The Prophet ﷺ was the most God-fearing of men. He was the humblest and most obedient to his Lord, and was bestowed the purest soul. He was the best person to have ever worshipped, stood and prayed to his Creator. His supplications were heartfelt and sincere, often involving intimate, prolonged conversations with Allah. He taught his ummah that persistent, humble pleading is a key to salvation and relief. The awe and majesty of his prayers were profound. Filled with love and yearning for Allah ﷻ, he longed more than anyone to be near His Lord.
A vivid example of this humility is recorded during the prayer for rain (ṣalāt al-istisqāʾ). Anas b. Mālik (raḍiy Allāhu ʿanhu) narrated that once a Bedouin approached the Prophet ﷺ on a Friday, saying, “O Messenger of Allah, livestock are dying, families are suffering, and people are perishing!” In response, the Prophet ﷺ raised his hands in earnest supplication, and the people raised theirs with him, all invoking Allah. He pleaded with such intensity that the whiteness of his underarms became visible, demonstrating the depth of his humility and desperation.
Reflect: The Prophet ﷺ was the best of mankind and free from sin, yet he turned to Allah like a poor beggar in need raising his hands so high that the whiteness of his underarms became visible. Allāhu Akbar! How much more, then, should we — flawed, needy, and sinful — humble ourselves before our Lord in supplication?
Duʿa of Humility After the Anguish of Ta’if
When the Prophet ﷺ went to the city of Ṭā’if to invite the tribe of Thaqīf to Islam, they rejected his message, mocked him, and incited their foolish youth and children to pelt him with stones. His blessed feet were wounded and bled. He returned from Ṭāʾif with a heart burdened by sorrow and grief; not for himself, but because the people had turned away from a message that he knew was the key to their salvation.
Amidst this overwhelming physical and emotional pain, our Prophet ﷺ took shelter in the shade of a tree, prayed two rakʿah and turned to his Lord with a heartfelt supplication:
“O Allah, I complain to You of my weakness, my lack of means, and how insignificant I am in the eyes of people. O Most Merciful of the merciful, You are the Lord of the oppressed, and You are my Lord. To whom do You leave me? To a distant person who is harsh to me? Or to an enemy You have given control over me? If You are not angry with me, then I do not mind, but Your ease is more expansive for me. I seek refuge in the light of Your Face — by which the darkness is illuminated and through which the affairs of this world and the next are set right — from Your anger descending upon me or Your wrath befalling me. I seek Your pleasure until You are pleased. There is no power to avert evil and no strength to do good except through You” (Ṭabarānī).
His beautiful duʿā’ combined a complete need for Allah, a desperate seeking of His refuge, total reliance upon Him, full trust in His response, a heartfelt cry for assistance, and a humble acknowledgement of one’s own weakness, frailty and absolute dependence on Him.
Heartfelt Supplication Before Badr
The Battle of Badr is celebrated as a day of victory, but before the triumph, the Prophet ﷺ spent the entire night in intense duʿā’. ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib (raḍiy Allāhu ʿanhu) said, “There wasn’t a horseman amongst us on the day of Badr except for Miqdād (raḍiy Allāhu ʿanhu). I observed that all of us were sleeping except the Messenger of Allah ﷺ who was under a tree, praying and crying until the morning” (Aḥmad).
On the day itself before the battle commenced, the Prophet ﷺ faced the qiblah and raised his hands towards the sky and pleaded with his Lord: “O Allah, fulfil the promise You made to me. Give me what You have promised. O Allah, if this small group of Muslims is destroyed, You will not be worshipped on earth.”
The Prophet ﷺ continued to ask Allah in this manner until his upper garment fell off his shoulders. Abū Bakr (raḍiy Allāhu ʿanhu) came, wrapped the garment around the Prophet, hugged him from behind, and said: “That will suffice! He ﷻ will fulfil His promise to you.” Then Allah revealed the āyah:
إِذْ تَسْتَغِيثُونَ رَبَّكُمْ فَاسْتَجَابَ لَكُمْ أَنِّيْ مُمِدُّكُمْ بِأَلْفٍ مِّنَ الْمَلَآئِكَةِ مُرْدِفِيْنَ
‘(Remember) when you cried out to your Lord for help, He answered: “I will reinforce you with a thousand angels, one following the other”’ (8:9).
Allahu Akbar! Here is the Prophet of Allah, in the company of the best of people on earth, about to fight and defend Allah’s dīn, and yet he remains immersed in making duʿā’ in this desperate manner.
Al-Suhaylī explained: “The reason for the Prophet’s ﷺ intense striving and exhaustion in duʿāʾ was because he saw the angels engaging in battle and the Anṣār plunging into the depths of death. Jihād is sometimes with weapons and sometimes with duʿā’.”
Praise and Humility After the Pain of Uhud
The Battle of Uḥud was one of the most painful trials in the life of the Prophet ﷺ. He suffered grave injuries: wounds to his face, a broken tooth, a cut lip and a blow to his shoulder that later troubled him for over a month. He was struck by stones from multiple enemies and, overwhelmed by the intensity of the assault, eventually lost consciousness. On that day, seventy of his beloved companions were killed and their bodies mutilated. It was a devastating tragedy and a severe trial for the Muslim community.
Yet, after the battle ended and the enemy had retreated — after a day of immense pain and loss — the Prophet ﷺ did not complain or despair. Instead, he gathered his companions and said, “Arrange yourselves in rows so I may praise my Lord.” He then began his supplication with these powerful words:
“O Allah, for You Alone is all praise. O Allah, none can restrict what You expand and none can expand what You have restricted. None can guide whom You have left astray, and none can mislead whom You have guided. None can give what You withhold, and none can withhold what You bestow. None can bring near what You have distanced and none can distance what You have brought near…” (Aḥmad).
What an extraordinary display of humility and submission! Despite his own pain and the heartbreaking loss of his Companions, the Prophet ﷺ turned immediately to Allah, not with complaint, but with praise. This moment reveals the depth of his love for and reliance upon his Lord. It stands as a timeless lesson in unwavering īmān, patience, and spiritual strength.
Intimate Duʿa at ʿArafah
We see another astounding spectacle of duʿā’ in the Farewell Ḥajj of our beloved Prophet ﷺ.
After years of struggle in conveying the message of his Lord, the whole of the Arabian Peninsula came under his authority and finally accepted his message. Yet, gathered on the plains of ʿArafah, at the height of his victory, there were no parades or displays of pomp. Rather, there was only humility and a turning to Allah in desperate need.
Despite being over sixty years of age, undertaking a long journey from Madinah to Makkah, and bearing responsibility for huge crowds, none of this came in the way of worshipping his Lord (ʿazza wa jall).
He delivered a moving and powerful sermon, then led his Companions (radiy Allāhu ʿanhum) in prayer, combining ẓuhr and ʿaṣr. All eyes were upon him. He moved towards the Mountain of Mercy, faced the qiblah, and then occupied himself in earnest duʿāʾ until Maghrib. He spent approximately five hours in continuous supplication. He was so absorbed in duʿāʾ that even when the rein of his camel fell, he grasped it with only one hand, leaving the other raised towards the sky. How strong his connection with his Lord was!
It is incredible to think that a man to whom Allah had already given glad tidings of forgiveness raised his blessed hands to the sky and cried out:
“O Allah, You hear my speech…I am the desperate and needy one, the one who is seeking Your help and protection, fearful and scared, one who confesses and acknowledges his sins. I beg You – the begging of a destitute; I humbly implore You – the imploring of a humiliated sinner. I invoke You – the invoking of the fearful afflicted person, whose neck is bowed down before You, whose eyes have overflowed with tears for You, whose body is humbled before You, and who has completely lowered Himself to You…” (Ṭabarānī).
We ask Allah to enable us to follow in the footsteps of His beloved Messenger ﷺ, and to grant us humility, steadfastness and the gift of sincere munājāh.
