Eighth Ramadan Lecture Presented by Al-Sayyid Abdul Malik Badruddin Al-Houthi, 1443 A.H.
I seek refuge in Allah from Shaytan, the outcast.
In the name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful.
Praise is to Allah, the Lord of Worlds. I believe that there is no god but Allah, He is the Sovereign and the Manifest Truth; and that Muhammad, our master, is His servant, messenger, and last prophet.
O Allah, confer Your Salat (prayers) and blessings upon Muhammad and the Family of Muhammad just as You conferred Your Salat (prayers) and blessings upon Ebrahim and the Family of Ebrahim. You are Owner of Praise, Owner of Glory! And be pleased with Muhammad good companions and all Your righteous servants and mujahedeen.
Brothers and sisters, peace be upon you, as well as the mercy of Allah and His blessings.
O Allah, guide us and grant us acceptance, for You are the All-Hearing and the All-knowing; accept our repentance, for You are the Most Relenting and the Most Merciful.
Among the blessed verses in Surat Al-Baqarah that highlight the obligation of fasting Ramadan is Allah's saying (Glory be to Him), {' When My servants ask you about Me: I am truly near. I respond to one’s prayer when they call upon Me. So let them respond to Me and believe in Me that they may be guided '}[Al-Baqarah 2:186]
Invoking Allah with prayers is a key requirement to faith, and it helps the believer to display faith. Indeed, invoking Allah expresses your belief in Him as the Ever-Living; All-Sustaining; Who organizes your affairs as well as the affairs of the heavens, earth, and all creations; the Merciful; the Most Generous; the Most Merciful; All-Hearing; the Possessor of great grace and bounty ;your refuge that you seek from all the worries of this life and from the challenges and dangers in it.
In addition, invoking Allah indicates that you are mindful of Allah (Glory be to Him) and remember Him. So, you are not in a state of negligence in your relationship with Him, since the opposite state to Dua (invoking Allah) is the state of forgetfulness towards Allah that makes you turn to others for help: Humans are weak servants who are always in need of support, care, and help, so when they do not turn to Allah for help, they will, for sure, turn to someone other than Allah, to a poor servant who is weak and in need for Allah's support just like them!
Invoking Allah, as a believer, expresses your hope for Him, for His mercy, and for His bounty; your trust in Him; and your reliance on Him and proves that you [are of those who] turn to Him, repent to Him, and always seek refuge in Him in all circumstances and conditions when facing calamities and difficulties—to His mercy, generosity, and bounty. So, invoking Allah with prayers has such a very important position in faith and is a must for the state of faith.
In the context of fasting the blessed month of Ramadan through the blessed verses of Surat Al-Baqarah, there is this blessed verse that comes with this gentle expression, which expresses the mercy of Allah (Glory be to Him) and His generosity and bounty: {'When My servants ask you about Me: I am truly near. I respond to one’s prayer when they call upon Me'}[ Al-Baqarah 2:186]. He (Glory be to Him) is close to His servants; He knows all their conditions and circumstances, hears their prayers and calls, remembers those who remember Him, and thanks those who thank Him. In addition, He (Glory be to Him) hears prayers and answers them, [for He says,] {'I respond to one’s prayer when they call upon Me'}. He has made the issue of supplication easy for His servants: It is not a complicated issue in its means, and it is not an issue that is limited to specific people only. Indeed, He eases the issue to this level: {'I respond to one’s prayer when they call upon Me'}.
So, He does answer everyone who invokes Him if s/he calls upon Him in a way that doesn't run counter to His wisdom, mercy, and how He arranges affairs (the Ever-Living, All-Sustaining), in addition to other things related to the state lived by the caller, some parts of which are going to be briefly covered, Allah willing.
Therefore, the person has to invoke Allah with prayers under all circumstances because that is part of his/her faith as well as his/her faith-based commitments and interests, and indicates a strong relationship with Allah (Glory be to Him). It is a required state in hardship and in ease, in times of prosperity and times of crises, and in all cases and under all circumstances. Allah cannot escape the mind of the believer for long, as the state of negligence and forgetfulness cannot totally overwhelm the believer or make him/her preoccupied with his/her troubles, problems, desires, hopes, and needs. Everything in the believer's life attracts him/her to Allah: The state of ease draws him/her to Allah, and the state of hardship draws him/her to Allah as well; the state of prosperity draws him to Allah, and the state of distress as well; his/her concerns that are related to his/her faith, religion, and future in the Hereafter draw him to Allah (Glory be to Him); and all these circumstances and affairs of this life (worries, problems, suffering, ease, and goodness) draw him/her to Allah (Glory be to Him). The believer is that kind of person who always seeks refuge in Allah and turns to Him in supplication in all cases. Everything draws him/her to Allah and prompts him/her to invoke Allah(Glory be to Him).
Worship-based spirituality contained in Salat and remembrance of Allah draws the believer near to Allah (Glory be to Him). In addition, the blessed and special times in which the chance of answering prayers is higher, are among the most important times for the believer as s/he tries to seize the opportunity during such times. S/he keeps seeking and paying attention to such times. Aware of the fact that there are times, deeds, and situations that increase the chance of responding to prayers, the believer pays attention to those special times, special cases, including the month of Ramadan, the night of al-Qadr within the month of Ramadan, the last ten days of the month Ramadan, and the times that are always blessed, such as the predawn hours, the last hours at the end of the night, and after Salat. So, there are many times in which a person is given an opportunity to supplicate to Allah (Glory be to Him) and to receive a response from Him (Glory be to Him).
In this blessed verse, there is what encourages the person to invoke Allah with prayers. How generous Allah is! How great His mercy and bounty is: It is He Who invites us to invoke Him, Who urges us to invoke Him, Who encourages us to invoke Him, Who promises us to respond [to our prayers], Who guides us to the reasons that grant us response, and Who warns us of the obstacles that prevent our prayers from obtaining a response.
In this blessed verse, it is Allah who presents this blessed offer. He presents this offer to us, calls us, invites us, and encourages us. Do we want more than that? To the extent that He promises to response: {'I respond to one’s prayer when they call upon Me'}. Allah wants everyone of His servants to call upon Him and understand that this issue is not limited to those who have reached the highest levels in righteousness and faith. Allah's servants with no exception should turn to Him (Glory be to Him) in supplication, but they need also to pay attention to the reasons that ensures response.
At the end of the blessed verse Allah says, {'So let them respond to Me and believe in Me that they may be guided'}. If we want our prayers to be answered according to Allah's wisdom and under the roof of His wisdom and based on what He arranges for us—He is the Ever-Living, All-Sustaining, the Merciful, and the Knower of the hidden and the manifest Who best knows what is for our good.
If we want to know the keys to answering prayers, we should reflect on Allah's saying, {'So let them respond to Me and believe in Me'}: We should [first] respond to Allah(Glory be to Him) and have belief in Him, the kind of belief that produces the fruit of trusting Him, relaying on Him, and placing hope on Him (Glory be to Him). This kind of response and this kind of belief are what we greatly lack in our reality and what has an impact on us. A person may wonder why his/her prayers are not answered. In fact, there is great weakness in [our] response [to Allah]: Partial response [to Allah's commands] is what is prevailing in our Muslim society and our overall reality, and there are key responsibilities that people (our Muslim society) turn their backs on. This is a big problem that affects us.
Our response to Allah is required to be a comprehensive response. So, our response to Allah (Glory be to Him) should include all our faith-based commitments: in the behavioral aspect, in the moral aspect, in the spiritual and devotional aspect, in the aspect of the responsibilities that Allah has set for us and mapped out for us, and all various aspects. It is this kind of response (the comprehensive response) that we must mainly stick to, but we also need to keep to repentance and turn to Allah when falling short or displaying negligence—to practically return to Allah (Glory be to Him).
When a comprehensive, complete, and integrated response does exist in our reality, and we seek to take the initiative to remedy any shortcoming and return to Allah at every slip, since Allah is the Most Merciful, the Most Generous, the Possessor of all Great Bounty, the One Who never ever breaks His promise, the One Who fulfills what He promised—this is a very important issue. Responding to Him also requires invoking Him with prayers because this is one of what He has commanded and encouraged us to do.
The comprehensive and complete response also calls for taking practical efforts, for prayers are not meant to replace action. Therefore, supplication is linked to action and has to do with paying efforts and displaying practical response. For example, we cannot stick to invoking Allah to grant us victory without seeking to fulfil our practical responsibilities that have to do with having victory: Allah (Glory be to Him) says, {'O you who have attained faith, if you support Allah, He will support you and strengthen your foothold '}[Muhammad 47:7];{' Mobilize, light or heavy, and strive with your wealths and yourselves in the way of Allah. That is better for you, if you only knew'}[At-Tawbah 9:41];{' And prepare against them all what you can muster of power'}[Al-Anfal 8:60];{'Do not dispute with one another, or you would be discouraged and weakened '}[ Al-Anfal 8:46]. Many are the instructions and teachings that come in this context. So, the comprehensive response requires that such practical factors be taken into consideration before invoking Allah to grant us victory: {'Our Lord! Forgive our sins and excesses, make our steps firm, and grant us victory over the disbelieving people'}[Ali 'Imran 3:147]. We invoke Him (Glory be to Him) while we are in practical field, paying practical efforts.
On sustenance, Allah says,{'So walk through its regions and eat of His provision'}[Al-Mulk 67:15], {'And seek the bounty of Allah'}[Al-Jumu'ah 62:10], {'For men is a share of what they have earned'}[An-Nisa 4:32].So, paying practical efforts—with paying efforts comes also supplication.
The blessed month of Ramadan comes as a remarkable opportunity, as this blessed verse draws our attention to this great opportunity and the importance of this issue as a whole. And at the end of this verse, Allah says, {'That they may be guided'}; we do need wisdom, and we do need to be guided to goodness in the affairs of our religion and our world, in the affairs of our world and the Hereafter! How often people flounder in their pursuit of goodness, as every human being wants good for himself/herself. Indeed, it is natural that every human wants good for himself/herself.
However, there are many ways, actions, and behaviours s/he may stick to in pursuit of what is good, but in the end, s/he often fails or ends up with having just the opposite results. S/he might seek to achieve something based on a particular vision or idea that is of serious consequences in itself; therefore, his/her efforts come nowhere achieving what is good for him/herself. Achieving good requires a good idea and a sound vision. Allah (Glory be to Him)—if we follow His guidance, teachings, and instructions—knows best what is good for us, and He is the One Who possesses all that is good and Who is capable of everything. So, if we want to be guided to what is good for us in our endeavors, deeds, interests, and all that we pursuit, we need Allah (Glory be to Him) and His guidance and must respond to Him and believe in Him so that we can obtain what is good for us in this life and the Hereafter.
In addition, invoking Allah has to do with how He arranges the affairs of this life. So, it is not left to the person and his/her desires, whims, and hopes that may run counter to wisdom or to how Allah arranges affairs. Whims and desires may overwhelm the person and make him/her pay no attention to his/her practical reality on the one hand and to the reality of life on the other hand.
{‘Allah has set a measure for everything’}[At-Talaq 65:3]. The affairs of the universe and life are all set with the management of Allah (the Ever-Living, All-Sustaining, and All-Wise). There are reasons, results, and divine rules based on which Allah arranges the reality of life, and the person cannot overcome such divine rules. However, there still remains an important space that can enable you to move into the direction of success and goodness and to the area of divine mercy. People pray to Allah [make Dua], put their trust in Him, and do believe that He is the All-Wise, Who manages the affairs of the heavens and the earth, and Who is the best to know what is for their good. A person sometimes insistently asks for something from Allah, and Allah (Glory be to Him) knows that some of [these] things might not be appropriate for him/her as the consequences of such things might badly affect the person in his/her life or religion. Then, out of His mercy, He does not respond to you; instead, He replaces it [your prayer] with what is better, and He gives you (of His) reward, mercy, and pleasure in return for your prayer, supplication, and request. That is better for you.
In the Holy Quran, when we read about the prophets of Allah—The Holy Quran talks about their prayers (Dua)—we find various prayers, different kinds of prayers, which are related to diverse aspects, various affairs of their circumstances and affairs. We find that the first of what they ask from Allah (Glory be to Him) is forgiveness. This teaches us that the first of what we should ask from Allah and that the most important of what we should ask from Allah is forgiveness: We need forgiveness. Nothing can harm us more than our sins, wrongdoings, shortcomings, and negligence. Also, nothing can cause that we lose a lot of Allah’s care, His mercy, and His pleasure as wrongdoings, sins, negligence, and shortcomings do. That is why asking for forgiveness comes from the reality of awareness of this fact, the reality of awareness of the danger of sins and wrongdoings on the big, important, great, ever-lasting future of people in the Hereafter.
We find in the prayers of Allah’s prophets, [such as] Nuh (Noah), Ibrahim (Abraham), Ya’qub (Jacob), (Musa – Moses), Da'ud (David), Suliman (Solomon), Musa (Moses), Isa (Jesus), Zakariya (Zachariah), and all the prophets of Allah, we find in their prayers [that are mentioned] in the Holy Quran their focus on forgiveness and important aspects that people need.
Also, among the prayers of Prophet Nuh (Noah), in addition to praying for forgiveness, he prayed for victory after great, practical effort. After 950 years of patience, work, effort, and perseverance, he asked for victory.
Ibrahim (Abraham) (PBUH) made various prayers, some of which were asking for forgiveness, and others were for blessed, pure offspring.
Ya’qub (Jacob) (PBUH), in his big ordeal, was in permanent return to Allah. {‘He said, "I only complain of my suffering and my grief to Allah’}[Yusuf 12:86]. He suffered from grief and great ordeal, but he was patient and complained to Allah (Glory be to Him). Also, He took refuge in Allah with prayers throughout that ordeal, which continued for many years. Then, Allah released his sadness and removed his gloom.
Ayyub (Job) (PBUH), in his health suffering, in which he was patient for a long period of time, he returned to Allah (Glory be to Him) with prayers till Allah eased his suffering.
[About] Zakariya (Zachariah) (PBUH)—all of these are prophets of Allah—when he returned to Allah to provide him with pure offspring—even though he was too old, he returned to Allah (Glory be to Him)—Allah answered his prayers.
In their prayers, we find their return to Allah with all their hearts. Wholeheartedly, they return to Allah deeply, and they direct themselves to Allah strongly and with humble, desire, and fear. [That is] amazing devotion to Allah (Glory be to Him). Also, [they turn to Allah], out of their trust in Allah and their hope in Him, without losing hope in Allah’s leniency or despairing of His mercy.
About Prophet Ibrahim (Abraham), Allah says that he [Ibrahim] said, {‘Who would despair of the mercy of their Lord except the misguided’}[Al-Hijr 15:56]. No despair of Allah’s mercy should take place. However long a person stays in his/her ordeal, sufferings, and concerns; however [difficult] the situation s/he is living is; and however tough the difficulties, complications, and challenges that a person faces might be, the person should not despair of the mercy of Allah (Glory be to Him).
About Prophet Ya’qub (Jacob) (PBUH), Allah says that he [Ya’qub] told his sons, {‘And do not lose hope in the mercy of Allah, for no one loses hope in Allah’s mercy except those with no faith’}[Yusuf 12:87]. However long the ordeal may continue, however intense the distress might be, however hard the complications and difficulties might be, and however great the suffering might be, there is no room for despair of the leniency of Allah (Glory be to Him).
A person should keep placing his/her hope in Allah (Glory be to Him): Your hope is part of your honest belief. A person has [different] experiences in the matter of answering his/her prayers. Every person has experiences in the matter of answering his/her prayers and how Allah answers the prayer when in a state of distress and desperation: {‘Who [else than Allah] responds to the desperate one when he calls upon Him and removes the bad, and makes you successors of the Earth?’}[An-Naml 27:62]. There are many situations in which a person has turned to Allah while in desperation, great distress, severe hardship, and horrible pain. And when s/he has supplicated to Allah (Glory be to Him) and turned faithfully to Allah (Glory be to Him) for His help and in supplication, Allah answered him/her and eased his/her suffering. However, people are forgetful! People of this kind often forget: Those who turn to Allah in great desperation and great distress, and then Allah eased their suffering. When they are out of that horrible situation, they lose sight, forget, amuse, and neglect.
This is truly the case of some people as Allah says, {‘Whenever someone is touched by hardship, they cry out to Us, whether lying on their side, sitting, or standing. But when We relieve their hardship, they return to their old ways as if they had never cried to Us to remove any hardship! This is how the misdeeds of the transgressors have been made adorned to them’}[Yunus 10:12].
Of the states of being mean, vile, and grace-denying and of the states that pose offence to Allah (Glory be to Him), and denial to his glory, mercy, and the goodness of what He has provided you with is when you deal with him in this way: When you are in hardship, you pray to Allah, turn to Him, and seek help from Him; however, when Allah relieves your suffering, you turn your back and direct yourself in this life as if He had not released you from that hardship. You create a different personality in your mentality, in your soul, and in your emotions. You are not the same as when you directed yourself towards Allah during your hardship and your difficulty. Your mood has changed as well as your return to Allah. You showed denial to Allah, and you moved in the reality of your life, in your deeds, and in your behaviours to what offends Allah (Glory be to Him)—a state of transgression. {‘They return to their old ways as if they had never cried to Us to remove any hardship’}: They show denial to Allah (Glory be to Him).
Even when facing hardship, some people’s hearts harden; they get more hopeless; they show denial to Allah (Glory be to Him); and they become hopeless and desperate. This is a terrible state that does not match with faith at all. Allah (Glory be to Him) says, {‘If We give people a taste of Our mercy then take it away from them, they become utterly desperate, ungrateful’}[Hud 11:9]. They become desperate: They do not place their hope in Allah. They become ungrateful: They despair of Allah’s mercy. So, they get more heart hardened and more desperate, and that has negative effects on people, their behaviours, and their deeds: They turn in the reality of this life to solve their problems, their concerns, their circumstances with bad deeds, with act of disobedience. This is a dangerous state.
The correct thing for every believer [to do] is that at every hardship, in all his/her problems, and in all his/her troubles, they turn to Allah (Glory be to Him), (firstly,) because of their trust in Allah (Glory be To Him), their reliance on Him, their hope in Allah (Glory be to Him), and their honest devotion to Allah (Glory be to Him). This is of the most important [states] that a person should be at when praying to Allah (Glory be to Him). Allah (Almighty) says, {‘Supplicate to your Lord humbly and secretly. Surely, He does not like those who cross the limits (55) Do not spread corruption in the land after it has been set in order. And call upon Him with hope and fear. Indeed, Allah’s mercy is always close to the good-doers (65)’}[Al-A’raf 7:55-56].
Praying (Dua) is an act of worship; further, it is—as mentioned in Hadith by the Messenger (PBUH)—the brain of worship: Its position in worship is very important. We express our worship to Allah, our need to Allah, and our belief that He manages the affairs of the heavens and the earth throughout prayers. It is also a connection that shows how your relationship of belief with Allah is, how you turn to Him, how you converse with Allah, and how you mention Him and thank Him. That is why we are commanded of and encouraged to keep to prayers: {‘Your Lord said, “Pray to Me, and I will accept your prayers”’}[Ghafir 40:60]. Turn yourselves to Allah (Glory be to Him), and He will respond to you.
So, when we turn ourselves to Allah (Glory be to Him), we are supposed to be in a state of humbleness, to humbly turn ourselves to Allah (Glory be to Him), and to be in a state of supplication to Allah (Glory be to Him). It means that we should not turn ourselves to Him in our prayers with a hardened heart, a dry eye, or a distracted mind. The state in which a person directs him/herself in praying to Allah with solid emotions (without being humbled or lowly, without sensing the closeness of Allah – Glory be to Him –and without having a sense of your reality and that you are directing yourself to praying to Allah, to conversing with Allah, and to talking with Allah) gets you to be in an atmosphere that is far from politeness, the politeness of the position that the servant is in the hands of
his/her Lord (Glory be to Him). Therefore, your solid emotions, hardened heart, and distracted mind, which does not even concentrate with you or with what you say or pray, all are far from responding to Allah (Glory be to Him).
What makes the state of distress and urgency special is that it makes the person appeal to Allah wholeheartedly and in heartfelt way, leading the appeal to be sincere, honest, and fervent—not just words said by the tongue.
When a person invokes Allah with his/her tongue but without applying his/her heart, conscience, thought, and mind, it is a state of indifference, carelessness, unseriousness, and negligence on the part of the person who introduces this issue coldly. However, this is not how a human deals with a fellow human: If s/he wants something from that person, he/she will deal with that person respectfully and with psychological, mental, and expressive devotion. Appealing to Allah (Glory be to Him) should enjoy passionate, spiritual, intellectual, and mental devotion; faithful, humble, and meek manner of supplication; with feelings of need for and hope in Allah’s bounty, mercy, and generosity; through remembering His endless and countless blessings; and on the basis of practical response: {‘Call upon your Lord humbly and in private; indeed, He does not like transgressors’}[Al-Araf 7: 55]. {‘And cause not corruption upon the earth after its reformation’}[Al-Araf 7: 56]: call upon Allah, stand steadfastly in His path, hold to His teachings, and work to do good on His earth. {‘And invoke Him in fear and aspiration’}: Your feelings should be earnest and sincere about what Allah possesses, having a sense of fear, aspiration, and hope. {‘Indeed, the mercy of Allah is near to the doers of good’}: It is good news, and at the same time, it encourages us to be doers of good so that Allah accepts our supplication and willingly responds to it.
Invoking Allah also expresses the person's interests. However, some people, for example, focus (in their prayers) mainly on the needs and desires of this life. They do not focus on aspects that have to do with faith and religion, nor on their future in the Hereafter. Most of what they ask for is provision and life needs; they forget everything else, and this is why Allah (Glory be to Him) says, {‘There are some who say, ‘’ Our Lord! Grant us [Your bounties] in this world, ‘’ but they will have no share in the Hereafter (200) Yet there are others who say, ‘’ our Lord! Grant us the good of this world and the Hereafter, and protect us from the torment of the Fire’’(201)'} [Al-Baqarah 2:200-201]. All the focus of some people is directed to this life: {'There are some who say, ‘’ Our Lord! Grant us [Your bounties] in this world '}. They appeal for sustenance, good health, and wellness as well as protection from evil and harm. So, all they call for is worldly prayers because this life has become their ultimate focus—what a serious issue. {'But they will have no share in the Hereafter'}: Those people will not have any share in the Hereafter, for they do not pay attention to it at the practical and mental level even in their prayers. All what they ask for is only related to the needs of this life.
{'Yet there are others who say, “Our Lord! Grant us the good of this world and the Hereafter'}. S/he turns to Allah in need based on a sound vision: His/her need for Allah (Glory be to Him), with regard to life affairs, is mainly focused on what is good for his/her life and religion—{'Our Lord! Give us in this world that which is good'}. And He says about the others, {'Who says, Our Lord! Grant us [Your bounties] in this world'}, they do not say 'what is good', only 'grant us in this world'. On the contrary, the righteous people say, {'Grant us the good of this world'}: What makes us good, what makes our affairs right, what does not negatively affect our faith, and what facilitates our lives. Everything they ask for is within the range of 'what is good'.
{'And the Hereafter and protect us from the torment of the Fire'}[Al-Baqarah 2:202]: In addition, they seek protection from Allah's torment and what is good for the Hereafter. {'To these will be allotted what they have earned'}: Prayers should be accompanied by action in life so that they are responded by Allah. {'To these will be allotted what they have earned; and Allah is quick in account'}[Al-Baqarah 2:202].
The month of Ramadan is a great season for prayers, as it presents special opportunities for responding prayers due to its spiritual climate and reality seen in fasting and [reading] the Holy Quran—with the spiritual and educational effect of Ramadan resulted from fasting, performing acts of worships, and the good deeds that have psychological and educational effects upon the feeling of closeness to Allah(Glory be to Him) and upon what we face in the reality of this life, including challenges ,dangers, worries, problems, and conditions, one of which is the global drought that affected many countries including our country. There is great suffering resulting from this drought.
This drought is one of the troubles in our daily-life conditions; it reflects negatively on us in the countryside, affecting agricultural production, living conditions, and even the availability of drinking water in many rural areas. In such circumstances, we have to return to Allah and appeal to Him for forgiveness, guidance, victory, assistance, success, sustenance, well-being, relief, and basic needs at the general and personal levels.
Every person has his/her own concerns, troubles, sufferings, circumstances, and sometimes problems, so we return to Allah in all of that. We pray to Him in fear and hope; we place our hope in Him; we put our trust in Him; and we return to Him. Based on the practical response we stick to in our reality to Allah (Glory be to Him), we should always turn to Allah (Glory be to Him) in repentance. Allah describes His faithful, truthful servants who are Muttaqin in Surat At-Tawbah as {‘the repentant’}[At-Tawbah 9:112]. {‘The repentant’} is who always repents to Allah of their negligence and their sins through their practical return.
Of the most important things that we take into consideration to return to Allah at the practical level i getting ourselves relieved of people’s rights as well as oppression and giving Zakat. Unfortunately, many farmers are being stingy in paying Zakat, and this can have effect on blessings and sustenance. All people should return to Allah, including officials because they often commit a lot grievances and misdeeds, and citizens. We all have to sincerely return to Allah, to repent, to supplicate, to submit [to Allah], to seek forgiveness, to turn to Allah, and to practically return to Him in order to fix our practical reality. The state of hardship should be beneficial to us in its effects on our return to Allah, which helps us obtain righteous deeds, search for the shortcomings within us, and seek to achieve a complete response to Allah (Glory be to Him) in all the aspects of our life. So, we supplicate and turn to Allah.
Of the most important things in a state of suffering and adversity is that it should be a motive [for us] to supplicate and return to Allah. Allah (Glory be to Him) says, {'Whenever We sent a prophet to a society, We afflicted its people with suffering and adversity, so perhaps they would be humbled'}[Al-A'raf 7:94]. Here, we note the saying of the Almighty, {'So perhaps they would be humbled'}, which means that they would return to Allah in humbleness, humility, and repentance in a practical way, instead of falling into a state of heart-hardness or despair, which is a very dangerous state for people to fall into.
Allah (Almighty) says, {‘Indeed, We have sent messengers before you to other people who We put through suffering and adversity, so perhaps they would be humbled’}[Al-an’am 6:42], because it is the correct state that can help them, save them, and get them out of the distress they are in.
{‘Why did they not humble themselves when We made them suffer? Instead, their hearts were hardened, and Satan made their misdeeds adorned to them’}[Al-an’am 6:43]. This state is too dangerous. When hearts harden, and when Satan makes bad deeds adorned; this makes people continue to stick to the state of negligence, making them subject to punishment. {‘We put [them] through suffering and adversity’} so that they keep away from the reasons behind being punished.
Therefore, the faithful, correct, positive, beneficial, and helpful state is [the state of] returning to Allah at the practical level, supplicating, praying, and asking for forgiveness. So, all people should seek in theses blessed nights to appeal to Allah, pray to Him, seek His help, and turn to Him (Glory be to Him).
Then comes Salat Al-Istisqa [prayer for rain] at the end of the week, for example, until Allah relieves [our suffering]. Yet, Salat Al-Istisqa must not be without introductions, as people get used to only performing this Salat. However, it must be preceded by asking for forgiveness and mentioning Allah (Glory be to Him) day and night and after other Salat [prayers]. And we have to ask for forgiveness more and more. {‘So I said, "seek forgiveness from your Lord, for He is a great Forgiver (10) He will shower you with abundant rain'} [ Nuh 71:10-11]. Also, [we have to] return to Allah in a practical way and pay attention to Zakat, to charities for the poor and the needy, to repentance, to getting rid of misdeeds, and to keeping away from sins.
We ask Allah (Glory be to Him) to grant us success and lead us to what satisfies him. O Allah (Glory be to You), have mercy on our martyrs, heal the wounded among us, set free our captives, and grant us victory. You are All-Hearing! O Allah, accept our fast, night prayers, and good deeds. O Allah, grant us relief, give us of your great bounty, and come to our relief with rain. You are All-Hearing!
Peace be upon you, as well as the mercy of Allah and His blessings.
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