Why doesnt Allah answer
our duaas?
لماذا لا يستجيب الله لدعائنا ؟
[ إنجليزي - English
]
Sheikh Muhammad Salih Al-Munajjid
محمد صالح المنجد
Translation: Islam Question
and Answer website
Format: Islamhouse
website
ترجمة: موقع الإسلام سؤال وجواب
2014 - 1435
Why
doesnt Allaah answer our duaas?
Why doesn't allah answer our duas ?
Praise be to Allaah.
Imaam Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allaah have mercy
on him) said:
“Du’aa’s and ta’awwudhaat [prayers seeking
refuge with Allaah] are like a weapon, and a weapon is only as good as the
person who is using it; it is not merely the matter of how sharp it is. If the
weapon is perfect and free of faults, and the arm of the person using it is strong,
and there is nothing stopping him, then he can lay waste the enemy. But if any
of these three features is lacking, then the effect will be lacking
accordingly.”
(al-Daa’ wa’l-Dawaa’, p. 35).
From this it will be clear that there is an
etiquette and rulings which must be fulfilled, in the du’aa’ and in the person
making the du’aa’. There are also things that may prevent the du’aa’ reaching
Allaah or being answered – these things must be removed from the person making
the du’aa’ and from the du’aa’. When all of these conditions are fulfilled,
then the du’aa’ may be answered.
1. Sincerity in making du’aa’. This is the
most important condition. Allaah has commanded us to be sincere when making
du’aa’, as He says (interpretation of the meaning):
“So, call you (O Muhammad and the
believers) upon (or invoke) Allaah making (your) worship pure for Him (Alone)
(by worshipping none but Him and by doing religious deeds sincerely for
Allaah’s sake only and not to show off and not to set up rivals with Him in worship)”
[Ghaafir 40:14].
Sincerity in du’aa’ means having the firm
belief that the One upon Whom you are calling – Allaah, may He be glorified and
exalted – is alone Able to meet your need, and it also means avoiding any kind
of showing off in your du’aa’.
2. Repentance and turning back to Allaah.
Sin is one of the main reasons why du’aa’s are not answered, so the person who
is making du’aa’ should hasten to repent and seek forgiveness before he makes
du’aa’. Allaah tells us that Nooh (peace be upon him) said:
“I said (to them): ‘Ask forgiveness from
your Lord, verily, He is Oft-Forgiving; He will send rain to you in abundance,
And give you increase in wealth and children, and bestow on you gardens and bestow
on you rivers.’ ” [Nooh 71:10-12]
3. Beseeching, humbling oneself, hoping for
Allaah’s reward and fearing His punishment. This is the spirit, essence and
purpose of du’aa’. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): “Invoke your Lord with humility and in secret. He
likes not the aggressors” [al-A’raaf 7:55].
4. Urgently beseeching and repeating the
du’aa’, without getting exasperated or bored; this is achieved by repeating the
du’aa’ two or three times. Restricting it to three times is preferable, in accordance
with the Sunnah of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). Ibn
Mas’ood (may Allaah be pleased with him) narrated that the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) liked to say a du’aa’ three times and ask for
forgiveness three times. This was narrated by Abu Dawood and al-Nasaa’i.
5. Making du’aa’ at times of ease, and
saying more du’aa’s at times of plenty. The Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) said: “Remember Allaah during times of ease and He will remember
you during times of hardship.” Narrated by Ahmad.
6. Seeking to draw closer to Allaah by
calling upon Him by His Most Beautiful Names and Sublime Attributes at the beginning
of the du’aa’ or at the end. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): “And (all) the Most Beautiful Names belong to Allaah,
so call on Him by them” [al-A’raaf 7:180].
7. Choosing the clearest and most concise
words and the best of du’aa’s. The best of du’aa’s are the du’aa’s of the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), but it is permissible to
say other words according to the specific needs of a person.
Other aspects of the etiquette of making
du’aa’, although they are not waajib (obligatory), are: to face the Qiblah; to
make du’aa’ in a state of tahaarah (purity); to start the du’aa’ with praise of
Allaah and blessings upon the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him). It is also prescribed to raise the hands when making du’aa’.
One of the things that helps to bring a
response to du’aa’ is to seek the best times and places.
Among the best times is the time just
before Fajr (dawn), the last third of the night, the last hour of Jumu’ah
(Friday), when rain is falling, and between the Adhaan and iqaamah.
Among the best places are mosques in
general, and al-Masjid al-Haraam [in Makkah] in particular.
Among the situations in which du’aa’ is
more likely to be answered are: when one is mistreated or oppressed, when one
is travelling, when one is fasting, when one is in desperate need, and when a
Muslim makes du’aa’ for his brother in his absence.
Things which may prevent du’aa’ from being
answered include:
1. When the du’aa’ is weak in itself,
because it involves something inappropriate, or involves bad manners towards
Allaah, may He be exalted, or it is inappropriate, which means asking Allaah
for something which it is not permitted to ask, e.g. when a man asks to live
forever in this world, or he asks for a sin or something haraam, or he prays
that he will die, and so on. Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with him)
said: The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:
“A person's du’aa’s will continue to be answered so long as he does not pray
for something sinful or for the breaking of family ties.” Narrated by Muslim.
2. When the person who is making du’aa’ is
weak in himself, because he is faint-hearted in his turning towards Allaah.
This may be either because of bad manners towards Allaah, may He be exalted –
such as raising his voice in du’aa’ or making du’aa’ in the manner of one who
thinks he has no need of Allaah; or because he pays too much attention to the
wording and tries to come up with unnecessarily ornate phrases, without paying
attention to the meaning; or because he tries too hard to weep or shout without
really feeling it, or he goes to extremes in that.
3. The reason why his du’aa’ is not
answered may be because he has done something that Allaah has forbidden, such
as having haraam wealth – whether it be food or drink or clothing or accommodation
or transportation, or he has taken a haraam job, or the stain of sin is still
in his heart, or he is following bid’ah (innovation) in religion, or his heart
has been overtaken by negligence.
4. Consuming haraam wealth. This is one of
the major reasons why du’aa’s are not answered. Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased
with him) said: the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) said: “O people, Allaah is Good and only accepts that which is good.
Allaah commanded the pious to follow the same commandments as He gave to the
Messengers. He says (interpretation of the meaning):
‘O (you) Messengers! Eat of the Tayyibaat
[all kinds of Halaal (lawful) foods which Allaah has made lawful (meat of
slaughtered eatable animals, milk products, fats, vegetables, fruits)] and do
righteous deeds. Verily, I am Well-Acquainted with what you do’ [al-Mu’minoon
23:51]
‘O you who believe (in the Oneness of
Allaah — Islamic Monotheism)! Eat of the lawful things that We have provided
you with’ [al-Baqarah 2:172]
Then he mentioned a man who has travelled
on a long journey and is dishevelled and covered with dust; he stretches forth
his hands to the heaven, (saying) “O Lord, O Lord”, but his food is haraam, his
drink is haraam, all his nourishment is haraam, so how can he du’aa’ be
accepted?” Narrated by Muslim.
The man described by the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) had some of the characteristics which help
du’aa’s to be answered – he was travelling and he was in need of Allaah, may He
be exalted and glorified – but the fact that he consumed haraam wealth prevented
his du’aa’ from being answered. We ask Allaah to keep us safe and sound.
5. Trying to hasten the response. Abu
Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: the Messenger of Allaah (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “The du’aa’ of any one of you will
be answered so long as he is not impatient and says, ‘I made du’aa’ but it was
not answered.’” Narrated by al-Bukhaari and Muslim.
6. Making the du’aa’ conditional, such as
saying, “O Allaah, forgive me if You will” or “O Allaah, have mercy upon me if
You will.” The person who makes du’aa’ has to be resolute in his supplication,
striving hard and earnestly repeating his du’aa’. The Prophet (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him) said: “Let not any one of you say, ‘O Allaah, forgive me
if You will, O Allaah, have mercy on me if You will.’ Let him be resolute in
the matter, whilst knowing that no one can compel Allaah to do anything.”
Narrated by al-Bukhaari and Muslim.
In order for du’aa’s to be answered, it is
not essential to adhere to all of these points and be free of all that could
prevent one’s du’aa’s from being answered. That is something which happens very
rarely. But one has to try hard and strive towards achieving this.
Another important point is to realize that
the response to the du’aa’ may take different forms: either Allaah will respond
and fulfil the desire of the person who made the du’aa’, or He will ward off
some evil from him because of the du’aa’, or He will make something good easy
for him to attain because of it, or He will save it with Him for him on the Day
of Resurrection when he will be most in need of it. And Allaah knows best.
