Raise your expectations while supplicating!

  بسم الله والحمد لله والصلاة والسلام على رسول الله ، وبعد 

PART 1

The more your Yaqeen (Certainty) in Allaah and His abilities increases, the more strongly and swiftly you will receive the help from Allaah. Allaah تعالى does not abandon a person who puts his trust in Allaah and relies upon Him.

Allaah تعالى wants us to be in His Obedience, to be always in touch with Him through Fardh `Ibaadah (obligatory worship like the five daily prayers, Fasting in Ramadhaan, Zakaah, and Hajj), and try to get closer and closer to Him through Nawaafil (supererogatory good deeds – i.e., praying the optional prayers, or doing extra deeds besides what is obligatory).

Narrated Abu Hurairah رضي الله عنه: Allaah’s Messenger ﷺ said: ❝Allaah (تعالى) said: {I will declare war against him who shows hostility to a pious worshiper of Mine. And the most beloved things with which My slave comes nearer to Me, is what I have made obligatory upon him; and My slave keeps on coming closer to Me through performing Nawaafil (supererogatory acts i.e., doing other than what is obligatory) till I love him…}❞

[Saheeh al-Bukhaaree (6502)]

Allaah تعالى will never let our deeds go to waste, Allaah تعالى will never allow the reward for our deeds to be lost, He تعالى will never let us down, By Allaah! He تعالى will never abandon us.

What is the meaning of the Beautiful Name of Allaah: “al-Lateef”? It means: The Subtle and Courteous One, The One who knows the secrets of His slaves and is kind to them and endows upon them. The One who manages the affairs of the creation in hidden.

Ibn al-Qayyim رحمه الله said: ❝Whoever knows Allaah through His (Beautiful) Names, (Lofty) Attributes, and (Perfect) Actions, that person will undoubtedly love Allaah (more and more).❞

[Madaarij al-Saalikeen (3/18)]

How many times we have heard and read that a person missed his flight, or train, or bus, and he was angry and regretting it, and only to later thank Allaah for saving him from boarding that flight or train which got into an accident?!

It could be that that person might have supplicated, and because of his supplication Allaah تعالى saved him from the Harm.

Abu Sa`eed al-Khudree رضي الله عنه reported that The Prophet ﷺ said: ❝There is no Muslim who calls upon Allaah, without sin or cutting family ties, but that Allaah will give him one of three answers: He will quickly fulfill his supplication, He will store it for him in the Hereafter, or He will divert an evil from him similar to it.❞ They said: “In that case we will ask for more.” The Prophet ﷺ said: ❝Allaah has even more.❞

[Musnad Ahmad (11133) and Al-Adab al-Mufrad (710) and graded as “Saheeh” by Shaikh al-Albaanee]

So, when we supplicate, we should not despair, and we should not be impatient. We should raise our hands and supplicate, pour our heart out, and Allaah تعالى will respond in ways that are more beneficial than we can imagine. He تعالى will not let us return empty handed.

The Prophet ﷺ said: ❝Indeed Allaah is Hayiy (Shy) and Kareem (Most Generous), and is ashamed to allow His servant’s hands to return empty after he has raised them up to Him.❞

[Sunan Abu Dawood (1488), Sunan al-Tirmidhee (3556), Sunan Ibn Maajah (3865), and graded as “Saheeh” by Shaikh al-Albaanee. In Sunan Abu Dawood and Ibn Maajah the wordings are: ❝Your Lord is Hayiy❞. In Sunan al-Tirmidhee and Ibn Maajah the additional wordings are ❝to return him empty handed and rejected.❞]

Beseech Allaah O brothers and sisters! And learn the Adaab (etiquette) of making Du`aa. Before the supplication Praise Allaah and send prayers upon the Prophet ﷺ, have good thought about Allaah, don’t be impatient while supplicating, ask with determination that when you supplicate, He will answer, have hope for the response. You are not supplicating to the one who is weak or powerless, rather, you are supplicating to the One who is al-Malik, the Owner and Master of everything, the One who when He decides a matter just says: “Kun” (كن) and it comes into existence. You are supplicating to the One who is the Ever Living, the One Who sustains and protects all that exists. Neither slumber, nor sleep overtake Him. You are supplicating to the One who said: ❝{O My servants, were the first of you and the last of you, the human of you and the jinn of you were to gather in one place and make a request of Me, and were I to give everyone what he requested, that would not decrease what I have, any more that a needle decreases the sea if put into it. }❞

[Saheeh Muslim]

Contemplate! How much water does a tip of the needle reduce from the ocean? Almost nothing! And this is the similitude of all our prayers combined – after all the living and the dead, the first and the last, the humans and the Jinns were to gather in a place – we would not reduce anything from the Dominion of Allaah.

Do you remember the story of Zakariyyah عليه السلام?! He supplicated to Allaah تعالى, saying:

رَبِّ إِنِّي وَهَنَ الْعَظْمُ مِنِّي وَاشْتَعَلَ الرَّأْسُ شَيْبًا

{“My Lord, indeed my bones have weakened, and my head is filled with white (hair)”}

[Surah Maryam (19): 4]

Meaning: O my Lord! I have grown old and weak, my body is not strong as it used to be, my head is filled with grey hair.

And he further said:

وَكَانَتِ امْرَأَتِي عَاقِرًا

{and my wife has been barren}

[Surah Maryam (19): 5]

Meaning: In this old age and with a barren wife, there is no hope of having children at this stage of life.

But he said more, he said:

وَلَمْ أَكُن بِدُعَائِكَ رَبِّ شَقِيًّا

{And never have I been unhappy in my invocation to You, O my Lord!}

[Surah Maryam (19): 4]

Meaning: O my Lord! Whenever I had supplicated to You, I was never disappointed. O my Lord! How can I be sad when I know You hear my supplications and answer them? How can I be sad when I know You have power over everything?! You have never abandoned me, and never have You deprived me of anything beneficial.

And Allaah تعالى gives him the glad tidings of a son, saying:

يَا زَكَرِيَّا إِنَّا نُبَشِّرُكَ بِغُلَامٍ

{“O Zakariyyah! Verily, We give you the glad tidings of a son…”}

[Surah Maryam (19): 7]

Zakariyyah عليه السلام was amazed, he never doubted his Lord, but out of excitement couldn’t believe the news that in his old age he is going to have a son! He said:

قَالَ رَبِّ أَنَّىٰ يَكُونُ لِي غُلَامٌ وَكَانَتِ امْرَأَتِي عَاقِرًا وَقَدْ بَلَغْتُ مِنَ الْكِبَرِ عِتِيًّا

{He said: “My Lord! How can I have a son, when my wife is barren, and I have reached the extreme old age.”}

[Surah Maryam (19): 8]

Allaah تعالى responded to him, saying:

قَالَ كَذَٰلِكَ قَالَ رَبُّكَ هُوَ عَلَيَّ هَيِّنٌ وَقَدْ خَلَقْتُكَ مِن قَبْلُ وَلَمْ تَكُ شَيْئًا

{He (the Angel) said: “So (it will be). Your Lord says: “It is easy for Me. Certainly I have created you before, when you had been nothing!”}

[Surah Maryam (19): 9]

Meaning: Allaah تعالى responded to the amazement of Zakariyyah عليه السلام by saying: The creation of Yahya in your old age and while your wife is barren is an easy matter for Us. Don’t you remember that before this We created you while you were nothing and nonexistent? And before you We created Aadam without a father and a mother! So, your request was never difficult for Us to fulfil!

O my brothers and sisters! Raise your expectations when you supplicate to Allaah. Don’t say: “My problems are huge” or “I have bigger problems!” Don’t we say: “الله أكبر” (Allaahu Akbar! Allaah is the Greatest!) tens to hundreds of times a day, in the Adhaan, in the prayers, in the Adhkaar after the prayers? Is there anything bigger than Allaah? Is there any problem which Allaah cannot solve? Is there any harm which Allaah cannot remove? So, present your problems to Allaah and supplicate to Him for relief.

Raise your standards! Don’t you raise your standards when you go to meet a king, or the manager or the employer where you work? We have high expectations from the creation, while having low expectations from the Creator of all things! What is wrong with us? The Creator loves when we ask Him for our needs, and He gets angry when we don’t ask Him; whereas the creation loves when we don’t ask them, and they hate when we ask them for our needs.

Beseech Allaah! Displaying that you are in need of Him, and that He is rich and free from all wants. Beseech Him like a drowning person. Beseech Him because your Dunya and Aakhirah depends upon Him. Supplicate with Yaqeen (Certainty) that Allaah will answer your call, because the more your Yaqeen (Certainty) in Allaah and His abilities increases, the more strongly and swiftly you will receive the help from Him.

 

PART 2

When you supplicate, let your heart follow your tongue. Supplicate with concentration! Be attentive while supplicating! Don’t supplicate with your tongue while your heart and eyes are wandering around.

There is a (fictitious) story. It is said that there was an old man who was walking. While on the way he stepped in a puddle, and the water splashed on a woman passing by. The woman complained to her husband about what happened. The husband, who was strong, slapped the old man without inquiring. The old man couldn’t defend himself, so he said some words and left, and the husband and wife went their own ways. When they were climbing the stairs to their home, the husband’s foot slipped, and he smashed his head on the stairs and died. The woman went to the judge and complained to him that the old man had said some words which were inaudible, and that she believed that he had cast a spell on her husband, and which led to his death. The judge asked the old man: “What did you say to her husband?” The old man said: “I raised my hand in supplication to Allaah when I saw that I was powerless against this man. I said: “O Allaah! You have showed me his dominance over me, so now show me Your Dominance and Might over him.” This is all I had said.” The judge said to the woman: “You had complained to your beloved (husband), so he slapped the old man. And the old man complained to the One he loved (i.e., Allaah) about you two, and He killed your husband.”

If you are oppressed, or you are facing problems, or you are in need, be positive and have good thoughts about Allaah. As long you are obedient to Him and worshiping Him, then He will not let your supplications go to waste.

Don’t be sad if Allaah does not give you what you requested, and don’t be angry. Don’t put a condition that you should receive everything that you requested. Maybe what you are requesting is evil or harmful for you in this world or in the Hereafter, or what you dislike is good for you in this world or in the Hereafter, little is that you know.

Allaah تعالى said:

وَعَسَىٰ أَن تَكْرَهُوا شَيْئًا وَهُوَ خَيْرٌ لَّكُمْ ۖ وَعَسَىٰ أَن تُحِبُّوا شَيْئًا وَهُوَ شَرٌّ لَّكُمْ ۗ وَاللَّهُ يَعْلَمُ وَأَنتُمْ لَا تَعْلَمُونَ

{But perhaps you hate a thing, and it is good for you; and perhaps you love a thing, and it is bad for you. And Allaah Knows, while you know not.}

[Surah al-Baqarah (2): 216]

Relying upon Allaah تعالى means that you trust His decisions, and Allaah تعالى does not decide for us except that which is the best for us.

We are soon approaching the month of goodness (Ramadhaan). Increase your acts of `Ibaadah, increase your supplications, be obedient slaves of Allaah and shun sins of all types. Do not let the sins choke the path of response as punishment from Allaah. When sins increase, then the response is delayed.  Example: The land was ready to be conquered, all that the Banee Israaeel had to do was to enter that land and it was all theirs. But they disobeyed Allaah, so Allaah made them to wander aimlessly for another forty years.

As long as we are supplicating to Allaah, we are gaining, and we will always be at an advantage. The promise of Allaah is true but we fail to understand.

وَإِذَا سَأَلَكَ عِبَادِي عَنِّي فَإِنِّي قَرِيبٌ ۖ أُجِيبُ دَعْوَةَ الدَّاعِ إِذَا دَعَانِ ۖ فَلْيَسْتَجِيبُوا لِي وَلْيُؤْمِنُوا بِي لَعَلَّهُمْ يَرْشُدُونَ

{And when My servants ask you, [O Muhammad ﷺ], concerning Me – (say): indeed I am near. I respond to the invocation of the supplicant when he calls upon Me. So let them respond to Me [by obedience] and believe in Me that they may be [rightly] guided.}

[Surah al-Baqarah (2): 186]