When the slave comes face to face with Allah’s greatness and majesty, he must admit to his own weakness. He then seeks His help and bounty amongst feelings of devotion and reverence. This is prayer and supplication.
Supplication, that is, seeking refuge through prayer, is of great importance in religion as it is an expression of one’s helplessness and a sign of one’s taking refuge at nowhere else but the Divine court.
The slave should perform his supplication to Almighty Allah, not merely with words, but wholeheartedly and in all sincerity. Prayers should be said in a spiritual state of being between ‘khawf and reja’ that is, ‘fear and hope’. Prayer must come from the heart; the heart must tremble with a desire that is consistent with the meaning of the words of the prayer. If one is asking to be forgiven for a certain sin, then there should be decisiveness and absolute determination in this prayer. Jalaluddin al Rumi has said:
“Supplicate and seek forgiveness with teary eyes and a heart burning full of regret. For flowers bloom where there is heat and moisture”.
Under all circumstances and as a requirement of being a slave, the believer should be in a state of entreaty to his Lord. The aim of true religious training is for the spirit of the believer to be in a continual state of supplication. This is because prayer is the key to the highest door of the heart that leads one to Allah. The Holy Qur’an states:
“If My slaves ask you about Me, I am near. I answer the call of the caller when he calls on Me”(Baqara, 2:186)
As prayer is repeated it becomes engraved onto the spirit of the believer with profound and meaningful feelings, penetrating his personality until they become a part of his character. It is for this reason that great and elevated spirits live in a continual state of supplication.
Supplication is when we turn to Almighty Allah, who is the Possessor of eternal power, with true perception of our helplessness and bow our heads down in His presence in submission and a state of serenity. To begin our supplication admitting our helplessness and our faults is to invite Divine Compassion and thus has great influence on the acceptance of our prayer.
The Prophet (pbuh) taught us how to pray in the best way. In addition to his salat which he performed in tears and until his ankles swelled up, he also sought refuge in Almighty Allah all the time with feelings of helplessness. He loved concise prayers and did not utter prayers that were not concise.[1] He used to advise the following:
“The point at which the slave is closest to his Lord is in prostration. For this reason you should look to making much supplication while in prostration”. (Muslim, Salat, 215)
Aside from praying consistently, the believer should also make efforts to gain the prayers of his brother in religion, and the poor, weak and needy. Because our Prophet (pbuh) said:
“There is no prayer that is accepted faster than the prayer a Muslim makes for another Muslim in his absence” (Tirmidhi, Birr, 50/1980).
Jalaluddin Al Rumi has the following to say:
“Look to giving out from yourself, your wealth, and your property in order to please hearts. So let the prayer of that heart be light and illumination for you, while you are in the pitch blackness of the grave….”
Scenes of Virtue
One day the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said:
“If a Muslim asks for something from Allah, Allah Most High will definitely grant his wish or He will remove evil from him in proportion to what He would have given him, as long as he does not ask for anything sinful or does not cut his relations with his relatives”
One of his Companions said:
“In that case we desire many things from Allah”. The Messenger of Allah responded as such:
“Allah’s grace is greater than the things you ask from Him”(Tirmidhi, Deavat, 115/3573; Ahmad, II, 18).
Almighty Allah does not reject sincere prayers. However He does not accept certain demands made that do not comply with Absolute Destiny, even though they may be asked for in complete sincerity. However, the slave should never give up and should continue to pray. This is because in those cases the response to the prayer has been deferred to the afterlife. Almighty Allah has said:
“Your Lord says, “Call on Me and I will answer you”( Mu’min, 23:60)
***
The Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) said:
“The prayer of the slave will be answered as long as he does not ask for something that will lead to sin or to his relations with his relatives being severed and if he is not impatient about the result”
He was asked:
“O Messenger of Allah! What does it mean for him to be impatient (about the result)?”
The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said:
“The slave says: “I keep praying but my Lord does not answer my prayer”. He gives up when his prayer is not answered immediately and he stops praying. (This is how he becomes impatient). (Muslim, Zikir, 92).
Likewise the prophet Zaccharia u prayed ““My Lord, do not leave me on my own….(Anbiya, 21:89)
In saying so he asked for a son with the purpose of strengthening the religion, yet his prayer was only answered 40 years later in the form of the prophet Yahya u
***
One time the Messenger of Allah saw a man in ritual prayer, who did not send blessings on the Prophet before he started supplicating. Upon this he said:
“This man was impatient (in a hurry)”. Then he called that man to him and said as a caution to his entire community:
“Whenever one of you prays, let him first praise Allah Most High and then send blessings upon me. Then let him ask for whatever he so wishes” (Tirmidhi, Deavat, 64/3477).
***
The Prophet Muhammad advised that a believer pray for his brother in religion either in his presence or in his absence. To Omar , who asked him for permission to perform the Lesser Pilgrimage he said:
“My brother, include us in your prayers, do not forget about us” (Tirmidhi, Deavat, 109/3562).
Omar explains how he felt when he heard these words:
“If they gave me the whole world I would not have been as happy as I was when I heard these words” (Abu Dawud, Vitir, 23/1498).
The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) has stated:
“The prayer of the Muslim that he makes for his brother in religion in his absence will be accepted. Whenever somebody prays for good for their brother, the angel that is on duty beside him prays for him: “May Allah accept your prayer and give you the same”(Muslim, Zikr 87, 88; Ibn-i Majah, Manasik, 5).
In that case we should pray for our Muslim brothers and sisters and ask them to pray for us.
***
What we need most in this fleeting world more than anything else is the state of taqwa (piety), and thus this is what we should ask for in our prayers. A man once came to the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) and said:
“O Messenger of Allah! I am about to take a journey, please pray for me”.
The Prophet replied:
“May Allah bestow piety upon you” . The man said:
“A little more, o Messenger of Allah”.
Allah’s Messenger said:
“May Allah forgive your sins”. The Companion said:
“ A little more, may my father and mother be sacrificed for you o Messenger of Allah”
The Prophet (pbuh) said:
“May Allah Most High make it easy for you to do good wherever you so happen to be” (Tirmidhi, Deavat, 44/3444).
***
One day the Messenger of Allah read the following words of Abraham u and the prayer of Jesus u:
“My Lord! They have misguided many of mankind. If anyone follows me, he is with me…” (Ibrahim, 14:36).
“If You punish them, they are Your slaves. If you forgive them, You are the Almighty, the All-Wise”. (Maide, 5:118).
After that he raised his hands and wept, pleadingly:
“O Allah! Protect my community, have mercy on my community”. Upon this Almighty Allah said:
“O Gabriel! Though your Lord knows best (but in order for people to know), go to Muhammad and ask him why he is crying”
Gabriel went to him and the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) told him that he was crying because he was worried about his community. When Gabriel returned to give this news Allah Most High said:
“O Gabriel! Go to Muhammad and tell him the good news that: “We will please you in regard to your community and We will never make you sad” (Muslim, Iman, 346).
So was our Prophet ever concerned with and merciful towards his community. As a response we need to deeply reflect on this hadith and ask ourselves how much we love him in return and if we do love him then we must ask ourselves how much of his sunnah have we applied to our lives and how much of his character have we adopted.
***
Ibn-i Abbas narrates:
“I once heard the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) say the following supplication after the night time prayer:
“O Allah! I ask that You give me from Your Presence such mercy that with it You will guide my heart, regulate my affairs, and put order into my disorder. And that you will fill me with perfect faith, and bestow on my outer, good deeds and You will render my deeds pure and sincere, and inspire me with a suitable way to gain Your pleasure, and give us friends that will be familiar to me and protect me from all manner of evil.
O Allah! Give me such faith, such conviction that leaves no prospect for unbelief. Give me such mercy that with it I can reach a station in this world and the next, which is worthwhile in Your eyes.
O Allah! I ask you for salvation by Your grace in Your judgement of us. I implore of You a special rank worthy of the martyrs (who are close to You), I wish for the life of Your happy slaves, and I ask you for help against our enemies.
O Allah! Even though my understanding is limited and my deeds are few, I bring to your door my (worldly and otherworldly needs) and ask that You meet them. I am in need of Your Mercy, and I present my state to you.
O my Sustainer who judges all affairs and brings them about and who sees the needs of the hearts and offers the cure. As you have separated the seas, I ask that you separate me from the fire of Hell. I ask to be protected from destruction and from the torture of the grave.
O Allah! If there is any goodness in any of your slaves or any bounty that You have promised Your creatures that I have not been able to perceive or that has not been included in my intention and has thus remained outside of my petition, then O Lord of the Worlds, I ask You to bring it about and bestow it upon me out of Your mercy.
O Allah! O Possessor of the strong rope and correct path (such as the Qur’an and the religion). On the Day of Judgement on which you have promised the unbelievers hellfire , I ask you for safety against the hellfire, and on the day after which eternity begins I ask you for Paradise along with those angels that have attained to your Great Presence, together with those who made much bowing and prostration in this world, and who kept their promise. You are the Possessor of endless mercy, You are the Possessor of endless love, You do whatever You wish (however much the petitioners ask for and no matter how big You are capable of granting them all.) O Allah! Make us of those who have not strayed nor caused others to stray and make us guides of guidance who have attained to guidance. Make us vehicles for peace amongst our friends and enemies to our enemies. We love those who love you because of their love for You. We are enemies of those who go against You because of their animosity to You.
O Allah! This is our prayer. It is up to you whether You accept it with your gracious beneficence. This is our struggle and You are our support.
O Allah! Fill my heart with light, and my grave with light; place light in front of me, and light behind me; place light on my right and light on my left; place light above me and light below me; place light in my ears and light in my eyes, and light in my hair and my skin and my flesh and my blood and my bones.
O Allah increase my light, give me such light that it is worth all of what I have said and a light that will encompass everything that I could not say.
Glory be to the One Who is enveloped in dignity and Who has made Himself known by His dignity. I glorify the One who has enveloped Himself in greatness and who, for this reason, continually offers extensive bounty to His slaves. I glorify the One who is the only One worthy of glorification and holiness. I glorify the One who possesses majesty and beneficence. I glorify the One who possesses majesty and kindness. He is above all faults”. (Tirmidhi, Deavat, 30/3419)
***
One time people complained of the lack of rain to the Beloved Messenger of Allah (pbuh). Upon this, the Messenger of Allah asked that a pulpit be brought. The pulpit was assembled where the congregational, eid and funeral prayers were held (the musalla). A day was determined for when the people should gather there. The Prophet (pbuh) set off when the redness of the sun had just appeared on the horizon. He arrived at the (musalla) and ascended the pulpit. He pronounced the takbir by saying “Allahu Akbar”, praised Allah and then said:
“You have complained that your country is in drought and that rain has not fallen at its usual time and is late. Allah (glorified and majestic is he) has ordered you to supplicate to Him. He has promised that he will answer your prayer” and then the Prophet proceeded to make the following prayer:
“Praise belongs to the Lord of all the worlds. He is the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate. He is the Master of the Day of Judgement. There is no god but Allah. He does as He pleases. O our Sustainer! You are Allah, and there is no other god but You. You are rich. We are poor. Let the rains fall upon us. Make what you allow to fall be strength and power for us. Let it last us for a period”.
After saying this he held up his hands. He lifted them up so high that the whites of his underarms could be seen. Then he turned his back on the people. His hands were still up in the air as he was doing this. Then he turned back to the people. He left the pulpit and prayed two cycles of prayer. Allah Most High immediately sent the clouds. It thundered and lightning struck. By the permission of Allah it began to rain. Before the Prophet had a chance to return to the Mosque it started to pour down rain. When the Messenger of Allah saw the congregation hurrying to take shelter he smiled and said:
“I bear witness that Allah is capable of everything and that I am the slave and Messenger of Allah” (Abu Dawud, Istiska, 2/1173).
After asking for rain from Allah Most High, our Prophet performed the special ‘Prayer for Rain’ and in this way turned to supererogatory prayer for the acceptance of his supplication.
***
The Prophet’s wife, Aisha has said:
“One night I awoke to find that Allah’s Messenger was not beside me (in bed). I thought that he might have gone to another of his wives. I fumbled around looking for him when my hands touched his feet. Then I realised that Allah’s Messenger was in prostration. I listened and heard him weeping and pleading as follows:
اَللَّهُمَّ أَعُوذُ بِرِضَاكَ مِنْ سَخَطِكَ وَبِمُعَافَاتِكَ مِنْ عُقُوبَتِكَ وَأَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنْكَ
لاَ أُحْصِى ثَنَاءً عَلَيْكَ أَنْتَ كَمَا اَثْنَيْتَ عَلَى نَفْسِكَ
“O Allah! I seek refuge in You from Your wrath. I seek refuge in Your forgiveness from your punishment. O Allah I seek refuge in You from You and from no other. I am incapable of truly praising You . You are as You have praised Yourself” (Muslim, Salat, 222; Tirmidhi, Deavat, 75/3493)
***
Omar narrates:
“On the day of Badr, the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) looked at the polytheists and saw that they numbered a thousand men. His companions however numbered only 313[2]. He immediately turned towards the direction of the Ka’bah and raised his hands in prayer. He began to implore loudly to his Lord as follows:
“O Allah! Grant me what You have promised. O Allah. Grant me victory. O Allah. If you destroy this community of Islam then there will be nobody left on the face of the earth to worship you”
He continued supplicating with his hands raised until his cloak fell from his shoulders. Seeing this, Abu Bakr went to him and lifted it up over his shoulder and then said to him:
“O Messenger of Allah! Your prayer to Allah is sufficient. Allah Most High will definitely bring about His promise to you”
At that point Allah Most High, full of Honour and Majesty revealed the following verse:
“Remember when you called on your Lord for help and He responded to you: “I will reinforce you with a thousand angels riding rank after rank”. (Anfal, 8:9)
And on that day too Allah Most High sent angels to help the believers. (Muslim, 58; Bukhari, Megazi, 4).
***
There was a companion called Abu Mi’lak who was involved in trade in partnership with others. He was an honest and pious person. One time he had set off (on a journey) when his path was cut by an armed robber who said:
“Take out whatever you have. I am going to kill you”
“If your aim is to take my wealth then take it” said Abu Mi’lak
“I only want your life” said the robber. Abu Mi’lak said:
“In that case, allow me to perform the prayer. The robber said to him:
“Pray as much as you like”. After he performed the prayer, Abu Mi’lak made the following supplication:
يَا وَدُودُ يَا ذَاالْعَرْشِ الْمَجِيدِ يَافَعَّالاً لِمَا يُرِيدُ أَسْاَلُكَ بِعِزَّتِكَ الَّتِى
لاَ تُرَامُ وَمُلْكِكَ الَّذِى لاَ يُضَامُ وَبِنُورِكَ الَّذِى مَلَأَ اَرْكَانَ عَرْشِكَ
اَنْ تَكْفِيَنِى شَرَّ هَذَا (اللِّصِّ) يَا مُغِيثُ اَغِثْنِى
“O Beloved of hearts! O Possessor of the Mighty throne. O Allah, who does whatever He wills. In reverence for your unattainable dignity and your unobtainable kingdom and the light that envelops your throne, I ask that you protect me from the evil of this robber. O Allah who runs to everyone’s aid, please come to my aid”
Abu Mi’lak repeated this prayer three times. As soon as he finished his prayer a cavalryman appeared with lance in hand at ear-level and killed the robber. The companion, who was saved by the grace of Allah, said to that cavalryman:
“Who are you? Allah used you as a means to help me”
The cavalrymen replied:
“I am a heavenly resident from the fourth heaven. When you made your first prayer I heard the doors of the heavens crack. At your second prayer I heard the clamour of the residents of the skies. When you prayed for the third time it was said: “Someone in trouble is asking for help. When I heard this I asked Allah to appoint me to kill the robber. Allah Most High accepted my plea and I came. Know this, that whoever does the ablution and prays four cycles of prayer and says this supplication will have their prayer accepted whether they are in trouble or not”. (Ibn-i Hajar, al isaba, IV, 182)
***
The Prophet’s wife, Ummu Salamah was once asked:
“O mother of the believers! Which prayer did the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) read most when he was with you?” She answered:
“Most of the time he would pray:
يَا مُقَلِّبَ الْقُلُوبِ ثََبِّتْ قَلْبِى عَلَى دِينِكَ
“O Allah who is the turner over of hearts! Make my heart firm upon your religion”(Tirmidhi, Deavat, 89/3522; Ahmad, IV, 182, VI, 91)
***
The Messenger of Allah made many prayers for the guidance of his community. For the guidance of the people of Yemen he prayed “O Allah! Turn their hearts toward us” (Tirmidhi, Menakib, 71/3934). The people of Taif turned him out of their town by stoning and insulting him in all manner of insults and continued to bring harm to the Muslims with their intense resistance until the 9th year of the hijrah. Yet for these people he prayed to Allah and sought refuge in Him: “O my Sustainer! Grant guidance to the Thaqif. Send them to us”.
When the Prophet (pbuh) sent Ali to Yemen to act as a judge he placed his hand upon the chest of his nephew, anxious at the responsibility of the burden placed upon him, and prayed as follows:
“O Allah! Guide his heart toward the truth, and make his tongue steady on the path of truth”
Ali later said:
“After this prayer I never again hesitated when I had to judge between two people” (Ibn-i Maja, Ahkam, I).
***
During the halt of the Greater Pilgrimage, the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) placed one of his hands on the halter of his camel and the other he raised and made a long supplication which expressed his servant hood and the sensitivity of his heart. A part of this beautiful supplication is as follows:
“O Allah! Praise be to you as You have praised Yourself and in a much better way than we could ever praise You. O Allah! My prayer, my worship, my life and my death are all for You. My return is to You alone.
O Allah! I seek refuge in You from the torture of the grave, from whisperings that swarm the heart, and from disorder in my affairs. O Allah! I seek refuge in You from the evil of disasters brought by strong winds.
O Allah! Bring light to my eyes, my ears and my heart. O Allah. Expand for me my breast. Make easy my task. O Allah. I seek refuge in You from health that turns into sickness, from your punishment that may strike suddenly and from your entire wrath. O Allah. Guide me to the straight path. Forgive my past and my future (sins).
O Allah, the Creator of the heavens and the earth, who raises the degrees and who bestows bounty. Different tongues overflowing and resonating are all being raised to You and asking from You. My wish from You is this: in this arena of examination, when the people of the world have forgotten me I ask that You remember me.
O Allah! You hear my words. You see where I am. You know everything about me, both open and secret. None of my affairs are hidden from You. I am helpless and poor. I ask you for help and mercy. I am afraid. I admit my faults. Just as the helpless asks from You, so too do I ask. Just as a lowly sinner begs from You, so too do I beg. However it is that a slave of Yours hangs his head low in Your Presence, tears falling from his eyes, sacrificing his all for Your sake, placing his face on the ground and prays to You, so too do I pray to You. O my Sustainer! Do not deprive me of having my prayers answered. Be Kind and Merciful to me, o the Best of those who are asked and the most generous of givers” [3]
What a sincere and concise prayer from the Messenger of Allah, who was free of sin. This prayer demonstrates the state that the heart should be in, in the presence of Allah Almighty…
***
A part of the supplication made at Arafat by our righteous predecessors (salaf-i salihin) is as follows:
“O Allah! Who can praise himself in front of You? O Allah! My tongue is tied up in sin and I have no useful deed nor any other intercessor, other than my hope in Your mercy, that will bring me to You. O Allah. I know because of my faults that I have no place in Your presence and I am ashamed to apologise to You. However You are the most generous of the generous. O Allah. Even though I am not worthy of attaining to your mercy, please let your mercy reach me nonetheless. Because your mercy is broad enough to encompass all. O Allah. However big my faults are, they are small compared to your forgiveness. Please forgive them O Possessor of Generosity.
My Lord. If you only forgive your obedient slaves, then who can the sinners turn to?
My Lord. If you only show mercy and compassion to your pious slaves then who will the reprobates turn to for help?
I am in need of you at every instant. You, on the other hand, have no need of me. Only You, as my creator can forgive me. Allow me to return from where I am with all of my needs having been met, with my desires and my wishes come true.
O Allah, o possessor and ruler of the needs of those who ask. O Allah, who knows what is within those who are silent. O Allah, besides whom there is no other Sustainer to turn to for help. O Allah, besides whom there is no other creator who is to be feared. O Allah for whom there is no intercessor to apply to and no doorkeeper whom one can bribe. O Allah, whose generosity and kindness increase as wants increase; and whose superior benevolence increases as needs multiply. O Allah! You are hospitable to each of your visitors. We too are Your visitors. Host us in Your Paradise.
O Allah! To each group is given a gift and to all askers is given what they ask for; offerings are made for all visitors. And to each person who hopes for it, reward is given to them. We have come, as a group, to Your Sacred House. We have halted at this great shrine[4] of Yours. We are present here in these holy places. Our hope is to attain to the great reward and recompense that is with You. Do not let our hopes be in vain o Allah! [5]
***
Abu Umama narrates:
“The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) read many prayers but we were not able to memorise any of them. One day we said to him:
“O Messenger of Allah! You have read many prayers but we have been unable to learn all of them”. The Prophet then said:
“Shall I teach you a prayer that encompasses all of those prayers? Say as follows:
اَللّهُمَّ إِنَّا نَسْأَلُكَ مِنْ خَيْرِ مَاسَأَلَكَ مِنْهُ نَبِيُّكَ مُحَمَّدٌ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ
وَنَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنْ شَرِّ مَااسْتَعَاذَكَ مِنْهُ نَبِيُّكَ مُحَمَّدٌ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ
وَأَنْتَ المُسْتَعَانُ وَعَلَيْكَ البَلَاغُ وَلاَ حَوْلَ وَلاَ قُوَّةَ إِلاَّ بِاللهِ
“O Allah. We beg of You all the good things that Your Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) sought from You and we seek Your protection against all the evils that Your Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) sought Your protection. You are the only Helper who is asked for help. You are the One who will allow man to reach his aim in both this world and the next. There is no strength to avoid sin, nor no power to perform worship other than from Allah!”
***
Anas narrates:
“The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) once visited a sick person who had lost much weight and asked:
“Were you praying for anything from Allah or did you ask for anything from Him?” The sick person replied:
“Yes. I used to pray “O Allah! Give me the punishment now that you would have given me in the afterlife!”
The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said:
“Glory be to Allah! You do not have the power to withstand this. Couldn’t you have prayed as follows:
رَبَّنَا آتِنَا فِي الدُّنْيَا حَسَنَةً وَفِي الآخِرَةِ حَسَنَةً وَقِنَا عَذَابَ النَّارِ
“… O our Sustainer! Give us good in this world and give us good in the hereafter and protect us from the punishment of the fire”(Baqara, 2:201).
The man then said this prayer and was cured. (Muslim, Zikr, 23; Tirmidhi, Deavat, 71/3487)
Thus we must be very careful about what we ask for from Allah and we must comply with the etiquette of supplication. We should always ask for goodness and well being from Allah.
***
According to a narration by Ali a contracted slave once came to him and said:
“I am not able to repay my debt, help me”. He said to him:
“Shall I teach you a prayer that the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) taught me? As long as you continue saying it, Allah Most High will help you pay back your debt even if it as great as the Mountain of Thabir” and he read the following prayer:
اَللّهُمَّ اكْفِنِي بِحَلاَلِكَ عَنْ حَرَامِكَ وَاغْنِنِي بِفََضْلِكَ عَمَّنْ سِوَاكَ
“O Allah! Bestow on me lawful provision and protect me from the unlawful! By Your grace do not make me dependent on any other than You”(Tirmidhi, Deavat, 110/3563).
***
When Sultan Murad I entered the plains of Kosovo he was met with a fierce storm which left dust in its wake. Not a thing could be seen. That night was the Night of Beraat (Forgiveness). After praying two cycles of prayer, Murad Han made the following prayer, tears flowing down his cheeks:
“O my Sustainer! If this storm has appeared due to the sins of this helpless slave of yours then please do not punish my innocent soldiers with it. O Allah! They came here for the sole purpose of exalting Your Name and propagating Islam.
O my Sustainer! You have not deprived me of victory all of these years. You have always accepted my prayers. Again I turn to You, so accept my prayer. Give us some rain. Let it lift this dust storm. Let us see clearly the faces of the unbelievers and let us do combat face to face”
O my Sustainer! Wealth and this slave too are both Yours. I am a helpless slave. You know best my intention and my secrets. My aim is not wealth nor property. I wish only to gain Your pleasure.
O my Sustainer! Do not destroy these believing soldiers and defeat them at the hands of the unbelievers. Give them such victory that all of the Muslims can celebrate. And if You so wish let this slave of Yours be the sacrifice for that feast.
O my Sustainer! Do not make me the cause of the destruction of so many Muslim soldiers. Help them and grant them victory. I would sacrifice my life for them if only to be accepted by You into the community of martyrs. I am willing to surrender my spirit for these soldiers of Islam…You have made me a soldier. Bestow martyrdom on me now through your Grace and beneficence… Amen!”
After this sincere, heartfelt entreaty the Sultan began to recite from the Qur’an with extraordinary calm. It wasn’t long before the clouds of mercy appeared. A heavy rain poured over the plains of Kosovo. The winds stopped blowing. The dust disappeared…
The enemy was then attacked. The battle that lasted for eight hours ended in victory.
As Murad Han was walking amongst the wounded and martyrs of the battle field, a wounded Serbian shoulder stood up and said:
“Let me go. I’m going to the Sultan to kiss his hand and become Muslim”. The Serbian soldier who was pretending to be wounded made as if to kiss the hand of Sultan Murad. He then quickly plunged a sword he had hidden under his arm into the chest of the Sultan. And there the prayer of Sultan Murad was answered in the most perfect way and he was blessed with martyrdom…
***
In conclusion, supplication has a central position in the life of worship and servant hood. This is because one of the things Allah is most pleased with is that the slave perceives his helplessness and raises his hands to present his case to his Lord and to pray and seek refuge in Him. This is why Allah Most High punishes the one who refuses to lower himself and disdains from praying and does not humble himself in asking for anything.
The Holy Qur’an says:
“Say: “What has My Lord to do with you if you do not call on Him?” (Furqan, 25:77)
Supplication is thus the key to the gates of mercy, the weapon of the believer, the pillar of religion and the light of the heavens and the earth. Whoever has had the gates of prayer opened for them has also had opened for them the gates of goodness, wisdom and mercy. The one who wishes to have their prayer accepted in times of distress and difficulty must make sure to pray much during times of plenty and comfort. Great souls are those who live their lives in a constant state of prayer.
[1]. Abu Dawud, Vitir, 23/1482)
[2]. See Bukhari, Megazi, 6; Tirmidhi, Siyer, 38/1598
[3]. See Ibn-i kathir, al Bidaya, V, 166-8; Haysami, III, 252; Ibn-i Kayyum, Zadu”l Mead, Beirut 1995, II, 237
[4]. In Arabic masha’ir, which is a shrine for the ceremonies of the pilgrimage.
[5]. See Ghazalli, Ihya Ulumi”d- Din, Beirut, 1990, I, 337-8; Beyhaki, ShuAbu’l Iman, II, 25-6