Part 79

Allah 4 said: 401 Ne (ay Ae ik west 35 Se become eae 3 Ge Cp

“Our Lord! Give us in this world that which is good and in the Hereafter that which is good, and save us from the torment of the Fire!’’ (Quran 2:201)

And Allah 3 said: Oey

“Our Lord! Bestow on us from our wives and our offspring who will be the comfort of our eyes, and makes us leaders for the Muttagoon [pious and righteous persons who fear Allah much (abstain from all kinds of sins and evil deeds which He has forbidden) and love Allah much (perform all kinds of good deeds which He has ordained)]."” (Quran 25:74)

And Allah % said: 4O 6S & FSG COG, AE Day Ca Ee SY

“Our Lord! We have wronged ourselves. If you forgive us not, and bestow not upon us Your Mercy, we shall certainly be of the losers.” (Quran 7:23)

Chapter - 22 The Manners Of Supplication 485

In a hadith related by ‘Aaisha 4, the Prophet #% said, tia Je oi CE OM le goo

“.O the One Who turns hearts over (guiding some and leaving some astray), strengthen my heart upon Your religion."

Abu Bakr # related that he asked the Messenger of Allah 2, “Teach me a supplication which I can supplicate with in my prayer.” The Prophet #% said,

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“Say: O Allah, I indeed wronged myself with a great deal of wrong, and none forgives sins except for You, so forgive me with a forgiveness from You; and have mercy on me. Indeed, you are Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful."

15} It Is Recommended To End One’s Supplication With That Which Corresponds To What He Asked For

4 ete oe me eee tere cee ee RG ote @ SG ys Ot Os EG ES “Our Lord! Let not our hearts deviate (from the truth) after You have guided us, and grant us mercy from You. You are the Bestower.”” (Quran 3:8)

Because the suppliant is asking Allah 3% to bestow His mercy upon him, it is appropriate for him to finish his supplication by mentioning a corresponding quality of Allah 4: that He 8 is the Bestower. Here is another example; Allah 38 said:

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{ Related by Ahmad (24083). 1 Related by Bukhaaree (834), Muslim (2705), Ahmad (8), At-Tirmidhee (3531), An-Nassaaee (1302), and fbn Maajah (3835).

“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.”” (Quran 3:194)

Because the believers are asking their Lord to grant them what He promised them upon the tongues of His Messengers, it is appropriate that they complete the supplication by describing Allah 3@ as being always true to His promise: “For You never break (Your) Promise.” And in yet another example, Allah 3 related what ‘Eesa 38 said when he asked Allah 3 to send a table spread from heaven: “Eesa (Jesus), son of Maryum (Mary), said: ‘’O Allah, our Lord! Send us from heaven a table spread (with food) that there may be for us - for the first and the last of us - a festival and a sign from You; and provide us sustenance, for You are the Best of sustainers.”” (Qur’an 5:114)

Having asked for sustenance, ‘Eesa %#\ appropriately finished his supplication by saying that Allah 3é is “the Best of sustainers.”

These are examples that can be applied for any supplication. If you ask Allah € to bless you with a child, you can finish your supplication by saying, for example, that Allah is the Bestower or the Provider. If you ask Allah 3¢ to forgive you your sins, you can finish yours supplication by saying that He 8€ is Oft-Forgiving, the Most-Merciful. And if you ask for wealth, you can finish your supplication by saying that He 3 is the Provider and that He 3 is Most Generous.

16) Supplicating After The Last Tashahud Of prayer And Before The Tasleem (The End Of The prayer)

‘Abdullah Ibn Mas’ood 4 related a hadith in which the

Messenger of Allah #¢ taught the Tashaahud of the prayer

(what one says during the sitting down phase of the prayer) to

his Companions 4. Then explaining what one should do after

Chapter - 22 The Manners Of Supplication 487

that and before making Tasleem (before ending the Prayer), the Prophet # said,

“Then one may choose the supplication he likes most and [then] invoke [with it].’”

Muslim related it thus: eG died gy, he ch

“Then he may choose to ask for whatever he wants."

We mentioned earlier that one should perform a good deed prior to supplicating, for that will increase the likelihood of his supplication being answered. prayer is one of the best deeds that a person can perform; it is one of the most beloved of deeds to Allah 8. During prayer, a worshipper speaks privately to his Lord, praising Him, invoking Him, and prostrating to Him. Then, at the end of the prayer, if the worshipper supplicates to his Lord, the likelihood of his supplication being answered increases. And the Prophet # exhorted the people of his Nation to supplicate after the Tashahud, just before the end of the prayer. This further points to the superiority of supplicating at that time. Related Issue: An-Nawawee said, “Know that this supplication (the one that is performed after the final Tashaahud) is recommended and not compulsory. Unless one is leading the prayer, it is recommended to prolong this supplication. In performing this supplication, one may use any invocation, and one may ask for anything he wants from the affairs of the Hereafter or of this world. One may use invocations that are related from the Sunnah, or one may say whatever invocation comes to his mind, but the former kind of invocations are better. Also, invocations related from the Sunnah that are specific for this occasion are better than those that are specific to other occasions or those that are general.”

"I Related by Bukhaaree (835), Muslim (402), Ahmad (3615), An-Nassaaee (1163), Abu Daawood (968), and Ad-Daarimee (1341).

17) It Is Recommended To Supplicate When A Rooster Crows In an authentic hadith, the Prophet #% said,

“When you hear the crowing of a rooster, then ask Allah from His Favor, for it [means that (the rooster)] has [just] seen an angel. And when you hear the braying of a donkey, then seek refuge in Allah from the Shaitaan, for it [means that (the donkey)] has [just] seen a devil (a Shaitaan).’")

An-Nawawee related that Al-Qaadee gave the following explanation for the first part of the hadith: ‘One supplicates on this occasion in the hope that the angels will say Aameen to one’s supplication and that the angels will ask Allah 3¢ for his forgiveness...”

18) Transgression In One’s Supplication Is Forbidden Allah %% said: ee aoe < g, Besae shes bee caer

“Invoke your Lord with humility and in secret. He likes not the aggressors.” (Quran 7:55)

A transgressor of any kind is a person who is not loved by his Lord; furthermore, a transgressor is far away from having his supplications answered. A murderer is a transgressor, a tyrant is a transgressor, a thief is a transgressor - but how does one become a transgressor in his supplications? Ibn Taymiyyah, may Allah have mercy on him, said, “Transgression in supplication occurs in different ways. A person becomes a transgressor in his supplications if he does one of the following: he asks Allah 3€ to help him in something that is Haram (for example, he asks Allah 4% to help him steal); he asks for something that Allah 3% does not

"l Related by Bukhaaree (3303), Muslim (2729), Ahmad (8003), At-Tirmidhee (3459), and Abu Daawood (5102).

Chapter - 22 The Manners Of Supplication 489

do, by asking, for instance, that he be made to live until the Day of Resurrection; he asks Allah 3 to make him no longer require things that are necessary to human life, such as food and drink; he asks Allah 3€ to grant him the ability to see matters from the unseen world; he asks Allah 4 to make him infallible; he asks Allah 4 to provide him with a child, but through means other than lawful sexual intercourse with his wife (or with what his right hand owns); or he asks for anything else that is deemed a transgression, that Allah 3@ does not love, and that will result in Allah 8 not loving the suppliant who asks for that thing. Transgression in supplication is also interpreted to mean raising one’s voice as one is supplicating...”

‘Abdullah Ibn Mughaffal 4 heard his son say, “‘O Allah, for when | enter it (Paradise), I ask You for the White Castle that is to the right of Paradise.” ‘Abdullah said, ‘My son, ask Allah for Paradise, and take refuge with him from the Hellfire, for indeed, I heard the Messenger of Allah # say,

“Verily, there will be a people in this Nation who will transgress in [their] purification and supplication.”")

19) When One Is Supplicating, It Is Disliked For Him To Think Up An \nvocation Of Rhyming Words

One should not be extravagant or affected when he invokes Allah 3, and concocting an invocation of rhyming words is a form of affectation. True, some of the Prophet's supplications contain a sequence of phrases whose endings rhyme, but his supplications were free from all affectation, and when rhyming did occur, it was not intentional, but rather came from the eloquence of the Prophet #8. Ibn Hajr said, “This ruling is not overruled by what occurred in certain authentic Ahadeeth, for that (the Prophet’s supplication containing rhyming) occurred unintentionally...for example, speak-

"I Related by Ahmad (16359) and Abu Daawood (96). And Al-Albaanee tuled that it is sahih.

ing about Jihad, the Prophet # said, WEY G6 ole 2 Cts dt Syl ‘Allahummah Munizzalal-Kitaab, Sar'ee’ul-Hisaab, Haazimil-

Ahzaab (O Allah, Who has revealed the Book, Who is quick in reckoning, Who has defeated the (conspiring) parties."

And Ibn ‘Abbaas & said to ‘Ikrimah, ‘Watch out for rhymed supplications and avoid them, for I know that the Messenger of Allah #% and his Companions 4 would do exactly that (i.e., they would avoid rhymed supplications).”"

20) Asking Help For Sinning Or Breaking Off Ties Of Relation, Or Being Impatient For The Answer To One's Supplications - These Actions Prevent One's Supplications From Being Answered

The following prevent one’s supplications from being answered: One invokes Allah 3€ to help him perform an unlawful act, one invokes Allah 4€ to help him sever ties with his relatives, or one becomes impatient in waiting for his supplications to be answered. Abu Hurairah - related that the Messenger of Allah #% said, tJpdics Su ced Has I dk Gs G ta Sees ge “A slave will continue to be answered [in his supplications], as long as he doesn’t invoke for a sin [to be carried out] or for