Supplication for Longevity and Its Effect on Divine Decree and Destiny
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The questioner:
Your teacher, may Allah guide you? From the letters, he says: When it is stated that food is limited without exception, and sustenance is determined without exception, and all of this is in the knowledge of Allah before He created the heavens and the earth, and all our noble deeds are known. He asks: What is the supplication? He says: Do the believers not stand firm for an hour, or do they not stand firm? He asks: What does one supplicate for so that the decree is taken?
The Shaykh:
Regarding supplication for longevity, I do not know of any supplication that has been transmitted for a person to ask for a long life. However, one supplicates for the rectification of deeds, for taqwa (mindfulness of Allah), and for righteousness. As for longevity itself, this is a limited matter. Or perhaps by longevity is meant being in obedience to Allah, for a life spent in obedience to Allah is long even if its duration is short. And a long life without good deeds is short and of no benefit, even if it is long.
The intended meaning is that Allah grants the servant success in the duration He has given him to rectify his deeds, and that this is what constitutes longevity. Longevity in deeds, longevity in repentance, and longevity in prayer. Yes.
As for supplicating for longevity in a general sense, this was not prescribed. But you may say, “May Allah lengthen your life in His obedience and in His pleasure,” and that is good. Yes.
The questioner:
Marriage.
The Shaykh:
You qualify it: “May Allah lengthen your life” and “May Allah lengthen your existence” in obedience and in righteous deeds. You do not say, “May Allah lengthen your life” or “May Allah lengthen your existence” alone; that is not sufficient. Yes.
The questioner:
We ask Allah.
The Shaykh:
And it is one of the causes. Supplication may be a cause for longevity in the decree and destiny of Allah. Allah has decreed that a person’s life will be long due to supplication, and it is based on the cause.
Your teacher, may Allah guide you? From the letters, he says: When it is stated that food is limited without exception, and sustenance is determined without exception, and all of this is in the knowledge of Allah before He created the heavens and the earth, and all our noble deeds are known. He asks: What is the supplication? He says: Do the believers not stand firm for an hour, or do they not stand firm? He asks: What does one supplicate for so that the decree is taken?
The Shaykh:
Regarding supplication for longevity, I do not know of any supplication that has been transmitted for a person to ask for a long life. However, one supplicates for the rectification of deeds, for taqwa (mindfulness of Allah), and for righteousness. As for longevity itself, this is a limited matter. Or perhaps by longevity is meant being in obedience to Allah, for a life spent in obedience to Allah is long even if its duration is short. And a long life without good deeds is short and of no benefit, even if it is long.
The intended meaning is that Allah grants the servant success in the duration He has given him to rectify his deeds, and that this is what constitutes longevity. Longevity in deeds, longevity in repentance, and longevity in prayer. Yes.
As for supplicating for longevity in a general sense, this was not prescribed. But you may say, “May Allah lengthen your life in His obedience and in His pleasure,” and that is good. Yes.
The questioner:
Marriage.
The Shaykh:
You qualify it: “May Allah lengthen your life” and “May Allah lengthen your existence” in obedience and in righteous deeds. You do not say, “May Allah lengthen your life” or “May Allah lengthen your existence” alone; that is not sufficient. Yes.
The questioner:
We ask Allah.
The Shaykh:
And it is one of the causes. Supplication may be a cause for longevity in the decree and destiny of Allah. Allah has decreed that a person’s life will be long due to supplication, and it is based on the cause.
Source
قناة «العلامة الدكتور صالح الفوزان»، 08 من 13 / شرح العقيدة الطحاوية / نحب أهل العدل والأمانة / صالح الفوزان / العقيدة / كبار العلماء — youtube.com (1:05:53)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.