Title of the Sermon: Where Is the Answer to Supplication?
Elements of the Sermon:
Allah has promised His servants to respond to their supplication.
The meaning of Allah’s response to supplication.
Obstacles that prevent the response.
Supplication is the essence of worship.
All praise is due to Allah, the Near and the Responsive, who extends His hand with bounty and giving, whose generosity encompasses the inhabitants of the heavens and the earth. I bear witness that there is no deity worthy of worship but Allah alone without any partner, and I bear witness that Muḥammad is His servant and Messenger. May Allah send abundant peace and blessings upon him.
To proceed:
Fear Allah, O servants of Allah, with true fear, and be mindful of Him in private and in public:
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ حَقَّ تُقَاتِهِ وَلَا تَمُوتُنَّ إِلَّا وَأَنْتُمْ مُسْلِمُونَ
“O you who believe, fear Allah as He should be feared and do not die except as Muslims.” [Sūrat Āl ʿImrān: 102]
Servants of Allah,
Have you heard of the noblest call that occurs every night?
The Prophet ﷺ said: "Our Lord, Blessed and Exalted is He, descends every night to the lowest heaven when the last third of the night remains, and says: ‘Who will call upon Me, that I may answer him? Who will ask of Me, that I may give him? Who will seek My forgiveness, that I may forgive him?’” (Reported by al-Bukhārī and Muslim)
Allah is the Lord, the Sovereign, the Rich, the Most Generous, the Ever-Giving. He possesses inexhaustible treasures. His hand is outstretched—night and day—with generosity. Spending does not diminish what is with Him. He gives to His servants not for profit or compensation, but out of grace and bounty. Allah says:
وَإِنْ مِنْ شَيْءٍ إِلَّا عِنْدَنَا خَزَائِنُهُ
“And there is not a thing but that with Us are its treasures.” [Sūrat al-Ḥijr: 21]
In the ḥadīth qudsī, He says: "O My servants, if the first of you and the last of you, the humans of you and the jinn of you, were to stand together on one ground and each were to ask of Me, and I were to give everyone what he requested, that would not decrease what I have any more than a needle dipped into the sea would diminish it.”
(Reported by Muslim)
He is the Most Generous, the Bestower, the Benefactor, the Doer of all good, the Possessor of great kindness. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: "Indeed, Allah is Generous and loves generosity.” (Reported by Ibn Abī Shaybah)
And because He is the Lord of the Worlds—the Rich, the Most Generous, al-Ṣamad—He has commanded His servants to call upon Him alone, without any partner, for everything belongs to Him alone. Allah says:
فَادْعُوا اللَّهَ مُخْلِصِينَ لَهُ الدِّينَ وَلَوْ كَرِهَ الْكَافِرُونَ
“So invoke Allah, being sincere to Him in religion, even if the disbelievers dislike it.”
[Sūrat Ghāfir: 14]
And He has promised His supplicating servants a response, saying:
وَإِذَا سَأَلَكَ عِبَادِي عَنِّي فَإِنِّي قَرِيبٌ أُجِيبُ دَعْوَةَ الدَّاعِ إِذَا دَعَانِ
“And when My servants ask you concerning Me, indeed I am near. I respond to the call of the supplicant when he calls upon Me.” [Sūrat al-Baqarah: 186]
Despite the fact that none is more true to His promise and covenant than Allah, the deceitful and arrogant devil whispers to people to make them think ill of their Lord and to turn them away from calling upon Him and humbling themselves before Him. He says: “How long will you keep calling upon your Lord? Have you not asked and asked but have not been given what you desired? Did Allah not promise a response to those who call upon Him? Then where is the answer to your supplication?”
We say to the devil: Be gone! You cannot exceed your decree. Rather, Allah is the Near and Responsive, the One who says—and His word is the truth:
ادْعُونِي أَسْتَجِبْ لَكُمْ
“Call upon Me, I will respond to you.” [Sūrat Ghāfir: 60]
But the key is to understand what it means for a supplication to be answered.
A Muslim believes in his Lord—possessor of perfection and majesty—he believes in Him, His Names, and His Attributes. The actions of Allah are manifestations of His Names and Attributes: He creates and provides, honors and humiliates, gives and withholds, contracts and expands, lowers and raises, decrees sickness and grants healing, conceals and exposes, grants well-being and tests, pardons and punishes. All of these actions come from the All-Knowing, All-Wise, All-Powerful, the Vast in Mercy, the Praiseworthy, the Glorious, the Source of Peace. There is no action of His except that it is based on knowledge, wisdom, justice, and power—free from deficiency or flaw—and every action of His deserves the highest and most complete praise.
Know, O servant of Allah, that Allah does what He wills—He alone—not what His creation wills. He is not questioned about what He does, but they are questioned. He is the Doer of whatever He wills. And when He promised His creation relief from hardship and affliction, He attached that to His will, saying:
قُلْ أَرَأَيْتَكُمْ إِنْ أَتَاكُمْ عَذَابُ اللَّهِ أَوْ أَتَتْكُمُ السَّاعَةُ أَغَيْرَ اللَّهِ تَدْعُونَ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ صَادِقِينَ * بَلْ إِيَّاهُ تَدْعُونَ فَيَكْشِفُ مَا تَدْعُونَ إِلَيْهِ إِنْ شَاءَ وَتَنْسَوْنَ مَا تُشْرِكُونَ
“Say, ‘Have you considered: if the punishment of Allah should come to you or the Hour should come upon you, is it other than Allah you would invoke—if you should be truthful?’ No, it is Him alone you would invoke, and He would remove that for which you invoked Him—if He wills—and you would forget what you associate with Him.” [Sūrat al-Anʿām: 40–41]
Also know that when Allah responds to His supplicating servants, it first means that He has heard their prayer and witnessed their humility. He is the All-Hearing, the Witness, the Sustainer—nothing escapes His knowledge, not even the weight of a speck in the heavens or the earth. He is the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing.
Then He promised them—if they supplicate to Him with sincere, attentive, believing hearts—not heedless or distracted—with one of three outcomes, as our Prophet ﷺ informed us:
"No Muslim calls upon Allah with a supplication that does not involve sin or severing of family ties except that Allah gives him one of three: either He hastens the response for him, or He stores it for him in the Hereafter, or He averts from him an equivalent harm.”
They said, “Then we will make much supplication!”
He ﷺ said, “Allah is more.” (Reported by Aḥmad)
Our Prophet ﷺ informed us that the result of supplication is one of three outcomes:
The first: that Allah grants the servant what he requested and fulfills his wish. This is the broad, primary outcome. However, it may occur at the time that Allah has decreed in His knowledge and wisdom. Allah may delay granting the servant’s request for a profound wisdom that He knows. Consider the supplication of the oppressed, for which there is no barrier between it and Allah—Allah says about it: “By My might, I will surely grant you victory, even if after some time.” (Reported by al-Tirmidhī)
Among Allah’s wise purposes is testing His servants—to see who truly trusts Him and who harbors doubts; to distinguish those who are patient in hardship from those who are resentful and hasty; to identify those who remain firm upon Allah’s law even if relief is delayed from those who become impatient and turn to unlawful means. Allah may delay the response and the relief until the believer’s faith is made manifest and his inner worth proven.
The second: that Allah averts from the servant an equivalent harm, such as warding off great hardship or serious calamity.
The third: that Allah stores the supplication for him in the Hereafter, rewarding him with the greatest recompense and reward, as Allah says: “But the Hereafter is better and more lasting.”
Also know that Allah’s giving or withholding what the servant asks for may itself be a mercy to the servant. He may withhold what is asked out of mercy, as He says:
وَيَدْعُ الْإِنْسَانُ بِالشَّرِّ دُعَاءَهُ بِالْخَيْرِ وَكَانَ الْإِنْسَانُ عَجُولًا
“And man supplicates for evil as he supplicates for good, and man is ever hasty.” [Sūrat al-Isrāʾ: 11]
How many things a person longs for and desires are in fact ruin for him, though he does not know it. As Allah says:
وَعَسَى أَنْ تَكْرَهُوا شَيْئًا وَهُوَ خَيْرٌ لَكُمْ وَعَسَى أَنْ تُحِبُّوا شَيْئًا وَهُوَ شَرٌّ لَكُمْ وَاللَّهُ يَعْلَمُ وَأَنْتُمْ لَا تَعْلَمُونَ
“But perhaps you hate a thing and it is good for you; and perhaps you love a thing and it is bad for you. And Allah knows while you know not.”
[Sūrat al-Baqarah: 216]
Thus, not receiving what you asked of Allah may actually be pure bounty and mercy from Him. ʿAbd Allāh ibn Masʿūd (may Allah be pleased with him) said:
"Indeed, the servant may intend to pursue something in business or authority, and when it becomes easy for him, Allah looks upon him from above the seven heavens and says to the angels: ‘Divert it from him, for if I ease it for him, I will admit him into the Fire.’” (Reported by al-Lālakāʾī)
Sometimes the barrier to the response lies within the servant himself, due to an obstacle that prevents the supplication from being answered. The Prophet ﷺ informed us of several things that prevent supplication from being answered. Among them:
That the servant is heedless and distracted while making supplication. The Prophet ﷺ said: "Call upon Allah while being certain of a response, and know that Allah does not respond to a supplication that comes from a heedless, inattentive heart.” (Reported by al-Tirmidhī)
Also among the barriers: making supplication for sin or the severing of family ties. Would such a supplication be answered?
The Prophet ﷺ said: "A servant’s supplication continues to be answered as long as he does not ask for sin or for severing of kinship.” (Reported by Muslim)
Another barrier is consuming the unlawful—such as usury, selling forbidden items, or devouring people’s wealth unjustly through theft, bribery, or fraud. The Prophet ﷺ mentioned:
"A man on a long journey, disheveled and dusty, raising his hands to the sky: ‘O Lord! O Lord!’ But his food is unlawful, his drink is unlawful, his clothing is unlawful, and he is nourished by the unlawful—so how can he be answered?”
(Reported by Muslim)
Also among the barriers: impatience. Allah may punish the servant for his haste in expecting a response, as though he is testing his Lord. The Prophet ﷺ said:
"The supplication of one of you will be answered as long as he is not hasty and says: ‘I supplicated, but I was not answered.’” (Reported by al-Bukhārī and Muslim)
Another obstacle is transgressing bounds in supplication. Allah says:
ادْعُوا رَبَّكُمْ تَضَرُّعًا وَخُفْيَةً إِنَّهُ لَا يُحِبُّ الْمُعْتَدِينَ
“Call upon your Lord in humility and privately; indeed, He does not love the transgressors.” [Sūrat al-Aʿrāf: 55]
There are many forms of transgression in supplication. Among them, as stated by al-Qurṭubī: "Anyone who persists in a major sin knowingly or unknowingly is among the transgressors."
So perhaps a servant blames his Lord while suspicion fills his heart, yet he is the one at fault, blameworthy and deprived—while Allah is the All-Hearing, the Responsive.
May Allah bless me and you with the Noble Qur’an, and benefit me and you with what it contains of verses and wise reminder. I seek Allah’s forgiveness for myself and for you—so seek His forgiveness. He is indeed the Most Forgiving, Most Merciful.
Second Sermon
All praise is due to Allah, and may peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah, his family, his companions, and all who follow him. To proceed:
Servants of Allah,
Know, O servant of Allah, that the greatest purpose of duʿāʾ is worship itself—that you submit yourself in humility before Allah and turn to Him in your action and your request. The Prophet ﷺ said: "Supplication is worship." Then he recited:
وَقَالَ رَبُّكُمْ ادْعُونِي أَسْتَجِبْ لَكُمْ إِنَّ الَّذِينَ يَسْتَكْبِرُونَ عَنْ عِبَادَتِي سَيَدْخُلُونَ جَهَنَّمَ دَاخِرِينَ
“And your Lord said: Call upon Me, I will respond to you. Indeed, those who are too proud to worship Me will enter Hell humiliated.” [Sūrat Ghāfir: 60] (Reported by al-Tirmidhī)
Accordingly, the meaning of “Call upon Me, I will respond to you” is: worship Me and obey Me through acts of devotion, and I will respond with acceptance, reward, and everlasting bliss.
No servant who obeys Allah with sincere, sound worship—including supplication and asking—will be turned away. Allah accepts the obedience of His servants and grants them the best reward.
Think well of your Lord, for He says in the ḥadīth qudsī: "I am as My servant thinks of Me, and I am with him when he calls upon Me.” (Reported by Muslim)
Be certain that He will never turn you away empty-handed when you raise your hands to Him. The Prophet ﷺ said: "Indeed, Allah is shy and generous. He is shy that His servant raises his hands to Him and He returns them empty and disappointed.” (Reported by al-Tirmidhī)
Do you mock duʿāʾ and belittle it,
While you do not know what duʿāʾ has done?
The arrows of the night never miss—
But for each arrow, there is a set time, and the time shall come.
O Allah, grant victory to Islam and honor to the Muslims, and destroy the criminal disbelievers.
O Allah, send tranquility into the hearts of the mujāhidīn striving in Your path.
Deliver Your oppressed servants and raise high the banner of Your religion by Your strength, O Almighty, O Firm One.
O Allah, grant us safety in our lands, and rectify our leaders and those in authority over us.
Make our leadership among those who fear You, are mindful of You, and seek Your pleasure.
Our Lord, grant us good in this world and good in the Hereafter, and protect us from the punishment of the Fire.
