Conditions for accepting supplication

 

One of the greatest conditions for the acceptance of supplication is having trust in Allah, believing in Him and His Messenger (peace be upon him), and having faith that Allah is the Truth and only speaks the truth. Sincerity to Allah and following His Messenger (peace be upon him) are essential, along with the belief that the Prophet (peace be upon him) conveyed the truth and is truthful in what he says.

 This should be done with faith and trust in Allah, desiring what is with Him, and believing that He is the Disposer of affairs and the Controller of all things, capable of everything. This should not be done with doubt or ill thoughts, but with good thoughts about Allah and trust in Him. If the desired outcome is not achieved, it may be due to one of the mentioned reasons or others. The servant must take the necessary means, and Allah is the Cause of causes and the All-Wise, All-Knowing.
Sometimes, the medicine may be available, but the illness does not go away due to other reasons unknown to the servant, and Allah is Wise in this. This includes both physical and spiritual remedies. Physical remedies are those provided by doctors through medicines and surgeries, and spiritual remedies are those obtained through supplication, recitation, and other legitimate means. Despite all this, the desired outcome may not be achieved for many reasons, including heedlessness of Allah, sins, especially consuming unlawful things. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “No servant supplicates to Allah with a supplication that does not involve sin or severing family ties, except that Allah will give him one of three things: either He will hasten his supplication in this world, or He will store it for him in the Hereafter, or He will avert from him an equivalent amount of evil.” They said, “O Messenger of Allah, then we will supplicate more.” He said, “Allah is more [generous].”

Thus, the believer knows that their supplication may be delayed until the Hereafter for reasons dictated by Allah’s wisdom, or a great deal of evil may be averted from them instead of granting their request. Allah is the All-Wise, All-Knowing in His actions, words, laws, and decrees, as He said: “Indeed, your Lord is Knowing and Wise” [Yusuf: 6]. And Allah is the source of success.