WHY SOME DUAAS ARE NOT ANSWERED


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.