Supplication is one of the most beneficial cures. It is the enemy of affliction, challenging and treating it, by preventing it from occurring; it removes it or weakens it if it falls upon a believer. It is the weapon of every believer, as reported by Al-Hakim in his Sahih book, on the authority of Ali bin Abi Talib ~ that the Prophet ~ said: "Supplication is the weapon of a believer; it is the pillar of Islam, and the light of the heavens and earth." There are three situations in relation to this affliction or trial:

First, when it is more powerful than the affliction so it drives it away.

Second, when it is weaker than the affliction, however it reduces its effect.

Third, when they resist each other and so each one prevents the other from being effective.

Abu Khizamah said: "I said: 'O Messenger of Allah, do the incantations that we invoke, the medicine that we apply, and the preventative measures that we observe avert, in any way, the Decree of Allah?' He~ replied: 'That is also a part of the Decree of Allah (al-Qadr)' ."1

Thawban ~ also reported that the Prophet ~ said: "Only supplication averts the decree, only kindness prolongs life, and a man is deprived of provision for a fault he commits."2.

This is one of the most beneficial medicines.

Ibn Maajah reported in his Sunan, on the authority of Abu Hurayrah ~ who said: "The Messenger of Allah ~ said: 'He who does not ask Allah, earns His Anger."3

Al-Hakim reported in his Sahih book, on the authority of Anas ~ that the Prophet ~ said: "Do not under-estimate supplication, for no one perishes with it." Al-Awza'i reported from az-Zuhari, from 'Urwah, from Aishah ,$, who said: "The Messenger of Allah ~ said: 'Allah ~ loves those who persist in supplicating to Him." In the book, Zuhd, by Imam Ahmad, on the authority of Abu Qatadah who said: "Muwariq said: 'I could not find a better example of a believer but that of a man clinging to a piece of wood at sea, praying: 'O Lord ... 0 Lord ... ' asking Allah ~ to save him." .

Among the impediments which prevent the effect of supplication from taking place are:

The feeling of hastiness in a person who considers the supplication to be slow to take effect, so he becomes distressed and abandons it. Such person is like one who plants some seeds and looks after them by watering them regularly, but if they grow slowly, he ignores them.

Abu Hurayrah ~ reported that the Prophet ~ said:

"Everyone's supplication will be answered, as long as one is not hasty, and says: 'I made my supplication but it was not answered."' 1

The Prophet ~ also said: "Whenever a Muslim supplicates to Allah, Allah grants him his supplication or averts some kind of evil from him, so long as he does not supplicate for something sinful or something that would cut off the ties of kinship." Thereupon someone said: "Then we shall supplicate plenty." The Prophet :i said: "Allah is more plentiful in responding. " 2

Abu Sa'id Al-Khudri ~ said: "The Messenger of Allah ~ said: 'Any Muslim who makes a supplication, containing nothing which is sinful or which involves breaking ties of relationship, will be receive one of three things by Allah: He will give him a swift answer, or store it up for him in the next world, or remove from him an equivalent amount of evil.' Those who heard it said they would then make many supplications, so he :i replied that Allah 'M was more ready to answer than they were to ask. " 3 .

One's presence of heart should accompany a supplication for any request, and it is also more effective if it coincides with one of the six "times of reply" (times when a supplication is more likely to be responded to): the last third of the night, during the Adhan (Call to Salaah), between the Adhan and Iqamah, before the prescribed Salaah, when the Imam stands on the Minbar (pulpit) on Friday until the termination of Salaah on that day, and the last hour after 'Asr (afternoon Salaah). One should fear Allah inside one's heart, with total submission to Him~. facing the Qiblah4 in a state of purity (after having performed ablution). Then one should raise one's hands to the Lord, starting by praising Him, invoking His Mercy upon Prophet Muhammad :!i, requesting His Forgiveness and the acceptance of one's repentance. Then, this is followed by relentlessly asking the Lord to help you in a particular matter, remembering Him by all His Names and Attributes, and affirming one's firm belief in Islamic Monotheism; namely those supplications which include the Great Name of Allah ~- Such was mentioned in the Hadith of Abdullah bin Buraydah, on the authority of his father, who said that the Prophet ~ heard a man saying: "O Allah, I ask You that I testify that You are Allah and there is no god but You, the One, the Self-Sufficient Master, Whom all creatures need, Who begets not, nor was he begotten, and there is none co-equal or comparable unto Him," to which he ~ replied: "He has asked Allah with the Name, which if used to ask Allah for something, He ~ gives, and if used to supplicate Allah for something, He ~ responds". In another narration, the Prophet ~ was reported as saying: "You have asked Allah~ with His Great Name."5

Asma', daughter of Yazid repored that the Prophet~ said:

"The Greatest Name of Allah is in these two Verses (Your ilah (god) is one ilah (Allah), (la ilaha ilia huwa) none who has the right to be worshipped but He, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful) 1 and (Allah! (la ilaha ilia huwa) none who has the right to be worshipped but He.

Al-Hayyu-1-Qayyum (the Ever Living, the One who sustains and protects all that exists))2

. At-Tirmidhi said:

"This is an authentic Hadith." There is in the Musnad of Imam Ahmad and the Sahih book of Al-Hakim, a Hadith reported by Abu Hurayrah, Anas bin Malik and Rabee'ah bin 'Amir :$>, that the Prophet ~ said:

"observe supplicating to Allah ~ with the expression: DhalJalal wal-Ikram (Owner of Majesty and Honour)"3

, meaning: adhere to this, supplicating to Allah constantly, using this expression.

At-Tirmidhi also recorded a Hadith of Abu Hurayrah 4, that when the Prophet ~ was concerned about a particular matter, he would raise his hands to the sky, and if he persisted in his supplication, he would say: "Ya Hayy, Ya Qayyum!" (The Ever Living, the One Who sustains and protects all that exists).

Anas bin Malik 4, also said: "When the Prophet ~ was anxious about a particular matter, he ~ would say: 'Ya Hayy, Ya Qayyum, with Your Mercy I seek Your Help." In the Sahih of Al-Hakim, Abu Umamah 4, was reported as saying: "The Prophet ~ said: 'The Greatest Name of Allah is mentioned in three Surats of the Qur'an: Al-Baqarah, Al- 'Imran and Ta-Ha." Al-Qasim said: "I Searched, and found that it is (Al-Hayy, Al-Qayyum)." Sa'd bin Abi Waqqas ~ was recorded, in the Sunan of AtTirmidhi and the Sahih book of Al-Hakim, as reporting that the Prophet ~ said: "(As for) The Supplication of Dhun-Nun (Jonah), when he invoked Allah ~ through the darkness, inside the big fish: (None has the right to be worshipped but You (0 Allah), Glorified are You! Truly, I have been of the wrongdoers) no Muslim invoked Allah ~ with this Supplication except that Allah ~ responds to him',4. AtTirmidhi said: "This Hadith is authentic." In another narration recorded by Al-Hakim in Al-Mustadrak, Sa'd bin Abi Waqqas ~ reported that the Prophet ~ said:

Often, we may find that certain supplications used by some people, may be answered. These supplications were usually made at times of stress or plight which lead a person to tum to Allah with sincerity; or in connection with a past good deed which Allah ~ accepted and then thanked him for by answering his supplication; or if it coincided with a time of response to supplications. The person would think that the secret behind the answer to his supplication (from Allah ~)

is simply the utterance of that supplication, without relating it to those issues which might have been connected to it.

If a weapon is complete, the effect would be powerful, and there would be no obstacle ahead of one, so the destruction of the enemy could be accomplished. However, if one of those aspects was missing, then the weapon would be less effective.

If the supplication is not practical itself, or if the person making the supplication has not linked his heart to his tongue, or if an impediment blocks the response ( of Allah ~)

to the supplication, then no effect would be seen to occur.

There is a popular question about supplication, which is related to fate and destiny: "It is likely that a request in a supplication may already have been preordained not to take place, whether a person makes the supplication or not, and if it had not been preordained at all, it would not take place anyway" Those who thought that this statement was valid, would abstain from making supplication, saying that it is of no use! Those people who believe in this statement are contradicting themselves, because their belief suggests the cancelling of all causes of effect. We tell them:

"If satiation and quenching were preordained for you, then it would be necessary that they should take place, whether you eat or not. However, if they were not preordained, then they could not take place whether you eat or not.

If it was preordained for you to have a baby, then you would definitely have a baby, whether you should have sexual intercourse with your wife or not, and if it was not preordained for you to have a baby, it would never take place, therefore, it is not necessary to get married; and so on.

But could this be accepted by any reasonable human being?

Even an animal naturally relates to the causes of effects, which are the basis of its life. Animals are more reasonable than these people ... " But smart people say: "Observing supplication is pure worship, which attracts the reward of Allah ~' without any effect on the things requested in the supplication!" Another even smarter group say: "Supplication is but a sign which Allah ~ has given to focus on the need of accomplishing something. When Allah ~ helps His Servant to make a supplication, then it is a sign that the Servant's particular need has come to an end." It is like when one sees dark clouds in the sky; they are a sign that rain may be coming. It has also been said that this is the same as the judgment of obedient acts by their reward, and the judgment of disbelief and disobedient acts with their punishment. They are simply signs of the occurrence of reward or punishment, and they are not causes of the effects.

They believe that it is a mere relation with no effect, and therefore, they have contradicted Islam, reason and the first natural order of existence.

The answer to this question is that the decree was already preordained with its causes, and the supplication was one of these causes that was also preordained and free of any further cause.

Whenever a person comes with the cause, the decree will take place. And when a person does not come with the cause, the decree will not occur. Thus, satiation and quenching was predestined together with eating and drinking; having a baby was predestined along with having sexual intercourse; reaping a harvest with farming; taking away the life of an animal with slaughtering it; and likewise, entering Paradise was preordained with doing good deeds, while entering the Hell-Fire was with doing bad deeds.

Therefore, supplication is one of the most effective causes.

The Companions of the Prophet ~, who were the most learned people in the Islamic Ummah, were rightly guided to use this cause in the right manner. 'Umar bin Al-Khattab ~ used supplication to seek help from Allah ~ so as to be victorious over his enemy; it was his greatest weapon. He 4, used to say to his companions: "You are not supported for victory with your big number; rather you are supported from the heavens." He used to say: "I do not worry too much about the reply to my supplication. I am only concerned about the supplication itself. If your supplication is sincere, the answer will come with it." Whoever is inspired to make a supplication, would receive a reply for his/her need; for Allah ~ said: ( Ask me for anything, I will respond to your invocation) 1 and (When My Servants ask you concerning Me, then, I am indeed near (to them by My Knowledge). I respond to the invocations of the supplicant when he calls on Me) 2