and strong, and the roots of that good tree—whose root is firm and whose branches reach into heaven—become firmly established in his heart, so that he no longer fears the storms, he is unconcerned if he reveals his state and relationship with Allah so that others may follow his example. This is a matter of immense benefit, understood only by those who have experienced it.
Since the supplication that we are commanded to conceal encompasses petition, praise, love, and turning to Allah, it is among the greatest treasures and most deserving of being concealed and hidden from envious eyes. This is a precious and beneficial insight.
Tenth: Supplication is remembrance of the One being invoked, glorified is He, encompassing requests addressed to Him and praise of Him through His names and attributes. It is therefore remembrance and more. Likewise, remembrance is called supplication because it encompasses asking, as the Prophet ﷺ said:
“The best supplication is ‘Praise be to Allah.’”
He thus called “Praise be to Allah” supplication, although it is purely praise, because praise encompasses love and commendation. Love is the highest form of seeking the beloved. The one who praises is seeking his beloved, and thus deserves to be called a supplicant even more than someone asking his Lord for some particular need.
Reflect on this point. Once you have considered it, you will have no need of the explanation that remembrance is an appeal for bounty, even without an explicit request, and that the person engaged in it is therefore supplicating through the implicit appeal contained in his praise. As Umayyah ibn Abī al-Salt said of the man he praised:
Should I mention my need, or have your gifts sufficed me?
For giving is your nature.
When someone offers you his praise,
That praise suffices as his plea.
According to the understanding we have explained, praise and commendation themselves encompass the greatest quest: the lover’s quest. Thus they are truly supplication, and indeed deserve that name more than other, lesser forms of asking.
The point is that supplication and remembrance each encompass and include the other.
[Surah al-A‘rāf (7): verse 205]
“And remember your Lord within yourself, in humility and fear, without raising your voice, in the mornings and evenings, and do not be among the heedless.” (205)
The Most High thus commanded His Prophet to remember Him within himself. As stated by Mujāhid and Ibn