Part 27

10. It Causes the Believer to Reflect on Himself

339 Sarah al-Baqarah, 216.

So this delay in response is actually a cleansing experience and a purification for the Muslim, for it forces him to re-examine his relationship with Allah, and try to strengthen it. And had his dua been responded to immediately, then this examination would not have occurred, nor would any extra good come out of it. But in this delay, a person, as it were, finds himself, and this, in and of itself, is a great blessing from Allah.

11. The Dua Might Actually Have been Responded

We have already mentioned the hadith in which the Prophet ’ (#8) guaranteed that a person’s du’ will be accepted. However, the ‘acceptance’ of a du‘ a might be in a manner that is not apparent. It is possible that Allah will give him the reward of his dw'a on the Day of Judgement, and this reward will be more beloved to him on that Day than the response of his dw‘ in this life. It is also possible that Allah blesses him with something else that he did not ask for, as a result of his du’ a. Lastly, it is possible that Allah averts an evil that was predestined for him because of his du’ a.

So when a person realises this, then how can he despair at his dua not being answered? Does he not realise that the response of the dua@ is guaranteed by Allah? Perhaps the du’ a has been responded to in ways that he does not see, but of a surety, if he is performing du‘ properly, it must be answered.

12. The dua Might be Weak

Ibn al-Qayyim’s quotation concerning the relationship of dua with the Divine Decree has already been given above. Ibn al-Qayyim mentioned that there arc three possibilities with regards to the du’ a and Divine Decree. Firstly, it is possible that the du’ a is stronger than the Decree, and thus repels it permanently. Secondly, it is possible that the du‘ a is weaker than the Decree, so the Decree occurs, but the du‘a causes it to soften a little bit. Thirdly, they be equal in strength, so each one prevents the other from acting.”

3 ALDa’ wa al-Dawa’, p. 42.

Therefore, a person should examine whether the dw’ @ is fulfilling the conditions for the acceptance of a dua. He should see if there are any impediments that prevent his dua from being answered.

13. The Manifestation of Allah’s Names and Attributes

The fact that a person’s du‘ @ is responded to or not is an indication and manifestation of many of Allah’s Names and Attributes.

Of these Names is: a/-Mu’ti (the One that Gives), al-Mani' (the One that Withholds), al-Hakam (the One that Judges and Decrees), al-' Adl (the All-Just), al-Karim, (the Ever-Generous), al-Hakim (the All-Wise), and many others. Whether a person’s du’ a is answered or not, all of these Names, and more, are manifested in Allah’s Decrees. So when He gives, He gives out of Generosity, and Wisdom, and Justice, and when He withholds, He withholds out of Power, Wisdom, and Justice. So a person should keep the Names and Attributes of Allah in mind when his dw’ a is not responded to, for in this is a great manifestation of these Names and Attributes.

14. The Perfection of Worship

i. Waiting for a Response:

When a person eagerly and anxiously awaits a response to his du a, this necessitates a strong hope in Allah, and an optimism of Allah’s Mercy and Blessings. This feeling is, in and of itself, an act of worship, and the longer that the response is delayed, the stronger these feelings become if the person wishes to continue in his du‘ a. In this way his imman is strengthened without him even realising it!

it. Showing One’s Need to Allah

The essence of worship is to humble one’s self before Allah, and ’ realise one’s extreme need of Allah’s Help and Mercy. And when the response to a du’ d is delayed, this increases this awareness, and a person realises that there is no one besides Allah that can help him, or respond to his du’@, so his iman in Allah increases in this manner. Simultaneous, with this realisation comes the awe and meekness that is required in Allah’s presence,as also humility and humbleness, for a person realises his own weak and fragile nature.

Had every du‘a of a person been answered immediately, this would lead to arrogance, and cultivate a feeling of self-sufficiency and conceit! It would cause the person to forget the relationship that he should have with Allah, and, in fact, might even lead to him to think that he has a right upon Allah to answer his prayers. If a person were to become so arrogant, then there would be no hope for him in the Hereafter, for no person will enter Paradise with an ounce of arrogance in his heart.

Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah said: “So the servant is always in need of his Lord, from every perspective. This because He is the object of his worship, and the source of all of his help. So no one can bring him any good except Him, and nothing can better the situation of the servant except His worship. And on top of all this, the servant is sinning, and there is no way that he can avoid this. So he is always in need, sinning, and he is in need of the One who always Forgives, the One who is Ever-Merciful. The One who al-

ways Forgives (al-Ghafur) will forgive his sins, and the Ever-Merciful (al-Rahim) will show him mercy and bless him and be kind to him. So the servant is eternally between the blessings of his Lord

and the sins of his soul”.

i. Pleasure at Allah’s Decree

One of the most important pillars of iman is to be content with Allah’s Decree. This because the slave realises and appreciates that whatever Allah has chosen for him is for his own good, whether he can see this good or not. So there is a blind faith in whatever Allah decrees, and a total satisfaction with whatever occurs.

Therefore, the delay in responding to a dua is one of the opportunities in which a believer must display his contentment at the decree of Allah, and not show anger or annoyance. The one who is pleased with Allah as his Lord, and with the Decrees of Allah in his life, will attain the pleasure of Allah in this world and in the Hereafter, but the one who is displeased and angry, will only attain Allah’s displeasure and anger.

iv. Humility in Front of Allah

When the response of a dua is delayed, the believer becomes even more humiliated and humble in front of the All-Mighty. And this humility is one of the primary pillars of worship, for ‘ibadah, is defined as ‘the height of humility along with the height of love.’ The three pillars upon which a Muslim worships Allah are: love, fear and hope; and humility is one of the ways in which this fear and love is displayed.

So this delay in response is in fact a means to draw out the servant’s meekness and humility from his heart. Had the dua been responded to, the servant would not feel such sincere humility, nor would he feel a need of being humble in the presence of the Divine One.

v. Enjoying a Private Conversation with Allah

Amongst the many benefits of dua is that dua@ opens up a private channel between the servant and his Lord, as has been discussed previously. So the longer the response of the du’ d is delayed, the stronger and more powerful this relationship and channel becomes. Finally, a stage is reached, by a very select and blessed few, in which the pleasures of this communication become more pleasing to the soul than the actual response of the du’ @ would be! So, a person actually wishes for a delay in response to his du'a, since he knows that this relationship that he has with his Lord will not continue when his dw'@ is responded to. And the longer the delay, the longer his conversation and relationship will continue.

v1. Combating the Plots of Shaytan

Without a doubt, Shaytan stoops to all levels, and tries all plots so that a person will turn away from worship of Allah. And is there any opportunity greater for him to seize than when a servant’s dua is not answered?! For here is the servant, weak and humble in front of Allah, calling and crying out to him, ‘O my Lord! O my Lord!’ Yet, there is no response! So Shayfan seizes this opportunity, and plants his whispers and seeds of doubt in the son of Adam, until he thinks every evil thought about his Lord!

But the true believer, the one who is ever-aware and cautious of Shaytan’s plots, sees the dangers of this situation, and, instead of letting it be a cause of him going away from worship of Allah, seizes it as an opportunity to attack Shaytan and increase in his worship of Allah! So he turns to Allah, again and again, and seeks refuge from Shaytan, for he realises that his only hope for safety is through Allah, and his only refuge and haven is in Allah’s Protection! So in this intense battle between Shayjan and the son of Adam, the weapon that is used is du‘ a to Allah, and the armour that is worn is seeking