85 — The Importance of an Attentive Heart in Supplication and Other Etiquettes

Supplication is among the most powerful means of attaining what is desired and warding off what is disliked. Its effect may nevertheless fail to materialize, its benefit may diminish, or it may even be entirely absent for several reasons. The supplication itself may be weak because it contains transgression and is therefore not beloved to Allah; the heart may be weak and fail to turn to Allah while supplicating; or some impediment to an answer may be present, such as consuming what is unlawful, the stains left by sins upon the heart, or heedlessness, inattention, and distraction taking hold of and prevailing over it. These things render supplication ineffective and diminish its efficacy.

Thus, among the important principles and essential conditions that must be fulfilled in supplication are that the supplicant’s heart be attentive and free of heedlessness. If a person supplicates with a heedless and distracted heart, the strength and effect of his supplication are weakened. His supplication is then like a bow whose string is exceedingly slack: when an arrow is shot from such a bow, it flies with little force, and its effect is consequently weak. The Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—therefore urged that the heart be attentive during supplication, warned against heedlessness, and stated that the absence of such attentiveness is an impediment to its acceptance.

Imam Ahmad narrated in his Musnad from Abdullāh ibn Amr ibn al-Ās—may Allah be pleased with them both—that the Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—said: “Hearts are vessels, and some have greater capacity than others. O people, when you ask Allah—Mighty and Majestic—ask Him while certain that He will answer you, for Allah does not answer a servant’s supplication when it issues from