the masjid. Let's face it — how many of us know people who only come to the masjid when they have a problem? When they need a job. Or they have a family member who is sick. That is the only time they see the inside of the masjid. Or that is the only time they are forced to raise their hands and ask from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Even then, many don't raise their own hands — they ask other people, "Make du'a for me," but they themselves never raise their hands.

So sometimes when we raise our hands and ask from Allah, Allah loves this supplication. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala wants to see how determined we are.

Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala gives the example of rebellious people in the Qur'an:

Allah gives you the ability to travel on the land and on the sea. So there is this group of people on a ship on the ocean. A nice strong wind comes and blows the ship along, and they are happy that they are going to get there on time. Then all of a sudden, a strong wind comes — a hurricane blows — and waves start hitting the ship from all sides. They think the boat is going to capsize and they are going to drown. At that time, they leave all their idols and all those things they would worship besides Allah. They turn to Allah and sincerely worship and make du'a to Allah: "If You save us from this today, then definitely we are going to be of those who are grateful. We are going to believe in You. We are going to worship You." Then Allah says: as soon as Allah takes them away from that situation — the hurricane leaves, they reach their destination safely — all of a sudden they become rebellious again. They forget Allah. They forget the situation. They forget the promise they made to Allah. They forget the du'a they made. And they go on their own way, just as if nothing had happened.

In another place, Allah says:

O people! Your rebelliousness is going to work against you. So that is our nature. When Allah gives us, we turn away. We become bold. We break the commands of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. So that is why Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala sometimes sees it fit: it is better that you don't get this at this moment. Turn back to Allah. Change your life. Come to the masjid. Become a regular musalli. And understand that truly Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala can help you.

Third: Something Better is Given

Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala does not give us what we seek, but He gives us something better — because what we asked for is not good for us at all.

Fourth: The Reward is Preserved for the Hereafter

If Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala doesn't give us in this world, He preserves the reward of that du'a in the Hereafter. So when a person arrives on the Day of Judgment, he will be given immense reward and will ask, "Where is this from?" He will be told: this reward is all the du'a you made. That specific du'a you made — you did not see the fruit of it in the world, but the reward of it was saved for you here, when you need it most. At that time, he will wish that none of his du'a in the world had been accepted and that everything had been reserved for him in the Hereafter, because of the immense reward each du'a carried.

If that's hard to understand, consider this: if we make du'a, who benefits from it? Does Allah benefit from our du'a? What does Allah need from our du'a? Or can we say that the slaves benefit half and Allah benefits half? That is also impossible — Allah does not need our du'a. Or maybe we can say that nothing happens? But that is also impossible, because Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says:

And we know our iman and belief is that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala speaks the truth — whatever Allah says will come to be. So the conclusion is clear: we ourselves benefit. It is just that we are too hasty.

To that end, Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said: a person's du'a will be accepted as long as he is not hasty. The Sahabah asked, "How is he hasty?" Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said: he supplicates one or two times, and then he says, "My du'a is not accepted," and he abandons du'a.

(Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2735)

Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala wants to see the determination that you truly want the help of Allah and you truly believe Allah can help you. So turn to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

What Prevents Du'a from Being Accepted

There are sometimes outside forces which prevent our du'a from being accepted. This is something very important for all of us to understand. We have established that whatever du'a we make, whenever it may be, whatever amount or duration — it is always accepted in one of the forms mentioned. But there are sometimes outside factors which prevent our du'a from being accepted.

Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam spoke of a person who was traveling — described as أَشْعَثَ أَغْبَر, his hair is disheveled, his clothes are torn, tattered, and dirty. He is a traveler. Such a person — any person will feel sorry for him. You look at him and your heart goes out to him. And in the state of travel, everyone's du'a is accepted. Then Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam says: يَمُدُّ يَدَيْهِ إِلَى السَّمَاءِ, he raises his hands to the skies and cries, "O my Rabb, O my Rabb!" — a scenario in which we know his du'a would definitely be accepted.

But Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam then says:

(Sahih Muslim, Hadith 1015)

The food he is eating and has eaten — the food with which he nourishes his body — is haram, from a haram source. The drink he drinks is haram. His clothes are from a haram source. And his entire body has been nourished by haram — so how can his du'a be accepted?

This should shed some light on our own situation. We have to ask ourselves: are we in this situation? It is very important as Muslims that we keep our food, drink, and income — everything that we earn and own — from a clean source. We only consume halal. When we consume haram, this becomes a means of our du'a not being accepted. Haram can come in many different ways — with regards to food, it can be the ingredients. Or the source from which we get our money. And if we get our money from a haram source, whatever we buy with that is also considered haram.

So as Muslims, we want the link with Allah. We want the help from Allah. We want to be able to turn to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala whenever we are faced with any situation — and that is our lifeline. But if we are going to consume haram, we are going to deal in haram, then we are cutting that line ourselves.

Conclusion and Call to Action

May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala grant us the ability to understand this. And may Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala grant us the ability to change our lifestyle, understand the importance of du'a, and turn to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala at every moment of our life.

As a first step towards this goal, we should all try every single day to take out a few minutes — a few moments — where we raise our hands and make du'a to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. You will see that in the beginning it may be 30 seconds, and we have nothing to ask. Then it will eventually become a minute, and two minutes. And then it will become so lengthy that we will have to set aside time just to supplicate to Allah, when we realize that we have needs, we want to ask Allah, and there is no one else to ask.

So let's do this inshallah. From today, take out a few moments of our day. From the 24 hours, we are only asking for a minute or two. Raise your hands, and seek from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala enable us to understand this and practice upon what has been said.