The Grand Imam of Al-Azhar reveals the most frequently repeated supplications and how a servant can respond to his Lord’s call.

 

The Grand Imam:

 

Allah Almighty decrees calamity and decrees the supplication that lifts it.

 

Haste and despair may deprive a servant of having their supplication answered.

 

His Eminence the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Al-Sharif, Prof. Ahmad Al-Tayyeb emphasized that supplication is not merely a spiritual act of worship, but rather a means of repelling calamity and changing fate. He pointed out that Allah Almighty may decree a calamity and, along with it, decree the supplication that raises it. He warned against haste and despair which prevent a servant from having his supplications answered.

 

During today's episode of “Imam Al-Tayeb” TV program, the Grand Imam shed light on the philosophy of supplication in Islam, responding to questions about its effectiveness if fate is preordained. He explained that “supplication and affliction clash until the Day of Judgment,” and that supplication is like a shield that repels arrows, i.e., affliction. He noted that scholars have said that repelling affliction through supplication is part of preordainment itself.

 

 

The Grand Imam of Al-Azhar warned against rushing to ask for an answer for supplication, recalling the hadith of the Prophet [PBUH]: “A servant’s prayer will be answered as long as he/she is not hasty.” He emphasized that despair or the loss of hope may deprive a servant of Allah’s grace, and that faith requires that a servant remain under the protection of fate, in need of his Lord. Furthermore, the five daily prayers protect him from the whispers of Satan into his soul.

 

In response to a question about how to respond to Allah's call, the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar explained that the relationship between a servant and his Lord is reciprocal in prayer. Just as a person calls upon his Lord, Allah calls upon His servants to faith and obedience, citing the verse: “O believers! Respond to Allah and His Messenger when he calls you to that which gives you life” (Quran, 8:24). He explained that answering Allah's prayers is achieved by adhering to His law, while His vast generosity may even encompass the disobedient and compelled.

 

Regarding the supplications he recites most frequently in his life, His Eminence revealed his attachment to the supplication of the Prophet [PBUH]: “O Allah, You are Forgiving and You love forgiveness, so forgive me.” Another supplication is the Qur’anic supplication: “Our Lord! Grant us the good of this world and the Hereafter, and protect us from the torment of the Fire” (Quran, 2:201). He emphasized that persistence in supplication is desirable, calling on Muslims to trust in Allah’s generosity and to be patient in the face of His trials, while also taking the necessary means and not neglecting to take precautions as the Quran commands.