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Supplication in Ramadan
Author : An Article by the Secretary General Dr. Ahmad Al-Hassanat
Date Added : 07-12-2025

Supplication in Ramadan

Praise be to Allah who has enabled His servants to observe fasting and recite the Qur’an, and perpetual, complete prayers and peace upon the best of the sons of ʿAdnān, our master Muḥammad, whom Allah the Most High favored with the Qur’an and preferred over all creation, and upon his family and his noble, honorable Companions.

We live, during these few blessed days, the joy of Ramadan which Allah the Most High has bestowed upon us. He has made its fasting an obligation through which our souls are purified, and its night prayers a voluntary act through which our ranks are elevated. This is the month which Allah the Most High has chosen from among all other months and endowed with distinguishing merits surpassing all times. Allah the Most High has made it a season for acts of obedience and devotion, such that an obligatory act performed within it carries the reward of seventy obligations, and a voluntary act carries the reward of an obligation. Whoever fasts it with faith and seeking reward will have his previous sins forgiven, and whoever stands in prayer during its nights with faith and seeking reward will have his sins forgiven and attain the fullest portion.

During the month of Ramadan, people turn to their Lord, so the sinner returns to obedience, and the obedient increase in good deeds and acts of devotion. The gates of heaven are opened for the answering of supplications. It is therefore no wonder that Allah the Most High mentions verses concerning supplication amidst the verses on fasting. Allah the Most High says {what means}: "And when My servants 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 that they may be rightly guided." [Al-Baqarah/186].

Thus, through fasting, the Muslim resembles the angels of the Most Merciful. His soul becomes purified and cleansed of its deficiencies, his heart softens and submits to his Lord, and his tongue is inspired to supplicate to Allah the Most High. At that point, he becomes close to his Lord—that spiritual proximity whose delight is known only to one whose heart has prostrated to Allah the Most High before his body prostrates. The Muslim feels the reality of pure servitude to Allah the Most High and perceives the Lordship of Allah the Most High, the Possessor of grandeur, majesty, might, and omnipotence. He thereby comes to know the greatness of the Creator through his humility before Him, and through the weakness experienced by the fasting person, he is made aware of the strength of Allah the Most High. It is then that pure servitude, which is a cause for the acceptance of supplication and closeness to Allah the Most High, is realized within him. Indeed, He, glorified be He, has said: "I am with those whose hearts are broken," and He has said: "Grandeur is My cloak and majesty is My garment. Whoever contends with Me regarding either of them, I will cast him into the Fire." [Sunan Abī Dāwūd].

From this, we understand the secret behind the answering of supplications in Ramadan and the reasons for the delay in response at other times. When a Muslim supplicates to Allah the Most High with a heart that is submissive, broken, and humble before Allah, he finds Allah the Most High answering him. However, when he asks Allah the Most High while being arrogant, haughty, thinking himself deserving of a response, and swearing oaths against Allah the Most High, then Allah the Most High rejects him and leaves him to his own soul, his whims, his desires, and what misleads him. It has been reported in some narrations that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, related that: "A man said, 'By Allah, Allah will not forgive so-and-so.' Thereupon Allah the Most High said, 'Who is he who swears by Me that I will not forgive so-and-so? Verily, I have forgiven so-and-so and nullified your deed.'" [Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim].

Thus, fasting becomes one of the most hopeful means for the acceptance of supplications. From this originates the encouragement of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, for the fasting person to supplicate before breaking his fast. He said: "The supplication of the fasting person at the time of breaking his fast is not rejected." [Musnad Abī Dāwūd al-Ṭayālisī]. The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, concluded our fasting with the supplication he legislated for us at the time of breaking the fast: "O Allah, for You I have fasted, and with Your provision I break my fast." [Sunan Abī Dāwūd]. Therefore, the servant, while fasting, should remember his closeness to Allah the Most High and that his supplication during these moments is answered. He should resort to Allah the Most High in supplication for himself regarding what he desires of worldly and hereafter wishes, and he should not forget his believing brothers. He should supplicate for the servants of Allah the Most High and supplicate for his nation for honor, victory, and empowerment, so that perhaps Allah the Most High will answer him, thereby relieving the nation of His Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, from calamity, trial, and the dominance of enemies. And the promise of Allah the Most High is fulfilled: "And when My servants 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 that they may be rightly guided." [Al-Baqarah/186]. We ask Allah the Most High to realize our hopes, accept our supplications, overlook our sins, and grant us a good end. Indeed, He is the All-Hearing, the Responsive.

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Summarized Fatawaa

What is the ruling on wiping the head during ablution from behind a barrier like a headscarf (hijab)?

The obligation in ablution is to wipe some of the head; it is not a condition to wipe all of it. As for one who has a turban or headscarf on their head, it is permissible for them to wipe over it after wiping a part of their head in any place. This is easily done at the front of the head. This means the woman begins by wiping the front of her head from under the headscarf, then completes the wiping to the back of the head from over the headscarf. If the woman wipes over the headscarf on her head and the moisture reaches the scalp or some hair within the boundaries of the head, it suffices for wiping the head. And Allah the Almighty knows best.

What is required of one who doubts the number of rakʿāt during prayer?

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
If a person doubts the number of rakʿāt he has prayed, he should build upon the lesser number, as that is what he is certain of. He should then perform the prostration of forgetfulness (sujūd al-sahw) before the final salām at the end of the prayer. ʿAṭāʾ ibn Yasār narrated that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: "When any one of you is in doubt during his prayer and does not know whether he has prayed three rakʿāt or four, let him pray one more rakʿah and then perform two prostrations while seated before the salām. If the rakʿah he prayed was a fifth, these two prostrations will make it even; and if it was the fourth, then the two prostrations serve as a humiliation for the devil." (Reported by Abū Dāwūd.)
It is stated in al-Muqaddimah al-Ḥaḍramiyyah — one of the foundational texts of the Shāfiʿī school: "If one doubts whether he has prayed three rakʿāt or four, he is obliged to build upon the lesser number."
However, if such doubt recurs repeatedly and reaches the level of obsessive whispering (waswasah), he should not build upon the lesser number in that case — rather, he should build upon the greater number. And Allah the Almighty knows best.

Is it permissible for someone who is unable to fast to pay the fidyah (ransom/compensation payment) to himself, due to his own poverty?

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
It is not permissible, nor does it fulfill the obligation, for a sick person who is currently and permanently unable to fast to pay the fidyah (ransom/compensation payment) to himself, since it is a financial obligation owed by him, established as a standing debt upon him — much like any other debt he owes. If he were to pay it to himself, it would not thereby be discharged. So if he cannot find [anyone eligible to] pay it to, it remains a standing obligation upon him, and is not thereby waived. If Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, later grants him wealth, it becomes obligatory upon him to pay it out to the poor and needy.
Imam al-Khaṭīb ash-Shirbīnī (raḥimahullāh) said: "There is no difference in the obligation of the fidyah between the wealthy and the poor person; its benefit lies in its remaining established as a standing debt upon the poor person [until he is able to pay it] — and this is the more correct position (al-aṣaḥḥ), as indicated by the wording of ar-Rawḍah and its source text." [Mughnī al-Muḥtāj, Vol.2/P.174]
Accordingly: it is not permissible for a Muslim to pay the fidyah to himself while he remains poor. If the sick person is poor, he is not obligated to pay the fidyah immediately, and it remains a standing debt upon him until a time when he has sufficient means and wealth. And Allah, the Exalted, knows best.

What is the ruling on someone who possesses gold with the intention of saving/hoarding it, and owns nothing else — is he obligated to sell a portion of it in order to pay the zakāh due on it?

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
Zakāh becomes immediately obligatory on cash, and likewise on gold — that which is not designated for a woman's personal adornment— once both reach the niṣāb (minimum threshold liable for zakah) and a full ḥawl (lunar year) has passed over them. It is not permissible to delay payment when it is genuinely possible to pay — meaning, when the wealth and the eligible recipients are both available. It is stated in Mughnī al-Muḥtāj (Vol.2/p.129): "Zakāh is obligatory immediately once it becomes feasible to pay it, meaning when the wealth and the eligible recipients are both present."
The one paying zakāh must discharge the obligatory zakāh due on saved (hoarded) gold either from the gold itself, or from its equivalent monetary value, in the event that no other funds are available — since paying from the gold itself is the original default (al-aṣl). It becomes permissible to pay from other funds instead only because zakāh is built upon the principle of ease and leniency, as stated in Asnā al-Maṭālib (Vol.1/p.366): "When a full ḥawl has elapsed on wealth other than trade goods... zakāh attaches to the actual asset itself (al-‘ayn), and the poor effectively become partners in it — even, for example, [becoming partners] in camels through the value of a sheep [owed as zakāh on them]... Paying from other wealth is permitted only because zakāh is built upon the principle of ease and leniency."
Accordingly: the one paying zakāh must discharge it either from the actual saved gold itself, or by selling a portion of the gold equal to the amount of zakāh owed. He may also borrow money to pay the zakāh, or pay the zakāh in installments before the ḥawl is complete [as an advance payment]. And Allah, the Exalted, knows best.

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