وَإِذْ يَرْفَعُ إِبْرَاهِيمُ الْقَوَاعِدَ مِنَ الْبَيْتِ وَإِسْمَاعِيلُ رَبَّنَا تَقَبَّلْ مِنَّا إِنَّكَ أَنتَ السَّمِيعُ الْعَلِيمُ
Our Lord accept [our deeds] from us. You, indeed, are the hearing, the Knowing1
Note: According to the Qur’an, when Abraham (pbuh) and Ishmael (pbuh) were raising the walls of the Ka`bah, as directed by God, it was then that they called upon God, with the referred words2
This is a concise supplication for the acceptance of our good deeds as well as our prayers. The reference to God’s attribute of ‘Hearing’ at the end of the supplication is to express our trust in Him, especially with reference to hearing our prayers. While the reference to the attribute of ‘Knowing’ is to express our reliance on His all-encompassing knowledge – which includes the knowledge of our desires, our intentions as well as the knowledge of what is best for us. The reference to these two attributes points out the spirit with which man should call upon God. On the one hand, man should have an unshakable trust in the fact that God hears his prayers; while on the other, he should trust God’s decisions to be the best, even if they are not according to his desires, as they are based on God’s absolute knowledge and wisdom.