Some people have said: “If this supplication has already been answered, then asking for what it contains is seeking to obtain what has already been secured. There is no benefit in that, so this supplication must be purely an act of worship, not intended as a request.” A group has said the same about all supplication: if what is sought has been decreed, there is no need to ask for it or seek it; and if it has not been decreed, supplication will not help—whether you supplicate or not. Thus, they regarded supplication as purely an act of worship, just as another group said concerning reliance upon Allah.

We have discussed these people at length elsewhere. We also mentioned the view of those who regard it as an indication or a sign, on the premise that no cause exists through which anything is brought about; rather, one event merely accompanies another. This was the view of a group of speculative thinkers among the Qadariyyah. The first person known to have held it was al-Jahm ibn Safwān, followed by those who agreed with him.

We explained that the “third view” is correct: supplication, reliance upon Allah, and righteous deeds are causes for obtaining the good of this world and the Hereafter for which one supplicates; sins, too, are a cause. An outcome tied to a cause may also require the fulfillment of a condition and the absence of impediments. Once these requirements are met, the effect undoubtedly follows.

Our purpose here is to discuss a supplication known to have been answered. Some people have said: “This is purely an act of worship, since what is sought is obtained without our supplication; it therefore no longer serves as either a cause or a sign.” This is a weak view.