Praying for the Impossible

Read about the methodology of “Praying for the Impossible,” as I like to call it.

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The supplications (dū’as) contained within Qur’an provide immense spiritual breezes for those who reflect.

If you are able to expose yourself to these divine breezes, you will have achieved a tremendous victory.

While reading Āl ʿImrān, I paused at this magnificent verse, which appears in the context of the supplication of Zakariyya (Zachary), peace be upon him:

“My Lord, grant me from Yourself a good offspring; indeed, You are the Hearer of supplication.” (Qur’an 3:38)

All earthly obstacles would make this supplication being answered an impossiblity, as the wife Zakariyya was barren. It would logically be impossible for her to bear a child. Yet the response came to Zakariyya that God gives him glad tidings of the impending arrival of Yahya (John):

“So the angels called out to him while he stood praying in the sanctuary: ‘Indeed, God gives you good news of Yahya.’” (Qur’an 3:39)

When Allah answered the supplication of Zakariyya, the sheer impossibility of it caused him to ask:

“My Lord, how shall I have a boy when old age has overtaken me and my wife is barren?” (Qur’an 3:40)

That is, Zakariyya was advanced in age, and his wife was barren and unable to conceive—so how could this come to pass?

It is as though the Prophet Zakariyya, unable to fully grasp how such a thing could occur, asked Allah for a sign—some indication that it would indeed happen.

This supplication deserves a genre of its own, it deserve to be called “Praying for the Impossible.” I delight in the spiritual breezes condensed within it. Glory be to God the Magnificent, who inspired Zakariyya with this miraculous supplication:

“My Lord, grant me from Yourself a good offspring; indeed, You are the Hearer of supplication.”

The structure of this supplication can be divided into three parts.

The first part: “My Lord, grant me.”

A gift is given without compensation, and Allah is al-Wahhāb, the Ever-Giving. It befits Him to grant without return. In truth, everything around us and within our own bodies is itself already a gift from God, for He never asked us for anything in exchange for bringing us into existence—when before that we were nothing.

This profound meaning opens before you the horizon of asking the Giver for whatever you wish, for the Ever-Giving bestows without measure.

The second part: “From Yourself (min ladunka).”

Here you ask for your need. The phrase “from Yourself” is an immense signal to a vast realm beyond the limits of our intellect and logic. It touches upon the inner secrets of the Divine Essence. It is as if one says: Grant me from the hidden treasures of Your being that none but You knows.

The third part: “Indeed, You are the Hearer of supplication.”

Zakariyyah concludes his supplication by affirming that the prayer is heard.

And if it is heard, then it has reached the Divine Presence.

And if it has reached the Divine Presence, then its realization is without doubt—the hoped-for outcome will surely come to pass.

This is not a magical formula.

It is simply the methodology of “Praying for the Impossible,” as I like to call it.

If you wish to supplicate for the impossible, then use it in the same formula and say: “My Lord, grant me from Yourself…” then mention his need, and conclude: “…indeed, You are the Hearer of supplication.”

The One who heard Zakariyya hears you. The One who granted from Himself to Zakariyya can grant to you.

Those who call upon Him change, but the Hearer of supplication does not change.

Needs change. But the One who fulfills needs does not change. Created things change. But the Creator of existence does not change.

To end, may Allah’svblessings be upon our master Muhammad, who is the abundance of existence: whoever hates him is cut off and lost, and whoever loves him is immersed in divine generosity, and upon his family and companions.

This article was originally published in Arabic on Sotour.net