96 — Among the Etiquettes of Supplication

Among the things a Muslim should avoid in supplication are contrived rhyming and laboring to embellish its wording. In the Book of Supplications in his Sahih, Imam al-Bukhārī—may Allah have mercy on him—entitled a chapter: “What Is Disliked of Rhymed Prose in Supplication.” He then narrated through his chain of transmission from Ikrima, from Ibn Abbās—may Allah be pleased with them both—who said:

“Address the people once a week. If you insist, then twice; and if you must do more, then three times. Do not make people weary of this Quran. Let me not find you coming to people while they are engaged in a conversation of their own and then preaching to them, thereby interrupting their conversation and wearying them. Rather, remain silent; then, if they ask you to speak, address them when they are eager to listen. Beware of rhyming in supplication and avoid it, for I knew the Messenger of Allah—may Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him—and his Companions to do nothing but that—that is, they did nothing but avoid it.”1.

Rhymed prose is speech whose clauses have matching end-rhymes without observing poetic meter. Deliberately employing it in supplication is disliked; neither the Prophet—may Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him—nor any of his Companions practiced it. Hence Ibn Abbās—may Allah be pleased with them both—said, “For I knew the Messenger of Allah—may Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him—and his Companions to do nothing but avoid it.” Al-Azharī—may Allah have mercy on him—said, “He disliked it because it resembled the speech of soothsayers, as in the incident involving the woman of Hudhayl”2, referring to the report narrated by Muslim in his Sahih from Abū Hurayra—may Allah be pleased with him—who said: “Two women from Hudhayl fought, and one of them threw a stone at the other, thereby killing her and what