Etiquettes of Supplicating- I

During the caliphate of 'Umar ibn Al-Khattaab, May Allaah Be Pleased
with him, there was no rain for an entire year and the people were
about to perish. So 'Umar, May Allaah Be Pleased with him, gathered
the people and they went out to the desert. He then asked Al-'Abbaas,
May Allaah Be Pleased with him, the paternal uncle of the Prophetto
invoke Allaah The Exalted for the Muslims. Al-'Abbaas, May Allaah Be
Pleased with him, raised his hands towards the sky and said, "O
Allaah, we stretch our hands to You admitting our sins and our
forelocks to You declaring our repentance, so Grant us rain." Thus,
Allaah The Almighty Sent down the rain.
The mother of Anas ibn Maalik, May Allaah Be Pleased with them, went
to the Messenger of Allaahwhile holding the hand of her son Anas to
serve the Prophetand asked him to supplicate Allaah The Exalted for
him. The Prophetinvoked Allaah The Almighty Saying,"O Allaah, Bless
his wealth and offspring."]Al-Bukhaari and Muslim[ Anas, May Allaah Be
Pleased with him, lived until his wealth and offspring increased in
abundance and he saw one hundred of his children and grandchildren.
Supplication )Du'aa'( means to ask for pardon, mercy, forgiveness and
to ask Allaah The Almighty for what one wants to achieve. It is one of
the acts of worship that earns the Satisfaction of Allaah The
Almighty. The Prophetsaid,"Supplication is worship."]At-Tirmithi[ Then
the Prophetrecited the verse in which Allaah The Almighty Says )what
means(:
•}And your Lord Says, "Call upon Me; I Will Respond to you." Indeed,
those who disdain My worship will enter Hell ]rendered[
contemptible.{]Quran 40:60[
•}Is He ]not best[ Who Responds to the desperate one when he calls
upon Him and Removes evil{]Quran 27:62[
The Prophetsaid,"Nothing is more honorable in the Sight of Allaah than
supplicating )to Him(."]At-Tirmithi and Ahmad[
There are etiquettes for supplicating that every Muslim should abide
by. Some of these etiquettes are:
• Choosing the time for supplication: There are some times when
supplication is likely to be answered such as in the month of
Ramadhaan, the Day of 'Arafah, Fridays, the time of Sahar )last third
of the night( and the first ten days of Thul-Hijjah. The
Prophetsaid:"No good deeds done on any other day are superior to those
done on these days )first ten days of Thul-Hijjah(."Some of his
Companions asked, "Not even Jihaad in the Path of Allaah?" He
replied:"Not even Jihaad in the Path of Allaah except that of a man
who leaves )for it( with his life and wealth and does not return with
either )i.e. he is martyred(."]Al-Bukhaari[
It was narrated that upon entering the month of Ramadhaan, the
Prophetwould say,"This month that has come has in it a night which is
better than a thousand months. Whoever is deprived of it has been
deprived of all of its goodness and none is deprived of its goodness
except the truly deprived."]Ibn Maajah[ As for Friday, the
Prophetsaid,"There is an hour on Friday in which a Muslim does not ask
Allaah for anything except that Allaah Will definitely Grant it to
him."]Al-Bukhaari and Muslim[
The Prophetsaid,"Allaah Descends ]in a way that befits His Majesty[ in
the last third of every night and Says: 'I am the King… I am the King…
Is there anyone invoking Me that I May Respond to his invocation? Is
there anyone asking of Me so that I May Grant him his request? Is
there anyone asking My Forgiveness, so that I May Forgive him?' And
this continues until the break of dawn."]Muslim[
The Prophetalso said:"The supplication made in between the )two( calls
for prayer )i.e. Athaan and Iqaamah( will never be rejected."]Abu
Daawood, At-Tirmithi, An-Nasaa'i and Ahmad[ The Prophetsaid,"The
supplication made in between the )two( calls for prayer )i.e. Athaan
and Iqaamah( is answered, so supplicate."]Ibn 'Adiyy[
The Prophetsaid,"The slave is closest to his Lord when he is in
prostration; so supplicate Allaah much )in prostration(."]Muslim[ Also
among the times when supplications are answered is when facing the
enemy, when it is raining, when roosters are crowing, after obligatory
prayers and during prostration.
• Facing the Qiblah. Once, the Messenger of Allaahwent out to lead the
people in the prayer of Istisqaa' )prayer for seeking rain(. He faced
the Qiblah and kept invoking Allaah. ]Al-Bukhaari and Muslim[
• Raising the hands. It was narrated on the authority of 'Umar, May
Allaah Be Pleased with him, that the Messenger of Allaahused to raise
his hands when supplicating Allaah The Almighty. ]Al-Haakim[ The
Prophetalso said:"Allaah Is Considerate and Generous; He Does not Turn
away empty the hands of His servant when he raises them to Him."]Abu
Daawood, At-Tirmithi and Ibn Maajah[
• Praising Allaah The Almighty and asking Him to Confer His
Salutations on the Prophet: Salamah ibn Al-Akwa', May Allaah Be
Pleased with him, said, "I never heard the Messenger of Allaahbegin a
supplication other than by saying, 'Glory be to my Lord The Exalted,
The Bestower.'" ]Ahmad[
One day, the Messenger of Allaahheard a man saying, "O Allaah, I ask
You as I testify that none is worthy to be worshipped except You, The
One, The Absolute Who neither Begets nor Is Begotten, Nor is there to
Him any equivalent." The Prophetsaid,"Indeed, you have asked Allaah
with His Greatest Name upon which He Gives when He is Asked with it
and Answers when He is invoked by it."]Abu Daawood[
Fadhaalah ibn 'Ubayd, May Allaah Be Pleased with him, said,"Once,
while we were sitting with the Propheta man entered the mosque and
prayed and then said, 'Allaahumma'ghfir li warhamni ]O Allaah, Forgive
me for my sins and Bestow Your Mercy upon me[.' The Prophettold him:
'You have been hasty in your Du'aa' O you who are praying. When you
finish your prayer and are seated, you should first praise Allaah The
Exalted as He Deserves, then ask Him to Confer His blessings and peace
upon me , then Supplicate to Him.'"After this, another man entered and
prayed. Then he praised Allaah and asked Him to Confer His Peace upon
the Prophet. Thus, the Prophettold him,"O you who are praying, invoke
Allaah and He Will Answer your invocation."]Abu Daawood, At-Tirmithi
and An-Nasaa'i[
• Being persistent in supplication and repeating it thrice. 'Abdullaah
ibn Mas'ood, May Allaah Be Pleased with him, said, "If the
Prophetinvoked Allaah, he would do so thrice. And if he would ask
Allaah, he would do so thrice. And the Prophetsaid:"The supplication
of every one of you will be granted as long as he is not impatient and
say, 'I have supplicated my Lord but He has not answered
it.'"]Al-Bukhaari and Muslim[ The Prophetalso said:"None of you should
say, 'O Allaah, Forgive me if You Will, Have mercy upon me if You
Will. Rather, be determined in asking for Allaah Does whatever He
Wills and no one forces Him. )i.e. one should invoke Allaah The
Almighty with certainty that his supplications would be answered as
Allaah Has Power over all things.("]Al-Bukhaari and Muslim[
Sufyaan ibn 'Uyaynah, May Allaah Have mercy upon him, said, "None of
you should abstain from invoking Allaah because of what is apparent
from his sins as Allaah The Almighty answered the invocation of the
worst of creation, Iblees, May Allaah Curse him. Allaah The Almighty
Says )what means(:}He said, "My Lord, then reprieve me until the Day
they are resurrected." ]Allaah[ Said, "So indeed, you are of those
reprieved. Until the Day of the time well-known."{]Quran15: 36,37,38[
• Lowering the voice when supplicating. Allaah The Almighty Says )what
means(:}Call upon your Lord in humility and privately;{]Quran 7:55[
The Prophetsaid to the Companions, May Allaah Be Pleased with him,
when they raised their voices in supplication,"You are not calling
upon someone deaf or absent. You are calling upon One who is
All-Seeing and All-Hearing. He is with you all the time."]Muslim[
• Supplicating Allaah The Almighty with what was mentioned in the
Quran and the Sunnah. It is better for the Muslim to supplicate Allaah
The Almighty with what was mentioned in the Noble Quran of many
invocations such as:
Allaah The Almighty Says )what means(:
•}"Our Lord, Forgive us our sins and the excess ]committed[ in our
affairs and Plant firmly our feet and Give us victory over the
disbelieving people."{]Quran 3:147[
•}"Our Lord, Give us in this world ]that which is[ good and in the
Hereafter ]that which is[ good and Protect us from the punishment of
the Fire."{]Quran 2:201[