Iqtiḍāʾ al-Ṣirāṭ al-Mustaqīm - Ibn Taimiya - (2/314)

Iqtiḍāʾ al-Ṣirāṭ al-MustaqīmIbn Taimiya

until dawn.

He ﷺ first mentioned Allah’s response to supplication, then His giving to the one who asks and His forgiving of the one who seeks forgiveness. The first secures benefit, the second lifts harm, and together they comprise the very objective of every supplicant whose plea is answered.

Allah, exalted is He, says:
“When My servants ask you about Me, [tell them that] I am near; I answer the call of the caller whenever he calls upon Me. Let them, therefore, respond to Me and believe in Me, so that they may be rightly guided.” (al-Baqarah 2:186)

It is related that one of the Companions asked, “O Messenger of Allah, is our Lord near so that we may converse with Him, or distant so that we must call out to Him?” Thereupon Allah revealed this verse, declaring that He is near and that He answers the call of the supplicant whenever he calls upon Him, and then commanding them to respond to Him and to believe in Him.

Some have paraphrased it thus: “Let them answer Me when I call them, and let them believe in Me, for I indeed answer their prayer.”

They said: The answering of supplication is attained through two causes—perfect obedience to His Divinity and sound faith in His Lordship. Whoever responds to his Lord by fulfilling His commands and avoiding His prohibitions attains his aim through supplication and his prayer is answered, as He, Most High, says:
“He answers those who believe and do righteous deeds, and He increases them out of His bounty.” (al-Shūrā 42:26)

That is, He responds to them; in Arabic either form is used: istajābahu or istajāba lahu.

Thus, whoever calls upon Him with certainty that He answers the call of the caller whenever he calls upon Him—He will indeed answer him, even if the caller is an idolater or a sinner, for He, exalted is He, says:
“When affliction touches man he calls upon Us, whether lying on his side, sitting, or standing; then, when We remove his hardship he goes on as though he had never called upon Us because of the affliction that had touched him.” (Yūnus 10:12)

And He, glorified is He, also says:

(1) Sahih al-Bukhari, Book of Night Prayer, “Chapter: Supplication and Prayer in the Last Part of the Night,” hadith no. 1145; see Fath al-Bari, 3/29. Also in Sahih Muslim, Book of the Prayer of the Traveler, “Chapter: Encouragement to Supplicate and Remember Allah at the End of the Night,” hadith no. 758 (1/521–523). (2) Quran, Surah al-Baqara 2:186. (3) Cited by Ibn Jarir in his Tafsir, 2/92, with several chains of transmission. (4) The preposition bi (“in Me”) is absent in MS A. (5) The printed edition reads: wa-liʾuʾminu bi idha daʿawtuhum (“and let them believe in Me when I call them”). (6) Quran, Surah al-Shura 42:26 (part of the verse). (7) Quran, Surah Yunus 10:12.

الفجر» (١) فذكر أولا: إجابته الدعاء، ثم ذكر: إعطاء السائل، والمغفرة للمستغفر، فهذا جلب المنفعة، وهذا دفع المضرة، وكلاهما مقصود الداعي المجاب. وقال تعالى: {وَإِذَا سَأَلَكَ عِبَادِي عَنِّي فَإِنِّي قَرِيبٌ أُجِيبُ دَعْوَةَ الدَّاعِ إِذَا دَعَانِ فَلْيَسْتَجِيبُوا لِي وَلْيُؤْمِنُوا بِي لَعَلَّهُمْ يَرْشُدُونَ} [البقرة: ١٨٦] (٢) . وقد روي: أن بعض الصحابة قال: يا رسول الله، ربنا قريب فنناجيه أم بعيد فنناديه؟ فأنزل الله هذه الآية (٣) فأخبر سبحانه أنه قريب يجيب دعوة الداعي إذا دعاه، ثم أمرهم بالاستجابة له وبالإيمان به، كما قال بعضهم: فليستجيبوا لي إذا دعوتهم، وليؤمنوا بي (٤) إني (٥) أجيب دعوتهم. قالوا: وبهذين السببين تحصل إجابة الدعوة: بكمال الطاعة لألوهيته، وبصحة الإيمان بربوبيته، فمن استجاب لربه بامتثال أمره ونهيه؛ حصل مقصوده من الدعاء، وأجيب دعاؤه، كما قال تعالى {وَيَسْتَجِيبُ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ وَيَزِيدُهُمْ مِنْ فَضْلِهِ} [الشورى: ٢٦] (٦) أي: يستجيب لهم، يقال: استجابه واستجاب له. فمن دعاه موقنا أن يجيب دعوة الداعي إذا دعاه أجابه، وقد يكون مشركا وفاسقا، فإنه سبحانه هو القائل: {وَإِذَا مَسَّ الْإِنْسَانَ الضُّرُّ دَعَانَا لِجَنْبِهِ أَوْ قَاعِدًا أَوْ قَائِمًا فَلَمَّا كَشَفْنَا عَنْهُ ضُرَّهُ مَرَّ كَأَنْ لَمْ يَدْعُنَا إِلَى ضُرٍّ مَسَّهُ} [يونس: ١٢] (٧) وهو القائل سبحانه:

(١) صحيح البخاري، كتاب التهجد، باب الدعاء والصلاة في آخر الليل، الحديث رقم (١١٤٥) ، (٣ / ٢٩) من فتح الباري، وصحيح مسلم، كتاب صلاة المسافرين، باب الترغيب في الدعاء والذكر آخر الليل وحديث رقم (٧٥٨) ، (١ / ٥٢١- ٥٢٣) . (٢) سورة البقرة: الآية ١٨٦. (٣) ذكره ابن جرير في تفسيره (٢ / ٩٢) بسنده من أكثر من طريق. (٤) بي: ساقطة من (أ) . (٥) في المطبوعة: وليؤمنوا بي إذا دعوتهم. (٦) سورة الشورى: من الآية ٢٦. (٧) سورة يونس: الآية ١٢.