and then by voluntary acts, whenever he asks Allah, Allah grants him; his supplication is answered. This, however, is qualified by other hadiths which clarify that Allah grants the petitioner so long as he is not asking for something sinful or for the severing of family ties. Should he ask for a sin, his request will not be answered. In any case, it is rare for a walī to ask for sin, because the walī is a believing, God-fearing person, and such a believer would never request sin or the cutting of kinship ties.

“And if he seeks refuge in Me, I will surely grant him refuge,” meaning: if he holds fast to Me and seeks My protection from every evil, I will protect him. Thus he enjoys both the granting of what he asked for and protection from what he feared—the desired benefit is secured and the dreaded harm removed.

This hadith yields several insights:

First: it affirms Allah’s walayah (divine patronage). That patronage is of two kinds:

1. Universal patronage: Allah’s sovereignty over every servant and His disposal of all their affairs. Every human being is subject to it, for it is Allah who manages, directs, and arranges his life. The Almighty said, “Until, when death comes to one of you, Our messengers take him, failing not in their duty; then they are returned to Allah, their true Master.” (Quran 6:61–62). This is a general patronage that embraces all creation and arises without any action from the person; Allah presides over him whether he likes it or not.

2. Special patronage, as in His words, “Allah is the Patron of those who believe; He brings them out from darkness into light, whereas those who disbelieve have the false gods as their patrons, who take them out from light into darkness.” (Quran 2:257). This special patronage is attained through the person’s own choice; he exposes himself to Allah’s patronage so that Allah becomes his Patron: “those who believe…"