This verse come between the obligation of fasting and the rules of fasting, it has a great meaning, that when you are prevented you will be granted and the greatest grant is the feeling of closeness to Allah (swt).

( وَإِذَا سَأَلَكَ عِبَادِي عَنِّي فَإِنِّي قَرِيبٌ…) (And when My servants ask you, [O Muhammad], concerning Me – indeed I am near …): It is naturally and necessary for the humans to feel the nearness.

This way of asking is used several times in the Holy Qur’an, which indicates the greatness of this revelation and this legislation. After the Holy Qur’an as a whole was brought down at once from the preserved tablet to the lower (our) heaven, it was descended piece by piece on the heart of the Prophet (saws), so that to apply its role in guiding according to events.

   {كَذَٰلِكَ لِنُثَبِّتَ بِهِ فُؤَادَكَ  }

Thus [it is] that We may strengthen thereby your heart. (Al-Furqan: 32)

These verses come to strengthen the Prophet’s heart and to answer the human questions. It is existed in the preserved tablet but are descended when asked.

This is an example of the question in the Holy Qur’an:

{يَسْأَلُونَكَ عَنِ الْخَمْرِ وَالْمَيْسِرِ ۖ قُلْ فِيهِمَا إِثْمٌ كَبِيرٌ وَمَنَافِعُ لِلنَّاسِ}

(They ask you about wine and gambling. Say, “In them is great sin and [yet, some] benefit for people.) (Al-Baqara: 219)

 {ويَسْأَلُونَكَ مَاذَا يُنفِقُونَ قُلِ الْعَفْوَ }

(And they ask you what they should spend. Say, “The excess [beyond needs].) (Al-Baqara: 219)

{ يَسْأَلُونَكَ عَنِ الْأَهِلَّةِ ۖ قُلْ هِيَ مَوَاقِيتُ لِلنَّاسِ وَالْحَجِّ }

(They ask you, about the new moons. Say, “They are measurements of time for the people and for Hajj.”) (Al-Baqara: 189)

  {يسْأَلُكَ النَّاسُ عَنِ السَّاعَةِ ۖ قُلْ إِنَّمَا عِلْمُهَا عِندَ اللَّهِ ۚ وَمَا يُدْرِيكَ لَعَلَّ السَّاعَةَ تَكُونُ قَرِيبًا  }

(People ask you concerning the Hour. Say,” Knowledge of it is only with Allah. And what may make you perceive? Perhaps the Hour is near.”) (Al-Ahzab: 63)

Note that this way of asking always has in its answer the word “Say”, because the question is addressed to our master the Prophet of Allah (saws) and from him (saws) the answer will come, hence the word “say” comes always. However, there is an exception in the following verse:

{ وَيَسْأَلُونَكَ عَنِ الْجِبَالِ فَقُلْ يَنسِفُهَا رَبِّي نَسْفًا }

(And they ask you about the mountains, so say, “My Lord will blow them away with a blast”) (Taha: 105)

This is the only verse in which a letter “F” is added to the Arabic word of “Say”, why?  Because the Prophet (saws) was not asked yet this question, so the meaning is: if they ask you…, then say….  whereas all the other similar verses, the Prophet (saws) was already asked about:

• They asked him about the new moons and the answer came “Say..”.
• They asked him about spending and the answer came, “Say..”.
• They asked him concerning the Hour and the answer came “Say..”.

So, Allah (swt), The All Knowing knew that they would ask the Prophet (saws) about the Mountains, so the answer was revealed before the Prophet was asked about: So say, “My Lord will blow them away with a blast.

Whereas in this verse:

( وَإِذَا سَأَلَكَ عِبَادِي عَنِّي فَإِنِّي قَرِيبٌ…) (And when My servants ask you, [O Muhammad], concerning Me – indeed I am near …): Allah (swt) deleted the word “Say” in this verse, however, this is of the manifestations of fasting and the greatness of the supplication to Allah (swt), the Prophet (saws) said:

“Verily supplication is worship.”[1]

And He (saws) said:

“The supplication is the essence of worship.”[2]

If your Duaa (invocation) is not to be answered, then it is sufficient for you that you have attained the worship by supplication. So that, Allah (swt) did not say “Say, O Muhammad”, but He (swt) answered directly because a person who is asking in a very close situation to Allah (swt), distances are eliminated,

Thereby, the supplication is the essence of worship and the Human beings are to call upon Allah (swt) in bad and good times. As such, we have learned many supplications from the Holy Quran, which the prophets supplicated by and were responded, including:

          { لَّا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا أَنتَ سُبْحَانَكَ إِنِّي كُنتُ مِنَ الظَّالِمِينَ   }

“There is no deity except You; exalted are You. Indeed, I have been of the wrongdoers.” (Al-Anbiyaa: 87)

The essential thing is to ask, do not say, I supplicated and supplicated but I was not responded, the Messenger (saws) said:

” The supplication of the servant is granted in case he does not supplicate for sin or for severing the ties of blood, or he does not become impatient. It was said: Allah’s Messenger, what does:” If he does not grow impatient” imply? He said: That he should say like this: I supplicated and I supplicated but I did not find it being responded.

Certainly, there may be reasons, and Allah (swt) says:

  { وَقَالَ رَبُّكُمُ ادْعُونِي أَسْتَجِبْ لَكُمْ ۚ إِنَّ الَّذِينَ يَسْتَكْبِرُونَ عَنْ عِبَادَتِي سَيَدْخُلُونَ جَهَنَّمَ دَاخِرِينَ }

(And your Lord says, “Call upon Me; I will respond to you.” Indeed, those who disdain My worship will enter Hell [rendered] contemptible.) (Ghafer: 60)

And (swt) says:

  { وَإِذَا سَأَلَكَ عِبَادِي عَنِّي فَإِنِّي قَرِيبٌ ۖ أُجِيبُ دَعْوَةَ الدَّاعِ إِذَا دَعَانِ }

(And when My servants ask you, [O Muhammad], concerning Me – indeed I am near. I respond to the invocation of the supplicant when he calls upon Me.)

The Prophet (saws) was asked, “Is our Lord (swt) close, so we may speak to Him?  Or He (swt) is far so we may call Him? Consequently, this verse of the study descends.

When you deeply reflect upon the Holy Qur’an, always judge the matters according to:

  {وَلَوْ كَانَ مِنْ عِندِ غَيْرِ اللَّهِ لَوَجَدُوا فِيهِ اخْتِلَافًا كَثِيرًا}

(If it had been from [any] other than Allah, they would have found within it much contradiction.” (An-Nissa’a: 82)

Think, if a human being is the one who wrote the Holy Qur’an by his hands and from his thought, definitely he would write: “And when My servants ask you, concerning Me (say), indeed I am near. I respond to the invocation of the supplicant”, and would not continue: “when he calls upon Me” Because he might think with his humanity that this sentence is superfluous, since what does the supplicant do is calling! But Allah (swt) making a confirmation by saying:

(… إِذَا دَعَانِ ..  ) (..when he calls upon Me..): Because you may be calling Allah (swt) and your heart is attached with the reasons, hence Allah (swt) wanted to tell us that one of the conditions for the response of the supplication, that you direct your supplication to Him, so call Him repeatedly. For sometimes, you may do supplicate but just with your tongue, whereas your heart is connected to a person, or to money, or to the owner of the prestige, or to the owner of the authority, or to the owner of the need that he wants from him. In this case, you are affected by the reasons of the world. There must be purity in directing to Allah (swt), so that to grant receiving from Him (swt), however, this is not done at all if a person makes a supplication with his tongue while his heart is busy with other than Him (swt), as such, the Messenger of Allah (saws):

“The Lord, Blessed and Most High is He, has said: Who is so occupied with remembering me as to neglect making request of me, I will give the most excellent things I give to those who ask. ‘.^[3]

Why? What is the meaning of this Hadith? The Prophet Ibrahim (pbuh), at the very moment, when he was thrown into the fire, the angel Jibril (pbuh) came near and asked him: “do you wish for anything?” Ibrahim replied: “Nothing from you, as My Lord is knowledgeable of my status and this is enough for me.”, then the answer was:

{ قُلْنَا يَا نَارُ كُونِي بَرْدًا وَسَلَامًا عَلَىٰ إِبْرَاهِيمَ % وَأَرَادُوا بِهِ كَيْدًا فَجَعَلْنَاهُمُ الْأَخْسَرِينَ }

(Allah said, “O fire, be coolness and safety upon Abraham.” % And they intended for him harm, but We made them the greatest losers.)  (Al-Anbiyaa: 69-70)

Likewise, the Prophet Yunus (pbuh) was appealing to Allah (swt) sincerely from his heart:

{وَذَا النُّونِ إِذ ذَّهَبَ مُغَاضِبًا فَظَنَّ أَن لَّن نَّقْدِرَ عَلَيْهِ فَنَادَىٰ فِي الظُّلُمَاتِ أَن لَّا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا أَنتَ سُبْحَانَكَ إِنِّي كُنتُ مِنَ الظَّالِمِينَ }

(And [mention] the man of the fish, when he went off in anger and thought that We would not decree [anything] upon him. And he called out within the darknesses, “There is no deity except You; exalted are You. Indeed, I have been of the wrongdoers.) (Al-Anbiyaa: 87)

So the response was:

 {فَاسْتَجَبْنَا لَهُ وَنَجَّيْنَاهُ مِنَ الْغَمِّ ۚ وَكَذَٰلِكَ نُنجِي الْمُؤْمِنِينَ }

(So We responded to him and saved him from the distress. And thus do We save the believers.) (Al-Anbiyaa: 8(

All the prophets (pbut) have their own supplications, which are mentioned in the Holy Qur’an, but as for our Prophet (saws), he said:

“Every Messenger is endowed with a prayer which is granted and by which he would (pray to his Lord) and it would he granted for him. I have, however, reserved my prayer for the intercession of my Ummah on the Day of Resurrection.”[4]

The Messenger of Allah (saws) postponed his supplication for the sake of intercession for us on the Day of Resurrection. Hence, the first condition of the sincere supplication is to be directed with pure heart to Allah (swt), and eat what is halal (lawful) since the Prophet (saws) said:

“Eat Halal, your supplications be answered.”[5]

(… فَلْيَسْتَجِيبُوا لِي ..  ) (..So let them respond to Me [by obedience]..): Accordingly, these are the terms of the supplication, “let them respond to me”, and:

(… وَلْيُؤْمِنُوا بِي ..  ) (..and believe in Me..): Allah (swt) says:

( وَإِذَا سَأَلَكَ عِبَادِي عَنِّي فَإِنِّي قَرِيبٌ…) (And when My servants ask you, [O Muhammad], concerning Me – indeed I am near …): Allah (swt) chose the word “servants” (ibad in Arabic) and not “slaves” (Abeed in Arabic). However, these are two Arabic plural forms of one same word which is (Abed in Arabic), but what is the difference between the two forms?

Slaves as (‘abiid) are oppressed by slavery, yet as the second form of servants as (‘ibad) is that they come to obedient by choice. Therefore, our lord (swt) uses (‘ibad) in:

{ وَعِبَادُ الرَّحْمَٰنِ }

(And the servants of the Most Merciful.)  (Al-Furqan: 63)

So, it is not (‘biid) (slaves) of the most merciful, however we are servants (‘bad) of the Most Merciful and slaves (‘biid) to Him.

Why are we slaves (‘abiid) ? Because we are subject forcibly to things such as life, death, health, the heart’s beat, on the other hand, we are servants (‘ibad) because we are able to choose; we can choose between obedience and disobedience.

{إِنَّا عَرَضْنَا الْأَمَانَةَ عَلَى السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ وَالْجِبَالِ فَأَبَيْنَ أَن يَحْمِلْنَهَا وَأَشْفَقْنَ مِنْهَا وَحَمَلَهَا الْإِنسَانُ ۖ إِنَّهُ كَانَ ظَلُومًا جَهُولًا }

Indeed, we offered the Trust to the heavens and the earth and the mountains, and they declined to bear it and feared it; but man [undertook to] bear it. Indeed, he was unjust and ignorant. (Al-Ahzab: 72)

The man accepted to bear the Trust of choices, so that he reaches the high position of Allah’s (swt) servants, as such, someone said:

What could increase me in delight and pride,

so much that the stars I would reach in stride?

My inclusion in “O my slaves” and that

You sent Ahmed for me as a Prophet.

So (My servants) indicates that– So Allah (swt) is telling the Prophet (saws): If My servants (because they have chosen faith, they have chosen obedience) ask you, concerning Me – indeed I am near. I respond to the invocation of the supplicant when he calls upon Me, so let them respond to Me and believe in Me. Why? Aren’t they already believers in Allah (swt)? Had they not been believers, they were not supplicating to Allah nor they would seek refuge in Him. If the Holy Qur’an was written by a human, he would not say:

(… وَلْيُؤْمِنُوا بِي ..  ) (..and believe in Me..): But this book is from Allah (swt):

 {كِتَابٌ أَنزَلْنَاهُ إِلَيْكَ مُبَارَكٌ لِّيَدَّبَّرُوا آيَاتِهِ وَلِيَتَذَكَّرَ أُولُو الْأَلْبَابِ  }

[This is] a blessed Book which We have revealed to you, [O Muhammad], that they might reflect upon its verses and that those of understanding would be reminded. (Saad: 29)

Let’s reflect upon why (and believe in Me) mentioned in the verse.

It means believing that Allah (swt) is the Wise in answering the supplication, Allah (swt) may withhold a matter and do not answer you, that is because, in fact, you are supplicating by your limited knowledge and vision of good. Human being in general supplicates only of good as he thinks it is good:

 {لَّا يَسْأَمُ الْإِنسَانُ مِن دُعَاءِ الْخَيْرِ وَإِن مَّسَّهُ الشَّرُّ فَيَئُوسٌ قَنُوطٌ  }

(Man is not weary of supplication for good [things], but if evil touches him, he is hopeless and despairing.) (Fussilat: 49)

Human being only wants goodness. When you supplicate of something you think it is good and Allah (swt) knows that it is evil for you, as such, though not answering your supplication He (swt) would be answering and bringing you good. How? Suppose, for example, for Allah (swt) belongs the loftiest similitude), if your son came and asked you for a hand gun and insist on you. Would you buy him or stop him? Of course, you must stop him and do not buy it, because if you buy him a gun, it is harmful to him, and cannot achieve good for him. He sees with his own vision that there is good for him, but you see with your wisdom that it is evil.

So (and believe in Me) means, they believe in (My wisdom). You do supplicate and fulfill the conditions of this supplication, while you know that when there is no response to your supplication from the Lord, then this call brings harm to you.

{وَيَدْعُ الْإِنسَانُ بِالشَّرِّ دُعَاءَهُ بِالْخَيْرِ ۖ وَكَانَ الْإِنسَانُ عَجُولًا  }

(And man supplicates for evil as he supplicates for good, and man is ever hasty.) (Al-Issraa: 11)

Only the Lord (swt) knows the standards of goodness, not the servants.

(… لَعَلَّهُمْ يَرْشُدُونَ  ) (that they may be [rightly] guided…): What is the meaning of guidance? It is to reach the way, the goal that you desire. That is to achieve the best of this world and the good of the Hereafter. So when you respond to the orders of Allah (swt) and believe in His wisdom of what He (swt) ordered, forbade, gave or prevented. By then you have entered that guidance.

This verse came in this order and it is not to be said that there is an overlapping because the verses are related to fasting and then the verses related to supplication come, yet you do not know what is the connection. We have ourselves to find the relation; because the Holy Qur’an came in its entirety to guide human being in any situation, did not come as a story book, neither as a book of titles, chapters, definitions and narrative of topics such as the humans’ book. However, it is to address all humanity and to give attention to all aspects of life, whether you know the relation between its subjects and verses or you do not.

_[1]Sunan Abi-Dawood, Book of Prayer, chapter of supplication, hadith No.1479.

_[2] Sunan At-Tirmidhi, Book of supplication, chapter the benefits of supplication, hadith No. 3371

[3] Shuab Al-Iman, hadith No. 574

[4] Sahih Muslim, Book of Faith, Chapter: The The Prophet (saws) will defer his supplication in order to intercede for his ummah, hadith No. 400.

[5] Majmaa Az-Zawaed, Book of temperance, hadith No. 18101