5. اَنۡتَ وَلِيُّنَا فَاغۡفِرۡ لَـنَا وَارۡحَمۡنَا‌ وَاَنۡتَ خَيۡرُ الۡغَافِرِيۡنَ

“You are our protector, so forgive us, and have mercy on us, and You are the best among those who forgive.”

Sayyidi wa sanadi Mufti Mohammed Taqi Usmani (Allah protect & preserve him) explained that “wali” is one who knows the interests of someone, and safeguards those interests. Here, before making the supplication which follows, it is being said to Allah that “You are our wali”.

This is common throughout the supplications mentioned in the Quran and Hadith, that they often begin with words of praise for Allah. Why is this so? Some ignorant people think that these words of praise are akin to flattery which is done to people of power in this world. Allah has no need of this! Even if the entire world stopped mentioning His praise, it would not cause the minutest decrease in His Greatness!

Rather there are two reasons for doing this:

a) If a slave mentions his difficulties without words of praise to Allah, it is possible that ungratefulness could be involved in that supplication. To save the slave from into falling into ungratefulness, it is made Sunnah to begin the supplication with words of praise for Allah.
b) The words of praise for Allah, such as SubhanAllah (Allah is pure),  Alhamdulillah (all praise is for Allah), Allahu Akbar (All is the Greatest) contain blessings, the reality of which will only be revealed in the Akhirah.Saying these words before supplications is made Sunnah so that the slave is not deprived of these blessings when making supplications to Allah.
Ramadan 1440, post zohar dars, Masjid Darul Uloom Karachi,

Intekhab e Kaiseri