it has been said that this refers to supplication as petition. The meaning is: You have accustomed me to Your answering and helping me, and have not left me disappointed through rejection and deprivation. He thus appeals to Allah Most High on the strength of His previous answers and kindness. It is related that a man once asked another for something, saying, “I am the one to whom you showed kindness at such-and-such a time.” He replied, “Welcome to one who appeals to us through our own kindness,” and fulfilled his need. This is the apparent meaning here.
This is indicated by his mentioning it before asking for a child and making it a means of appealing to his Lord. He thus asked Him to continue treating him as He always had: fulfilling his needs and granting his requests.
This is indicated by his mentioning it before asking for a child and making it a means of appealing to his Lord. He thus asked Him to deal with him—
As for His statement, exalted is He:
“Say, ‘Call upon Allah, or call upon the Most Merciful. Whichever you call upon, to Him belong the most beautiful names.’” [17:110]
This is supplication in its familiar sense, namely supplication as petition. It was this that occasioned the revelation. They said: “The Prophet ﷺ would call upon his Lord, sometimes saying, ‘O Allah,’ and sometimes, ‘O Most Merciful.’ The ignorant among the polytheists thought that he was calling upon two gods, so Allah Most High revealed this verse.”
Ibn ‘Abbās said: “The polytheists heard the Prophet ﷺ supplicating in prostration, ‘O Most Merciful, O Especially Merciful.’ They said, ‘He claims to call upon One, yet he calls upon them two at a time!’ So Allah revealed this verse: ‘Say, “Call upon Allah, or call upon the Most Merciful.”’”
It has also been said that calling here means naming, as when people say, “I called my son Sa‘īd,” or, “Call him ‘Abd Allāh,” and the like. The meaning would then be: name your Lord Allah, or name Him the Most Merciful. Thus, calling here means naming. This is al-Zamakhsharī’s view. What led him to this interpretation was His statement:
“Whichever you call upon, to Him belong the most beautiful names.”
For the multiplicity implied by “whichever” and its general scope here is only a multiplicity of names. The meaning is: whichever of Allah Most High’s names you use to name Him—whether Allah or the Most Merciful—to Him belong the most beautiful names. That is, the most beautiful names belong to the One so named, glorified is He. The pronoun in “to Him” refers to