supplication

Supplication in Islam, as one of the most important ways to communicate with God, which of course is found in all Islamic Denominations. Shiites believe that supplication is a form of worship or the brain of worship. Also, in Sunni Denomination, supplication is used as a very effective method to find God's satisfaction. By explaining the quality and nature of supplication, this article researches the viewpoints of two sects’ commentators on this matter and by explaining the common views of two sects to resolve misunderstandings and ambiguities and remove doubts about the nature and meaning of supplication. As a result, supplication, as one of the acts of worship that is considered among the commonalities of Islamic Denominations, can be used to bring these Denominations together and grow and nurture the Islamic society.

Prayer or supplication holds a profound significance within mystical traditions. Mystics contend that the mere verbal articulation or heartfelt yearning in prayer holds limited efficacy in attaining fulfillment without an accompanying disposition. Nevertheless, the reverent essence of prayer or supplication remains affirmed and accepted by religious doctrine. In the journey towards prayer fulfillment, individuals' existential capacities and dispositional states, particularly in relation to divine understanding, serve as crucial factors determining the reception of God's grace. Dispositional want, often described as an inner prayer or, in the lexicon of mystics, as hidden calls, denotes the soul's quest for a level of perfection conducive to receiving divine grace. This stems from the belief that God, inherently abundant in grace, continually bestows His generosity without reservation. As eloquently expressed by Ibn al-ʿArabī, God is abundantly rich in grace. The soul possessing such disposition perceives its prayers as efficacious and fulfilled, as it has the capacity to receive divine grace—devoid of impediments or deficiencies. In this context, the Quran asserts, "and He gave you all that you had asked Him" (Quran 14:34), signifying that God grants desires according to the language of one's disposition. Prayers lacking such disposition, however earnest, may not be fulfilled by God. Yet, an inquiry arises concerning the role of dispositional want: whether the disposition of "fixed entities" (al-aʿyān al-thābita) remains immutable, rendering prayers ineffective, or if God's grace manifests and diffuses in consonance with dispositional states. This study delves into the multifaceted role of prayer or supplication across various stages of existence, elucidating the pivotal role of dispositional desire in prayer fulfillment.

It is widely believed that supplications are means by which a person makes requests from God and one’s needs are fulfilled. However, in all religions, particularly in Abrahamic religions, supplications go beyond requests and are indicative of the beliefs held by humans and religions about God. A consideration of the supplication literature in Islam and Christianity shows that supplications have aspects over and above requests. In both Islam and Christianity, supplications are characterized as pure mystical and sacred experiences. They are inseparably tied to theology, and some Islamic and Christian theological views are represented and reconstructed in supplications. Moreover, the nature of supplications is a communication and conversation with God, and it is properly performed if the communication is not a mere utterance of spiritless words, and is, instead, a dynamic mutual connection. Such an intimate and mutual conversation goes beyond a me-him communication to a me-you relation. Thus, the human sees God as being always with him and his addressee, and such an intimate conversation is presented in the form of a supplication.

Abu Saeed Abul-Khayr (157-440 AH) was one of the prominent mystics of Samanid and Ghaznawid periods, who played a special role in promoting the mystical concepts in Persian poems. The mystical poems attributed to him have been mostly gathered in recent works. Nevertheless, one can find a course of the way and the time of entrance of the Shiite concepts into the mystical quatrains by analyzing those poems. In the present article, we have used an analytical method to investigate the concepts such as resorting to the Infallibles and seeking their intermediation in Abu Saeed’s elegies and supplication poems, and to compare the structure and the concept of these poems with other similar samples of Persian literature to analyze the rightness of attributing them to Abu Saeed and the course of their entrance of the Shiite concepts into mystical quatrains. The results show that although there are common origins between Abu Saeed’s poems and the Shiite thoughts, considering the extant sessions of Sheikh and the type and content of the poems, the Shiite concepts have entered the attributed quatrains after the seventh century and have been attributed to Abu Saeed later on.

The appearance and development of different sects along with the divine religions which are based on Sacred Law have always been a challenging issue. These sects have certain understanding and ideological principles which are different from those of religions. Wahhabism in Sunni world and Bahaism in Shiite world are examples of these sects. Wahhabism holds that Muslims have distanced from the Islam introduced by the Holy Prophet and the Holy Quran. Therefore, they regard that returning to simple Islam of the Holy Prophet's period and following his companions is top of their agenda. This sect was set up by global arrogance during the worst historical conditions in which the Muslism nation was heavily attacked by colonialists from all fronts and was in urgent need of unity more than any time. Wahhabism has various ideological principles most of which contradict with the true principles of Islam. Based on a theoretical approach and analysis of Wahhabi works, the present paper expounds the view of Wahhabism about intercession and criticizes and evaluates this view.

Supplication and prayer, as mediums between man and God, are among important issues of religion and are among the prime, most sublime and intimate symbols and embodiments of religion which permeate our lives as blood circulates in our vein. Jalaluddin Mawlawi is among the well-known figures who have explained the secrets of supplication and prayer in the profoundest manner. He maintains that God is the initiator of prayer and supplication, for He is the One who created the feeling of need in man. Hence, any prayer or supplication is an outcome of God's favor. In Mawlawi's viewpoint, supplication is a light which has been lit by God in the universe to take all human beings out of darkness.The present paper is an attempt to explain the viewpoints of Mawlawi about the concept and significance of supplication, real supplication, initiator of supplication, incentive, kinds, rituals and acceptance of supplication as well as its role in changing a divine decree.