Supplication

When Iyās was born I invited a group of the Companions of the Prophet ﷺ and fed them, and they supplicated. I said, “You have all supplicated so may Allāh bless you in what you have supplicated for, and when I make a supplication please say āmīn.” So I supplicated much for him (my newborn) for his religion, his intelligence and the like, and verily now I recognize in him [the qualities] in the supplication of that day.

Al-Bukhārī, Al-Adab Al-Mufrad ḥadīth 1255. Al-Albānī grades its chain of transmission ṣaḥīḥ in Ṣaḥīḥ Al-Adab Al-Mufrad 950/1255.

O Allāh, verily I ask you for good dreams: dreams that are true and not false, beneficial and not harmful. اللهم إني أسألك رؤيا صالحةً صادقةً غيرَ كاذبةٍ نافعةً غيرَ ضارةٍ And when she said this, [those who heard her] knew that she would not speak any more until she woke up from the night.

Al-Nawawī, Al-Adhkār ḥadīth 271. Ibn Ḥajr graded it ṣaḥīḥ in Natāʾij Al-Afkār 3:89.

If you see a man amongst you having committed a sin, do not supplicate Allāh against him and do not revile him; instead, pray to Allāh to cure him and accept his repentance, for when we used to see a man die upon something good, we would have hope for him, and when we used to see a man die upon wrongdoing, we would fear for him.

Ibn Abī Al-Dunyā, Kitāb Al-Tawbah article 112.

“What are you doing with this horse of yours?” Abū Ḏarr replied, “I think this horse has had his supplication answered.” Muʿāwiyah asked, “And what supplication does a beast have?” He replied, “By him in whose hand is my soul, there is no horse except that it supplicates every twilight before the dawn: O Allāh, you have given me to a servant of yours and have put my provision at his hands, so make me more beloved to him than his wife, his property and his children.”

Imām Aḥmad, Al-Musnad, ḥadīth 21334.

They (the Salaf) used to supplicate to Allāh for six months asking Him to get them to the month of Ramaḍān; and they used to supplicate for six months that Allāh accept [their fasting and other worship in Ramaḍān].

Abul-Qāsim Al-Aṣbahānī, Al-Targhīb wa Al-Tarhīb article 1761.

We were once in the house of ʿAlqamah b. Qays. Rabīʿ b. Ḵuthaym entered upon us and sat in a corner of the house. Then he said, “Speak only a little except for nine things: subḥānallāh, al-ḥamdulillāh, lā ilāha illallāh, Allāhu ʾakbar, reciting the Qurān, enjoining good, forbidding wrong, asking Allāh for what is good and seeking His protection from harm (evil).”

Hannād b. Al-Sarīy, Al-Zuhd #1108.

ʿAbd Al-Raḥmān b. Yazīd reports: Al-Rabīʿ b. Khuthaym used to come to ʿAlqamah on the day of Jumuʿah and they would talk. They would call for me and I would come and talk with them. One day, they sent for me and I came. ʿAlqamah said to me, Have you not heard what Al-Rabīʿ b. Khuthaym has come to us with? I replied, And what is that? He said, [Rabīʿ] said a man from the People of Scripture once said to us, Do you not see how much people supplicate but how seldom their prayers are answered? That is because Allāh does not accept except what is sincere and purely for Him. I said, Well ʿAbdullāh [b. Masʿūd] already said the same. He asked, What did he say? I replied, Haven’t you heard him say, By Him other than whom there is none worthy of worship, Allāh does not accept [the deed] of one who seeks to be heard of, or seen, and nor someone who is playing around, [He only accepts the supplication] of one who calls upon Him from the bottom of his heart. He replied, Indeed, [I have heard him say that].

Hunād b. Al-Sarī, Al-Zuhd #874.

Al-Shāfi’ī used to divide the night into three parts: he would write (knowledge) for the first third, pray during the second third and sleep during the last third. It is reported from Ḥusayn Al-Karābīsī that he said: I spent the night with Al-Shāfi’ī. He would pray for about a third of the night. I hardly ever saw him recite more than fifty verses (in the prayer), one hundred at most. Whenever he came to a verse about mercy, he would ask Allāh for His Mercy, for himself and for the believers; and whenever he came to a verse about punishment, he would seek Allāh’s refuge from it, and ask salvation for himself and for all the believers. So it is as if both hope and fear were brought together for him. Al-Bayhaqī, Ma’rifatu Al-Sunan articles 362, 365.

Al-Bayhaqī, Ma’rifatu Al-Sunan articles 362, 365.

When Anas b. Mālik – Allāh be pleased with him – used to finish a complete reading of the Qur`ān he would gather his wife and children and supplicate for them. Al-Firyābī, Faḍā`il Al-Qur`ān article 83; Al-Dārimī, Al-Sunan hadith 3477 et al. Shaykh Al-Albānī graded one of its chains of transmission ṣaḥīḥ. See Marwīyāt Du’ā Khatm Al-Qurān article 12.

Al-Firyābī, Faḍā`il Al-Qur`ān article 83; Al-Dārimī, Al-Sunan hadith 3477 et al. Shaykh Al-Albānī graded one of its chains of transmission ṣaḥīḥ. See Marwīyāt Du’ā Khatm Al-Qurān article 12.

If people called on Allāh when put to trial because of their rulers, Allāh would relieve their suffering; but instead they resorted to the sword, so they were left to it. And not one day of good did they bring. Then he recited (Quran 7: 137): And the good word of your Lord was fulfilled for the Children of Israel, for the patience and perseverance they had, and We destroyed the works of Pharaoh and his people and what they had erected. Ibn Abī Ḥātim, Al-Tafsīr no. 8897.

Ibn Abī Ḥātim, Al-Tafsīr no. 8897.

O Abū Isḥāq, Allāh the Exalted says in his Book. ‘Call on me, I will answer your prayers’, but we have been calling on Him for a long time and He does not answer our prayers. [Ibrāhīm] replied, “O people of Baṣrah, your hearts have died in respect to ten things: First, you know Allāh but you do not give Him His rights; second, you have read Allāh’s Book but you do not act by it; third, you claim to love Allāh’s Messenger – Allāh’s peace and blessings be upon him – yet you abandon his Sunnah; fourth, you claim to be enemies to Shayṭān but you conform to [his ways]; fifth, you say you love Paradise yet you do not work for it; sixth, you say you fear The Fire yet you put yourselves closer to it [by sinning]; seventh, you say death is true but you do not prepare for it; eighth, you busy yourselves with the faults of others and disregard your own; ninth, you consume the favors of your Lord but are not grateful for them; and tenth, you bury your dead but take no lesson from them.” Abū Nu’aym, Ḥilyah Al-Awliyā’ 8: 15, 16.

Abū Nu’aym, Ḥilyah Al-Awliyā’ 8: 15, 16.

Al-Bukhārī, Al-Ṣaḥīḥ ‘What is hated about making supplications rhyme.’ Notes In this narration, the illustrious Companion ʿAbdullāh b. ‘Abbās gives some guidelines about being wise and aware of people’s condition when teaching them and calling them to Allāh. He advised that a person should not address the people and give talks to them too often, lest they become bored or fed up of hearing the Quran. This consideration is taken from the Sunnah of the Prophet – Allāh’s praise and peace be upon him – as related by Ibn Mas’ūd. This tradition also expresses the dislike of trying to disseminate knowledge in a way that might be detrimental to its purpose. We are discouraged from spreading knowledge to those who do not desire it or those who are not enthusiastic to receive it and interrupting people while they are speaking. We are encouraged to teach knowledge to those who express their desire for it, because all this means it is more likely that the recipient will benefit from this knowledge. The narration also warns against the practice of trying to make du’ā (supplication) rhyme. This is because occupying oneself with putting together rhyming prayers conflicts with the state of being humble and imploring Allāh, which is how a person should be when supplicating. There is no contradiction between this disliked behavior and the fact that some of the Prophetic supplications and statements rhyme, because the Prophet never used to have to try and make them rhyme, but was effortlessly eloquent and at the same time fully humbled in front of Allāh. Adapted from Ibn Ḥajr, Fatḥ Al-Bārī.

Adapted from Ibn Ḥajr, Fatḥ Al-Bārī.

Al-Dhahabī, Siyar A’lām Al-Nubalā` Vol. 2 p223.

Al-Bukhārī, Al-Adab Al-Mufrad. Shaykh Al-Albānī grades its chain of narration ḥasan in Saḥīḥ Al-Adab Al-Mufrad p444, and notes, “In this narration this illustrious Companion indicates that it is permissible to supplicate for someone to have a long life, even if he is an unbeliever, and so [this can be done for] a Muslim a fortiori…However, the supplicant should make sure that the unbeliever is not an enemy of the Muslims. It is also taken from this [narration] that such an unbeliever can be commiserated with what has been mentioned therein [i.e. the believers are the ones who will receive the mercy of Allāh and His blessings].”

Ibn Battah, Al-Ibānah Al-Kubrā Vol. 2 p498. Note The supplication mentioned above is as follows in Arabic:

The supplication mentioned above is as follows in Arabic: