Indeed, I am Near and I Respond to the Prayer

فإني قريب أجيب

Indeed, I am Near and I Respond to the Prayer

Translated by: Reza Ervani bin Asmanu

This article “Indeed, I am Near and I Respond to the Prayer” is included in the Tadabbur al Quran in English Category

دعوة القرآن إلى الدعاء والحث عليه وردت في مواضع عديدة من كتاب الله، نختار منها قوله تعالى:

The al Qur’an’s call to du’a and the encouragement to perform it have been mentioned in various places in the Book of Allah. Among them, we select the words of Allah the Almighty:

{وَإِذَا سَأَلَكَ عِبَادِي عَنِّي فَإِنِّي قَرِيبٌ أُجِيبُ دَعْوَةَ الدَّاعِ إِذَا دَعَانِ} [البقرة: 186]

“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.” [al Baqarah: 186]

وقوله سبحانه:

And His words, Glory be to Him:

{ادْعُوا رَبَّكُمْ تَضَرُّعًا وَخُفْيَةً} [الأعراف: 55]

“Call upon your Lord in humility and privately.” [al A’raf: 55]

وقوله جلا وعلا:

And His words, the Majestic and Most High:

{وَقَالَ رَبُّكُمُ ادْعُونِي أَسْتَجِبْ لَكُمْ} [غافر: 60]

“And your Lord says, ‘Call upon Me; I will respond to you.’” [Ghafir: 60]

وغير ذلك من الآيات الداعية إلى الدعاء. والدعاء من جهة اللغة يطلق على سؤال العبد من الله حاجته، ويطلق من جهة الشرع على معان عدة، منها العبادة، وعلى هذا فُسر قوله تعالى: {وقال ربكم ادعوني أستجب لكم} أي: اعبدوني وأخلصوا لي العبادة دون من تعبدون من دوني؛ وعن ثابت، قال: قلت لأنس رضي الله عنه: يا أبا حمزة أبلغك أن الدعاء نصف العبادة ؟ قال: لا، بل هو العبادة كلها.

And there are other verses calling for du’a. Linguistically, du’a refers to a servant asking Allah for their needs. From the perspective of syara’, it carries several meanings, among which is worship. Based on this, the words of Allah the Almighty: {And your Lord says, ‘Call upon Me; I will respond to you’} are interpreted as: Worship Me and devote your worship sincerely to Me alone, and not to anyone else you worship besides Me. It is narrated from Tsaabit, who said: I asked Anas radhiyallaahu ‘anhu: O Abu Hamzah, has it reached you that du’a is half of worship? He replied: No, rather it is worship in its entirety.

وإذ كان الدعاء هو العبادة كما جاء في الحديث، فإن العبادة أيضًا هي الدعاء، إذ لا تخلو عبادة من الدعاء، ولكن ما نريد إدارة الحديث حوله هنا، هو أهمية الدعاء بمعناه الأصلي واللغوي، ونقصد بذلك توجه العباد إلى الله تعالى طلبًا لقضاء الحاجات وكشف الكربات، وهو أمر يكاد يغفل عنه كثير من المسلمين، مع ندب الشرع إليه، وشدة احتياجهم إليه.

If du’a is worship as stated in the hadith, then worship is also du’a, for no worship is devoid of du’a. However, what we wish to discuss here is the importance of du’a in its original and linguistic sense—namely, the turning of servants towards Allah the Almighty to seek the fulfillment of needs and the removal of distress. This is a matter that many Muslims tend to overlook, despite the encouragement of syara’ and their profound need for it.

فمن فضل الله تبارك وتعالى وكرمه أن ندب عباده إلى دعائه، وتكفل لهم بالإجابة؛ ففي الحديث:

Among the favors and generosity of Allah Tabaaraka wa Ta’ala is that He encouraged His servants to supplicate to Him and guaranteed them a response; as stated in the hadith:

(يقول الله تعالى: أنا عند ظن عبدي بي وأنا معه إذا دعاني)

“Allah the Almighty says: ‘I am as My servant thinks of Me, and I am with him when he calls upon Me.’” (Narrated by Muslim)

وفي حديث آخر:

And in another hadith:

(إن الله تعالى ليستحي أن يبسط العبد إليه يديه يسأله فيهما خيراً فيردهما خائبتين)

“Indeed, Allah the Almighty is truly bashful to see a servant stretch out his hands to Him asking for good, only for Him to return them empty.” (Narrated by Ahmad)

ويلاحظ أن طلب الدعاء في الخطاب القرآني جاء مقرونًا ومرتبًا عليه الإجابة؛ فالعلاقة بينهما علاقة السبب بالمسبَّب، والشرط بالمشروط، والعلة بالمعلول، فليس على العبد إلا الالتجاء إلى الله – بعد الأخذ بالأسباب – وطلب العون منه في كل عسر ويسر، وفي المنشط والمكره، ووقت الفرج ووقت الكرب؛ ففي حديث أبي سعيد الخدري رضي الله قال: قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم:

It can be observed that the call for du’a in the Qur’anic discourse is coupled with and followed by the promise of response. The relationship between them is that of cause and effect, condition and consequence. Therefore, the servant has no obligation except to seek refuge in Allah—after taking the necessary means—and to seek His help in every difficulty and ease, in times of enthusiasm or reluctance, and in times of relief or distress. As stated in the hadith of Abu Sa’iid al Khudriy radhiyallaahu ‘anhu, who said that the Messenger of Allah shallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam said:

(ما من مسلم يدعو بدعوة ليس فيها إثم ولا قطيعة رحم إلا أعطاه الله بها إحدى ثلاث؛ إما أن يعجل له دعوته، وإما إن يدخر له، وإما إن يكف عنه من السوء بمثلها. قالوا: إذن نكثر ؟ قال: الله أكثر)

“There is no Muslim who supplicates with a prayer that does not involve sin or the severing of family ties, except that Allah will give him one of three things: either He will hasten the response to his prayer, or He will store it for him (in the hereafter), or He will avert from him an equivalent evil. The companions said: ‘Then we shall supplicate much.’ He replied: ‘Allah is even more (in His giving).’” (Narrated by Ahmad)

وعن أبى هريرة أن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم قال:

And from Abu Hurairah, that the Messenger of Allah shallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam said:

(يستجاب لأحدكم ما لم يعجل، يقول: دعوت فلم يستجب لي)

“The prayer of one of you will be answered as long as he is not hasty, saying: ‘I have prayed but it has not been answered for me.’” (Narrated by al Bukhariy and Muslim)

قال السدي في تفسير قوله تعالى: {وإذا سألك عبادي عني فإني قريب أجيب دعوة الداع} ليس من عبد مؤمن يدعو الله إلا استجاب له، فإن كان الذي يدعو به هو له رزق في الدنيا أعطاه الله، وإن لم يكن له رزقًا في الدنيا ذخره له إلى يوم القيامة، ودفع عنه به مكروها.

As Suddiy said regarding the interpretation of the words of the Almighty: {And when My servants ask you concerning Me, indeed I am near. I respond to the invocation of the supplicant}: No believing servant calls upon Allah except that He answers him. If what he prays for is destined as his provision in this world, Allah will give it to him. If it is not his provision in this world, Allah will store it for him until the Day of Resurrection and ward off evil from him through that prayer.

ولسائل أن يسأل: فما لنا ندعو فلا يُستجاب لنا؟ وفي الجواب على هذا نختار ما أجاب به القرطبي عن هذا الإشكال، إذ قال رحمه الله: الجواب أن يُعْلَم أن قوله الحق في الآيتين {أُجيب} و{أستجب} لا يقتضي الاستجابة مطلقًا لكل داع على التفصيل، ولا بكل مطلوب على التفصيل، فقد قال ربنا تبارك وتعالى في آية أخرى: {ادعوا ربكم تضرعًا وخفية إنه لا يحب المعتدين} (الأعراف:55) وكل مصر على كبيرة عالمًا بها أو جاهلاً فهو معتد، وقد أخبر أنه لا يحب المعتدين، فخدمي يُستجاب له؛ وأنواع الاعتداء كثيرة.

A questioner might ask: Why is it that we pray but are not answered? In responding to this issue, we choose the answer provided by al Qurthubiy, where he rahimahullaah said: The answer is to know that His true words in the two verses {I respond} and {I will respond} do not necessitate an absolute response for every person who prays in every detail, nor for every request in every detail. For our Lord Tabaaraka wa Ta’ala has said in another verse: {Call upon your Lord in humility and privately; indeed, He does not like the transgressors} (al A’raf: 55). Anyone who persists in a major sin, whether knowingly or unknowingly, is a transgressor (mu’tadin), and Allah has informed us that He does not love transgressors; so how could his prayer be answered? Furthermore, the types of transgression are many.

ويمكن أن يقال أيضًا: إن إجابته سبحانه متعلقة بإرادته، فيجيب لمن يشاء من عباده، ويُعْرِض عمن يشاء، لحكمة يريدها الله، يؤيد هذا قوله تعالى:

It can also be said: Verily, His response, Glory be to Him, is tied to His will; so He answers whom He wills among His servants and turns away from whom He wills, due to a wisdom that Allah intends. This is supported by His words, the Almighty:

{فَيَكْشِفُ مَا تَدْعُونَ إِلَيْهِ إِنْ شَاءَ} [الأنعام: 41]

“Then He will remove that for which you invoked Him if He wills.” [al An’am: 41]

والقرآن يفسر بعضه بعضًا. إذا تبين هذا كان من اللازم القول: يمنع من إجابة الدعاء موانع لا بد من مراعاتها والتحفظ منها؛ وهي على العموم فعل كل ما لا يرضي الله سبحانه، كأكل الحرام وما كان في معناه، وفي الحديث أنه صلى الله عليه وسلم ذكر:

And the al Qur’an explains itself. When this becomes clear, it becomes necessary to say: There are obstacles to the response of du’a that must be observed and avoided. Generally, these include doing anything that does not please Allah, Glory be to Him, such as consuming what is forbidden and what falls under that category. In the hadith, it is mentioned that the Prophet shallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam mentioned:

(…الرجل يطيل السفر أشعث أغبر يمد يديه إلى السماء يا رب يا رب ومطعمه حرام ومشربه حرام وملبسه حرام وغذي بالحرام فأنى يستجاب)

“…a man who performs a long journey, his hair disheveled and covered in dust, he stretches out his hands to the sky saying: ‘O my Lord, O my Lord,’ while his food is forbidden, his drink is forbidden, his clothing is forbidden, and he is nourished with what is forbidden—so how can he be answered?” (Narrated by Muslim)

وهذا استفهام على جهة الاستبعاد من قبول دعاء من كانت هذه صفته؛ فإن إجابة الدعاء لا بد لها من شروط في الداعي، وفي الدعاء، وفي الشيء المدعو به. فمن شرط الداعي أن يكون عالمًا أنه لا قادر على قضاء حاجته إلا الله، وأن يدعو بنية صادقة وقلب حاضر، فإن الله لا يستجيب دعاءً من قلب غافل لاه، وأن يكون مجتنبًا لأكل الحرام، وألا يمل من الدعاء. وغير ذلك من الشروط التي فصل العلماء القول فيها.

This is a rhetorical question implying the unlikelihood of a prayer being accepted from someone with such characteristics. The response to a prayer requires conditions in the supplicant, in the prayer itself, and in the thing being requested. Among the conditions for the supplicant is to know that no one is capable of fulfilling his need except Allah, to pray with a sincere intention and an attentive heart—for Allah does not answer a prayer from a heart that is heedless and distracted—to avoid forbidden food, and not to grow weary of praying. There are other conditions that scholars have detailed at length.

والذي نخرج به مما تقدم، أن أمر الدعاء في حياة المسلم لا ينبغي أن يُقَلِّل من شأنه، ولا أن يحرم المسلم نفسه من هذا الخير الذي أكرمه الله به، والمسلم حريص على الخير، أولم يقل رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم: (واحرص على ما ينفعك) وتأمل في قوله عليه الصلاة والسلام: (احرص) ليتبين لك قيمة هذا الهدي النبوي. ولا شك فإن النفع كل النفع في الدعاء، وخاصة إذا استوفى أسبابه؛ ولعل فيما خُتمت فيه آية البقرة: {لعلهم يرشدون} ما يؤكد هذا المعنى؛ كما أنَّ فيما خُتمت به آية غافر: {إن الذين يستكبرون عن عبادتي سيدخلون جهنم داخرين} ما يشد من أزر هذا المعنى.

The conclusion we draw from the above is that the matter of du’a in the life of a Muslim should not be underestimated, nor should a Muslim deprive himself of this goodness with which Allah has honored him. A Muslim must be keen on goodness; did the Messenger of Allah shallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam not say: “Be keen on what benefits you.” Contemplate the word “be keen” so that the value of this prophetic guidance becomes clear to you. Undoubtedly, true benefit lies in du’a, especially when it fulfills its causes. Perhaps the closing of the verse in al Baqarah: {that they may be guided} confirms this meaning; just as the closing of the verse in Ghafir: {Indeed, those who disdain My worship will enter Hell [rendered] contemptible} strengthens this meaning.

والله أعلم.

And Allah knows best.

Source: IslamWeb