Why We Make Supplication / Dua’?

Why We Make Supplication (Dua’)?
It is among the essentials of the belief of Muslims that God’s Will is eternal and does not change. When one supplicates to God (asks God for things) one is not asking God to change His Will. Rather, one would be asking God to change the person’s situation from a difficult situation to an easier one, from a good situation to a better one, or the like.
In Surat Qaf, verse 29, God said:
‎مَا يُبَدَّلُ الْقَوْلُ لَدَيَّ وَمَا أَنَا بِظَلامٍ لِّلْعَبِيد}
which means: [My Will does not change.] Ibn Mardawayh narrated from the Prophet that Prophet Muhammad asked his Lord for four (4) matters:

1. That his nation would not be destroyed by famine.
2. That his nation would not be completely destroyed by any enemy.
3. That his nation would not be completely destroyed by a torture similar to the torture which destroyed the previous nations; and
4. That the people of his nation would not fight one against the other.

The Prophet said that God granted him the first three matters but did not grant him the fourth one. So, although it was Prophet Muhammad, the best of the creations, who made that supplication, God did not grant him all what he asked. This is because God willed in eternity there would be fighting between the Muslims in the different eras–and the Will of God does not change.

That God’s Will does not change was more specifically clarified in Imam Muslim’s narration of this hadith in his Sahih. Imam Muslim narrated that after the Prophet asked God for matters, God revealed to him:
‎إني إذا قضيت أمرا فإنه لا يرد
which means: <<[O Muhammad], if I willed for something to happen, My Will would not change.>> So if one then asks,” why we make supplication( دعاء)? “The answer is that there is benefit for the Muslim in that supplication even if this person does not get what he/she asked for in this life. The Muslim gets reward from that supplication and it will benefit him in the Hereafter, and sometimes the Muslim might be relieved from some calamity because of this supplication.
#shaaban #islam #tawheed #dua’ #will