Section: Conditions Of Supplication

Allah said, "And they have been commanded no more than this: to worship Allah, offering him sincere devotion, being true (in faith)." [Al Bayyinah: 5]Say: "Call upon besides Him, whoever you want: they will have neither the power to remove your troubles from you nor to change them." [Al Isra': 56]"Verily those whom you call upon, (call upon them), and let them answer your prayer, if you are truthful" [Al A'raf: 194]The Prophet (ﷺ) also recommended his young cousin, Abdullah Ibn Abbas (Ra) to adopt the following manner. Ibn Abbas (Ra) said,"One day I was riding behind the Prophet (ﷺ) when he said to me;"O little one! If Allah is always in your thoughts He will protect you and you will always find Him with you. When you ask, ask Allah and when you seek help, seek help from Allah."

Abu Hurayrah (Ra) narrated that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "O people, Allah the Almighty is good and accepts only that which is good. Allah has commanded the Faithful to do what He had commanded the Messengers. He had instructed them:'O Messengers! Eat of the good things, and do what is right. And Allah has ordered you, O You who believe! Eat of the good that we have provided you'.Then he (the messenger) mentioned the incident of a man who, having journeyed far, is disheveled and dusty, and who spreads out his hands to the sky, saying, "O Lord! O Lord!"But while his food is unlawful, his drink is unlawful, his clothing is unlawful, and he is nourished on what is unlawfully acquired, how can his prayer be answered?"The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "O Sa'id eat lawful food so that your supplication will be accepted."Thus, of the conditions of supplication to be acceptable, is lawful consumption, bought with lawful income. If one were to be careless in this, or if one were to dwell on the hope of Allah's forgiveness, and continue with one's illegitimate occupation, then one is making a grave mistake, as Allah has openly declared His contempt and disownment of this.Wahb Ibn Munabbih (Ra) said, "I was informed that Musa (As) passed by a man weeping and earnestly entreating Allah." Musa (As) said, "O Lord! May You answer Your slave". Allah inspired Musay (As) by saying, "O Musa, if he kept weeping until death and raised his hand to sky level, I will never answer him" "Why?" Musa (As) asked, "Because his food is unlawful," Allah replied.

Abu Hurayrah (Ra) narrated that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said,"Supplicate to Allah and bear in mind that He will surely answer you. Beware Allah never answers the supplications of someone who is heedless (those who do not concentrate in their du'as to such an extent that their hands are raised and their hearts are elsewhere)."Imam Ahmad (R.A.) narrated on the authority of Abdullah Ibn Umartie that the Prophet (ﷺ) said,"Hearts are like vessels and some of them may be more thoughtful than others. Thus, if you invoke Allah, you must bear in mind that He will surely answer you. Because Allah never answers the supplication of a heedless one."

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) is reported to have said,"Allah answers one's supplication unless he asks to committing sin, severe the ties of kinship or is too impatient for the answer. What is too impatient?" The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) was asked,He said, "When someone says I made supplication but there was no answer. Then, he gets weary and leaves supplication aside."Allah says, "Even those who are with Him are neither proud nor are they weary (of His service) [Al Ambiya: 19]Abu Hurayrah narrated that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said,"Allah answers one's supplication as long as he does not show impatience for the answer, by saying: I supplicated but there was no answer."Among the conditions of supplication, as stated by Sahl ibn Abdullah AtTastary (R.A.), are the following: entreaty, fear, hope, persistence, submission, generality, and eating lawful food (as previously mentioned).Ibn Ata'ullah (R.A.) said, "Supplication has pillars, wings, means and time. When the pillars are kept erect, it will remain strong. When the wings are fixed it will fly skyward. When it is performed on time it will pass with speed. And when it has its means it will be complete. As for its pillars, they are the consciousness of the heart, humility, humbleness and submission. As for the wings they are truthfulness. The time is the last hours of the night. And its means are to ask Allah to bless the Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) and his household".It is said that there are four conditions for supplication: 1. To keep the thought of Allah when alone. 2. To keep your tongue chaste when speaking to people. 3. To lower your gaze when confirmed by something unlawful. 4. To forbid your stomach from unlawful food.