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He will still have to turn to Allah for help and will still have to seek refuge in Allah. He will not have some superhuman powers that, by his own will and power, he can do what he wishes. Instead, still, nothing good or bad can occur to him except by the will of Allah. However, he will be blessed by the fact that he is close to Allah and, hence, Allah will protect him and help him when he needs Allah's help and protection. "Were he to ask [something] of Me, I would surely give it to him; and were he to ask Me for refuge, I would surely grant him it." Obviously Allah is able to give the slave whatever he desires without any need for the slave to ask for it. But by being asked and granting, Allah becomes even more beloved to the slave and this moves the slave that much closer to Allah. This hadith proves that the person who performs the obligatory and voluntary deeds and remains away from the forbidden and disliked deeds will be honored with a special place with respect to Allah. Allah's love will cover him so much that if he asks anything, Allah will surely grant it to His beloved slave.2 Similarly, if the slave seeks refuge in Allah, Allah will give him 1 For more on the concept of hulool, see Abdul Khaaliq, Al-Fikr al-Sooji, pp. 65-68. He begins his discussion (p. 65) by saying, "Since seeking paradise and escaping from Hell is not a goal according to the Sufis, in fact that is the goal of the commoners and ignorant according to them, the Sufis created their own different goals other than that. [Their goal] is for everyone of them to become a god and lord, knowing all of the Unseen in the same way that Allah knows it and to manage the affairs of all of this creation in the same way that Allah manages such affairs, giving life and death ... The goal of the Sufi was to reach the level of Prophethood first and then they ascended until one of their members, they claim, reached the level ofGodship and Lordship." 2 A number of stories of pious souls' supplications being answered could be recorded here but there is no need for that. The interested reader may consult ibn Rajah, Jaami, vol. 2, pp. 348-356; al-Laalakai, vol. 9, passim. 1 169 Commentary on the Forty Hadith of al-Nawawi refuge and respite. The Prophet (peace be upon him) emphasized this point when he said, /. P ,,,. 0/ ,,,. al P BC/'J .J..1 1;.. / / ·i 0 I •. / .J..1 5LY ·. 01 J. / ൚ எ y if / / ./ iX Ù "There are from the slaves of Allah people who, if they were to make an oath upon Allah, He would certainly fulfill it." (Recorded by al-Bukhari.) In many cases, the pious prefer to bear patiently the afflictions of this world and hope that by doing so they will receive their rewards from Allah. Such was the case with the Companion Saad ibn Abu Waqqaas who had lost his sight and was told by his friends that he should ask Allah to return his sight. His reply to them was, "The decree of Allah is more beloved to me than my eyesight." Some of the early scholars stated that Allah knows what is in the best interest of His slaves. Sometimes a believer will ask for something while Allah knows that what he asks for is not the best for him. Therefore, Allah does not answer that supplication but instead gives him something that is better than that in both this life and the Hereafter. The Prophet (peace be upon him) stated, #..A Ș 0 ș 0f D1J/ o/ >DI . j j I.A/->-E 0f D1J/ ஏf Ț; j / 1ƽ:ƾ 0f D1 .:.iচ u,,. _Fr-o. Ė ,,..,;,,. "":?"" J,,. .. #- ..T Ƕ #- { ,,,. ,.. ,,,. ... /0 J a ,._;JI "There is no Muslim who supplicates Allah with a supplication that does not contain anything sinful or asks for the ties of kinship to be broken save that Allah gives him one of three things: either He will give him what he asks for soon, or He will delay it for him for the Hereafter or He will keep a similar evil away from him."1 Furthermore, one should not be confused by the fact that many pious people might supplicate to Allah and their prayers are not answered. According to al-Shaukaani, this hadith is talking about the auliyaa of Allah and this is one the highest level one can achieve. There are many levels of piety and goodness. Those of lower levels may not be granted the same blessings as the auliyaa mentioned in this hadith. 2 1 Recorded by Ahmad, Abu Yala, al-Haakim and others. According to al-Shaukaani (Qatr, p. 441 ), its chain is good.