By: Raya Shokatfard
“I believe in God and know He is fully capable to do all things; He is All-Knower, All-Powerful.
Why My Supplication?
I am such a tiny spec of His creation and He is surely able to respond to my supplications, but He does not! Why? Has He abandoned me? Or does He simply not care?”Does this sound familiar?
Dear respected reader, if you have asked similar questions, let us examine the response together:
Given that you do believe in the existence of God, you must know that most of your dilemma is already solved. By simply expanding your view and consciousness about your Creator you can find the answer, if you truly and seriously want an answer!
So, let us take the first step and ask you one simple question. Besides believing in God’s existence do you also believe that the Qur'an is the word of God, preserved, unchanged and revealed for all mankind and all times? If you have any issues with any of this, we suggest to stop for some reflection and before moving on to please read this: (Authenticity of the Qur'an)
Do you now have the sense that the supreme Creator that you believe in could only be called Supreme, All-Powerful and All-Merciful that after He created humans, He would leave guidance for them in such a way that they could access it and understand it?
Did He not do that through sending a succession of messengers and scriptures? Was Muhammad not His last messenger with the final uncorrupted scripture – the Qur'an? If the answer to all these is in the affirmative, then let us see how Allah Himself responds to your question above.
We now read His words with a different conviction than before. It is the Almighty talking to you now. This is not a book of philosophy or advice. It is a Divine Book from the Creator of the heavens and the earth and all that is between and around them. So, please pay close attention here!
First He would like us to know how close He is to us:
{And indeed We have created man, and We know whatever thoughts his inner self develops, and We are closer to him than (his) jugular vein.} (50:16)
To even think that God does not hear you or know about your thoughts or needs, should be reversed and replaced with the idea that, yes, He is very close to me indeed.
Then He informs us that He will, in fact, and without a doubt respond to our supplications;
{And when my servants ask you (O Muhammad) concerning Me, then (answer them), I am indeed near. I respond to the invocations of the supplicant when he calls on Me (without any mediator or intercessor). So let them obey Me and believe in Me, so that they may be led aright.} (2: 186)
You will ask: “If this is the case then, why are my supplications not answered?”
Well, let us stop and take another look at the verse above. It seems that the pre-requisite of answer to supplications is right in front of us: {So let them obey Me and believe in Me, so that they may be led aright.}
Are we doing the second part? This may take a thorough examination of our lives, actions, thoughts and behavior and make certain adjustment as to bring ourselves under the umbrella of God’s protection and gain His Mercy so that we are responded to by Him, as we respond to His call.
What if you do all this and still your supplications are not answered?
We are informed by Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) that if a supplication was not answered in this life, then, Allah is either going to answer it for you on Judgment Day when you need any help desperately on that day, or that Allah will remove a distress, misfortune or suffering that might come along with answering and thus this favor is much greater than answering the supplication itself which may bring you harm.
Your situation may fall into any of the above categories and yet there might be another element involved that could easily be overlooked by many.
There are times that we, as humans, supplicate to our Creator for something, and at the same time, we have our minds so made up that the answer should be coming from a certain direction. It is very possible that Allah does in fact respond, and opens the right door for the person to enter, but this person does not like this door and is looking for another door more suitable to his/her taste or desire. He simply does not see any of the open doors. The end result is doubt and suspicion about the Creator’s caring and ability to answer, which is the greatest and highest form of disrespect toward one’s Creator.
This reminds us of a story of a Muslim sister who was supplicating for a specific kind of man to marry, who was appealing, intelligent, had a good job, great family status and kind. Religion was at the bottom of the list and not important to her. But she had a very good heart and did believe in Allah.
The first step toward aligning oneself with the Divine methodology of supplication is increasing one’s faith.
Allah sent her in many cases men who were pious, kind and honorable, but lacked other requirements. The sister would reject them because they did not fit her specific requisites, not realizing Allah was choosing what was best for her.
She was then sad that Allah had not responded to her supplications for many years.
Such was also the case with a brother and the kinds of jobs he was searching and asking Allah to help him find it. These jobs would take him farther away from religion or community of Muslims. Yet Allah would open jobs and opportunities for him where he could be among Muslims, learn, work and grow. Again, this did not fit his picture and thus he did not consider it an answer to his supplications.
Allah had also favored him by opening the right doors, but in both cases these doors were not recognized as the mind had a different plot.
Any Solutions?
The first step toward aligning oneself with the Divine methodology of supplication is increasing one’s faith.
Let’s say one really desires to be a surgeon but has only completed high school. He should take the next step to study the general pre-requisites, then pre-med followed by general medicine and finally surgery. If one tries to understand the intricate details of surgery prior to having studied the required courses, he would set himself up for failure, frustration and disappointment no matter how smart he thinks he is. He simply cannot jump to final destinations before taking prior steps to learn about the sciences related to the field.
This person may be frustrated when asking and not understanding the right answer from his university professor about the details of the chambers of the heart, for example, not realizing that this course is taught 4 years later.
So, let us take the table around. We would like Allah to answer our calls, but what about us answering His call? Did we ever think about that?
Answering God’s call means worshipping Him the way He has ascribed to us. We come to know this only thought His Book as well as sayings and actions of His blessed Prophet Muhammad.
With all this in place, is there anything else that we must keep in mind in order to have our supplications answered?
Yes!
Perhaps we can say the most important fact in any supplication is sincerity. Did you know that even when the disbelievers in Allah supplicate to anything or anyone other than Allah with sincerity, it is Allah who answers them? He is the Lord of all the creatures. His justice encompasses all and not just the believers. But there is a difference!
The disbelievers in Allah get what they need or ask in this world, but they will not get any share of the bliss and Paradise in the Hereafter.
{But of mankind there are some who say: ‘Our Lord! Give us (Your Bounties) in this world!’ and for such there will be no portion in the Hereafter.} (2: 200)
The believer knows the unstable and worthless life of this world compared to that of the Hereafter.
Whereas the believer not only has his supplications answered in this world, but he has a great share of Allah’s mercy and reward in the Hereafter as well. Yet he must remember to ask for both worlds and with complete sincerely.
{And of them there are some who say: ‘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!’} (2: 201)
The believer knows the unstable and worthless life of this world compared to that of the Hereafter. He remembers Allah’s reminder:
{And this life of the world is only amusement and play! Verily, the home of the Hereafter, that is the life indeed (i.e. the eternal life that will never end), if they but knew.} (29: 64)
Lastly, a believer must remember that all his actions in this temporal world as well as his supplications must not include any harm to others. He enjoys and supplicates for what is lawful and shuns the unlawful. He lives in peace and tranquility and awaits a much greater and everlasting life in the Hereafter.
{But seek, with that (wealth) which Allah has bestowed on you, the home of the Hereafter, and forget not your portion of legal enjoyment in this world, and do good as Allah has been good to you, and seek not mischief in the land. Verily, Allah likes not the Mufsidûn (those who commit great crimes and sins, oppressors, tyrants, mischief-makers, corrupts).} (28:77)
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Published on: Saturday, 16 November 2013