—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—‘If I encounter the Night of Decree, what should I say?’ he replied, ‘Say: “O Allah, You are the Pardoner and You love to pardon, so pardon me.”’”

His guidance and direction are entailed by His name, the Guide. In the report transmitted from Ahmad ibn Hanbal, he instructed a man to say:

“O Guide of the bewildered, guide me to the path of the truthful and make me one of Your righteous servants.”

All the good that Allah does for His servant is entailed by His name, the Lord. Hence, one says in supplication, “O Lord, O Lord,” as Adam said:

“Our Lord, we have wronged ourselves, and if You do not forgive us and have mercy upon us, we will surely be among the losers.”

Noah said:

“My Lord, I seek refuge in You from asking You for that of which I have no knowledge. Unless You forgive me and have mercy upon me, I will be among the losers.”

Abraham said:

“Our Lord, I have settled some of my descendants in a valley without cultivation.”

The other prophets likewise addressed Him in this way.

Mālik, Ibn Abī ‘Imrān—one of Abū Hanīfah’s followers—and others disliked a supplicant saying, “O my Master, O my Master.” They said: “Say as the prophets said: ‘My Lord, my Lord.’”

His name, “the Ever-Living, the Sustainer of all,” encompasses the fundamental meanings of the divine names and attributes, as has been explained at length elsewhere. Hence, the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—would invoke this name when supplicating earnestly.

Thus, when someone is petitioned by invoking something—with the preposition bi (“by”) indicating causation—the petition invokes a cause that entails the realization of what is requested. When someone says:

“I ask You by the fact that all praise belongs to You. You are Allah, the Bestower, the Originator of the heavens and the earth,”

His being worthy of praise, the Bestower, and the Originator of the heavens and the earth entails His bestowing favor upon His supplicating servant.