Praying for the Great Bounties
As we pray to Allah, the Exalted, for everything, we should also pray to Him for great blessings. We should not consider a blessing as too big to be asked from Allah, however big it might be, so long as it is ontologically possible; for nothing is big for Allah, nor do His treasuries diminish however great His bestowal might be.
As we should not be ashamed of beseeching Allah for our small needs, even if it is for the fodder of cattle, lace of shoes and salt of bread, similarly we should not regard praying to Allah for His great blessings as asking too much from Him, however great they might be.
Rabi’ah bin Ka’b says: “One day the Holy Prophet (S) said to me, ‘O Rabi’ah! You have served me for seven years; do you not want to ask a need from me?’ I said, ‘O Messenger of Allah, give me some time to think over it.’ The next morning when I came to see him (S) , he said to me, ‘O Rabi’ah, tell me your need.’ I said, ‘Ask Allah to admit me to the Heaven with you.’ He said to me, ‘Who taught you this?’
I said, ‘No one, O Messenger of Allah. I thought over this and said {to myself}, ‘If I asked him wealth, it will perish. And if I asked him a long life and children, their end would be death.’ Rabi’ah says: ‘He lowered his head for a moment and then said, ‘I will do that, but help me by prostrating (sujud) much.’ {Rabi’ah} says: ‘Thereafter I heard him saying, ‘There will occur a dissension (fitnah) after me; if it occurs then adhere to ‘Ali bin Abi Talib (‘a).’”[378]
Amir al-Mu’minin ‘Ali (‘a) says: “When the Holy Prophet (S) used to be asked do to something, if he was willing to do it then he would reply saying ‘Yes.’ But if he was not willing to do it, then he would remain silent, as he would never say ‘no’ to something. One day a Bedouin came to him and asked him for something, but he remained silent. The Bedouin repeated his request, but again he remained silent. He asked him for the third time, yet he remained silent.
Thereafter, he (S) said -as if he was continuing with his speech, ‘What do you want, O bedouin?’ So we said, ‘He is just now going to ask you {a place in} the Heaven.’ The Bedouin said, ‘I ask you to give me a camel, its saddle, and some provision.’ He (S) said, ‘I will give you that.’ Then he {turned toward us and} said, ‘What a difference between the request of the Bedouin and that of an old lady from the Banu Isra’il.’
Then he said, ‘When Musa was commanded to cross the sea and he neared it, the mounts were whipped to cross but they retreated.’ So Musa said, ‘O My Lord, what has happened to me?’ Allah said, ‘O Musa, you are at the grave of Yusuf, carry his bones.’ The grave was as flat as the earth, so he asked his people, ‘Does anyone of you know where is it?’ They said, ‘There is an old woman {with us}, may be she would know.’ So he said to her, ‘Do you know?’ She replied, ‘Yes.’ ‘Show it to us’, said Musa.
She answered, ‘By Allah, I would not unless you grant me what I am going to ask from you.’ He said, ‘You will be granted.’ She said, ‘I want to be with you in the same postion that you will enjoy in the Heaven.’ He said, ‘Ask me for the Heaven {only}.’ ‘Nay by Allah, but that I want to be with you’, she said. So Musa began to deflect her from her wish when Allah revealed to him saying, ‘Grant her request; for she is not going to be contented with less than that.’ So he granted her request and she pointed out the grave to him.”[379]
