What are the signs that a supplication is answered?

Question 617349

What are the signs of a supplication being answered that were narrated from the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) in authentic (sahih) hadiths? It is widely believed among people that the signs of a supplication being answered include:

Humility, weeping, trembling, shivering, fainting, and being unaware of one’s surroundings, which are then followed by calmness, comfort in the heart, reassurance, inward energy and a sense of physical lightness, to the extent that the one who offered supplication feels as though a heavy weight has been lifted from him. After that, he will devote his time to worship, giving charity, praising Allah and offering supplication.

But – as I understand it – these signs are personal experiences and emotional impacts, and there is no proof that they were narrated in any text from the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him).

My question is:

What are the signs of a supplication being answered that were soundly narrated directly from the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) in authentic hadiths? What is clearly indicated by the religious texts, far removed from personal experience and opinions?

Summary of answer

These signs that you mentioned are the words of Imam al-Jazari, and there are no religious text to support them; rather it is the matter of personal experience.

Answer

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Praise be to Allah, and blessings and peace be upon the Messenger of Allah:

I.

These signs that are mentioned in the question were mentioned by Shaykh al-Qurra’ Ibn al-Jazari (may Allah have mercy on him), who said:

The signs of a supplication being answered are: Feeling the fear of Allah, weeping, and trembling, and there may also be shivering, fainting and being unaware of one’s surroundings, followed immediately by reassurance, inward energy and a sense of physical lightness, to the extent that the one who offered supplication feels as though a heavy weight has been lifted from him. At that point he will not fail to turn to Allah and devote his time to worshipping Him, giving charity, constantly thinking of His favours, praising Him, beseeching Him and saying: “Praise be to Allah, by Whose blessing all good things are completed.”

End quote from `Iddat al-Hisn al-Hasin by Ibn al-Jazari, p. 43.

These signs which Imam Ibn al-Jazari (may Allah have mercy on him) mentioned are not mentioned in any religious texts as far as we know. Rather they are personal experience and cannot be verified except after supplication is answered. How many people weep who feared Allah and showed humility in supplication and their skin trembled, but they did not attain what they wanted.

Not every supplication that the Prophets offered was answered, and they were the most pious of people.

Even though some of the things mentioned may be reasons that could lead to supplications being answered.

Ash-Shawkani (may Allah have mercy on him) said, commenting on the words of Ibn al-Jazari (may Allah have mercy on him):

These signs that the author mentioned are the matter of personal experience, and there is no need to seek evidence for them in the religious texts. Every person who offers supplication, if his supplication is accepted and Allah blesses him with a response, will inevitably experience some of these things, and Allah is the Possessor of great bounty.

End quote from Tuhfat adh-Dhakirin bi `Iddat al-Hisn al-Hasin, p. 94.

If we reflect on the texts, it does not seem that there are any clear signs of a response to a supplication that are mentioned in the texts of the Quran and Sunnah, unless the one who offered the supplication attains what he wanted, and sees the impact of the supplication that he offered. This is clear, and there is no need to elaborate on it or seek evidence for it.

II.

Some of those who spoke of this matter said that the mere act of offering supplication is a sign that the individual will receive a response and his supplication will be answered.

Ibn Taymiyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said: Some knowledgeable people said: Rather the supplication itself is a sign and proof that the person has attained what he sought. They said that the connection between the supplication and what is sought is like the connection between evidence and what it proves, not the connection between the cause and the effect; rather it is like a true statement and prior knowledge.

End quote from Iqtida’ as-Sirat al-Mustaqim, 2/228.

Then he (may Allah have mercy on him) said, commenting further:

The correct view is that of the majority, which is that the supplication itself is a means of attaining the goodness that is sought or some other good, like all other means and measures that are decreed by Allah and are prescribed in Islamic teachings.

Whether it is called a cause or a partial cause or a condition, what is meant here is one and the same. So if Allah wills good for a person, He inspires him to offer supplication and seek His help, and He makes that prayer for help and supplication a cause of the good that He has decreed for him, as  `Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I do not concern myself with the response to my supplication; rather my concern is that I should offer supplication, because if I am inspired to offer supplication, the response will come with it.

End quote from Iqtida’ as-Sirat al-Mustaqim, 2/228.

Ibn al-Qayyim mentioned this report in Madarij as-Salikin, 3/103 and Al-Jawab al-Kafi, 1/29.

We have not come across its isnad, and the commentator on Al-Iqtida’ said: I did not find it [ its isnad].

And Allah knows best.

Supplication