ভূমিকা

This shows that as the Almighty Allah preceded everything in existence, His holy name should precede everything else as well. The supplicant who calls Allah should know that if He had not inclined and permitted, the servant would not be able to utter a single word to praise and ask Allah. The supplicant’s tongue can call Allah only by His strength and Mercy.

In fact, as du’a’ itself is the teaching of Allah, the servant’s utterance of supplication and the acceptance of it are only by Allah’s will too. “اني اسالك” (I ask you): “اني” means “I”, but it does not mean egoism here. As a matter of fact, “I” in this phrase and throughout the holy du’a’, implies not an independent being, but rather a servant in need.

The supplicant in this state sees himself as a deprived servant who calls Allah with humility, and perceives Allah as the source of Mercy, Justice, and Forgiveness. That’s why the supplicant asks his demand humbly from the All-Compassionate God. “برحمتك التي وسعت كل شيئ” (by your Mercy that envelops everything): Allah’s mercy envelops everything, and surrounds the apparent and hidden facets of beings.

This embracing Mercy is Allah’s general blessing, by which He brought all the creatures into existence, placed them in their appropriate positions and depending on the creatures’ capacity and faculty, provided them generously together with the necessary means to material growth and spiritual development.

In the valuable book, Anis Allayl , we read the following: “Allah’s general Mercy is like the sun; it rises from east, and shines to everything within its beam, not depriving anything from its light, out of stinginess. All the creatures within the sunbeam benefit from the sun to the extent of their capability.” In the same way, all the visible and hidden beings from the largest to the smallest enjoy Allah’s common blessings.