Category: Dua and Dhikr islamic articles

✨Supplications of Prayer

All praise is due to Allah the Most Merciful, the Especially Merciful. The Close (through His Knowledge), the Answering. He accepts the repentance from the repentant. And accepts the supplications of the supplicants. And gives those requesting. And He is the Most Generous, Benevolent. We praise Him for His guidance and sufficiency. We are grateful for His providing and nurturing. He raised His servant from the earth to the heavens and ordained upon him five prayers. The five prayers are equivalent to fifty in reward, a bounty from Him to His servants and as a mercy to them. His servant Mohammad ﷺ taught his ummah (nation) that prayer is a pillar of religion and that it is the connection between a person and the Lord of the Worlds. And the prayer was the comfort of his eyes.

So be conscious of Allah and obey Him and know the great value of prayer. And that it is the means for salvation and success. So establish it as Allah Almighty commanded and maintain it in the congregation. Allah said:
Al Baqarah (2) 238: Maintain with care the [obligatory] prayers and [in particular] the middle [i.e., ʿaṣr] prayer and stand before Allāh, devoutly obedient.

The prayer is standing before Allah with obedience, submission, love and humility to Allah. And the prayer from its beginning to its end is remembrance of Allah the Most High. For it is either magnification and extoling. Or glorification and exaltation. Or praising and venerating. Or recitation and supplication.

And one of the amazing things about prayer is that all of the supplications in it are answered because a person is addressing his Lord. And the textual evidences indicated that, from the beginning of the prayer to its end. For if it is a supplication of praising Allah Almighty, the one praying is given the greatest reward. And if it is a supplication of requesting, he is given what he requested.

And right after the person praying utters the opening takbir (Allahu Akbar), he recites the opening supplication. And it is a supplication accepted by Allah as indicated by the hadith narrated by Ibn Omar, may Allah be pleased with him, who said:
When we were praying with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ a man among the people said, Allah is most exceedingly great, and praise is due to Allah, abundantly, and glory to Allah morning and night (Allāhu akbaru kabīran wal-ḥamdulillāhi kathīran wa subḥānallāhi bukratan wa aṣīlā). So the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, Who is the one who said such and such? So a man among the people said, Me, O Messenger of Allah ﷺ . He said: I was amazed by it. The gates of heaven opened up for it. Ibn `Umar said, I have not left them since I heard [them] from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ . [Muslim 601]

Then the one praying recites surah Al Fatihah. And it is one of the pillars of prayer. And Al Fatihah contains the two types of supplication. The supplication of praising and the supplication of requesting. And Allah Almighty answers the person in every verse that he recites in surah Al Fatihah as was indicated in the hadith of Abu Hurairah, may Allah be pleased with him, who said that the Prophet ﷺ said:
Allah said, I have divided the prayer between Myself and My servant into two halves, and My servant shall have what he has asked for. When the servant says: Al-hamdulillah i rabbil Alameen (All the praise is to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds), Allah says: My servant has praised Me. And when he says: Ar-Rahmanir-Rahim (The Most Merciful the Especially Merciful), Allah Almighty says: My servant has praised Me. And when he says: ‘Maliki yawmiddin [The Only Owner (and he Ruling Judge] of the Day of Recompense], Allah says: ‘My servant has Glorified Me and sometimes He would say: My servant entrusted (his affairs) to Me. And when he says: ‘ Iyyaka na’budu wa iyyaka nastain [You (Alone) we worship, and You (Alone) we ask for help],’ He says: ‘This is between Me and My servant, and My servant shall have what he has asked for. And when he says: ‘Ihdinas-siratal-mustaqeema, siratal-alldhina an’amta alayhim ghayr al maghdoobi ‘alayhim, wa lad-dallin [Guide us to the Straight Way, the way of those on whom You have bestowed Your Grace, not(the way) of those who earned Your Anger, nor of those who went astray], He says, This is for My servant, and My servant shall have what he has asked for. [Muslim 395a]

And since Al Fatihah is a supplication, it is enjoined after its conclusion for the Imam and those being lead in prayer, or for the one praying alone, to say Amaeen to this supplication. And the meaning of Aameen is Oh Allah Answer. And the one who says Aameen to a supplication is as if he supplicated. And this Aameen has great virtue and it is one of the special attributes of the ummah (Muslim community) and reasons for answering the supplication. And it was narrated by Abu Hurairah, may Allah be pleased with him, that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
When the Imam says, Not of those who have earned [Your] anger or of those who are astray (Al Fatihah (2) 7) , say, Amin, for if one’s Amin coincides with the Amin of the angels, his previous sins will be forgiven. [Bukhari 3228, Muslim 409a]

And all of this is in Al Fatihah only.. and if the believer were to feel this great merit, he would perfect his calling upon his Lord when reciting Al Fatihah. And he would reflect upon the great meanings that it contains. And he would say Aameen to its supplication with humility and presence of heart that the angels are also saying Aameen. And saying Aameen at the same time as them results in forgiveness of the sins.

And the ruku (bowing) is the place of magnifying the Lord, Most glorified. And it contains seeking forgiveness that the Prophet ﷺ repeated in the last part of his life. And in this regard, it was narrated by Aisha, may Allah be pleased her, that she said:
The Prophet ﷺ used to frequently recite in his bowing and prostration Glory is to You , O Allah , our Lord , and praise is Yours . O Allah , forgive me [Bukhari 4293, Muslim 484a]

And a supplication that the Prophet ﷺ persisted in at the end of his life is more likely to be answered.

And when the worshiper rises from ruku (bowing), he praises Allah – the Most High – with what He is deserving. And one’s praising of Allah Almighty is accepted and answered for what was indicated in the hadith narrated by Rifaa’ah bin Raafi’ Azzaraqy ( رِفَاعَةَ بْنِ رَافِعٍ الزُّرَقِيِّ ), may Allah be pleased with him, who said:
We were praying behind the Prophet ﷺ one day and when he raised his head from bowing he said: ‘Sami Allahu liman hamidah (Allah hears the one who praises Him). A man behind him said: ‘Rabbana wa lakal-hamd, hamdan kathiran tayyiban mubarakan fih. (O our Lord, and to You be praise, much blessed and pure praise.)’ When the Prophet ﷺ finished, he said: “Who spoke just now?” Someone said, I did. He (the Prophet ﷺ ) said, I saw thirty-some angels rushing to see which of them would record it first. [Bukhari 799]

Next the one praying performs sujood (prostration) and the sujood (prostration) is the place of supplication. And this supplication is anticipated to be answered and accepted for what was narrated by Abu Hurairah, may Allah be pleased with him, that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
The closest that a person can be to his Lord, the Mighty and Sublime, is when he is prostrating, so increase in supplication then. [Muslim 482]

And the believer finds pleasure in prolonging the prostration. And pleasure in asking Allah Almighty for his needs when he is humbling his face before Him. And that is why the one prostrating is close to Allah Almighty.

Oh Muslims: If the one praying sits for tashahud, supplication between the tashahud and the tasleem (conclusion of prayer) is established. And just as the one praying initiated his prayer with praising Allah Almighty and supplication, he similarly concludes it with supplication. And the supplication before the salaam (conclusion of prayer) is accepted for what was indicated in the hadith narrated by Abu Umaamah, may Allah be pleased with him, who said:
It was said, O Messenger of Allah, which supplication is most likely to be listened to? He said, (during) the last part of the night, and at the end of the obligatory prayers. (Hassan) [Sahih Titmithi 3499]

And all of the supplications of prayer are answered due to the great value of prayer with Allah Almighty. So, it is not surprising that the Prophet ﷺ sought relief from his worries, afflictions, and calamities in the prayer. Just as he prayed the day that the sun eclipsed. And Huthaifah, may Allah be pleased with him, said:
When anything distressed the Prophet ﷺ, he prayed. [Sunan Abi Dawud 1319]

And Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, said:
I remember us on the night of Badr, there was no one among us who was not sleeping, except the Messenger of Allah ﷺ who prayed facing a tree and offered supplication until morning came. [Musnad Ahmad 1161]

So the prayer is relief from distress. And the supplication in it is answered. And the distressed, the distraught, the afflicted, and troubled has nothing but to turn his face towards the qiblah in prayer. And attach his heart to Allah Almighty. And say Allah is the Most Great with humility, and repeatedly supplicate, and lengthen his prostration and supplication. And he will find at the end of that, before leaving his place of prayer, relaxation in his chest and joy in his heart and solace with his Lord. And his anxieties and worries will leave as if there was nothing wrong with him. And with the blessings of his prayer, his needs will be fulfilled. Or his Lord – Glory be to Him – will direct him to what is better for him. And the one adhering to prayer will not despair. Allah Almighty said:
Al Baqarah (2) 45-46: (45) And seek help through patience and prayer; and indeed, it is difficult except for the humbly submissive [to Allāh] (46) Who are certain that they will meet their Lord and that they will return to Him.We ask Allah Almighty to teach us what benefits us. And grant us deeds according to what He taught us. Indeed He is All Hearing, Answering.

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