Make Your Request and Trust God By :- Dr. Yusuf Al-Qaradawi

The Prophets' Supplications in the Qur'an

Materialistic people observe only the norms they are accustomed to and the superficial factors and causes; they never see what is beyond. Believers, on the other hand, perceive what is below the surface. They perceive Allah’s power that manages all affairs. He, the Almighty, creates causes and consequences. Then why do people not resort to Him when crises reach their peaks, when they are besieged with problems and are entrapped within vicious circles? If they do, they will surely find refuge with Him when they are in a distress, intimacy when they feel lonely, and help when they have no one to support.

It is toward Allah that the person afflicted with an incurable disease should direct himself, asking for recovery. To Him also the anguished one should turn his face, asking Him to bestow patience and satisfaction upon him and to reward him for all he has lost. The oppressed one also appeals to Allah waiting for the day when He will take revenge on the oppressor, for there is no screen between Allah and the supplication of the oppressed. In addition, the one who has no children invokes Allah to grant him good offspring. Each of these kinds of people has great hope that Allah would answer his request, for this is not difficult for Allah.

For instance, Ibrahim (peace and blessings be upon him) asked Allah to grant him children saying {My Lord! Vouchsafe me of the righteous} (As-Saffat 37: 100). Allah fulfilled his wish and sent to him some angels in the shape of people who said to him, 

{Lo! we bring thee good tidings of a boy possessing wisdom. He said: Bring ye me good tidings (of a son) when old age hath overtaken me? Of what then can ye bring good tidings? They said: We bring thee good tidings in truth. So be not thou of the despairing. He said: And who despaireth not the mercy of his Lord save those who are astray?} (Al-Hijr 15: 53-56).

After that, he praised his Lord saying {Praise be to Allah Who hath given me, in my old age, Ishmael and Isaac! Lo! my Lord is indeed the Hearer of Prayer} (Ibrahim 14: 39).

Another example was Ya`qub (peace and blessings be upon him), who lost his son Yusuf for a very long time. Then he was afflicted with another disaster when Yusuf’s brother was taken after the incident of the king’s bowl. Yet Ya`qub never lost hope; rather, he said, {(My course is) comely patience! It may be that Allah will bring them all unto me. Lo! He, only He, is the Knower, the Wise} (Yusuf 12: 83).

When Ya`qub showed sorrow for losing his sons, the rest of his sons blamed him saying {By Allah, thou wilt never cease remembering Yusuf till thy health is ruined or thou art of those who perish!} (Yusuf 12: 85-86).

Full of confidence and hope, Ya`qub replied, {Go, O my sons, and ascertain concerning Yusuf and his brother, and despair not of the Spirit of Allah. Lo! None despaireth of the Spirit of Allah save disbelieving folk} (Yusuf 12: 87).

Zakriya (peace and blessings be upon him) sets another example of hope and confidence. Allah Almighty says, 

{A mention of the mercy of thy Lord unto His servant Zakriya. When he cried unto his Lord a cry in secret, saying: My Lord! Lo! the bones of me wax feeble and my head is shining with grey hair, and I have never been unblest in prayer to Thee, my Lord. Lo! I fear my kinsfolk after me, since my wife is barren. Oh, give me from Thy presence a successor. Who shall inherit of me and inherit (also) of the house of Ya`qub. And make him, my Lord, acceptable (unto Thee)} (Maryam 19: 2-6).

His hope was not vain. {(It was said unto him): O Zakriya! Lo! We bring thee tidings of a son whose name is Yahya; We have given the same name to none before (him)} (Maryam 19: 7).

Ayyub (peace and blessings be upon him) was no exception. 

{And Ayyub, when he cried unto his Lord, (saying): Lo! adversity afflicteth me, and Thou art Most Merciful of all who show mercy. Then We heard his prayer and removed that adversity from which he suffered, and We gave him his household (that he had lost) and the like thereof along with them, a mercy from Our store, and a remembrance for the worshippers} (Al-Anbiyaa’ 21: 83-84).

Similarly, after the whale had swallowed Yunus (peace and blessings be upon him), {he cried out in the darkness, saying: There is no God save Thee. Be Thou glorified! I have been a wrong doer. Then We heard his prayer and saved him from the anguish. Thus We save believers} (Al-Anbiyaa’ 21: 87-88).

Moving on to Musa (peace and blessings be upon him), he departed by night along with his people to save them from the Pharaoh and his soldiers, but the Pharaoh was informed of his departure and gathered great numbers of soldiers to overtake him. The following noble verse describes the scene: 

{And they overtook them at sunrise. And when the two hosts saw each other, those with Musa said: Lo! we are indeed caught} (Ash-Shu`araa’ 26: 60-61).

It was really a dilemma; the sea was in front of Musa and the Children of Israel while the enemy was behind them. In such hard moments, Musa did not fear the situation nor did he feel desperate; rather, he said,{Nay, verily! for lo! my Lord is with me. He will guide me} (Ash-Shu`raa’: 60-61). And Allah did not let him down:

{We inspired Musa, saying: Smite the sea with thy staff. And it parted, and each part was as a mountain vast. Then brought We near the others to that place. And We saved Musa and those with him, every one; We drowned the others. Lo! herein is indeed a portent} (Ash-Shu`raa’ 26: 63-67).

Finally, in the Hijrah (emigration from Makkah) Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) and his Companion Abu Bakr As-Siddiq sought protection in the Cave of Thawr. The polytheists followed the traces of their feet and the tracker said, “Surely, Muhammad did not pass this place walking; he has either ascended to heaven from here or descended to earth.” Meanwhile, Abu Bakr becomes very anxious lest the Prophet, the bearer of the message of Islam, should be harmed. Abu Bakr wept and said, “If anyone of them should look under his feet, he would surely see us.” The Prophet said to him, “O Abu Bakr! What do you think of two (persons) the third of whom is Allah?” The fruit of this situation was described in the Qur’an: 

{If ye help him not, still Allah helped him when those who disbelieve drove him forth, the second of two; when they two were in the cave, when he said unto his comrade: Grieve not. Lo! Allah is with us. Then Allah caused His peace of reassurance to descend upon him and supported him with hosts ye cannot see, and made the word of those who disbelieved the nethermost, while Allah’s word it was that became the uppermost. Allah is Mighty, Wise} (At-Tawbah 9: 40).

These are the facts of history. The materialists may deny some or all of them because they are strange. However, true believers know for certain that usual causes could never limit Allah’s absolute might. Moreover, such causes are not unchangeable facts, for had scientists and inventors stopped at whatever people were acquainted with, knowledge would not have advanced at all, and we would not have reached the atomic age and space age.

Source : http://www.onislam.net