The noble Prophet of Islam (PBUHH) says...

The noble Prophet of Islam (PBUHH) says: “Supplication is the weapon of the believer, the pillar of religion, and the light of the heavens and the earth [6] ” In another instance, he also (PBUHH) says: “Should I guide you to a weapon which will aid you to overcome your enemies? They (the ) replied in affirmative. Then, he (PBUHH) said: Supplicate both in the day and the night. Verily, supplication is the weapon of a believer.

[7] ” In light of this, therefore, it can be concluded that a supplication is an important form of worship that has very great impacts not only on the souls of the supplicants but it as a means of fulfilling some of our legitimate desires. Conditions for Acceptance of Supplications For a supplication to be favorably accepted and the requests of the supplicants fulfilled by God, certain conditions need to be observed; otherwise, the supplication will be rejected.

In the light of this, the following are some of the conditions or ethics of supplication in Islam: Having absolute trust in God: The supplicant should call upon God with a clear and pure mind and must have absolute trust in God alone for the fulfillment of his needs. He should therefore cut off his expectation from none except the Omnipotent God [8] .

Putting in Place necessary action(s): Apart from seeking divine assistance, it is expected of every supplicant to put forward the required actions towards the realization of his desires. In other words, a supplicant must not solely depend on divine intervention without putting in place the required efforts.

The Prophet (PBUHH) said: “A supplicant without an effort is like an archer without a bow [9] .” To be Realistic in his Supplication: The supplicant should call upon Allah over something that is realistic and should not request for impossibility. Of course, nothing is naturally impossible for Allah, but He made the law of cause and effect prevail because of His constancy and faithfulness to His course. Hence, to expect Allah to send down heavenly dollar currency, for instance, is unrealistic.

Having total concentration: The supplicant should be mindful of his supplications by giving them maximum attention. For Allah will not consider a supplication with mere movement of lips and tongue [10] . Having lawful means of livelihood: For a supplication to be accepted by God, the supplicant must steer clear from all major sins such as shirk, oppression, adultery, etc., and he must ensure that his means of livelihood is lawful.