Supplication for the acceptance of good deeds, and that they not lead to pride (2:127–128)

This is the supplication of Allah’s prophet Ibrahim (peace be upon him), who lived many centuries ago, a supplication whose light has reached us through the darkness of the ages. It is mentioned in Surah al-Baqarah (The Cow). Despite its brevity, it holds immense meaning, as is so often the case with the supplications of the prophets of the Almighty in general and of our Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) in particular. The supplications of many sincere believers are brief yet rich in meaning.

This supplication of Ibrahim (peace be upon him) is a beautiful example of what a Muslim should ask of the Almighty Lord.

“Our Lord! Accept ˹this˺ from us,” he called out one day together with his son Ismail (peace be upon them both), from whom our Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) descends. This took place in those distant times when the two of them were engaged in a noble, worthy and God-pleasing work: building the Kaaba. Accept from us our words and our deeds. Accept our good intentions, our supplications and our sincere worship of You alone.

This is an important lesson for us. If a noble prophet of Allah showed modesty, courtesy and humility, and feared that the Almighty might not accept his efforts, then what of us, ordinary mortals?.. Each of us has far more reason to worry about what the result of our deeds will be, and to assume that they are very far from perfect.

It is not enough simply to do a good deed. It must be accompanied by the fear that it will not be accepted by the One for whose sake we did it, and by hope for His pleasure. And, of course, by a plea that the Almighty accept it, so that it does not turn out to be wasted effort. For if our deed is rejected, we shall receive no reward for it, and it will not become one more step on the path to success, salvation and Paradise.

And so asking the Lord to accept one’s good deeds should become the custom of every believer. Merely doing a good deed does not guarantee that the Almighty will accept it, especially since it is we who need to do these deeds and need them to be accepted, whereas Allah the Almighty needs no one and nothing.

Ibrahim (peace be upon him) did not limit himself to the request itself. He prefaced it with an address that bears witness to faith, humility and submission to the Almighty. We too should not forget this beautiful and important expression of courtesy towards the Creator when we turn to Him in supplication.

What is more, this wise prophet mentioned in his supplication two names of Allah that accord perfectly with its essence: “You are indeed the All-Hearing, All-Knowing.” You hear and know absolutely everything. You hear our supplication and You know what is in our hearts. You know our thoughts and aspirations, and You know how sincere we are. You know the degree of our submission to You, and You know about us even what we do not know about ourselves.

Another expression of modesty and humility was the plea for repentance to be accepted. Since a servant of Allah often falls short in his good deeds and in his worship of the Almighty, it is entirely natural for him to repent to the Lord and to ask His forgiveness for this carelessness, for the errors, the lapses and everything that makes his worship imperfect and deficient.

Ibrahim (peace be upon him) also ended this part of the supplication by mentioning two names of the Almighty that suit its content perfectly: “You are truly the Accepter of Repentance, Most Merciful.” (Surah 2 «Al-Baqara», Ayah 128) In this too we should take him and the other prophets of the Almighty (peace be upon them all) as our example.

Whenever we read this ayah, we should reflect on the important content of this great supplication of a great man engaged in a great work, and try to follow his example. For the prophets, through their guidance, helped humanity to follow the right path, just as a guiding star helps a ship to keep its course in the boundless ocean.