Allah is the Giver and All-knowing

We as kids were told to ask Allah SubhanWataa’lla for anything we want. I remember my mother telling me, “You want this thing, then ask Allah Almighty to give you”. Somehow, the duas I used to make as a child got accepted. And this made me a strong believer to ask Allah Almighty for everything in life.

Following is the beautiful hadith regarding this:

Anas ibn Malik reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “Let one of you ask his Lord for his needs, all of them, even for a shoestring when his breaks.” [Sunan al-Tirmidhī 3973].

The only Sincere Listener

There is no way to obtain any blessing, either major or minor except asking Allah Almighty who is the controller of all the things. At many instances in Quran, Allah Almighty mentions asking Him and only Him for everything we want because he loves hearing our supplications. No one loves to hear our voice more than Allah Almighty who is our Lord and our Sustained. Allah never gets tired or angry hearing our supplications even if we ask Him million times in a day.

As it is stated in the hadith that:

Abu Hurayra reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “Nothing is dearer to Allah than supplication.” (AL Albani)

Allah also says in the Holy Quran:

In Surah Baqarah, Allah Almighty says, “And when My servants ask you, [O Muḥammad], 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.” [2:186]

What do we need to do in hard times?

At times we get so engrossed on our worries that we forget to ask Allah for our needs. The constant feeling of hopelessness make us believe that we are not worthy of being showered with Allah’s blessings. If some of our supplications remain unanswered, we begin to think as if Allah does not listen to us, even though we are constantly making Dua from years. This thought is from shaitan, it is his trick to make you believe otherwise.

How Allah answers our Dua?

It's not necessary that Allah answer our Dua’s as we want them to be. At times, He blesses us with something, which is more worthy and valuable. But are minds our so focused on what we are expecting, that when we are blessed with something much better, we complain rather than being grateful to Allah SubhanWataa’lla. As Salman (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings upon him) said:

“Your Rabb (Lord of the Universe) is Modest and Generous and would never turn the hands of a slave without gain when he raises them to Him (in supplication).” [Abu Dawud and At-Tirmidhi]

None of our prayers gets unanswered. This Quran that we have for our guidance is full of many stories of Prophets. And in all those stories, there is a consistent feature that at one point or another, these Prophet makes Dua. And many of these prayers are mentioned at critical junctures in Quran, at a moment of great desperation, difficulty and sadness. When no other option is there, Our Prophets turned to Allah and made Dua.

Story of Hazrat Musa (A.S)

The story of Musa Allaihi Salam is a great example for us to keep asking Allah Almighty for our needs. During the difficult times in his life when he had nothing and no where to go, Allah Almighty guided him. He constantly recited

رَبِّ إِنِّى لِمَآ أَنزَلْتَ إِلَىَّ مِنْ خَيْرٍۢ فَقِيرٌ

“My Lord, indeed I am, for whatever good You would send down to me, in need.” (28:24)

And what happened then? Allah (who all knows and who possesses all powers) heard his dua and sent him help in the form of two women he met and helped. This teaches us that despite being broken and dealing with the feeling of helplessness, all we need to do is turn to Allah with hope that the dreams and wishes we have in our life, Allah will grant them, if there is some khair hidden for us in it.

The most Powerful Tool

Dua’s is the most powerful tool that the believer. When we make dua with complete faith and hope at the time of need, He answers our supplication is three ways:

1. Allah will give you an immediate answer
2. Allah will delay the answer
3. Allah will withhold the answer

Do any of these answers reflect Allah’s denial to our supplication? No.

Therefore, as believer of the Quran, we need to understand that Allah wants good for us. He doesn’t answer your dua with what you want but far more importantly what you need. Our dreams, our wishes get fulfilled when we ask Him for every little thing in life. But all we need to do is to have faith in Him.