The sound position, upheld by the majority, is that supplication is a cause by which the desired good—or some other good—is obtained, just like every other divinely appointed and legally sanctioned cause. Whether one calls it a cause, a component of the cause, or a condition, the intent is the same: when Allah wills good for a servant, He inspires him to pray and to seek His aid, and He makes that reliance and supplication the means for the good He has decreed for him. In the words of ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb—may Allah be pleased with him—“I do not burden myself with concern over the response; I burden myself with concern over the supplication. If I have been inspired to supplicate, the answer comes with it.”

In the same way, when Allah Most High wills to satisfy a servant’s hunger or quench his thirst, He inspires him to eat or drink; when He intends to accept a servant’s repentance, He prompts him to repent and then accepts that repentance; and when He wills to show him mercy and admit him to Paradise, He enables him to perform the deeds of the people of Paradise. The divine will has decreed that these blessings come about together with the causes appointed for them, just as it has decreed entry into Paradise through righteous deeds, children through marital relations, and knowledge through learning.

Thus, the origin of every matter is from Allah and its completion rests with Allah; the servant himself exercises no influence over the Lord or His dominion. Rather, it is the Lord—exalted is He—who acts within His realm and who makes His servant’s supplication a means for whatever judgment He wills. A man once asked the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—“Messenger of Allah, what of the medicines we use, the incantations by which we seek healing, and the protective measures we take—do they repel anything of Allah’s decree?” He replied, “They themselves are part of Allah’s decree.”