Aspects Of Islamic Faith - 48: Supplication During Prayer
- In The Prophet Way
Islamic Perspectives - Muslim JournalsArab News
& Information - By Adil Salahi
Aishah, the Prophet’s wife, reported that the Prophet
(peace be upon him) used to say in his supplication
during prayer: “My Lord, I seek shelter with You from
the torment in the grave, from the test of the
Imposter claiming to be the Messiah, from the tests of
life and death and from sin and debt.” Someone said to
him: ‘You often pray for shelter from debt.’ He said:
“When a person is unable to repay his debt, he talks
and lies; he promises and fails to honor his
promises.” (Related by Al-Bukhari).
The Prophet used to include this supplication in his
prayer, as its penultimate component, which means that
he used to say it after the tashahhud and before
finishing the prayer with salam. The first thing the
Prophet appealed to God to protect him from is the
“torment in the grave.” Some people question whether
such torment is real. The facts that the Prophet
included it in his supplication, and that the hadiths
mentioning it are authentic, are sufficient evidence
that it is true. How it happens? Is it limited to the
soul or does it affect the body? How can the dead body
feel the torment? All such questions relate to matters
beyond our world. We cannot begin to understand them
because there is nothing in our human experience to
indicate how they happen. It is sufficient for our
purposes to remember the Qur’anic verse relating to
Pharaoh’s people: “Before the fire they are brought,
morning and evening, and then on the Day when the Last
Hour comes, it will be said: Cast Pharaoh’s people
into the worst suffering.” (40: 46) It is clear that
the verse mentions an action that takes place before
the Day of Judgment. It may be that one form of the
torment in the grave is that these people are brought
before the fire every morning and evening. This leaves
them in dread of what will happen to them when they
are finally cast into it.
The Prophet also told us of the second coming of Jesus
Christ. Before his descent, an Imposter will claim to
be him, and he will be followed by large numbers of
people. They will be deceived by his actions, which
will appear miraculous. However, true believers will
see him for what he is. Hence, the Prophet appeals to
God to protect him from accepting the Imposter’s
claims should he come during his own lifetime.
During life we are exposed to a great variety of
tests. The most important of these is that which
proves whether we are true believers or not.
Temptations are varied and unless we have good resolve
to adhere to our values, we are likely to yield to one
form of temptation or another. We are then set on a
slippery road that may take us out of faith
altogether. Therefore, we should seek God’s protection
against failing in such tests. The test after death is
that of examining our beliefs and actions. If these
prove to be of the right type then we have nothing to
fear.
The last appeal the Prophet included in his
supplication was for protection against sin and debt.
It is easy to understand the need to be protected from
sin, because sin incurs God’s displeasure and
repetitive sinning leads to punishment in hell in the
hereafter. It is then to be avoided at all cost.
What the Prophet’s companions needed to understand was
why he frequently appealed to God for protection
against debt, which is a normal transaction that
people always resort to. The Prophet explained that
when a person is unable to settle his debt on time, he
resorts to lying and he breaks his promises. He tells
his creditor that things were beyond his control and
tries to find excuses. Such excuses may be untrue and
his assertions may be false. He also promises the
creditor to settle within a certain period. He often
finds himself unable to fulfill his promises. Telling
lies and failing to honor one’s promises are two
characteristics of hypocrites. Hypocrisy is a major
sin. Hence, the Prophet’s supplication against failing
to repay one’s debts.
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