By Abdullahi Jamaa
We all want our supplications answered instantly and our problems solved almost immediately whenever we raise our hands up to the skies for support and facilitation from Allah (the Most High). But this is not always happening; many times our duas remain hanging in the balance.
Whenever the trouble of this world sinks us down and we can no longer carry on with life, we perform a fervent prayer with hope of relief and salvation. Supplication is the fort of believer and the only way out of the woods.
Many times we feel and witness how our duas are never answered. With all our sublime energies, down-to-earth humility, and spiritual alacrity, things are not turning out in the manner that we hope to see. Buy why?
Legendary scholar Imam ibn Qayyim said:
“Dua is 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 to the enemy. But if any of these three features is lacking, then the effect will be lacking accordingly.”
Insincerity
A spiritually sick heart and mind will never find solace in supplication. So many things make the heart suffer from spiritual illness, and all of them have something to do with sinning, such as earning haram rizq, backbiting, pride, ego, jealousy, and grudges, to say the least.
A sincere supplication requires a sincere heart and mind clean of all these damaging spiritual intrigues that may render our supplications not to move an inch past our lips. Supplication requires a no-string attached awe-inspiring feeling of total relaxation and no grudges in your heart for family members, friends, relatives, and believers.
A clean heart opens the way for true repentance and forgiveness; this includes forgiving people without conditions and accepting their weaknesses as vulnerable human souls. Above and beyond anything, forgiving people for the sake of Allah removes all vengeance, worries, ill-will, and guilt from one’s heart.
Imagine having a grudge against your wife or husband, who is the closest person in your life, a person you share life with, yet still carrying stones of grudges in your heart for forgivable mistakes they made. It’s ridiculous to seek succor in supplication when you have blocked its way with an unforgiving heart.
Did not the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) say, “The merciful will be shown mercy by the Most Merciful? Be merciful to those on the earth, and the One in the heavens will have mercy upon you.”
Start forgiving people who are so close to you: your wife, your brother, your sister, your friend, and your colleagues. Replace your silent curses with an exclusive supplication full of sincere forgiveness. Through this, you will achieve a state of spiritual maturity where the mercy of Allah descends. It means a lot to receive the mercy of Allah in abundance. It may be that through this, all your supplications may be answered. Your humble approach to raising your hands up in dua, sincerely coming from the chakras of your heart, will open an unending stream of mercy from the celestial tablets.
If you combine a sincere heart with halal Rizq, repentance, obedience, trust in Allah, and the completion of all obligatory acts of worship, your prayers are likely to be accepted. One also needs to have full confidence in Allah and hope that if your prayers are not accepted immediately, Allah could be delaying them for your own sake or to protect you from harm. Many times, we ask for things that we do not know whether or not they are good for us.
Another important way to boost our chances is to build a high level of faith by thanking Allah for all the blessings of life. A feeling of gratitude helps us to recognize just how completely dependent we all are upon Allah (glory be to Him).
With all conditions of acceptance of dua observed, including having a brimming hope in Allah with a strong conviction that it will be accepted, sincere supplications can move mountains, opening up a new horizon for the one who learns its secrets.
