The Art of Asking God: Our Neediness

This is the fifth 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 understand why we have this neediness. Our neediness to Allah whether it is for food, health, or other things, is actually a setup from Allah. On a creation level, when a newborn child cries for its parents, it does not have any negotiation. The crying indicates to the mother that this child needs me right now, I have to go. 

When a servant comes in front of Allah with that kind of neediness, it changes everything. We have to keep going back, we are not self-sufficient, we need Allah and we were created for Him. For every little thing, for example, what do you do if you stub my toe? Ask Allah. Allah says:

یَـٰۤأَیُّهَا ٱلنَّاسُ أَنتُمُ ٱلۡفُقَرَاۤءُ إِلَى ٱللَّهِۖ 

“O mankind: it is you who are in utter need of Allah.” [Quran, 35:15; tr. Keller, Quran Beheld] 

What do the poor ones do? They beg. A poor person has no choice and when a person has nothing else, they beg. 

It has been related that when the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) was stoned and he came outside of Taif. At one point he reportedly said, “O Allah if you are not displeased with me, I do not care. But some relief would be easier for me.”

Layer upon Layer

Every time you see in the Quran when a Prophet (upon him be peace) had expressed that level of neediness, the opening that came was absolutely great. Contemplate the story of Prophet Yunus (upon him be peace). In the belly of a whale, in the darkness of the stomach and the darkness of the ocean. In the darkness of the night, layer upon layer upon layer of neediness to Allah. This is when he called out to Allah:

فَنَادَىٰ فِی ٱلظُّلُمَـٰتِ أَن لَّاۤ إِلَـٰهَ إِلَّاۤ أَنتَ سُبۡحَـٰنَكَ إِنِّی كُنتُ مِنَ ٱلظَّـٰلِمِینَ

“And he finally cried out in the depths of darkness: ‘No god is there but You; Gloriously exalted are You above all; Verily was I of the utter wrongdoers.’” [Quran, 21:87; tr. Keller, Quran Beheld]

What happened? He came out immediately. As for Prophet Musa, he said:

رَبِّ إِنِّى لِمَآ أَنزَلْتَ إِلَىَّ مِنْ خَيْرٍۢ فَقِيرٌۭ

“‘My Lord, I am in utter need of any good You send me down!’” [Quran, 28:24; tr. Keller, Quran Beheld]

What happened? The lady comes, takes him to her father, and so on, and then he gets the Torah. 

As for our Messenger (Allah bless him and give him peace), what happened after Taif? The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) went on the Isra and Mi’raj. And we all got five daily prayers because of that.

Gathering Attention

If supplication is the essence of worship then the essence of supplication is having hamm which is like worry and concern: It is combining all of the different aspects of your attention. 

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “Know that Allah does not answer a dua from a distracted heart…”

Allah sends us situations sometimes where it gathers all of our attention and nothing else will even cross your mind. That is when you start to raise your hands. Everyone will go through something or the other. How else are we supposed to focus on Allah if we do not focus on Allah willingly? Allah loves us, He wants us to come into His presence so something has to turn our attention. 

This is why when that thing comes, all of a sudden the career does not matter, food does not matter, and all those things do not matter. In that desperation, when you go to Allah, that is when you are entering into the real relationship with Allah. Consider the supplications from the Quran and the Sunna. Allah is teaching us and His Messenger (Allah bless him and give him peace) is teaching us how to ask Allah.

Shah Walliullah al-Dehlawi said that there are two types of supplication in the Quran and the Sunna. One type of supplication teaches you about the majesty of Allah. So some supplications teach you about Allah. Other supplications teach you how to ask and how many different ways you are needy to Allah. We ought to realize that we need Allah in our every area of life.

Ask Wholeheartedly

When realizing our neediness, knowing Allah’s greatness and sincere worship are combined, that is when the love of Allah and His Messenger (Allah bless him and give him peace) comes into the heart. 

The whole point of the Quran and Sunna is to bring us back. Jumping in with both feet is very important in our supplication.

Allah’s Messenger (Allah bless him and give him peace) said, “None of you should say: ‘O Allah, forgive me if You wish. O Allah, be merciful to me if You wish.’ Rather he should always appeal to Allah with determination, for nobody can force Allah to do something against His Will.”

You cannot force Allah so when you go in front of Allah, ask wholeheartedly to Allah. Be confident that Allah will respond. They say anyone who has taken a spiritual path to Allah (meaning they have understood why they were created: to ask Allah) then be also confident that Allah will take you to Him. That is part of thinking well of Allah. 

Ibn Umar reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said:

“Whoever among you has the door of supplication opened for him, the door of mercy is opened for him as well. Allah is not asked for anything more beloved to Him than to be asked for wellness. Supplication benefits by what is sent down and what is not sent down. O servants of Allah, you must supplicate.”

Sincere and Hopeful

Well-being is what we are most desperately in need of. If you do not feel good, if you are not healthy, if you are in trouble, these are the things that bring you the most fear in your life. When you ask Allah for that, it is realizing that no one can seal that fear for you or cover it up but You O Allah. 

One of the Shuyukh said, “The supplication that is the best is actually the supplication that comes from the bottom of the heart.” It is the most sincere and the most direct. It is also the most hopeful because who else do you have to turn to? 

Everything in the world (Dunya) will let you down until you realize it is only Allah you can ask. Once you connect to that, you have understood the purpose of why you are made. 

It is said that once your tongue has been opened to ask Allah, just know that He already wants to give you. Anybody who is asking Allah believes in Allah.  One of the great spiritual scholars said, “For me to be barred from making supplication is harder on me than not being answered in my supplication.”