Chapter IX: Zikr and Invocations
(9) Begin invocation with Zikr of God. Don't invoke at the start. Hazrat Salma said: I did never see the Prophet invoking without first saying: Sobhana Rabbial Ula wal wahhab. Abu Solaiman Darani said: If a man wishes to invoke God for any necessity, let him begin with blessings on the Prophet and then pray end and then end it witt\ such blessing as God accepts the invocation of those who send blessing on Prophet. The Prop*het said: When you invoke God for any necessity, begin it after blessings on me as the Merciful God fulfills one of the two honoured necessities and reject another.
(10) Observe the internal manners and if is the root of acceptance of Tauba, means of preventing oppression, means to seek nearess to God and a near cause of acceptance of invocation, Ka'ba-b-Ashab narrated that there was a great famine" over the people at the time of Moses. He came out with the children of Israil for invoking for rain but it did not come. Then God revealed to Moses: I will accept not your invocation and the invocation of your companions as there is a back-biter amongst you. Moses asked: Who is that man? We shall eject him from our company God revealed to him: O Moses, I have prohibited you back-biting..Hdw shall I be a back-biter? Then Moses said to the children of Israil:
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Make repentance for back-biting and return to your Lord: They all repented. Then God sent down rain upon them.
The sage Sufiyan Saori said: I have come to know that the children of Israil suffered famine for seven years, even they began to eat dead animals and young children. God sent revelation to their Prophet: If you come to Me walking on foot and enliven your tongues by invoking Me, I will not accept your invocations and will not show kindness at your cries till you pay compensation to those whom you have oppressed. They did so and there was rain upon them.
Malek-b-Dinar said: There was once a famine over the children of Israil. They came out several times invoking for rain.
God then revealed to their Prophet: Inform them that they have come to Me with impure bodies and unlawful food in their lies and they raised the fronts of their hands which shed unlawful blood. My wrath upon them is therefore great.