And indeed there are those amongst my servants for whom only poverty is suitable...

And indeed there are those amongst my servants for whom only poverty is suitable, and were I to consign them to anything else, they would have indeed perished.”[^1] At this point, a question might arise in the reader’s mind: Considering the fact that Allah (awj) knows what is good for us better than anyone else and that He will carry out what He wishes, so what need is there for supplication, to request something from Allah (awj)?

In reply, it suffices to say that some of the Divine existential decrees (muqaddarat) are contingent on the supplication of the servant. That is, if the servant supplicates, that will be grounds on which the Divine will would allow the bestowal of the request, and if the servant does not supplicate, that ground would be lacking, and hence the request would not be granted.

For instance, if one beseeches Allah (awj) to grant him eternal life, Allah (awj) will not accept such supplication, for it contradicts the Divine will as made clear in the Qur`an (3:185); or if one asks Allah (awj) to prevent him from ever being in need of anyone else, such a request would also be denied. It has been narrated that one day Imam ‘Ali b. Abi Talib (ع) overheard someone telling his friend, “May Allah never afflict you with any tribulation or mishap.” On hearing this, Imam ‘Ali b.

Abi Talib (ع) addressed the person and said, “You just asked Allah for your friend’s death.” That is, as long as one is alive, one will be afflicted with tribulations and hardships. In commenting on a hadith, ‘Allama Majlisi forwards some justifications as to why some supplications are not accepted: Allah’s (awj) promise to grant the requests made to Him is conditioned on whether…