In the sermon of Sha’baniyah delivered by the Noble Prophet of Allah (PBUHH)...

In the sermon of Sha’baniyah delivered by the Noble Prophet of Allah (PBUHH), he enjoined the believers to inculcate the habit of invoking Almighty Allah for the fulfillment of our legislative needs and desires: “Raise your hands towards Him (i.e., Almighty Allah) with supplications at the times of your prayers, for these times are the best hours at which Almighty Allah looks at His servants with mercy – He will respond to their prayers, answer their calls, and receive their supplications [7] .” From the aforementioned statements, the following points could be deducted: It is expected of a Muslim to invoke Allah alone for the fulfillment of his legitimate needs in this month and should avoid calling other than Him in this regard.

One of the important etiquettes of supplication is raising two hands while invoking Him. It is mentioned in a narration that Almighty Allah does not like to turn down the request of someone who raises his hands while invoking Him. In light of this, it is highly recommended to raise the two hands. Another important point in the Prophetic statement is the consideration of the suitable time for supplication.

Without any doubt, Allah responds to the supplications of the supplicants whenever they invoke Him. However, there are some selected periods when the supplications are favorably answered. The best period to invoke Allah, particularly in the holy month of Ramadan is after the daily obligatory prayers. Meanwhile, this does not mean that Allah does not listen to His servant at other times; rather it indicates the best time for supplication.

Allah always responds positively to the supplications of His servants whenever they call upon Him, so far, they meet the necessary conditions. It is a divine promise to respond positively to the invocations of those who invoke Him sincerely. Besides, no matter how long one might have been invoking Allah on a request but there is no positive response, one must not lose hope in the divine mercy as Almighty Allah does not break His promise [8] .

Therefore, we must believe that every sincere supplication or invocation of ours shall be accepted, but when we do not see any sign of its acceptance, we should know that Almighty Allah is Omnipotent, Who knows precisely of our request and what is better for us. At times, we request something but He -out of His knowledge- knows that such a thing is not better for us.