Allah loves it when His slave fasts for His sake, and He, all praises and glory be to Him, promises to reward this act as He wills. Further to this, the Prophet Muhammad, SallAllahu Alayhi Wa Sallam, said:
“The prayer (du’a) of the fasting person will not be refused.”
[Reported by al-Bayhaqi]
When we fast, our heart becomes repentant and we feel more humility before Allah. Our stubbornness is subdued, our desires restrained and we feel joy in obeying our Lord. In this state, when we turn to our Lord to beseech Him, our hearts are more attuned to our prayers and duas.
The Prophet, SallAllahu Alayhi Wa Sallam, said:
“Supplication is worship.”
[Recorded in at-Tirmidhi]
When the Companions asked the Prophet, SallAllahu Alayhi Wa Sallam,
‘O Messenger of Allah, is our Lord near so that we may confide with Him secretly or is He far that we must cry out to Him?’
Thereupon Allah the Almighty revealed the following verse:
“And when My slaves ask you (O Muhammad) concerning Me, then (answer them). I am indeed near (to them by My Knowledge), I respond to the invocations of the supplicant when he calls on Me (without any mediator or intercessor) So let they obey Me and believe in Me, so that they may be led aright.”
(Surah al Baqarah:186)
Supplication is a rope that extends to Allah, all praises and glory be to Him. Allah tells us:
“Invoke you Lord with humility and in secret”
(Surah Al-Ar’af:55)
“Invoke Me and I will respond to your (invocation)”
(Surah Ghafir:60)
We can see that Allah wants us to ask of Him. The Prophet, SallAllahu Alayhi Wa Sallam, related to us the words of Allah in a hadith qudsi:
“In the last third of every night Allah descends to the lowermost heaven and says; “Who is calling Me, so that I may answer him? Who is asking Me so that may I grant him? Who is seeking forgiveness from Me so that I may forgive him?.”‘
[Recorded in al-Bukhari]
Ramadan is a month of supplication, attainment, repentance and acceptance. When your lips have become dry from fasting, and your stomach aches with hunger, call upon your Lord and He will answer you.
There are certain ethics of supplication that the fasting person should know. They include:
1. The heart should be resolved with full trust in the generosity and favour of Allah.
2. We should praise Allah and send greetings upon his noble Messenger at the beginning, middle and end of the supplication.
3. We should be aware of the times in which prayers are answered: last third of the night; whilst prostrating; between adhan and iqamah; after compulsory prayers; the last hour of Friday; after the Asr prayer; before breaking the fast and on the Day of Arafat.
4. We should be insistent in asking Allah.
5. We should be careful not to invoke sin or cutting the ties of the kindred.
There are four advantages of supplication:
1. The realisation of worship of Allah, humbleness towards Him and trust in Him. This is the purpose and fruit of worship.
2. The answering of your request either though granting good or by preventing harm.
3. To get the reward in the Hereafter if it is not granted in this world, which is actually more beneficial.
4. Supplication expresses sincere monotheism by freeing ourselves from dependence on the creation.
O you who believe, make sure that you ask Allah for all your needs. Beseech Him, because He is the Ever-Living, the Self-Subsisting. Remember that you are poor and He is rich, you are weak and He is strong, you will pass away and He will remain, and all power belongs to Him alone.