the Mighty and Majestic—a promise, and Allah never breaks His promise: “Call upon Me and I will answer you.”

The word “supplication” here covers two categories: the supplication of worship and the supplication of request.

1. The supplication of worship means that a person engages in acts of devotion to Allah. If you were to ask someone who performs the prayer, pays zakat, fasts, makes pilgrimage, strives in Allah’s cause, honors his parents, or maintains family ties, “Why do you pray? Why do you give zakat? Why do you fast? Why do you make pilgrimage? Why do you struggle? Why do you treat your parents well? Why do you keep kinship ties?” he would reply, “I seek the pleasure of Allah.” Such worship, therefore, is itself imbued with supplication.

2. The supplication of request is when you ask Allah for something, saying, for example, “My Lord, forgive me; my Lord, have mercy on me; my Lord, provide for me,” and the like. This, too, is worship, for the Prophet ﷺ said, “Supplication is worship.” It is worship because it involves turning toward Allah and acknowledging His favor.

Accordingly, His statement, “Your Lord has said, ‘Call upon Me and I will answer you,’” embraces both the supplication of worship and the supplication of request. In the first, the answer consists of Allah’s acceptance; in the second, it consists of His granting the petitioner what he asked for. This is a divine promise, yet certain conditions must be met for a supplication to be answered. Foremost among them is sincerity: you must call upon Allah alone, without associating anything with Him. Do not perform worship for show or to be heard of—so that people will say, “So-and-so has made the pilgrimage,” “So-and-so is generous,” or “So-and-so fasts often.” Should you do so, your deed is nullified. Sincerity is therefore required in making requests as well.