Arabic → English transcript

Supplication is a great gate. A person should feel that supplication

is sought for its own sake. And not merely because it is a means to something else.

For through supplication you privately address the Lord of might and majesty.

The Creator of the heavens and the earths.

You speak to the One who created you, provided for you,

and before whom you will stand.

Hence a person should feel that he is the one who benefits from the fact that God

has granted him success to worship through supplication.

When a person gains favor with some people of this worldly life,

those with positions, wealth, or the like,

he finds joy within himself that he was able to connect with them and that there

was a relationship between him and them. So how can he not feel this meaning

in his relationship with the Lord of might and majesty? Being granted success

to supplicate to God is a tremendous blessing. We should be mindful of it.

And our aims in it should be for the Hereafter, not for this world.

Thus supplication is intended for its own sake, even if what a person asked for is

not fulfilled. A person may even supplicate for something that would harm him.

So God, exalted and sublime, protects him from attaining what he requested,

because of what He knows of the consequences that would follow

from granting such supplications. How many people were given wealth and it

deceived them. And how many people earned money

and it became the cause of their misguidance. And of their entering doors of

evil that came back upon them. By entering into avenues of forbidden acts, drugs,

and other things. Therefore a person should know. That if Allah,

glorified and exalted,

loves him, He will protect him from what harms him, even if it is beloved to him.

That is why the Exalted said:“ But you may dislike something

while it is good for you.” “ And you may love something while it is bad for you.”

From this it follows that a person should not be like that. And the Prophet,

peace and blessings be upon him,

forbade being hasty in this matter. He explained hastiness in this matter as

saying,“ I prayed and prayed, but I was not answered.” For Allah, glorified

and exalted, has wisdom in delaying the response. And there may be things a person

ought to notice.

That he should notice what Allah grants the servant in exchange for not

granting his specific request. For Allah may open for you other doors that are

better than the door you prayed for. So your true benefit may be in those doors,

not in the door you prayed for. A person may pray for something of the

good things of this world.

So God compensates him with other blessings that are better, more beautiful,

and more beneficial for him. He may pray for wealth, but his prayer is not answered

with money. Yet God fulfills for him the purpose he wanted from that money.

So he attains peace of mind. He gains good relationships

with others. He gains the approval of those around him. If he gained wealth,

those close to him would envy him. And that would be one of the reasons they would

strive to speak ill of him. And to find fault with him. And to belittle his

status because he did not stand with them in their affairs. And so the servant

does not know where the good truly lies. And by Allah, Glorified and Exalted,

He chooses for him what is best for him. The Prophet,

peace and blessings be upon him,

said,“ How amazing is the affair of the believer.” All of his affair is

good for him. If hardship befalls him, he is patient, and that is good for him.

And if prosperity befalls him, he is grateful, and that is good for him.

Therefore, this worldly life is not a place of everlasting bliss.

Rather, it is an abode of troubles and sorrows and of deficiency in what a

person’s soul may seek. Hence He, the Exalted,

said:“ And We will surely test you with something of fear and hunger. And loss of

wealth and lives and fruits.

And give glad tidings to the patient— those who, when a calamity befalls them…”

They said,“ Indeed we belong to God,

and indeed to Him we will return.”

Those are the ones upon whom are blessings from their Lord and mercy,

and those are the rightly guided. Then, when you look at God’s blessings upon you,

you find them far greater than what you asked for. And many blessings,

some people are heedless of even recognizing as blessings.

One example of this is the breath that you draw into your body,

a blessing from God upon you every second, rather every fraction of a second.

So why do you forget this blessing? Look at how easily food enters and exits.

If God were to trap wind in a person’s abdomen, he would suffer greatly

and endure the harshest pain because of that, and it is only wind.

Look at what there is in this universe, in its day, in its night,

in the parts of the body that a person enjoys all kinds of blessings through.

Two eyes that see, two ears that hear, and a tongue that speaks, a mouth that eats,

and the parts of the systems within the body, digestive, respiratory,

and other such great organs,

and the great blessings in the creation of the human being.

Therefore, a person must realize that this act of worship,

the worship of supplication, is in his own best interest.

And that he is the one who benefits from it,

and that it is a success granted by Almighty Allah,

that He granted him success to make supplication.

Even if his supplication is not answered,

he should know that Almighty Allah is protective over His servant,

so He protects him from what he is asking for when it would cause him harm.

At that point, he must praise Allah for the fact that his supplication was

not answered,

because the non- acceptance of his supplication is in his best interest and is a

favor from Allah upon him.

May Allah be good to you.