—“Call upon Me and I will answer you” (Ghafir 60).
—“When My servants ask you about Me, I am indeed near; I answer the call of the caller whenever he calls upon Me” (al-Baqarah 186).

In these difficult days we ought to lengthen our prostration and intensify our prayers, asking Allah to seize the hands of the oppressors and aggressors. We must persist and not become impatient, for Allah is All-Wise. He may choose not to grant the request the first, second, or even the third time so that people may recognize the depth of their need for Him and increase their supplication. Allah—exalted is He, the best of judges—possesses a wisdom that surpasses our grasp; our task is simply to do what He has commanded, namely, to invoke Him frequently.

After rising from bowing, the worshipper proceeds to prostrate. He should descend on his knees first, then his hands, and finally place his forehead and nose on the ground. He is not to go down on his hands first, for the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade it, saying: “When one of you prostrates, let him not go down as a camel goes down.” Anyone who has seen a camel kneel knows that it puts its forelegs down first. Therefore, do not begin with the hands. The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) prohibited this because resembling human beings to animals—especially during prayer—is something unacceptable.