Series of Answers by the Eminent Scholar Ata Bin Khalil Abu Al-Rashtah, Ameer of Hizb ut-Tahrir, to the Questions of the Visitors of his Facebook Page "Fiqhi"
Answer to Question
To: Agus Trisa
Question:
Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu. May Allah protect you wherever you are. I want to ask you about this noble verse. Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala says:
وَاِذَا سَاَلَكَ عِبَادِيْ عَنِّيْ فَاِنِّيْ قَرِيْبٌ ۗ اُجِيْبُ دَعْوَةَ الدَّاعِ اِذَا دَعَانِ فَلْيَسْتَجِيبُوا لِيْ وَلْيُؤْمِنُوْا بِيْ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَرْشُدُوْنَ
"And when My servants ask you concerning Me, indeed I am near. I respond to the invocation of the supplicant when he calls upon Me. So let them respond to Me [by obedience] and believe in Me that they may be [rightly] guided." (Surah Al-Baqarah [2]: 186)
Is it true that God answers all human prayers?
Is there a prayer that God does not answer?
Some people ask, we have prayed for Israel to be destroyed by Allah, but why are they still strong and continuing to attack Gaza?
Thank you for your answer, may Allah reward you with the best reply. Wassalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu.
Answer:
Wa Alaikum Assalam Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuhu.
There are matters that must be understood regarding supplication (Dua):
- When a believer supplicates to Allah with a sincere heart, a prayer that does not involve the severing of kinship, Allah (swt) responds to it in one of three ways, as stated in the Book of Allah (swt) and the Sunnah of His Messenger (saw):
Allah (swt) answers the call of the supplicant when he calls upon Him, and He answers the one in distress when he calls:
وَقَالَ رَبُّكُمُ ادْعُونِي أَسْتَجِبْ لَكُمْ "And your Lord says: Call upon Me; I will respond to you." (Surah Ghafir [40]: 60)
وَإِذَا سَأَلَكَ عِبَادِي عَنِّي فَإِنِّي قَرِيبٌ أُجِيبُ دَعْوَةَ الدَّاعِ إِذَا دَعَانِ "And when My servants ask you, [O Muhammad], concerning Me - indeed I am near. I respond to the invocation of the supplicant when he calls upon Me." (Surah Al-Baqarah [2]: 186)
أَمَّنْ يُجِيبُ الْمُضْطَرَّ إِذَا دَعَاهُ وَيَكْشِفُ السُّوءَ "Is He [not best] who responds to the desperate one when he calls upon Him and removes evil." (Surah An-Naml [27]: 62)
However, the "response" has a Shari'i reality explained by the Messenger of Allah (saw):
مَا مِنْ مُسْلِمٍ يَدْعُو اللهَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ بِدَعْوَةٍ لَيْسَ فِيهَا إِثْمٌ وَلَا قَطِيعَةُ رَحِمٍ، إِلَّا أَعْطَاهُ اللَّهُ بِهَا إِحْدَى ثَلَاثِ خِصَالٍ: إِمَّا أَنْ يُعَجِّلَ لَهُ دَعْوَتَهُ، وَإِمَّا أَنْ يَدَّخِرَهَا لَهُ فِي الْآخِرَةِ، وَإِمَّا أَنْ يَصْرِفَ عَنْهُ مِنَ السُّوءِ مِثْلَهَا. قَالُوا: إِذًا نُكْثِرُ. قَالَ: اللهُ أَكْثَرُ "There is no Muslim who supplicates to Allah with a prayer that contains no sin or breaking of kinship ties, except that Allah gives him one of three things: either He hastens his response in this world, or He stores it for him in the Hereafter, or He diverts an equivalent evil from him." They said: "Then we shall supplicate much." He (saw) said: "Allah is more [bountiful]." (Narrated by Ahmad)
Similarly:
لَا يَزَالُ يُسْتَجَابُ لِلْعَبْدِ مَا لَمْ يَدْعُ بِإِثْمٍ أَوْ قَطِيعَةُ رَحِمٍ مَا لَمْ يَسْتَعْجِلْ. قِيلَ: يَا رَسُولَ اللهِ، مَا الِاسْتِعْجَالُ؟ قَالَ: يَقُولُ قَدْ دَعَوْتُ وَقَدْ دَعَوْتُ فَلَمْ أَرَ يَسْتَجِيبُ لِي فَيَسْتَحْسِرُ عِنْدَ ذَلِكَ وَيَدَعُ الدُّعَاءَ "The servant's prayer will continue to be answered as long as he does not pray for a sin or the breaking of kinship ties, and as long as he is not hasty." It was said: "O Messenger of Allah, what is hastiness?" He said: "He says: 'I have prayed and I have prayed, and I do not see that I am being answered,' so he becomes frustrated at that point and abandons supplication." (Narrated by Muslim)
So we supplicate to Allah (swt), and if we are sincere, truthful, and obedient, we are certain of the response in the sense explained by the Messenger of Allah (saw).
- Supplication is not the Shari'i method (tariqah) to achieve a goal in all cases. It is recommended (mandub), but it is not the method for victory in wars or establishing the State... etc. The Messenger (saw) equipped the army at Badr, arranged the soldiers in their positions, and prepared them well for fighting; then the Messenger of Allah (saw) entered the al-arish (hut) to supplicate to Allah for victory, increasing his supplication until Abu Bakr (ra) said to him: "Sufficient is some of this, O Messenger of Allah." (Sirat Ibn Hisham). Thus, supplication does not mean suspending the adoption of material causes (al-akhdh bil-asbab); rather, it accompanies them.
Also, whoever wishes for the Khilafah (Caliphate) to be established again must not limit himself to supplicating to his Lord to achieve that, but must work with those working to establish it, asking Allah for help in that, and to hasten its realization, persisting in sincere supplication to Allah while adopting the necessary means.
This applies to all actions: one should perform the work sincerely for Allah, being truthful to the Messenger of Allah (saw), and supplicate and persist in supplication, for Allah is the All-Hearing, the Responder.
- We have previously answered a similar question on 4 Dhu al-Qi'dah 1432 AH - 1/10/2011 CE, which stated:
["...As for supplication while adopting the material means, it has an impact on the results. This is what the Messenger (saw) and his companions (ra) practiced. The Messenger (saw) prepared the army and entered the hut to pray. The Muslims at the Battle of Al-Qadisiyyah prepared their equipment to cross the river while Sa'd (ra) turned to Allah in supplication... and so on. Sincere believers prepare the equipment and then engage in supplication. The seeker of provision strives and toils while praying, and the student studies and works hard while asking Allah (swt) for success; this will have an effect on the results, by Allah's permission.
It was stated in the book Concepts (Al-Mafahim) on the last page: 'However, it must be known that although the action indicated by the method is a material action with tangible results, this action must be directed by Allah's commands and prohibitions, and the aim of directing it by Allah's commands and prohibitions must be to seek Allah's pleasure. Similarly, the Muslim's awareness of his connection to Allah must control him, so he draws closer to Him through prayer, supplication, recitation of the Quran, and the like. The Muslim must believe that victory is from Allah. Therefore, piety rooted in the hearts is necessary to implement Allah's rules, and supplication is necessary, and the remembrance of Allah is necessary, and the continuous connection with Allah is necessary when performing all actions.' It is clear from this the importance of pairing supplication with the adoption of means in all the believer's actions. This importance is emphasized by the repetition of the phrase 'is necessary' to indicate the extreme importance of pairing all actions with supplication and a constant connection with Allah...
Using supplication along with adopting the means is, as we said, what the Messenger (saw), his companions (ra), and the believers followed. When paired, they have an impact on the results by Allah's permission. Using them together does not contradict the Islamic method; rather, what contradicts it is limiting oneself to supplication alone without the method indicated by the texts for implementing the Islamic idea..."]
Therefore, regarding what came in your question about supplicating to eliminate the Jewish entity—supplication alone is not sufficient. Rather, the army of the State that fights the Jews must be paired with supplication, as was the practice of the Messenger of Allah (saw) and his companions (ra). And Allah is the One whose help is sought.
Your brother, Ata Bin Khalil Abu Al-Rashtah
04 Rabi' al-Akhar 1446 AH 07/10/2024 CE
Link to the answer from the Ameer's Facebook page: Facebook