Is Supplication Only Asking? Submission, Intention, and Righteous Deeds
3 December 2021
Question: When we pray, are we only asking for something, or are we also showing what kind of relationship we have with our Lord?
When people pray, they acknowledge their need.
They do not say, “I am sufficient for everything.” They say that they need help, guidance, and acceptance.
In verse 127 of Surah Al-Baqarah, Ibrahim and Ismail pray as they raise the foundations of the Ka‘bah: They offer their work to Allah and ask for it to be accepted.
This is a very important standard.
Doing a task is one thing; directing that task toward Allah’s pleasure is another.
Toward Whom Is the Intention Behind Our Actions Directed?
Ibrahim and Ismail are doing a great work.
But they do not say, “We did it; what a great achievement!”
They turn to Him, saying, “Our Lord, accept this from us.”
Question: When we do something good, whom do we want to see it?
We may help someone. We may build a building. We may educate a student. We may establish a business.
Outwardly, these things may look good.
But if our intention is continually tied to people’s appreciation, the center of what we do may shift.
Allah does not need our wealth or effort. We are the ones in need.
That is why intention determines the direction of an action.
Doing something for Allah’s pleasure helps a person see themselves as its trustee rather than its owner.
It reduces arrogance when success comes.
When the result is not what we wanted, it also helps us avoid regarding our effort as entirely worthless.
The intention with which we offer a deed matters as much as the deed itself.
Submission Is Not Merely Words
In verse 128 of Surah Al-Baqarah, Ibrahim and Ismail pray, “Make us among those who submit to You.” They also ask for a community submitting to Him from among their descendants.
In the same prayer, they ask to be shown the ways of worship and for their repentance to be accepted.
Here we see that submission is not merely a statement of identity.
If people say they have submitted, the choices in their lives also come face to face with that statement.
What will they do when forbidden earnings are offered to them?
What will they do when an opportunity arises to lie for the outcome they want?
When their own desire conflicts with Allah’s standard, which will they put first?
Question: Is submission easy when what we want happens, while becoming a real test when we need to give something up?
People sometimes do wrong.
That is why the verse also contains a request for repentance to be accepted.
Repentance is not a claim to be flawless. It is the opportunity to recognize one’s wrong and change direction.
We can correct today a task we began yesterday with a wrong intention.
Today we can ask the person we wronged yesterday to forgive the violation of their rights.
This turning back is also part of submission.
Why Is Supplication Not Only for Ourselves?
Ibrahim’s prayer is not limited to himself.
He thinks of his descendants. He thinks of future generations. He wants a community to remain on the right path.
In verse 129, he prays for a messenger to be sent from among them who will recite Allah’s verses, teach the Book and wisdom, and purify them.
The prayer expands here.
It does not only say, “Give to me.”
It says, “Let those who come after me also learn what is right.”
Question: How much room is there for others in our prayers?
Do we want our child only to earn good money, or do we also want them to be a good person?
Do we want our family only to be comfortable, or do we also want them to learn what is right and do good deeds?
Including others in prayer expands the boundaries of a person’s self.
We move beyond our own goal and begin thinking of the community, the family, and the next generation.
How Is Wisdom More Than Knowing Something?
The verse mentions wisdom together with the Book.
Wisdom is being able to put knowledge in its proper place within life.
Knowing something may not be enough. We also need to understand its reason, how it should be applied, and the standard by which we will live.
People may possess much knowledge and still make wrong choices.
Because knowledge that does not become behavior does not change the direction of life on its own.
That is why, while learning, we should ask ourselves: “Which behavior of mine will this knowledge change?”
We have read a verse.
It speaks of honesty. What, then, will change in our trade?
It speaks of spending for good. What, then, will change in our relationship with our wealth?
It speaks of repentance. What, then, will we do after our mistake?
When knowledge does not enter our lives, it may remain merely a burden carried in our minds.
Where Can Worldly Desire Lead a Person?
People may not forget the pain of poverty experienced in childhood.
They then devote their whole lives to experiencing its opposite. They want a more luxurious home, more powerful connections, and more money.
In the example of Asuman described in the source, a person’s goal also changes as worldly desire grows.
Wealth and status come to the forefront. Wrong methods can become normalized in order to reach the outcome.
People may imagine that youth, beauty, or their social circle will last forever.
But time passes.
At some point, they look at what remains in their hands and may face the question, “What did I live for?”
This example reminds us that worldly goals are temporary.
Yet the intentions we form and the deeds we do to reach them shape us.
If we have chosen the wrong path, there is a door to return.
Repentance gains meaning precisely here.
Supplication, Deeds, and What Is Allotted to Us Should Be Considered Together
Simply asking is not enough.
We create the conditions for what we want. But we also move beyond our own goal and do good for others.
What we call our allotted share becomes important here.
We help someone. We share what we know. We notice those in need.
We do not do these things merely to receive something in return.
We seek Allah’s pleasure.
Question: For which task we did today can we say, “My Lord, accept this from me”?
Let us choose a task.
Let us renew our intention.
Then let us support that intention with behavior.
If we have done wrong, let us repent. Let us not postpone a good deed we know. Let us not limit our prayer only to ourselves.
Let us remember the standard in the prayer of Ibrahim and Ismail: Work, pray, ask Allah for acceptance, and bring submission into your life.
Supplication is not only saying what we want; it is remembering who we are and whom we rely on.
Detailed Supplication Also Teaches Us What We Want
Prayer can sometimes remain very general. We say, “O Allah, grant me goodness,” without ever thinking about what we truly want.
Yet Ibrahim’s prayers contain detail.
He asks for his deed to be accepted. He asks for submission. He asks for his descendants to be among those who submit. He asks to be shown the ways of worship. He asks for his repentance to be accepted. He asks for a messenger who will teach.
This detail takes prayer beyond merely requesting an outcome.
Question: When we pray, do we also ask Allah to help us become the kind of person we want to be?
Asking only for wealth is one thing; asking for lawful earnings and a grateful heart is another.
Asking only for a child is one thing; asking for a child who learns what is right and does good deeds is another.
Asking only for success is one thing; asking not to become arrogant when success comes is another.
The expansion of prayer in this way also educates a person’s own intention.
We can read the example of Asuman in the source from this perspective too.
A desire that begins with the pain of poverty gradually turns into the wish for a life centered on luxury and status. When people normalize wrong methods to obtain what they want, they may fail to notice how their original goal has changed them.
It is at this point that prayer and repentance restore direction.
Alongside the question “What do I want?” we place the question “Why do I want this, and what is this desire turning me into?”
The beauty of supplication is that it seeks change not only in outward circumstances, but also in the person praying.