Therefore when it comes to supplications that have a spiritual component...

Therefore when it comes to supplications that have a spiritual component, the two afore-mentioned impediments no longer apply, and the grounds for acceptance of the supplication are completely prepared. The best examples of genuine supplication can be clearly found in the Qur’an, and after the necessary investigation, we can become properly familiar with them.

God has quoted samples of the supplications of His Prophets and close servants which clarify the principles and aims of God for creating the mankind, viz. to achieve His proximity. And if the supplications of the Prophets that are mentioned in the Qur’an seem to be apparently about worldly matters, they are pronounced as preludes to achieve loftier merits, and latent within them lie noble and high objectives.

Prophet Zakariyya (A) wanted a son to inherit the office of prophethood and continue the guidance of his community after him, and not for the pleasure of a father at…