Part 12

") Agh-Thariyat 51:56 21 AL-Mu'minun 23:115 '3) AL-Qiyamah 75:36

And there are other Verses which prove that Allah, the Most High has a profound Wisdom in creating the jinns and mankind and that is to worship Him.

Worship is to humble oneself before Allah, the Almighty, the All-Powerful out of love and glorification, by acting upon His Commands, by avoiding what He has prohibited in the manner dictated by the Islamic Law: Allah, the Most High says:

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‘And they were commanded not, but that they should worship

Allah, and worship none but Him Alone (abstaining from

ascribing partners to Him),“""! So, this is the wisdom behind the creation of jinns and mankind and accordingly, whoever rebelled against his Lord and arrogantly refused to worship Him, he will have rejected this wisdom, and his action bears witness to (his belief) that Allah created the creation in vain and without purpose. If he claimed that he did not believe that, that still remains a necessary implication of his rebelliousness and his arrogant tefusal to obey his Lord.

Q. 20. How can a person supplicate and not be answered, when Allah says:

“Invoke Me, I will respond to your , invocation).’'?!

A. All praise and thanks are to Allah, the Lord of the worlds, and I send peace and blessings upon our Prophet, Muhammad and upon all his family and Companions. I ask Allah, the Most : High for myself and for my Muslim brothers to grant us success in achieving correctness in belief, in speech and in action; Allah,

Fatawa Arkanul-Islam 82 PLY ots I subs the Almighty, the All-Powerful says: Ske & BK OM KB cot wat Heats 305p

kag fe Sis ‘And your Lord said: Invoke Me [i.e. believe in My Oneness (Islamic Monotheism) and ask Me for anything], I will respond to your (invocation). Verily, those who scorn My worship [i.e. do not invoke Me, and do not believe in My Oneness, (Islamic Monotheism)] they will surely enter Hell in humiliation!)

The questioner says that he supplicated to Allah, the Almighty, the All-Powerful but Allah did not respond to his invocation, and so this fact along with this Noble Verse, in which Allah, the Most High promises those who call upon him that He will respond to their supplication is causing him to doubt but Allah does not break His Promise.

So, the answer to this is that there are conditions attached to the response which must be fulfilled and they are:

1. Sincerity towards Allah, the Most Glorified, the Most High. This means that a person must be sincere in his supplication, tuming towards Allah, the Most Glorified, the Most High with a ready heart and having recourse to Him in truth, knowing that He, the Almighty, the All-Powerful is Able to respond to his invocation, and hoping for a response from Allah, the Most Glorified, the Most High.

2. That when supplicating, a person should feel that he is in the greatest need, indeed the greatest necessity for Allah, the Most Glorified, the Most High and that it is Allah, the Most High, Alone Who responds to the supplication of a person in need when he calls upon Him and removes the evil. But that he should supplicate Allah, the Almighty, the All-Powerful, while feeling that he is not in need of Allah, the Most Glorified, the Most High

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and that he has no necessity for Him, and that he is only asking out of habit, then that person is not worthy of being answered.

3. That the one supplicating avoids consuming what is forbidden (usury, stolen money etc.) because devouring what is forbidden acts as an obstacle between a person and the response to his supplication. This is confirmed in the authentic Hadith from the Prophet #% in which it is stated that he said:

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‘Allah is Good and He therefore accepts only that which is good. And Allah commanded the believers as He commanded the Messengers.”

For He, the Most High says:

“O you who believe! Eat of the lawful things that We have provided you with and be grateful to Allah if it is indeed Him Whom you worship.’"!!

And He, the Most High says: €tas i oct 5 Li “O you Messengers! Eat of the Tayyibat (all kinds of lawful food) and do righteous deeds.’"*!

The Prophet #% then mentioned a person who travels widely, his hair unkempt and covered with dust. He lifts his hands towards the sky (and supplicates thus): ‘Oh, Lord! Oh, Lord!’ whereas * his food is unlawful, his drink is unlawful, and his clothes are unlawful and his nourishment is unlawful. The Prophet 3% said:

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“So how then can his supplication be answered?’

So, the Prophet #% regarded it as unlikely that this man, who fulfilled the outward means by which an invocation is answered would have his supplication answered. Those outward means are:

1. Raising the hands towards the heavens, that is to Allah, the Almighty, the All-Powerful. Because He, the Most High is in (i.e. above) the heavens, over the Throne; and extending one’s hand to Allah, the Almighty, the All-Powerful is one of the means of having one’s prayer answered, as is shown by the Hadith narrated by Imam Ahmad in his Musnad:

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“Vane “Verily Allah is Modest and Most Generous and He is too Honorable to return the hands of His slave empty when he raises them to Him.""?!

2. This man called upon Allah, the Most High by the Name of the Lord (Oh, Lord! Oh, Lord!) And entreating Allah, the Most High by this Name is one of the means of having one’s supplication answered. Because the Lord is the Creator, the Owner, the Disposer of all affairs, in His Hand are the keys of the heavens and the earth, and this is why you find that most of the supplications in the Noble Qur’an are in this Name:

"1 Reported by Muslim in the Book of Zakah, in the Chapter on the Virtue of Spending and Charity.

'2] Rreported by Imam Ahmad in his Al-Musnad (5:428) and by AtTirmithi in the Book of Supplications, Chapter 105 (3556) and by Ibn Majah in the Book of Supplication, in the Chapter on Raising the Hands in Supplication (3865).

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So entreating Allah, the Most High by this Name is one of the means of having it answered.

3. This man was travelling, and travel is in most cases, a means of having a supplication answered. Because when a person is on a journey, he feels that he is in need of Allah, the Almighty, the All-Powerful and he is more urgent than if he is residing with his family. His hair is unkempt, and he is covered in dust, as if he does not care about himself, as if the most important thing to him is to turn to Allah and supplicate to Him, whatever his situation, whether his hair is unkempt and he is covered in dust, or he is living at ease. Unkempt hair, and being covered in dust have an effect on the response (to supplication). This is confirmed by the Hadith narrated from the Prophet #%, in which it is stated that Allah descends to the lowest heaven in the evening of the Day of ‘Arafah and Allah boasts before the angels about those standing there. He says:

'") Surat Aal ‘Imran 3:193-195

Fatawa Arkanul-Islam 86 PEM LIST sobs teat Gb YS be Gel ye EE syle “They have come to Me with hair unkempt and covered in dust, approaching from every deep path.'"") These means for achieving a response to supplication did not result in anything, merely because his food and clothes were unlawful and his sustenance was from the forbidden things. The Prophet 2% said:

“So how then can his supplication be answered?”

Therefore, if these conditions for achieving a response to one’s supplication are not fulfilled, then the supplication is unlikely to be answered. If they are fulfilled and Allah does not answer the one supplicating, it is only due to some wisdom known to Allah, the Almighty, the All-Powerful, something that is not known to the person supplicating.

It may be that you like a thing which is bad for you.'*! If these conditions are fulfilled but Allah, the Almighty, the AllPowerful does not respond, then it is either to repel from him a greater evil, or it is kept for him until the Day of Resurrection and he is given a reward in full, more and more. This could be because the one supplicating, who asked, fulfilling the conditions, yet he was not answered, and no greater evil was removed from him, but he has fulfilled the means, then the response was prevented due to some wisdom, so he is given a double reward once for his supplication and once for suffering by not having it answered. So, a reward which is greater and more complete is accumulated for him with Allah, the Almighty, the All-Powerful.

' Reported by Muslim in the Book of Hajj, Chapter on the Virtue of Hajj, ‘Umrah and the Day of ‘Arafah (436). '21 A reference to Surat Al-Baqarah 2:216.

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It is also important not to consider the re response slow in coming, for this is also one of the reasons it may not be answered. This is mentioned in the Hadith reported from the Prophet Re:

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“The supplication of any of you will be answered as long as he is not impatient.”

They said: “How is he impatient, Oh, Messenger of Allah?” He said:

3 Sats oT Lyesy Sye55 S565 bdo “He says: I supplicated, and supplicated, and supplicated, and He did not answer me."""!