Does the supplication, "May Allah prolong your life," change a person's lifespan, and does a person's lifespan decrease and increase, taking into account the narration of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, when he heard Fatimah, may Allah be pleased with her, supplicating: "O Allah, grant me enjoyment through my husband, O Allah, grant me enjoyment through the Messenger of Allah"?

The summary of the answer: The hadith of Umm Habiba indicates that lifespans and provisions are predetermined and do not increase or decrease. Other hadiths, such as "Whoever desires that his provision be expanded for him and his life be extended, let him maintain ties of kinship," and "Nothing averts destiny except supplication, and nothing increases one's lifespan except righteousness," might seem contradictory.

Scholars have reconciled these texts in several ways: 1. Blessing in lifespan: The increase occurs through blessing in one's life and being guided to acts of obedience, not by an increase in the number of years. 2. Change in angelic records: The increase happens in what appears to the angels and in the Preserved Tablet, where a condition for the increase (like maintaining ties of kinship) is recorded, while Allah has prior knowledge of what will occur. This falls under His saying, "Allah erases what He wills and establishes what He wills" (Quran 13:39). 3. Preservation of good remembrance: (A weak opinion).

Al-Tahawi stated that Allah creates the soul and makes its lifespan conditioned by its righteousness or lack thereof, and by its supplication or lack thereof. All of this is written and predetermined in the record, and there is no contradiction between these narrations.