What the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) supplicated for his nation, part of which was granted

Sayyiduna Hudhayfah bin al-Yaman (may Allah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) went to the place called al-Harrah, near the tribe of Banu Mu'awiyah, and I followed behind him (peace and blessings be upon him), until he (peace and blessings be upon him) arrived there. Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) prayed eight units of the forenoon prayer and made them very long. Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) turned back and said: O Hudhayfah, have I burdened you with this length? I said: Allah and His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) know best. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: I asked Allah for three things in it; Allah accepted two of my supplications and refused me one. I supplicated to Allah that no outsider should ever overpower my nation, and Allah honoured my supplication with acceptance. I supplicated that my nation should not perish through famine, and Allah honoured this supplication too with acceptance. And I supplicated that there should be no warfare among my nation, and He refused this supplication.

Sayyiduna Mu'adh bin Jabal (may Allah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) prayed one day and made the prayer very long. When he had finished the prayer, I said: O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), you prayed a long prayer. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: I prayed a prayer of longing and fear, and I asked Allah for three things for my nation. Allah gave me two things and turned one thing back upon me. I asked Allah not to give power over this nation to any enemy other than themselves, and Allah honoured this supplication with acceptance. I asked Allah not to destroy this nation through the punishment of drowning, and Allah honoured this supplication too with acceptance. And I also asked that there should be no warfare among this nation, and this supplication was turned back upon me.

Sayyiduna Suhayb (may Allah be pleased with him) said: When the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) prayed, he would say something quietly about which he (peace and blessings be upon him) had not told us. So we said: O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), when you (peace and blessings be upon him) prayed just now, you said something quietly that we could not understand. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Have you noticed my reciting? We said: Yes. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: I recalled the story of one of the prophets, to whom the armies of his people were made subject. He looked at those armies and said: Who can match them? He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: It was said to him: Choose one of three things for your people: either an outside enemy will be given power over them, or hunger and starvation, or death. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: He put these three things before his people. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: His people said: You are the Prophet of Allah; you choose one for us. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: So he stood for prayer. He also said: Whenever they feared anything, they would take refuge in prayer. So that prophet prayed and then said: O Allah, as for giving an enemy power over them, do not do that; or hunger, not that either; but grant death. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Death was given power over his people, and in three days seventy thousand of his people went to sleep in the valley of death. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: So what I was reciting quietly, which you heard, was this supplication: O Allah, only with Your help do I plan, only with Your help do I attack, and there is no strength to do this except with Your help.

Sayyiduna Sa'd (may Allah be pleased with him) said: One day the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) came toward us from al-Aliyah, until he (peace and blessings be upon him) passed by the mosque of Banu Mu'awiyah. He (peace and blessings be upon him) entered the mosque and prayed two units in it, and we too prayed with him (peace and blessings be upon him). He (peace and blessings be upon him) made a long supplication to his Lord, and then he (peace and blessings be upon him) turned to us and said: I asked my Lord for three things. My Lord gave me two things and refused me one. I asked my Lord not to destroy my nation through famine, and Allah honoured this supplication with acceptance. I also asked Him not to destroy my nation through drowning, and Allah honoured this supplication too with acceptance. And I also asked that there should be no warfare within the nation, and Allah refused.