The holy month of Ramadan is indeed a month of supplication and invocation. It is obvious from the Qur’anic verse that Almighty Allah enjoins us to invoke Him even though He is All-Aware of our needs. This is because invocation (Dua) is referred to as an act of worship (‘Ibadah) and forsaking it is tantamount to disbelief. Allah says: “Your Lord has said, ‘Call Me, and I will hear you!’ Indeed, those who are disdainful of My worship will enter hell in utter humiliation.” [Qur’an 40: 60]
Significance of Supplication
The term ‘Dua’ which is translated in English as “supplication” literally means “to call upon” and in Islamic terminology, it means calling upon Allah for His support at times of distress. It is pertinent to mention that supplication indeed forms a basic part of one’s religious life.
Supplication is very important in the life of believers because it is a form of a conversation between the creature and his Lord in which we put our needs before Him and ask His help in the resolution of our problems. Interestingly, Supplication is not only a means of getting our needs fulfilled or problems resolved before Almighty Allah but it is indeed a form of worship, which has a very great impact not only on our spiritual well-being but also on the fulfilment of our worldly needs.
It is reported that Imam Baqir (PBUH) was asked about the excellence of invocation, and he replied: “There is nothing more excellent than invoking God Almighty in devotions and no one is more detested before God Almighty than one who is too arrogant to invoke him to bestow His blessings and bounties on him.” [Kafi, vol. 2, Bab Fadl al-Dua (“Chapter on the Excellence of Invocation”), p. 338.]
According to a tradition narrated from Imam Sadiq (PBUH), the holy Imam was asked thus: “What do you say about two persons who entered a mosque and one of them established more prayers and the other invoked God Almighty in more devotions? Which one enjoys a more exalted state?”
The Imam replied: “Both did righteous good deeds.” He was again asked: “I know that, but which one is superior to the other?” The Noble Imam replied: “The one who invoked God in more devotions is higher in rank. Have you not heard that invocation is the greatest worship?” [Majma’ al-Bayan, vol. 8, p. 529]
Indeed, supplication is a form of worship which clearly displays the relationship of man with his Creator and it has a significant impact on the life of man. Imam Sadiq (PBUH) was quoted to have said: “Engage in supplication because it is the best way through which you come close to God”
Similarly, supplication is considered the weapon of the believers and those without it can be compared to a warrior (on a battlefield) without a weapon. The noble Prophet of Islam (PBUHH) says: “Supplication is the weapon of the believer, the pillar of religion and the light of the heavens and the earth” [Kulayni, Muhammad, Al-Kafi (Islamiyyah edition), vol. 2, p. 468 (Hadith No: 1)]
The month of Ramadan is indeed a highly conducive and spiritually-rich period for supplications, invocations and the fulfilment of one’s legitimate needs. Supplication forms an integral part of the life of a believer. In the sermon of Sha’baniyah delivered by the Noble Prophet of Allah (PBUHH), he enjoined the believers to inculcate the habit of invoking Almighty Allah for the fulfilment of our legislative needs and desires: “Raise your hands towards Him (i.e., Almighty Allah) with supplications at the times of your prayers, for these times are the best hours at which Almighty Allah looks at His servants with mercy – He will respond to their prayers, answer their calls, and receive their supplications.”
From the aforementioned statements, the following points could be deducted:
1. It is expected of a Muslim to invoke Allah alone for the fulfilment of his legitimate needs in this month. And he should devoid of calling other than Him in this regard.
2. One of the important etiquettes of supplication is raising two hands while invoking Him. It is mentioned in a narration that Almighty Allah does not like to turn down the request of someone who raises his hands while invoking Him. In light of this, it is highly recommended to raise the two hands.
3. Another important point in the Prophetic statement is the consideration of the suitable time for supplication. Without any doubt, Allah responds to the supplications of the supplicants whenever they invoke Him. However, there are some selected periods when the supplications are favourably answered. The best period to invoke Allah, particularly in the holy month of Ramadan is after the daily obligatory prayers. Meanwhile, this does not mean that Allah does not listen to His servant at other times; rather it indicates the best time for supplication.
4. Allah always responds positively to the supplications of His servant whenever they call upon Him, so far, they meet up the necessary conditions. It is a divine promise to respond positively to the invocations of those who invoke Him sincerely. Besides, no matter how long one might have been invoking Allah on a request but there is no positive response, one must not lose hope in the divine mercy as Almighty Allah does not break His promise. (Qur’an 3: 9)
Therefore, we must believe that every sincere supplication or invocation of ours shall be accepted, but when we do not see any sign of its acceptance, we should know that Almighty Allah is Omnipotent Who knows precisely of our request and what is better for us. At times, we request something but He -out of His knowledge- knows that such a thing is not better for us. Thus, what He does is that He gives us what is better for us or at times, our supplication is used to cleanse us of our sins or it is recorded for us in the account of our good deeds. In essence, no supplication of a believer is left unanswered. In light of this, one should continue to call upon Him and He will definitely respond at the right time.
Meanwhile, it is pertinent to mention that supplications and invocations should not be restricted only to the month of Ramadan; rather it should be considered part and parcel of the daily routines of every believer. The Holy Prophet (PBUHH) says: “Supplication is the weapon of the believer, the pillar of religion and the light of the heavens and the earth”
In another instance, he also (PBUHH) says: “Should I guide you to a weapon which will aid you to overcome your enemies? They (the Companions) replied in affirmative. Then, he (PBUHH) said: Supplicate both in the day and the night. Verily, supplication is the weapon of a believer.” [Kulayni, Muhammad, Al-Kafi (Islamiyyah edition), vol. 2, p. 468 (Hadith No: 3)]
In light of this, therefore, it can be concluded that a supplication is an important form of worship that not only has great impacts on the souls of supplicants but also is a means of fulfilling some of our legitimate desires.
Conditions for Acceptance of Supplications
For a supplication to be favourably accepted and the requests of the supplicants fulfilled by God, certain conditions need to be observed; otherwise, the supplication will be rejected. In light of this, the following are some of the conditions or ethics of supplication in Islam:
1. Trust in Allah: The supplicant should call upon God with a clear and pure mind and must have absolute trust in Allah alone for the fulfilment of his needs. He should therefore cut off his expectations from anyone or anything other than Allah, the Omnipotent.
2. Taking the necessary action(s): Apart from seeking divine assistance, it is expected of every supplicant to put forward the required actions towards the realization of his desires. In other words, a supplicant must not just wait for divine intervention without putting in the required efforts. The Prophet (PBUHH) said: “A supplicant who does not make the necessary efforts is like an archer without a bow.” (Bihar-ul-Anwar)
3. Realism: The supplicant should call upon Allah over something that is realistic and should not request what is impossible. Of course, nothing is naturally impossible for Allah, but He made the law of cause and effect prevail because of His constancy and faithfulness to His course. Hence, to expect Allah to send down heavenly dollar currency, for instance, is unrealistic.
4. Total concentration: The supplicant should be mindful of his supplications by giving it maximum attention, for Allah will not consider a supplication with the mere movement of lips and tongue.
5. Avoiding major sins: For a supplication to be accepted by God, the supplicant must steer clear from all major sins such as shirk, oppression, adultery etc., and he must ensure that his means of livelihood is lawful. Imam Ja’far as-Sadiq (A.S) was reported to have said: “If anyone of you wants Allah to accept his supplication, he should purify his source of livelihood, and avoid oppressing people. For the supplication of one who eats forbidden food or oppresses any of God’s Creatures would not get unto Him.” (Bihar al Anwar)
