Eighth Ramadan Lecture Presented by Al-Sayyid Abdul Malik Badruddin Al-Houthi, 1443 A. H.
Invoking Allah with Prayers
Its Meaning, Importance, and the Reasons for Answering Prayers and Vice Versa
I seek refuge in Allah from Shaytan, the outcast.
In the name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful.
Praise is to Allah, Lord of the Worlds. I believe that there is no god but Allah, the Sovereign and the Manifest Truth, and that Muhammad, our master, is His servant, Messenger, and Last Prophet.
O Allah, confer Your salat and blessings upon Muhammad and the Family of Muhammad as You conferred Your salat and blessings upon Ibrahim and the Family of Ibrahim. You are Owner of Praise, Owner of Glory! And be pleased with Muhammad's good companions and all Your righteous servants and mujahidin.
Brothers and sisters, peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah and His blessings.
O Allah, guide us and grant us acceptance, for You are the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing; accept our repentance, for You are the Relenting and the Merciful.
One of the blessed verses in Surat Al-Baqarah that highlight the obligation of fasting Ramadan is Allah's saying (Glory be to Him), {‘When My servants ask you about Me: I am truly near. I respond to one's prayer when they call upon Me. So let them respond to Me and believe in Me that they may be guided’}.
Invoking Allah with prayers is a key requirement to faith, and it helps the believer to display faith. Indeed, invoking Allah expresses your belief in Him as the Ever-Living; All-Sustaining; Who organizes your affairs as well as the affairs of the heavens, earth, and all creations; the Merciful; the Most Generous; the Most Merciful; All-Hearing; the Possessor of Grace and Bounty; and your refuge that you seek from all the worries of this life and from the challenges and dangers in it.
In addition, invoking Allah indicates that you are mindful of Allah (Glory be to Him) and remember Him. So you are not in a state of negligence in your relationship with Him, since the opposite state to invoking Allah is the state of forgetfulness towards Allah that makes you turn to others for help: Humans are weak servants who are always in need of support, care, and help, so when they do not turn to Allah for help, they will, for sure, turn to someone other than Him, to a poor servant who is weak and in need of Allah's support just like them!
Invoking Allah, as a believer, expresses your hope in Him, in His mercy, and in His bounty; your trust in Him; and your reliance on Him. It also proves that you turn to Him, repent to Him, and always seek refuge in Him in all circumstances and conditions when facing calamities and difficulties—seeking His mercy, generosity, and bounty. So invoking Allah with prayers has such a very important position in faith and is essential to faith.
Prayers reflect your strong relationship with Allah
In the context of fasting the blessed month of Ramadan mentioned in the blessed verses of Surat Al-Baqarah, there is this blessed verse that comes with this soft expression, which expresses the mercy of Allah (Glory be to Him) and His generosity and bounty: {‘When My servants ask you about Me: I am truly near. I respond to one's prayer when they call upon Me’}. He (Glory be to Him) is close to His servants; He knows all their conditions and circumstances, hears their prayers and calls upon Him, remembers those who remember Him, and thanks those who thank Him. In addition, He (Glory be to Him) hears prayers and answers them, {‘I respond to one's prayer when they call upon Me.’} He has made the matter of supplication easy for His servants: It is not a complicated matter in its means, and it is not a matter that is limited to specific people. Indeed, He eases the matter to this level: {‘I respond to one's prayer when they call upon Me.’} So He does answer everyone who invokes Him if s/he calls upon Him in a way that does not run counter to His wisdom, mercy, and how He arranges affairs (the Ever-Living, All-Sustaining), in addition to other things related to the state lived by the caller, some parts of which are going to be briefly covered, Allah willing.
Therefore, one should invoke Allah with prayers under all circumstances because that is part of his/her faith and faith-based commitments and interests, and indicates a strong relationship with Allah (Glory be to Him). It is a required state in hardship and in ease, in times of prosperity and times of crises, and in all cases and under all circumstances. Allah cannot escape the mind of the believer for long, as the state of negligence and forgetfulness cannot totally overwhelm the believer or make him/her preoccupied with his/her troubles, problems, desires, hopes, and needs. Everything in the believer's life attracts him/her to Allah: The state of ease draws him/her to Allah, and the state of hardship draws him/her to Allah as well; the state of prosperity draws him to Allah, so does the state of distress; his/her concerns that are related to his/her faith, religion, and future in the Hereafter draw him near to Allah (Glory be to Him); and all these circumstances and affairs of this life (worries, problems, suffering, ease, and goodness) draw him/her near to Allah (Glory be to Him). The believer is that kind of person who always seeks refuge in Allah and turns to Him in supplication in all cases. Everything draws him/her near to Allah and prompts him/her to invoke Allah (Glory be to Him).
Worship-based spirituality contained in salat and the remembrance of Allah draws the believer near to Allah (Glory be to Him). In addition, the blessed and special times in which the chance of answering prayers is higher are among the most important times for the believer as s/he tries to seize the opportunity during such times. S/he keeps seeking and paying attention to such times. Aware of the fact that there are times, deeds, and situations that increase the chance of responding to prayers, the believer pays attention to those special times, including the month of Ramadan, the night of Al-Qadr within the month of Ramadan, the last ten days of the month Ramadan, and the times that are always blessed, such as the predawn hours, the last hours at the end of the night, and after Salat. Therefore, there are many times in which a person is given an opportunity to invoke Allah (Glory be to Him) and to receive a response from Him (the Almighty).
In this blessed verse, there is what encourages people to invoke Allah with prayers. How generous Allah is! How great His mercy and bounty are: It is He Who invites us to invoke Him, Who urges us to invoke Him, Who encourages us to invoke Him, Who promises us to respond , Who guides us to the reasons that grant us His response, and Who warns us of the impurities that prevent our prayers from obtaining His response.
In this blessed verse, it is Allah Who presents this blessed offer. He presents this offer to us, calls us, invites us, and encourages us. Do we want more than that? To the extent that He promises to respond: {‘I respond to one's prayer when they call upon Me.’} Allah wants every one of His servants to call upon Him and understand that this matter is not limited to those who have reached the highest levels in righteousness and faith. Allah's servants with no exception should turn to Him (the Almighty) in supplication, but they need also to pay attention to the reasons that ensure response.
Reasons for answering prayers and vice versa
At the end of the blessed verse, Allah says, {‘So let them respond to Me and believe in Me that they may be guided.} If we want our prayers to be answered according to Allah's wisdom and under the roof of His wisdom and based on what He arranges for us—He is the Ever-Living, All-Sustaining, the Merciful, the Knower of the Unseen and the Witnessed, Who best knows what is for our good. If we want to know the keys to answering prayers, we should reflect on Allah's saying, {‘So let them respond to Me and believe in Me’}: We should respond to Allah (Glory be to Him) and have belief in Him, the kind of belief that produces the fruit of trusting Him, relaying on Him, and placing hope in Him (Glory be to Him). This kind of response and this kind of belief are what we greatly lack in our reality and what affects us. A person may wonder why his/her prayers are not answered. In fact, there is great weakness in response : Partial response is what is prevailing in our Muslim society and our overall reality, and there are key responsibilities that people (our Muslim society) turn their backs on. This is a big problem that really affects us.
Our response to Allah is required to be a comprehensive response. Therefore, our response to Allah (Glory be to Him) should include all our faith-based commitments: in the behavioural aspect, in the moral aspect, in the spiritual and devotional aspect, in the aspect of the responsibilities that Allah has set for us and mapped out for us, and all other various aspects. It is this kind of response (the comprehensive response) that we must mainly stick to, but we also need to keep to repentance and turn to Him when falling short or displaying negligence—to practically return to Allah (Glory be to Him).
When a comprehensive, complete, and integrated response does exist in our reality, and we seek to take the initiative to remedy any shortcoming and return to Allah at every slip, since He is the Most Merciful, the Most Generous, the Possessor of all Great Bounty, the One Who never ever breaks His promise, and the One Who fulfils His promise—this is a very important matter. Responding to Him also requires invoking Him with prayers because this is one of what He has commanded and encouraged us to do.
The comprehensive and complete response also calls for paying practical efforts, for prayers are not meant to replace action. Therefore, the state of faith requires that invoking Allah must go hand in hand with paying efforts and displaying practical response. For example, we cannot stick to invoking Allah to grant us victory without seeking to fulfil our practical responsibilities that have to do with having victory: Allah (Glory be to Him) says, {‘If you support Allah, He will support you and strengthen your foothold’}; {‘Mobilize, light or heavy, and strive with your wealth and yourselves in the way of Allah. That is better for you, if you only knew’};{‘Against them make ready your strength to the utmost of your power’};{‘Do not dispute with one another, or you would be discouraged and weakened’}. Many are the instructions and teachings that come in this context. Therefore, the comprehensive response requires that such practical factors be taken into consideration before invoking Allah to grant us victory: {‘Our Lord! Forgive our sins and excesses, make our steps firm, and grant us victory over the disbelieving people’}. We invoke Him (Glory be to Him) while we are paying practical efforts and doing what is necessary at the practical level.
On sustenance, Allah says,{‘So walk through its regions and eat of His provision’}, {‘And seek the bounty of Allah’}. He also says, {‘For men is a share of what they have earned’}. So paying practical efforts is necessary, but it must be accompanied with invoking Allah, too.
The blessed month of Ramadan comes as a remarkable opportunity, as this blessed verse draws our attention to this great opportunity and the importance of this matter as a whole. And at the end of this verse, Allah says,{‘That they may be guided’}; we do need wisdom, and we do need to be guided to what is good in the affairs of our religion and our world, in the affairs of our world and the Hereafter! People often flounder in their pursuit of what is good for them, as every human being wants good for him/herself. Indeed, it is natural that every human wants good for him/herself. However, there are many ways, actions, and behaviours s/he may stick to in pursuit of what is good, but in the end, s/he often fails or ends up with having just the opposite results. S/he might seek to achieve something based on a particular vision or idea that is of serious consequences in itself; therefore, his/her efforts come nowhere near achieving what is good for him/herself. Achieving good requires a good idea and a sound vision. Allah (Glory be to Him)—if we follow His guidance, teachings, and instructions—knows best what is good for us, and He is the One Who possesses all that is good and Who is capable of everything. Therefore, if we want to be guided to what is good for us in our endeavors, deeds, interests, and all that we pursuit, we need Allah (Glory be to Him) and His guidance and must respond to Him and believe in Him so that we can obtain what is good for us in this life and the Hereafter.
Prayers are answered according to the divine wisdom
and arrangement of affairs
In addition, answering our prayers has to do with how Allah arranges the affairs of this life. So it is not left to people and their desires, whims, and hopes that may run counter to wisdom or to how Allah arranges affairs. A person sometimes only thinks about his/her whims and desires and never pays attention to his/her practical reality on the one hand and to the reality of life on the other hand.
{‘Allah has set a measure for everything’}. The affairs of the universe and life are all set with the management of Allah (the Ever-Living, All-Sustaining, and All-Wise). There are reasons, results, and divine rules based on which Allah arranges the reality of life, and people cannot overcome such divine rules. However, there still remains a very important opportunity that can enable you to move into the direction of success and goodness and to the area of divine mercy: People should pray to Allah , put their trust in Him, and do believe that He is the All-Wise, Who manages the affairs of the heavens and the earth, and Who is the best to know what is for their good. A person sometimes insistently asks for something from Allah, and Allah (Glory be to Him) knows that some of things might not be appropriate for him/her as the consequences of such things might badly affect people in their life or religion. Then, out of His mercy, He does not respond to you; instead, He replaces it with what is better, and He gives you (of His) reward, mercy, and pleasure in return for your prayer, supplication, and request—what is better for you.
The prophets and what they focus on most when invoking Allah
In the Holy Quran, when we read about the prophets of Allah—The Holy Quran speaks about their prayers—we find various prayers and different kinds of prayers that are related to many aspects and various affairs of their circumstances and affairs. We find that the first of what they ask from Allah (Glory be to Him) is forgiveness. This teaches us that the first of what we should ask from Allah and that the most important of what we should ask from Him is forgiveness: We need forgiveness. Nothing can harm us more than our sins, wrongdoings, shortcomings, and negligence. Also, nothing makes us lose a lot of Allah's care, His mercy, and His pleasure as wrongdoings, sins, negligence, and shortcomings do. That is why asking for forgiveness comes from the reality of being aware of this fact, the reality of aware of the danger of sins and wrongdoings on the big, important, great, ever-lasting future of people in the Hereafter. We find in the prayers of Allah's prophets, Nuh, Ibrahim, Ya’qub, Musa , Da’ud, Suliman, Isa, Zakariya, and all the prophets of Allah—we find in their prayers mentioned in the Holy Quran their focus on forgiveness and important aspects that people need.
Also, among the prayers of Prophet Nuh (Noah), in addition to praying for forgiveness, he prayed for victory after great, practical effort. After 950 years of patience, work, effort, and perseverance, he asked for victory. Ibrahim (PBUH) made various prayers, some of which were asking for forgiveness, and others were for a blessed, goodly offspring. Ya’qub (PBUH), in his big ordeal, kept turning to Allah: {‘He said, “I only complain of my suffering and my grief to Allah”’}. He suffered from grief and great ordeal, but he was patient and complained to Allah (Glory be to Him). Also, He took refuge in Allah with prayers throughout that ordeal, which continued for many years. Then, Allah released his sadness and removed his gloom. Ayyub (PBUH), in his health suffering, in which he was patient for a long period of time, he turned to Allah (Glory be to Him) with prayers till Allah eased his suffering. Zakariya (PBUH)—all of these are prophets of Allah—when he turned to Allah to give him a goodly offspring. Even though he was too old, he turned to Allah (Glory be to Him), Who answered his prayer.
In their prayers, we find that they turn to Allah with all their hearts. Wholeheartedly, they turn to Allah, and they direct themselves to Allah strongly and with humble, desire, and fear. Their way of turning to Allah (Glory be to Him) is an amazing way that shows their trust in Him and their hope in Him (the Almighty), without losing hope in His mercy or despairing.
Never lose hope however long ordeals and difficulties might be
Allah says that His prophet Ibrahim said, {‘Who would despair of the mercy of their Lord except the misguided’}. No despair of Allah's mercy should take place. However long a person stays in his/her ordeal, sufferings, and concerns; however the situation s/he is living is; and however tough the difficulties, complications, and challenges that a person faces might be, the person should never despair of the mercy of Allah (Glory be to Him). About Prophet Ya'qub (PBUH), Allah says that he told his sons, {‘And do not lose hope in the mercy of Allah, for no one loses hope in Allah's mercy except those with no faith’}. However long the ordeal may continue, however intense the distress might be, however hard the complications and difficulties might be, and however great the suffering might be, there is no room for losing hope in the mercy of Allah (Glory be to Him).
A person should keep placing his/her hope in Allah (Glory be to Him): Your hope is part of your honest belief. Every person has experiences in the matter of answering his/her prayers. Indeed, every person has experiences in the matter of answering his/her prayers and how Allah answers the prayer when in a state of distress: {‘Who responds to the distressed when he calls out to Him, and Who relieves suffering, and Who makes you successors on earth?’}. There are many situations in which a person has turned to Allah while in desperation, great distress, severe hardship, and horrible pain. And when s/he has supplicated to Allah (Glory be to Him) and turned faithfully to Him for His help and in supplication, He answered his/her prayer and eased his/her suffering. However, people are forgetful! People of this kind often forget: They turn to Allah in great desperation and great distress, and then Allah eases their suffering; however, when they are out of that horrible situation, they lose sight, forget, amuse, and turn away.
This is truly the case of some people as Allah says, {‘Whenever someone is touched by hardship, they cry out to Us, whether lying on their side, sitting, or standing. But when We relieve their hardship, they return to their old ways as if they had never cried to Us to remove any hardship! This is how the misdeeds of the transgressors have been made adorned to them’}. Of the states of being mean, vile, and grace-denying and of the states that pose offence to Allah (Glory be to Him) and denial to His bounty, mercy, and the goodness of what He has provided you with is when you deal with Him in this way: When you are in hardship, you pray to Him, turn to Him, and seek help from Him; however, when Allah relieves your suffering, you turn your back and direct yourself in this life as if He had not released you from that hardship. You become a different person in your mentality, in your soul, and in your emotions: You are not the same as when you turned to Him during your hardship and your difficulty, and you change in your soul and your devotion to Him; you show denial to Him and move in the reality of your life, in your actions, and in your behaviour in a way that offends Him—how excessive! {‘They return to their old ways as if they had never cried to Us to remove any hardship’}: They show denial to Allah (Glory be to Him).
Even when facing hardship, some people's hearts harden; they get more desperate, show denial to Allah (Glory be to Him), and lose hope. This is a terrible state that totally runs counter to faith. Allah (Glory be to Him) says, {‘If We give people a taste of Our mercy then take it away from them, they become utterly desperate, ungrateful’}: They become desperate and lose their hope in Allah; they become ungrateful and despair of Allah's mercy. So their hearts get more hardened, and they become more desperate, leading to negative effects on them, their behaviours, and their deeds. They may commit bad deeds that represent disobedience to Allah (Glory be to Him) to solve their problems, their concerns, and their circumstances. This is of serious consequences.
The correct thing for believers is that in every hardship, in all their problems, and in all their troubles, they should turn to Allah (Glory be to Him) because of their trust in Him (the Almighty), their reliance on Him, and their hope in Him. Indeed, they should turn to Him in true supplication, which is one the most important things a person should take great care of when praying to Allah (Glory be to Him): Allah (the Almighty) says, {‘Supplicate to your Lord humbly and secretly. Surely, He does not like those who cross the limits. And do not spread corruption in the land after it has been set in order. And call upon Him with hope and fear. Indeed, Allah's mercy is always close to the good-doers’}.
The feelings that should prevail when invoking Allah
Invoking Allah is an act of worship; further, it is—as mentioned in hadith by the Messenger (PBUH)—the brain of worship: Its position in worship is very important. When invoke Allah, we express our worship to Allah, our need to Him, and our belief that He is governing the affairs of the heavens and the earth. It is also a connection that shows how your relationship of faith with Allah is, how you turn to Him, how you converse with Allah, and how you mention Him and thank Him. That is why we are commanded and encouraged to keep invoking Allah with prayers: {‘Your Lord said, “Pray to Me, and I will answer your prayers”’}. Turn to Allah (Glory be to Him), and He will respond to you.
So when we turn to Allah (Glory be to Him), we are supposed to be in a state of humbleness and to turn to Him (the Almighty) in humbleness and supplication. It means that we should not turn to Him in our prayers with a hardened heart, a dry eye, or a distracted mind. When you invoke Allah (Glory be to Him) with cold emotions (without being humbled or lowly, without sensing the closeness of Allah, and without having a sense of your reality and that you are directing yourself to praying to Allah, to conversing with Him, and to speaking with Him), this creates an atmosphere that is far from politeness, the kind of politeness required when the servant standing before his/her Lord (Glory be to Him). Therefore, your cold emotions, hardened heart, and distracted mind, which does not even concentrate with you or with what you say or pray, all are far from responding to Allah (Glory be to Him). What makes the state of distress and urgency special is that it makes a person appeal to Allah wholeheartedly and in a heartfelt way, leading the appeal to be sincere, honest, and fervent—not just words said by the tongue.
When a person invokes Allah with his/her tongue but without applying his/her heart, conscience, thought, and mind to what s/he is saying, this represents a state of indifference, carelessness, unseriousness, and negligence on the part of the person who introduces his/her issue coldly. However, this is not how a human deals with a fellow human: If s/he wants something from that person, s/he deals with that person respectfully and with psychological, mental, and expressive devotion. Appealing to Allah (Glory be to Him) should be accompanied with passionate, spiritual, intellectual, and mental devotion; with faithful, humble, and meek manner of supplication; with feelings of need for and hope in Allah's bounty, mercy, and generosity; with remembering His endless and countless blessings; and with showing practical response: {‘Supplicate to your Lord humbly and secretly. Surely, He does not like those who cross the limits. And do not spread corruption in the land after it has been set in order’}—call upon Allah, stand steadfastly in His path, hold to His teachings, and work to do good on His earth. {‘And invoke Him in fear and aspiration’}: Your feelings should be sincere feelings that reflect fear and aspiration for what Allah possesses. {‘Indeed, the mercy of Allah is near to the doers of good’}: It is good news, and at the same time, it encourages us to be doers of good so that Allah accepts our prayers and responds to them.
What we should focus on when invoking Allah?
Invoking Allah also expresses one's priorities. Some people, for example, focus (in their prayers) mainly on the needs and desires of this life. They do not focus on aspects that have to do with faith and religion, nor on their future in the Hereafter. Most of what they ask for is provision and life needs; they forget everything else, and this is why Allah (Glory be to Him) says, {‘There are some who say,‘’Our Lord! Grant us in this world”, but they will have no share in the Hereafter. Yet there are others who say, “Our Lord! Grant us the good of this world and the Hereafter, and protect us from the torment of the Fire”’}. All the focus of some people is directed to this life: {‘There are some who say, “Our Lord! Grant us in this world.”’} They appeal for sustenance, good health, wellness, and protection from evil and harm. All they request is worldly requests because this life has become their ultimate focus—what a serious issue! {‘But they will have no share in the Hereafter’}: Those people will not have any share in the Hereafter, for they do not pay attention to it at the practical and mental level even in their prayers. All what they ask for is only related to the needs of this life.
{‘Yet there are others who say, “Our Lord! Grant us the good of this world and the Hereafter.’} S/he turns to Allah in need based on a sound vision: His/her need for Allah (Glory be to Him), with regard to life affairs, is mainly focused on what is good for his/her life and religion—{‘Grant us the good of this world.’} And He says about the others, {‘There are some who say, “Our Lord! Grant us in this world.”’} So they do not say, ‘what is good’—they just say, ‘Grant us in this world.’ In contrast, the righteous people say, {‘Grant us the good of this world’}: What makes us good, what makes our affairs right, what does not negatively affect our faith, and what facilitates our lives. Everything they ask for is within the range of what is good. {‘And the Hereafter and protect us from the torment of the Fire’}: They also seek protection from Allah's torment and ask what is good for the Hereafter. {‘To these will be allotted what they have earned’}: Prayers should be accompanied by action in life so that Allah answers them. {‘To these will be allotted what they have earned; and Allah is quick in account’}.
The great season for invoking Allah and enjoying wonderful
opportunities for answering prayers
The month of Ramadan is a great season for prayers, as it presents wonderful opportunities for responding prayers due to the prevailing reality of faith that comes with fasting, reciting the Quran, the spiritual and educational effect of Ramadan resulted from fasting, performing acts of worships, and the good deeds that have psychological and educational effects upon the feeling of closeness to Allah(Glory be to Him) and upon what we face in the reality of this life, including challenges ,dangers, worries, problems, and conditions, one of which is the global drought that has affected many countries including our country. There is great suffering resulting from this drought. This drought is one of the troubles in our daily-life conditions; it has negative impact on us in the countryside, affecting agricultural production, living conditions, and even the availability of drinking water in many rural areas. In such circumstances, we have to return to Allah and appeal to Him for forgiveness, guidance, victory, assistance, success, sustenance, well-being, relief, and basic needs at the collective and individual levels. Every person has his/her own concerns, troubles, sufferings, circumstances, and sometimes problems, so we all should turn to Allah in all of that. We should pray to Him in fear and aspiration, place our hope in Him, put our trust in Him, and turn to Him. Based on the practical response to Allah (Glory be to Him) that we should stick to in our reality, we should always turn to Allah (Glory be to Him) in repentance. Allah describes His faithful, truthful servants who are muttaqin in Surat At-Tawbah as ‘the repentant’. ‘The repentant’ are who always repent to Allah of their negligence and their sins in a practical way of repentance.
Of the most important things that we should take into consideration to return to Allah at the practical level is getting ourselves relieved of people's rights and grievances as well as giving Zakat. Unfortunately, many farmers are being stingy in paying Zakat, and this can have effect on blessings and sustenance. All people should return to Allah, including officials because they often commit a lot of grievances and misdeeds—ordinary citizens are also required to do so. We all have to sincerely return to Allah, to repent, to supplicate, to submit , to seek forgiveness, to turn to Him, and to practically return to Him in order to change our practical reality for the better. Hardship should be beneficial to us in its effects on our practical return to Allah, which helps us make our deeds righteous, search for the shortcomings within us, and seek to achieve a complete response to Allah (Glory be to Him) in all the aspects of our life. So we should invoke Him and seek refuge in Him.
Of the most important things seen in suffering and adversity is that it should be a motive to supplicate to Allah and return to Him: He (Glory be to Him) says, {‘Whenever We sent a prophet to a society, We afflicted its people with suffering and adversity, so they may supplicate’}. Here, we note that the Almighty said, {‘So they may turn humble’}: So that they may return to Allah in humbleness, humility, and repentance in a practical way, instead of falling into a state of heart-hardness or despair, which is a very dangerous state for people to fall into.
Allah (the Almighty) says, {‘And most surely We sent to communities before you, and We seized them with suffering and adversity, that they may supplicate’}. That is because it is the right state that can help them, save them, and get them out of the distress they are in: {‘If only when Our affliction came upon them they had supplicated . But their hearts hardened, and Shaytan adorned for them whatever they used to do’}. This state is too dangerous. When hearts harden, and when Shaytan makes bad deeds adorned, this makes people continue to stick to the state of negligence, making them subject to punishment. {‘We put through suffering and adversity’} so that they keep away from the reasons behind inflicting punishment on them. Therefore, the faithful, correct, positive, beneficial, and helpful state is returning to Allah at the practical level, as well as supplicating, praying, and asking for forgiveness. Therefore, all people should seek in theses blessed nights to appeal to Allah, pray to Him, seek His help, and turn to Him (the Almighty).
Then comes Salat Al-Istisqa at the end of every week, for example, until Allah brings relief. Yet, Salat Al-Istisqa must not be without introductions, as people get used to only performing this Salat. It must be preceded by asking for forgiveness and mentioning Allah (Glory be to Him) day and night and after obligatory salats. And we have to ask for forgiveness more and more: {‘So I said, “seek forgiveness from your Lord, for He is a great Forgiver. He will shower you with abundant rain”’}. Also, return to Allah in a practical way and pay attention to Zakat, to charities for the poor and the needy, to repentance, to getting rid of misdeeds, and to keeping away from sins.
We ask Allah (Glory be to Him) to grant us success in seeking what pleases Him. O Allah (Glory be to You), have mercy on our martyrs, heal the wounded among us, set free our captives, and grant us victory. You are All-Hearing! O Allah, accept our fasting, night prayers, and good deeds. O Allah, remove our troubles, give us of your great bounty, and grant us relief with rain. You are All-Hearing!
Peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah and His blessings.