2.201 The favourite supplication of Prophet Muhammad
This brief but meaningful supplication, mentioned in the Quran in Surah al-Baqarah (The Cow), is the supplication of sincere believers. The noble companion Anas ibn Malik, who served the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) for about ten years, related that this was the supplication with which the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) most often turned to Allah the Almighty, and that is no surprise.
There are people whose thoughts are occupied exclusively with worldly matters. They have made this world their only concern and are not at all inclined to think about what awaits them beyond the line where earthly existence ends. Worldly goods, worldly cares… And all their hopes are tied to this world too. If such people ask the Lord for anything, it is only for what is perishable and worldly. The slaves of this world deserve censure. The Almighty mentions them more than once in His Book, including in the preceding ayah: “There are some who say, ‘Our Lord! Grant us ˹Your bounties˺ in this world,’ but they will have no share in the Hereafter.” (Surah 2 «Al-Baqara», Ayah 200)
In contrast to them, there are people who consider everything worldly too insignificant and quite unworthy of being mentioned in the supplications we make to the Almighty Creator. But Islam neither preaches nor encourages renunciation of the world, and there is nothing blameworthy in enjoying the worldly blessings that the Almighty has given us and that we need for our existence in this world. What matters is to see to it that worldly goods are in our hands and not in our hearts, that they do not distract us from what is most important, and that they serve as a help and not a hindrance in doing good. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) taught his companions to ask Allah for well-being and good not only in the eternal life, but in earthly life too.
Thus both of these groups depart from the golden mean to which a believer should keep. But there is another category of people, those who have earned the praise of the Almighty and His pleasure. People of high aspirations, they have understood religion deeply enough and have grasped its very essence. Islam is the worldly and the eternal, soul and body, the material and the spiritual. Our religion censures extremes, and the true believer tries to avoid them. To his last breath he strives to create and, day after day, to maintain harmony between the earthly and the heavenly in his life.
These people ask the Almighty for well-being both in this world and in the eternal world. This supplication of a few words in fact embraces every possible good. For if a person gains good in this world and good in the Hereafter, and manages to avoid falling into the Fire of Hell, what more could he wish for?
The believers who call upon the Almighty with this supplication preface it with an address full of humility and sincerity: “Our Lord!” In this way they acknowledge that He is their Lord, their Creator, their Benefactor and the only God, whom they worship and without whom they cannot manage.
When we ask Allah for the good of this world through this supplication, we are in fact asking at once for everything we need in order to be happy in earthly life. When we ask through the same supplication for the good of the eternal world, we are asking the Lord for success and Paradise, that the Day of Judgment may be for us not the collapse of all our hopes but the beginning of a new and happy life which, unlike the earthly one, will never end. And when we ask to be saved from the Fire, we are asking the Almighty for true guidance and for following the straight path in this world, and expressing the hope that Allah the Almighty will help us to do good deeds and avoid sins.
It is very important for every believer not to forget to turn to the Almighty with such supplications, asking Him for the good of this world and of the eternal world, and for rescue from the Fire of Hell. By striving in obedience to the Almighty according to the abilities He has given him and by accompanying his efforts with sincere supplications, the believer opens for himself the way to happiness in both worlds.
One of the wonderful features of the Quran is its universal character, its independence of place and time, and this beautiful supplication, which remains relevant for Muslims in every corner of the globe to this day, is the best proof of that.