One of the mystics is related to have said...

One of the mystics is related to have said, “Among the shameful things for man is that he should ask from Allah, while in His presence, other than Allah, and that he should be occupied in His presence with other than His majesty and beauty.” A Divine Narration ( hadith al-qudsi ) related by the Holy Prophet (S) says: “He who is occupied by my mention ( dhikri ) from asking Me, I shall give him the best of what I give to the beseechers ( sa’ilin ).”[^8] Imam as-Sadiq (‘a) says: “If a servant who has a need to Allah begins {his prayer} with praising Allah and sending blessings on Muhammad and his Progeny, to the extent that he forgets his need, then He will fulfill it without him asking Him for it.”[^9] In the whispered prayer ( munajat ) of al-muhibbin (the lovers), Imam Zayn al-’Abidin (‘a) says: “O my Lord… make us among those whose heart You have captivated for Your will, whom You have chosen for seeing You, whose attention You have secured purely for Yourself, whose heart You have freed for Your love, whom You have made desirous of what is with You… and from whom You have cut off all things which cut him off from You.” The Relation of the Response to Prayer “Your Lord has said, ‘Call Me, I will answer you.

Indeed those who are disdainful of My worship will enter hell in utter humility.” [^10] What is the relationship of the response ( istijabat ) to prayer? And how is the acceptance of a prayer accomplished? We will attempt to address this issue in this section, by the will of Allah. The response from Allah, the Exalted, is indeed accomplished through the Divine laws ( qawanin ) and norms ( sunan ), as it is true of all other Divine acts.

It should be noted, however, that there is nothing like affection ( infi’al ) in the case of Allah, the Exalted, as is the case with us, the human beings, when we get angry or are happy, or when we are active or worn out. Rather, the act ( fi’l ) of Allah is a law and norm which does not change in cases of satisfaction or…