Supplication, Dought & clear, - * How can a person know whether finding things being made easy for him and having his prayers answered does not come under the heading of being led step-by-step to his ruin?

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I pray to Allah, may He be glorified, for many things, and I see answers to my prayers, but my heart says to me: This is from the Shaytaan, to make you get carried away and lead you step-by-step to your ruin, by making you feel reassured about your religious commitment!
How can I know that this is not because of the Shaytaan leading me step-by-step to my ruin? Does the Shaytaan have the power to make things easy for you so as to deceive you?
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Praise be to Allah
Firstly:
The believer always thinks positively of his Lord and negatively of his own self; nothing bad happens to him but he knows that what befell him only befell him as a result of his sin, and nothing good that he loves ever comes to him but he knows that it is by the grace and blessing of his Lord towards him, out of His kindness and generosity.
Secondly:
Supplication is of two types:
· supplication as an act of worship; the Muslim should constantly be in a state of worship and obedience towards his Lord;
· and the supplication of asking, which is asking Allah to bring benefit and ward off harm.
The supplication of worship is only for believers. As for the supplication of asking, it is for both believers and disbelievers, righteous and evildoers. Not everyone whose prayers are answered is one with whom Allah is pleased and loves, or is pleased with his deeds. This is in contrast to the supplication of worship, which can only be done with the help of Allah, may He be exalted, and is an indication of His love for that person.
Hence the answer to a prayer may be by way of leading a person, step-by-step, to his ruin, or it may be hastening his share of goodness, so that it is limited to him in this life only; or it may be by way of Allah showing His mercy to His slaves, or it may be an answer to the prayer of one who has been wronged, and so on. Or it may be because of a person’s righteousness and piety.
To sum up: supplication is one of the means of meeting one’s needs; in fact it is one of the greatest means. If the need is a worldly matter and the supplication is answered, then that is provision from Allah that he has attained by means of the supplication, just as work is also a means of attaining provision, getting married is a means of having children, and treating sickness is a means of healing. But being granted provision, and the hastening thereof, is not an indication that Allah loves the one to whom He granted that provision, just as a lack of response or withholding of provision is not an indication that Allah is angry with the one from whom he withheld it.
For more information and further clarification, please see the answers to questions no. 41114and 177561
Thirdly:
Giving and withholding, lowering and raising, wealth and poverty, health and sickness, and all that Allah decrees for His slave of provision, is all in the hands of Allah alone; He decrees it and sends it to whomever He wills of his slaves. None of His creation – neither the Shaytaan and his helpers, nor the angels, nor any created being – has the power to do any of that independently, and no one shares with Allah, may He be exalted, in the control of any of these matters. All of that is entirely in the hand of Allah. Having established that, this does not mean that people cannot be the means of any of the things mentioned above. As healing is only in the hand of Allah, the doctor is but the means; having a child is something granted by Allah, and the husband or wife is a means, and so on.
It was narrated and classed as saheeh by at-Tirmidhi (2516), from Ibn ‘Abbaas (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “… Know that if the entire nation were to come together to benefit you with something, they would never benefit you except with something that Allah had decreed for you; and if they were to come together to harm you with something, they would never harm you except with something that Allah had decreed against you. The pens have been lifted and the pages have dried.”
Classed as saheeh by al-Albaani inSaheeh at-Tirmidhi
Fourthly:
Leading someone step-by-step to ruin and allowing him to get carried away in sin is not an action of the Shaytaan at all, and he has nothing to do with it whatsoever. Nothing of that nature is attributed to him in the Book of Allah, or in the Sunnah of His Messenger (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him). He does not have the power to meet a person’s needs for the purpose of leading him step-by-step to ruin, nor does he have the power to withhold anything from him in order to lead him step-by-step to ruin. Allah, may He be exalted, has limited his stratagems to whispering and tempting people. As for control and disposing of people’s affairs, he has no such power at all.
Rather leading people step-by-step to their ruin is something that Allah, may He be exalted, does to whomever He wills of His slaves.
Imam at-Tabari (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
The basic meaning of leading someone step-by-step to his ruin is when the one who is subject to that misinterprets the kindness of the one who does that to him, so that the one who is subject to that thinks that the one who is doing it to him is being very kind to him, until he finds himself in trouble.
End quote fromTafseer as-Sa‘di(13/287)
The individual should think more positively of Allah with regard to what He has bestowed upon him of blessings, but he should also pay attention to giving thanks for it, and combine that with fearing the plan of Allah. Thus in his journey to Allah he should combine fear and hope, love and apprehension.
Al-Marroodhi said: I said to Abu ‘Abdullah – i.e., Imam Ahmad: How many people there are who are praying for you.
I said: I fear that this is leading me step-by-step to my ruin. Why do I deserve all of that?
End quote fromTaareekh al-Islam(18/76)
Fifthly:
One of the greatest signs that give rise to fear of being led step-by-step byAllah to ruin and that Allah despises a person, is when Allah grants him provision when he is disobeying Him and turning away from Him.
Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):
“Those who reject Our Ayat (proofs, evidences, verses, lessons, signs, revelations, etc.), We shall gradually seize them with punishment in ways they perceive not”
[al-A‘raaf 7:182].
Al-Qurtubi (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
Ad-Dahhaak said: The more they disobey Us, the more blessings We bestow on them.
It was said to Dhu’n-Noon: What is most deceiving for a person?
He said: When he is given a life of ease with a lot of blessings …
It was narrated from ‘Uqbah ibn ‘Aamir, that the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: If you see Allah giving someone what he likes of worldly gains despite his disobedience of Him, then this comes under the heading of leading him to ruin, step-by-step. Then the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) recited the words (interpretation of the meaning):
“So, when they forgot (the warning) with which they had been reminded, We opened to them the gates of every (pleasant) thing, until in the midst of their enjoyment in that which they were given, all of a sudden, We took them to punishment, and lo! They were plunged into destruction with deep regrets and sorrows”
[al-An‘aam 6:44].
Narrated by Imam Ahmad (17311); classed as saheeh by al-Albaani inMishkaat al-Masaabeeh(no. 5201)
Shaykh Ibn Baaz (may Allah have mercy on him) said: A person may be tested with times of ease, such as abundant wealth, wives, children and so on, but he should never think that this is a sign that he is loved by Allah, if he is not obedient to Him. It may be that the one who is granted that is loved by Him, or he may be hated by Him. It depends. Being loved by Allah is not indicated by high status, numerous children, great wealth, high status and so on; rather the sign of being loved by Allah is righteous deeds, fear of Allah, turning to Him, and doing one’s duty towards Him. The more a person fears Allah, the dearer he is to Allah.
It was narrated from the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) that he said: Allah grants worldly gain to those whom He loves and those whom He does not love, but He does not grant faith to anyone but those whom He loves.
Narrated by al-Haakim (94), He classed it as saheeh, and adh-Dhahabi agreed with him.
Whoever is granted religious commitment is dear to Allah, but whoever indulges in disbelief and sin, this is a sign that he is hated by Allah, according to his situation.
Moreover, it may be a test and a means of being led, step-by-step, to ruin. A person may be tested with blessings so that he gets carried away until he falls into evil, and ends up in a worse situation than before. Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):
“Those who reject Our Ayat (proofs, evidences, verses, lessons, signs, revelations, etc.), We shall gradually seize them with punishment in ways they perceive not.
And I respite them; certainly My Plan is strong”
[al-A‘raaf 7:182-183].
Or people may be tested with sickness, illness and so on, not because Allah hates them, but in accordance with divine wisdom, so as to raise them in status and erase their sins.
End quote fromFataawa Ibn Baaz(7/147-148)
And Allah knows best.








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Ad’iyah Mahzoorah (forbidden du’aa’s), Dought & clear, - * The Supplication: “O Allah, if my provision is in heaven, send it down”

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I wanted to ask about the validity of this du‘a(supplication): “O Allah, if my provision is in heaven, send it down; if it is in the earth, bring it forth; if it is far away, bring it close; if it is close, make it easy; if it is little, increase it; if it is great, bless it for me.” If it is saheeh (authentic), should it be said in any particular situation or at any particular time?
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Praise be to Allah.
This du‘a is not proven in any of the books of Sunnah (prophetic teachings) and reports from the Prophet of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), and it was not narrated from any of the Sahabah (Companions) or Tabi‘een (Successors). Rather it is the du‘a of an unknown Bedouin woman which one of the scholars heard her saying at ‘Arafah.
Al-Daynoori narrated in al-Mujalisah wa Jawahir al-‘Ilm with his isnad (chain of transmission) (p. 727) that al-Asma‘i said:
I heard a Bedouin woman in ‘Arafah saying: “O Allah, if my provision is in heaven, send it down; if it is in the earth, bring it forth; if it is far away, bring it close; if it is close, make it easy.” End quote.
It was also narrated by al-Jahiz in al-Bayan wa’l-Tabyeen (517), by al-Zamakhshari in Rabee‘ al-Abrar (178) and others.
What is meant by this du‘a, in general terms, is asking for provision and that it be made easy to reach it. There is nothing wrong with this, although we think that this du‘a is a kind of overstepping the mark and long-windedness in asking, which is contrary to the best guidance, the guidance of Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and his Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) after him. It was narrated that ‘Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) preferred concise words in du‘a and would not use any other kind of words. Narrated by Ahmad (27649) and Abu Dawood (1482); classed as saheeh by al-Albani in Saheeh al-Jami‘.
What is meant by concise du‘as is that which covers the goodness of this world and the Hereafter, in which the words are few but the meanings many, as in the verse in which Allah says (interpretation of the meaning): “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!” [al-Baqarah 2:201]; and as in the du‘a asking for well-being (‘afiyah) in this world and in the Hereafter.
‘Ali al-Qari said: The concise du‘a is that which covers all good things or includes praise of Allah. End quote.
‘Awn al-Ma‘bood Sharh Sunan Abi Dawood, 4/249
It was narrated from a son of Sa‘d ibn Abi Waqqas (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: My father heard me when I was saying, ‘O Allah, I ask You for Paradise and its delights and its joys and so on, and I seek refuge in You from Hell and its chains and fetters and so on.’ He said: ‘O my son, I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) say: “There will be people who overstep the mark in du‘a.” Beware lest you be one of them. If you are given Paradise, you will be given all the good things that are in it, and if You are given refuge from Hell you will be given refuge from all the bad things that are in it! Narrated by Ahmad (1486) and Abu Dawood (1480); classed as saheeh by al-Albani.
One of the du‘as of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was: “O Allah, You are the First and there is nothing before You; You are the Last and there is nothing after You. You are the Manifest (al-Zahir) and there is nothing above You; You are the Hidden (al-Batin) and there is nothing beyond You. Settle our debt and spare us from poverty.” Narrated by Muslim, 2713.
It was narrated from ‘Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) that a mukatib (slave who had entered into a contract of manumission) came to him and said: “I am unable to pay off my manumission; help me.” He said: “Shall I not tell you some words which the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) taught me? And if you have debt like the mountain of Seer, Allah will pay it off for you. He said: ‘Say: Allahumma akfini bi halalika ‘an haramika wa aghnini bi fadlika ‘amman siwaka (O Allah, suffice me with what You have permitted so that that I have no need of that which You have forbidden, and make me independent of means by Your bounty so that I have no need of anyone besides You).’” Narrated by al-Tirmidhi (3563); classed as hasan (sound) by al-Albani in Saheeh al-Tirmidhi. See: Tasheeh al-Du‘a by Shaykh Bakr Abu Zayd, p.61-63.
What comparison can there be between this and that long-winded du‘a of the Bedouin?
What we prefer for you and for every wise person, is the du‘a of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). If you are faced with any need pertaining to this world or the Hereafter, offer whatever du‘a you like for your need to be met and things to be made easy for you. It is not essential for this to be the exact du‘a narrated in reports; but if there is a du‘a among those narrated from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) that suits your need, that is better. Otherwise, offer du‘a as you like for the good of this world and the Hereafter.
If you insist on saying this du‘a, then let it be occasional, and do not make it a wird (part of a routine) that you always recite or a regular habit, and do not attribute it to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) or believe that it has any particular virtue or single out any particular time, place or act of worship for reciting it.
Some of the later Shafi‘i fuqaha’ fell into this error, and said that a certain du‘a was Sunnah at the time of the Duha prayer. They said:
It is Sunnah to say this particular du’a during the Duha prayer:
O Allah, the forenoon is Your forenoon, the glory is Your glory, the beauty is Your beauty, the strength is Your strength, the power is Your power, the protection is Your protection. O Allah, if my provision is in heaven, send it down; if it is in the earth, bring it forth; if it is difficult, make it easy; if it is haram (unlawful), purify it; if it is far away, bring it near, by virtue of Your forenoon, glory, beauty, strength and power; give me what You give Your believing slaves. End quote.
Quoted by al-Dimyati in Hashiyat I‘anah al-Talibeen (1/295); Hashiyat al-Tablawi ‘ala Tuhfat al-Muhtaj, 2/231; Hashiyat al-Jamal, 1/485.
They singled out these phrases for a specific act of worship without any evidence from the Quran or Sunnah, and they added to the words of the du‘a phrases that include some transgression and overstepping the mark, such as “by virtue of Your forenoon”. There is no known status or virtue of the forenoon such that one might ask of Allah by virtue of it.
In fact, the claim that this du‘a is mustahabb during the Duha prayer opens the door to bid‘ah and introducing innovations into the religion. It is not part of the teachings of the prominent earlier fuqaha (jurists), and it is not the action of the righteous salaf (predecessors), so it should be avoided, and the fact that it is falsely attributed to the Sunnah should be pointed out.
And Allah knows best.








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Ad’iyah Mahzoorah (forbidden du’aa’s), Dought & clear, - * Du’aa’ for protection

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In one of the mosques I found a piece of paper on which was written “Du’aa’ al-Tahseen (prayer for protection). The du’aa’ was as follows:
“I seek protection in Allaah besides Whom there is no god, my God and the God of all things. I seek the protection of my Lord and the Lord of all things. I put my trust in the Ever-Living Who does not die, and I ward off evil with (the words) there is no power and no strength except with Allaah. Allaah is sufficient for us and He is the best disposer of affairs. Allaah is sufficient for me Who is sufficient for us. The Lord is sufficient for me and I have no need of His slaves. The Creator is sufficient for me and I have no need of His creation. The Provider is sufficient for me and I have no need of those who are granted provision. He is sufficient for me Who is sufficient for me. He is sufficient for me in Whose hand is the sovereignty of all things, Who protects (all), while against Whom there is no protector (i.e. if Allaah saves anyone, none can punish or harm him; and if Allaah punishes or harms anyone, none can save him) [cf. al-Mu’minoon 23:88]. He is sufficient for me. Allaah hears those who call upon Him, and there is no object of hope beyond Allaah. Allaah is sufficient for me, there is no god but He. In Him do I put my trust and He is the Lord of the mighty Throne.”
Is this hadeeth saheeh?.
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Praise be to Allaah.
This du’aa’ is not proven from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). Something similar was narrated by Ibn Abi’l-Dunya inal-Faraj ba’d al-Shiddah, via al-Khaleel ibn Murrah from the faqeeh of the people of Jordan, who said “we heard that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)…” It was classed as da’eef by al-Albaani inal-Silsilah al-Da’eefah, 4173; andDa’eef al-Jaami’, 4348
Since it has not been proven in any saheeh report that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said this, no attention should be paid to it.
There are du’aa’s which have been narrated in saheeh ahaadeeth which are sufficient, and we have no need for the du’aa’s narrated in weak reports. These du’aa’s protect the Muslim, and the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) always used to recite them, such as the dhikrs for morning and evening, and other saheeh ahaadeeth. For example:
1 – Reciting the last two verses of Soorat al-Baqarah every night. It was narrated that Abu Mas’ood al-Badri (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “The last two verses of Soorat al-Baqarah, whoever recites them at night, they will be sufficient for him.” Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 4008; Muslim, 807. al-Nawawi (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: “With regard to the words of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) ‘they will be sufficient for him,’ it was said that it means they will suffice instead of praying qiyaam al-layl; and it was said, they will suffice him against the Shaytaan, or against harm. It may be understood as meaning all of these things.’”
2 – Du’aa’ al-karb (prayer at times of stress). It was narrated from Ibn ‘Abbaas that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to say at times of stress:
“Laa ilaaha ill-Allaah ul-‘azeem al-haleem, laa ilaaha ill-Allaah Rabb il-‘arsh il’azeem, laa ilaaha ill-Allaah Rabb ul-samawaati wa rabb ul-ard wa rabb ul-‘arsh il-kareem(There is no god but Allaah, the Almighty, the Forbearing; there is no god but Allaah, Lord of the Mighty Throne; there is no god but Allaah, Lord of the heavens, Lord of the earth and Lord of the noble Throne).” Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 6346; Muslim, 2730.
Reciting Soorat al-Ikhlaas, Soorat al-Falaq and Soorat al-Naas. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to recite them when going to sleep, and he would blow into his hands and then wipe them over whatever he could reach of his body. It was narrated from ‘Aa’ishah that every night when the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) went to bed, he would cup his hands together, blow into them then recite into themQul Huwa Allaahu ahad,Qul a’oodhu bi Rabb il-falaqandQul ‘aoodhu bi Rabb il-naas, then he would wipe as much as he could reach of his body, starting with his head and face and the front of his body. And he would do that three times. Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 5018.
And it was narrated that ‘Uqbah ibn ‘Aamir said: The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Have you not seen the verses that were revealed tonight, the like of which has never been seen?Qul a’oodhu bi Rabb il-falaqandQul ‘aoodhu bi Rabb il-naas. Narrated by Muslim, 814.
And Allaah knows best.








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