God’s knowledge of what is in the best interest of an individual...

God’s knowledge of what is in the best interest of an individual, which is based on wisdom, as well as His all-encompassing knowledge over all aspects of an affair, results in the acceptance of some supplications and the rejection of others. This is because God is aware of what is beneficial for an individual as well as for the entire creation, whose lives are inextricably linked with one another.

An individual only views matters, knowingly or unknowingly, as they affect himself, and the wider implications and impact of his supplication do not enter his thoughts. However, God’s all-encompassing knowledge does not consider every prayer expedient for acceptance. Even at an individual level, everything that a supplicant prays for may not be beneficial for him, and if it is not in his ultimate best interest to have his prayers answered, God will not do so.

Although these two main explanations are plausible and correct to some extent, they are not fully satisfactory answers, and do not completely alleviate the curiosity of the questioner, especially because God has emphatically stated in the verse under review that He guarantees to answer every supplication. In fact, the wording of the verse does not mention any conditions that need to be met before the prayers of a supplicant are answered.

Furthermore, classifying the most usually asked supplications as outside the ambit of this general verse may not be consistent with the eloquence of God’s words, and we must therefore seek an explanation that is robust enough and at the same time, both conforms with the verse as well as provides the questioner and the researcher with a suitable and basic answer.

When we begin to examine the verses of the Qur’an with some thoroughness, we find that the kinds of supplications that God has guaranteed to answer have a particular formulation, and by observing and following it, one can be expectant of the acceptance of his prayer. In fact, the Qur’an illustrates paradigms of supplications so that God’s servants can emulate them and place their own worthy desires in front of the Creator, with sincerity and every hope for acceptance.

The supplication must be in synchrony with the human’s progress towards perfection and in harmony with the constant movement of creation towards perfect existence; this is when the prayers will be met with the desired response, and will be answered by God.