Between wishes and destiny (II)
We are encouraged to be selective of time when we desire to offer special supplications for special needs. Specific period of the day have been identified to be “holy hours”. Allah (SWT) states in Qur’an 17:79 “And pray in the small watches of the morning: (it would be) and additional prayer (or spiritual profit) for […]
We are encouraged to be selective of time when we desire to offer special supplications for special needs. Specific period of the day have been identified to be “holy hours”. Allah (SWT) states in Qur’an 17:79 “And pray in the small watches of the morning: (it would be) and additional prayer (or spiritual profit) for thee: soon will thy Lord raise thee to a station of Praise and Glory”. Scholars interpret the “small watches of the morning” in the above verse of the Qur’an to be the last 1/3 part of the night. It is a “holy hour” during which special spiritual influences act on the soul of the individual waking up from the night’s rest. Special testimony is borne to the prayers and supplications of this hour by the angelic host. If we assume, for example, that the hours of the night (dusk to dawn) fall between 7pm and 7am, the last 1/3 part of the night shall thus begin at 3am.
The whole of Friday is considered holy, given the special spiritual position it occupies among other days of the week. Imam Muslim reports on the authority of Abu Hurayrah (RA) that the Prophet (SAW) said, “The best of days in which the sun rises is Friday, it was on Friday that Prophet Adam (AS) was created, entered paradise and was taken out of it”. Abu Hurayrah (RA) also relates from the Prophet (SAW) that there is a (holy) hour on Friday during which every request tendered by a believing servant of Allah (SWT) is granted. Imam Muslim reports that Abdullahi bn Umar (RA) asked Abu Burdah if he heard anything from his father (Abu Musa al-Ash’ari) about the (holy) hour of Friday. He replied, “Yes, I heard from him that the Prophet (SAW) said it is the period between the sitting of the Imam (on the pulpit during Friday congregational prayer) and the termination of the prayer”. However, it must be remembered that all days of the week and all hours of the day belong to Allah (SWT). Therefore, other days and hours can be utilized if selecting a special hour is not practicable.
A suppliant must ensure that his body, clothes and place of worship are clean from impurities. It is required that he/she performs ablution as a requirement for the purification of his body. When a suppliant sits to commence supplication, scholars recommend that he/she begins, as characteristic of every religious exercise, with prayers of peace and blessing upon the Prophet (SAW). He/she is then exhorted to sincerely repent from sins and pray to Allah (SWT) for the forgiveness of his past mistakes and transgressions. The suppliant must show remorse from the bottom of his/her heart as if he were a run-away slave who voluntarily returned to his/her master. It was with such a remorseful sense that Prophet Adam (AS) and his wife Hawwa’u prayed to Allah (SWT) after they were deceived by the Satan to eat from the forbidden fruit. They prayed as continued in Qur’an 7:23 “…Our Lord! We have wronged our own souls: If Thou forgive us not and bestow not upon us Thy mercy, we shall certainly be lost”.
The next step in the recommended preliminaries of supplication is giving gratitude to Allah SWT). A suppliant is expected to thank Allah (SWT) for all the favours done to him. There is no harm mentioning some of the favours such as health, wealth, wife/wives, husband, children, knowledge, power, authority, physical strength, house, job, car, etc, as may be applicable. No one indeed can ever know let alone speak about all the blessings and mercies he/she enjoys from Allah (SWT). The Creator of the heaven and earth states in Qur’an 14:34 “He gives you of all that ye ask for. But if ye count the favours of Allah, never will ye be able to number them…” Nonetheless, the more gratitude we give to Allah (SWT) for His favours, the more He grants us. Allah (SWT) reminds us in Qur’an 14:7 “And remember! Your Lord caused to be declared (publicly): ‘If ye are grateful, I will add more (favours) unto you; But if ye show ingratitude, truly my punishment is terrible indeed”.
A worshipper is required to give praises to Allah (SWT) in the light of His attributes. Allah (SWT), for instance, gives and takes; raises and debases; honours and disgraces; the Lord of Majesty and Bounty. Allah (SWT) affirms in Qur’an 30:19 “It is He who brings out the living from the dead, and brings out the dead from the living, and who gives life to the earth after it is dead…”
A suppliant may then wish to, after extolling Allah (SWT) in His beautiful names and attributes, present his request(s). Nothing is too big or too small to be asked for from Allah SWT), the Provider of all needs. Believers are encouraged to ask Allah (SWT) to grant their request(s) if such will benefit them in this world and the hereafter; even though this clause is not part of the prayer that many people want to add to their supplications. It is not part of any effective supplication to ask Allah (SWT) for a favour and then assume that the prayer has been heard. Prayers certainly require constancy and patience. Allah (SWT) reminds us in Qur’an 2:45 Nay, seek (Allah’s) help with patient perseverance and prayer: it is indeed hard, except to those who bring a lowly spirit”.
The one in need must continue to pray until the favor he/she is asking for is granted. Sometimes, prayers for specific favours could be a lifetime affair. Nothing stops a believer from praying to Allah (SWT) for forgiveness throughout his/her life because there is no means to knowing whether his/her sins have been forgiven or not. Nothing equally stops a believer from praying to Allah (SWT), throughout his/her life, to grant him/her paradise. Supplications of requests could be made during every obligatory prayer; specifically in the last prostration of every prayer, wajib (obligatory) or nafilat (non-obligatory).
There are various supplications available in the Qur’an and the Hadith of the Prophet (SAW) by which believers could call upon Allah (SWT) to grant their requests. Allah’s beautiful names are effective means to the pleasurable ends sought by suppliants. Allah (SWT) affirms in Qur’an 7:180 “The most beautiful names belong to Allah: so call on Him by them; but shun such men as use profanity in His names; for what they do, they will soon be requited”. This verse quoted from the Qur’an prohibits using Allah’s name in ways tantamount to shirk (polytheism).
As mentioned in the first part of their discourse, the prerogative of granting prayers rests with Allah (SWT) alone. As believers, let us always accept the outcome of our prayers, favourable or otherwise. This is the spiritual way of reconciling peacefully between wishes and destiny. May Allah (SWT) guide us to appreciate and give gratitude to Him for all the favours He has bestowed on us, amin.