The Art of Asking God: Key Principles
This is the second in a series of articles on how make dua or supplication from the seminar The Art of Asking from God by shaykh Faraz Rabbani, shaykh Abdullah Misra and shaykh Ahmed El-Azhary.
We have to remember a few principles:
- Allah is the Creator of all things. He is the One worthy of worship.
- He is the necessary existent. Everything else only exists because he has brought it into existence.
- Allah is the All-Merciful. The very act of creating is mercy because you cannot even imagine the alternative to not existing. Even if you flickered into existence for a moment and then disappeared, that moment was incomparably better than absolute nothingness.
- The basis of Allah’s relationship with creation is mercy. It is His attribute to be merciful. He has chosen to deal with us on the basis of mercy. You are asking the Most Generous. Supplication is a means of seeking that mercy that He has asked you to seek.
We cannot imagine absolute nothingness. Everything beyond existence is mercy and it is all from Allah. That is why Allah tells us:
ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنُ عَلَى ٱلۡعَرۡشِ ٱسۡتَوَىٰ
“The All-merciful on the Throne did reign Him supreme” [Quran, 20:5; tr. Keller, Quran Beheld]
Divine mercy encompasses all of existence. Everything, after that of not just existence but, life, the honor of being a human, faith, guidance, good, all of it is mercy. You are asking the All-Merciful.
Who is the One Asking?
Sometimes we may imagine that “I’m a loser, I’m a sinner, I do not obey Allah, I do not do this, etc.” Firstly, you are Allah’s creation. You exist as an expression of divine mercy. Everything in existence is enveloped in divine mercy.
The human being has been honored by Allah
وَلَقَدۡ كَرَّمۡنَا بَنِیۤ ءَادَمَ
“Verily We have loftily honored the offspring of Adam” [Quran, 17:70; tr. Keller, Quran Beheld]
The most honored of all creation is the human being. From human beings, there are those whom He has honored with the gift of faith and guidance and you are a believer. The best of all creation is the Messenger (Allah bless him and give him peace) and you are a follower and a lover of him.
Your essential reality is not that you are a sinner or a loser, or you are your failings. No, your essential reality is that you are a creation of Allah, you are precious to Allah, and you are honored with the gift of faith, guidance, and good. Given your reality, you are utterly dependent upon Allah because you are in desperate need of His mercy.
Ask Even for the Smallest of Things
Supplication expresses our joy at this ascription to Allah: I am a servant of the Most Merciful, the Most Generous, I am a creation of Allah that He has honored. The basis of your honor is that connection with your Creator and supplication expresses your reality of being in absolute need of Allah. You are only in need of Allah. We ask Allah with certitude and joy.
Shaykh said: The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) tells us, “Allah loves to be asked and He hates not to be asked.” And “If any of you has any need let them ask Allah even if the strap of your sandal breaks.”
If you are walking down the street and the strap of your sandal breaks, you go and take the means but you ask Allah even for the smallest of things.
What Does it Mean to Ask Allah?
As a servant of Allah, you are responsible for asking in the right way. We are not reminding Allah because He knows. We are not demanding from Allah because we do not have the right to demand. Allah does not serve you, you serve Allah.
We are expressing our neediness, it is not a demand, but with the joy, comfort, clarity, and certitude that we are asking the All-Merciful, the Most Generous, the One who loves to be asked, and who has promised that He will answer us. Supplication is an expression of neediness to the One free of all need and worthy of all praise.
The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) said, “Supplication is the very essence of worship.”
Our worship expresses our slave-hood to Allah and our neediness to Allah. A supplication of clarity, confidence, certitude, calm, serenity, joy, gratitude, and love. You can ask Allah whatever you want because you are beloved to Him. Allah says:
یُحِبُّهُمۡ وَیُحِبُّونَهُۥۤ
“Whom He loves and who love Him” [Quran, 5:54; tr. Keller, Quran Beheld]
The early Muslims said about this verse that Allah loves his creation unconditionally but the question is not whether Allah loves you, the question is whether you love Allah. His love for you precedes you.
Supplication is an expression of love in that sense. It is a point of connection between you and Allah.
