Suleiman Hani – 10 Reasons Du’aa Was Not Accepted

			One of the most common questions I receive and it's common generally in the communities that people
ask about, is with regards to do
		

			the salvation of the believer, the weapon of the believer, the liberation of the believer, the
connection to Allah, the greatest act of worship that everything else kind of is connected to
including Salah it is a link, it is a Selena dua, what is the status or the state of your DUA?
Today, if you were to grade yourself on a scale of one to 10, with regards to being a person of dua,
always calling upon Allah and knowing you're in need of Him, even for the things you think you are
in control of knowing that the DUA is accepted, believing as you make dua, that it is most the job,
believing that Allah was generous, asking, with a high standard of asking, asking with humility,
		

			asking persistently? How would we grade ourselves? So one of the most common questions we receive as
I've been making dua for so many years, and Allah has not answered my dua.
		

			And it's to the extent that many people all walks of life Old and young men and women doesn't really
matter. It's a common thought that some people have.
		

			So one uncle in one community asked, he came up and he said, Listen, I've been making to offer this
thing for over a decade. I did not see anything from it.
		

			He's like, so I stopped making dua for everything.
		

			And then, when I stopped making dua, I noticed I no longer felt connected to Salah that much. So I
started, I started skipping some prayers, missing some prayers. He's like, now I feel like I'm not
even connected to Allah at all. Just completely disconnected, and started with what cutting off do.
		

			And a side point here a lesson for all of us a really important lesson in terms of spiritual health.
The same way you recognize physical symptoms, and usually you will ask or look up or find out unless
you already know what that symptom means that it could be connected to something else of an illness,
may Allah grant us all Alfie and Shiva,
		

			we should recognize that cutting off dua is a symptom, a spiritual one, in which there is a
deficiency between us and Allah subhanaw taala in terms of our actions, that we are disconnected
from Allah, that the heart is becoming hardened. And so we need to be aware and raise the alarms for
ourselves and find a sense of urgency. The same way when you have certain physical symptoms, some
more than others, you rush to try to take care of it and resolve it. Because some types of symptoms
could lead to something worse, if they are not rectified if they are not treated. So if you caught
off do or you're not making a lot of dua, pay attention. Pay attention to the verses about job pay
		

			attention to that hadith about dua, read a book on dua, listen to a lecture about dua.
		

			When people ask, why is my dua not accepted? It usually indicates first and foremost that there's a
misunderstanding about how do I works and what do I is because do i at the end of the day is the
reflection and manifestation the exemplification of the believer, the humble human being who
recognizes they are in need of Allah, for everything, for everything, and that we want Allah's
pleasure. We want to be accepted, we want forgiveness. And we say often La hawla wala Quwata illa
biLlah it's no minor power except through Allah.
		

			Please silence your phones about a coffee.
		

			So when we talk about dua,
		

			we recognize when you take all of the Hadith and Iots, dua is answered, but in different forms. So
long as you are not asking for something haram, or the cutting off of family ties, your DUA is
answered, that's the default start with that my dua is accepted. This is what you think. However,
the acceptance of the door you persist with and your sincere way than your heart is present way than
you believe it's accepted, meaning that Allah will respond to my door, I believe it I trust in the
Promise of Allah, that you also recognize. The DUA is not only accepted in the form you asked for
this is not an online e commerce Store where you log in anytime you want. You buy something and you
		

			log out after a minute. That's not what this is. It's not a mall. It's not a store. It's not a
marketplace.
		

			No Jura comes in different forms. It's part of your lifestyle. It's not a one time thing where you
think you know what my life is easy. I have wealth I have a job I have a home I have a relationship.
But now there's this one thing that I don't have. Now let me ask Allah. That's not how it works. Do
as a relationship that shows for morning tonight. The shows how much you believe you are in need of
Allah. And this is why the believer generally the Sunnah of the Prophet salallahu alayhi salam is to
be making dua all the time for everything. You know, from the time you wake up, there's a DUA to the
time you're about to sleep and between you have more than 100
		

			Different types of dua in Africa for different occasions. Why? Recognising your need for Allah
		

			and to modificado in Allah O Mankind you are in need of Allah. Allahu Allah Honeyville Hamid Allah
subhanho wa Taala is self sufficient, he is not in need of us. And he is the most praised. Allah
subhanho wa taala. When He commands us to call upon him, or the Rooney a steady Blackcomb call upon
me, I will respond to you. We know that he will respond according to an authentic hadith and many
variations of these Hadith, it could be in the form you asked for, but at a later time, it's not the
best time for you right now. It could be in a different form. So you asked for something, you think
it's the best thing for you. But Allah subhanaw taala knows what's best for you and out of mercy and
		

			love for you gave you something better, but perhaps at a later time, right? You might love
something, it's bad for you, you might hate something, it's good for you. In the end, who really
knows the future will Allahu Jana more into Natal? And when Allah knows, and we do not know. So do
we trust more in what ALLAH SubhanA gives us? Or are we trusting more than what we desire?
		

			In addition to this, your DUA could be accepted by protecting you against calamities. And that's the
type of response to the DUA that you cannot see. Sometimes you may taste a fraction of it, that
something happened, but it was at a very small degree. And had you not been making dua that day or
that year, that week, it could have been catastrophic, could have been disastrous and change your
entire life trajectory. But it was because you were always making dua. Now imagine I want I want you
to think about this one example. This is from the Hadith by the way, I want you to think with this
example, that if on a particular day or particular year of your life, if somehow, Allah subhanaw
		

			taala removed the veil of the unseen and you could see how many times he saved you protected, you
alleviated your affairs because of a dua you're making for something unrelated, something different.
How would you feel? Wouldn't you be so grateful that you kept making dua grateful to Allah that He
protected you? Would you say I regret making dua No, absolutely not. Why? Because you trust in the
Promise of Allah that your DUA is accepted. In a form that is always good for you. It is always good
for you to be making a sincere humble, good dua. It's never wasted. And then another possibility, of
course, the DUA you make, that you don't see in this life could be saved for you as reward on the
		

			day of judgment. And that is the most precious currency on that day. That's what people be running
for looking for striving for that I'm in need of more good deeds. Imagine you come across mountain
ranges of rewards. And you say, what was this for? I don't remember what I did. What was this for?
That was the one do out you never gave up on for five years. That was the DUA you kept making for
your brothers and your sisters. That was the DUA you kept making for your family, your parents. Do
not ever let the shaytaan trick you into thinking that your DUA goes to waste. That's not a thought
in Islam. However, while dua is answered, as long as it is, again, something permissible, and it's
		

			not prohibited. Make sure and this is the second point, that you are not violating the rights of
Allah as a lifestyle. And then anytime you think you're in need of Allah, you turn to Allah subhanaw
taala say, Okay, now I want this thing. Once again, it's not an online store, you don't just go
around violating the rights of ALLAH SubhanA wa Tada and say, You know what, I want what I want on
my terms. And when Allah wants me to worship him, I want to worship him. That's not a relationship
that shows you think you are in need of Allah. That's not a relationship that shows humility towards
the Creator, may Allah forgive us and protect us. There are people and this is referenced many times
		

			in the Quran. There are people who only make dua, when they are going through hardship. When the
hardship is alleviated, they go back as though there was no hardship before meaning they go back as
though there is no relationship with Allah. And we have met people like this, who are atheist, and
still are atheists to this day and have admitted that they have called upon God when they went
through extreme hardship and they still rejected God after the thing was alleviated for them. That
examples mentioned the Quran but it's not only about disbelievers. This is also for us. Do not only
turn to Allah in times of hardship, turn to Allah is a lifestyle of gratitude. And on this note, our
		

			hookah today is really taken from one story from one report. From the time of the tabby rain. It was
mentioned that one of the greatest scholars of that time, Ibrahim Muhammad Rahim Allah walked into
the marketplace of Basra and as he walked by, because he's a scholar, a lot of people started coming
up to him. He made me Brahim is here Abu is half his nickname. He's here. So people walked up to
him, heard others asking questions. They started to ask questions. And then somebody said amongst
the people they asked, Oh, who was hot? Here's the question. Allah subhanho wa Taala says in his
book do Rooney a study Blackcomb call upon Me I will respond to you. But we have been
		

			Calling upon Allah for a long time and we have not seen an answer to our prayers to our dua.
		

			He responded with 10 pieces of advice.
		

			And every single one of these it's its own hardware, its own reminder, its own reflection. And as we
go through these 10 All I'm asking you to do in sha Allah to Allah is reflect on where you are with
this particular advice. The first thing that he said, he said, By the way, oh, people have muscle
your hearts have died with respect to 10 things meaning there's something that you're struggling
with in terms of your heart, that would change what you're experiencing and seeing first, you know,
Allah subhanaw taala, and yet you do not fulfill his rights. And how often as Muslims do we say we
know what the truth is, we tell our children, we tell non Muslims what we believe. And we're not
		

			fulfilling the rights of Allah. We say all of us here we know why we exist, to worship Allah and yet
we are not always worshipping Allah, oftentimes we are disobeying Allah subhanaw taala May Allah
forgive us and guide us Allahumma Amin, there are people who spend their entire lives their mission
in life, for social justice, and from the Islamic paradigm, activism and the restoration of justice
is a main part of Islam. However, there are many people that spend their lives pursuing the rights
and advocating for the rights of other human beings and different groups and for animals and for the
environment. But when it comes to the rights of the Creator of the universe, completely disregarding
		

			or neglecting Allah, completely ignoring and disobeying Allah subhanaw taala. And there should be of
course, a fulfillment of all rights. They are not mutually exclusive. There's a beautiful promise in
authentic hadith. Report by more adventure but all the Allahu And to paraphrase, that those who
fulfill the right of Allah by worshipping Him alone, are guaranteed to be protected from any
punishment in the next life, that you worship Allah subhanaw taala you follow the Prophet sallallahu
alayhi wa salam you're guaranteed to be saved in the next life? Is that not enough of a motivation?
Number two, here's a second you have read the Quran. You have read Allah's book, but you do not act
		

			upon it. How many times have we heard the same yard over and over and over again, and yet we do not
implement? How many years have we heard the same is how many hopeless? Have we heard the same ayat,
how many lectures reminders and books and often times with our children have we reflected on a
particular idea and yet we ourselves are not acting upon it. May Allah subhanaw taala forgive us and
guide us, a young man once in one of the Halaqaat that we have. He said, I used to recite the Quran,
not knowing what I was reading, not understanding. But I still felt and I noticed that times that it
was protecting me from certain things, that I was less tempted by certain things that I was more
		

			motivated to pray that I was more motivated to do good. He said I benefited a lot just from reading
the Quran, even though I did not understand at the time. Now I read it with understanding with TIF
seed, and I find myself protected by it preserved why we think we are preserving the plan. We're not
in that state anymore. We're not in that era anymore. The Quran is preserved, but the one who
memorizes and reads it and studies it is being preserved by the Quran. And there's a really
important reminder here which is that knowledge comes with a responsibility of action. Knowledge
requires action. Right in Islam requires a hammer, and in fact, the loss of goodness in society and
		

			the Ummah and the state of the Ummah deteriorating, starts with those who know not acting upon what
they know. May Allah subhana wa Tada, forgive us, protect us and guide us along me. Third, he says,
You claim to love Allah's Messenger sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, and yet you abandoned his sunnah.
		

			Think about your last week, the last Friday to this Friday. The record of deeds that you have if the
Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam could see just this one week of your life, how would he feel in
terms of your fulfillment as a believer of the rights of Allah and following the Sunnah? How would
the Prophet sallallahu ISON perceive that last week of your life? Would he be happy? This person
clearly while they're working while they're taking care of their kids while they're studying? X
number of hours that week this person is holding on to the truth this person is holding on to the
Sunnah of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam Are we living up to that sunnah with gratitude,
		

			appreciation? Or are we neglecting it, heedless of it, ignoring it? Out of fear at times of looking
different in society or acting different in society or out of embarrassment or maybe out of
ignorance or laziness? May Allah subhanaw taala forgive us? True love for the messenger Salallahu
Alaihe Salam shows up and how much you're trying to follow his sunnah and learn about his life out
of his Salatu was Salam. Number four, he says to them, the people again who are asking why is the
dua not answered. You claim to be enemies to shaitan and yet you conform to his ways. The clear
command in the Quran a commander oftentimes we forget about in the shaytaan Docomo do one fatality
		

			do who are do what the devil is an enemy to you. So take him indeed as an enemy. May Allah subhanaw
taala protect us all and our loved ones and make us amongst those who really
		

			Understand the command and follow it here, that you are not living your life recklessly. You're not
just going through the world and going through social media, without any kind of guard or filter
about what you're doing, but what might enter your heart about the thoughts that enter your mind and
you say, Oh, the Rila administrate ology and you move on. We have to be very cautious and that's
what Taqwa is. It is for you to be cautious because you know who Allah is. You're not too reckless,
you're not playing with fire, the devil is trying to misguide you. And if you know that, and you do
not see it physically, you're going to see it through different things in your life and society. May
		

			Allah subhana wa Tada, protect us, guide us and forgive us along the mean, and manifestation of
that. One example of that is when someone is doing something wrong, a Muslim knows they're doing
something wrong. And they read something online. Here's something on social media, somebody advises
them to hear in a heartbeat. And they don't feel remorse. Or if they feel remorse and discomfort,
they start to feel like they're being judged and attacked, and they don't like that feeling. So
rather than change the wrong thing that they're doing, they start insulting the one who is advising,
they start being angry at the reminder itself. Rather than saying, If I'm doing something wrong, I
		

			should want to be better, I should want to change, I should want these reminders. Remind we all need
reminders whether can fit in a declutter environment, meaning the reminders benefit the believers.
Number five, he says to them, you claim, you love paradise, you claim you love Paris, and yet you do
not work for it. We always give this example. Someone who is working right now a full time job and
you get paid bi weekly, or monthly or whatever.
		

			If you suddenly decided you're not going to work anymore,
		

			and you expect it falsely, that's for no reason whatsoever, your company will continue to pay you
there's no problem. You know what stopped working for a year will still pay you the same will still
continue to give you what you want. You're a university student or a high school student, and your
professor gives you a syllabus or you know what you need to do and you skip all the exams, all the
assignments, everything and you say well, I hope that I will pass I hope that I'll do well. We don't
do that. And that's so ridiculous. The fact that we have to give this examples ridiculous because we
don't do that people don't do that. That's false hope. And yet with Allah we do that with Jana.
		

			Oftentimes we do that. We say I want to Jana, I really want to be in paradise. We read about it, we
hear about it. We get motivated in that moment. The palaces of Jana the rivers of Jana, the trees of
Jana they kill the plants, your gardens of Jana the reunions with loved ones in Jana, the fact that
families will be upgraded together in Jana, the fact that you will meet the prophets and the
messengers and the righteous if you enter Jannah the fact that you can have whatever you want to
know who Maria Shafi her forever in Jana, and the most important thing, meeting Allah subhanaw taala
in paradise, we say we want all of that. And then what are we planting the seeds that we are
		

			planting or the the seeds of Jannah when from the time we woke up to this moment to the time we go
to sleep, and there are very basic things Allah is asking of us. Worship Allah subhanaw taala follow
His command stay away from the few prohibitions in life and everything else in between his mobile,
there are many permissible things in this world. So we say we want to Jana, do we really work hard
for it? Or are we lazy with everything that leads to Jana? How do you expect to unlock you know, a
gate of Jana, figuratively, if you don't have the right key if you're not working for it.
		

			Some people work harder throughout the year
		

			planning and work for their annual vacations and resorts and whatever it may be, then they're
working for an eternal home. And that's a very sad reality, if not by him rahamallah He talks about
how short this life is. He says it is foolishness for someone to neglect and eternity of happiness
for an hour of heedlessness an hour of lust May Allah subhana wa Tada grant us the highest levels of
Jannah and the actions that lead to Jannah. Every single thing in the Quran that talks about
paradise is linked to something you did in this world does that and be Macondo Cameroon, it's a
reward for what used to do not want us to claim. So if you say I want to gender, make sure your
		

			actions reflect that and that your children as well are motivated towards that. May Allah subhanaw
taala guide us along with me. Number six, he says you say you fear the hellfire and yet you put
yourselves closer to it. By sending you play with fire by sending you open the doors that lead to
other sins, and at times we become desensitized. We're living in what's called the postmodern era,
post truth era in which a lot of people don't have clarity on what the truth is. And this could
impact Muslims in some way when some Muslims start to think, oh, everything is equally valid.
Everything is equally true when it comes to religion. And they start to be affected in their own
		

			Eman. They start to accept things that ALLAH SubhanA wa Tada detest and despises. When we talk about
this era that we're in, one of its main characteristics is that it's all about what you desire, what
you desire goes, whatever makes you happy, chase it. What if the thing you desire is harmful for
you. There's a difference between what you desire and what the truth is. And sometimes we may desire
things that are harmful.
		

			Other times we will desire things that are good for us. And we can see this not just with religious
matters, we can see this with something as simple as food or exercise, that many people in America
today, in this country, especially many people today are eating in a way that is damaging to their
physical being to their mental state. Many people are slacking off when it comes to taking care of
their bodies, which is for us an act of worship.
		

			And when we bring up this point, the reality here is that Allah subhanaw taala gives us the
reminders that we need to protect what we have to protect what is good. So when you play with fire,
in a time like this, what you're really doing is chasing after some value system. You're chasing
after your desires. After what society wants after validation and being cool and accepted by others
online or offline or being an influencer, whatever else it may be. And the reality is, at the end of
the day, we cannot afford to play with fire. If you cannot afford to play with an actual fire in a
dunya and you cannot touch it in this world. What about the fire of the afterlife? May Allah
		

			subhanaw taala protect us. Some people are more afraid of consequences of secular law. Some people
are driving on the highways and we see them. And we all know this. And perhaps we'll say we see them
because it's not about us. Right? You see people slowing down following the law when they see a cop
when they see a state trooper. Right? What are they afraid of? Are they afraid that they might hurt
other people if they get into an accident? No, they're afraid of getting ticketed, they're afraid of
authority, they're afraid of a consequence. So there's a deterrence in place, which is the actual
consequence of paying the fine or getting pulled over. And that's when that person decides I'm going
		

			to follow the law out of fear. And the reality is, we see so many different signs, so many different
warnings from Allah subhanho wa taala. That we are in need of, and yet at times, we are not anxious
to avoid the haram. In fact, it's become normalized, in our homes or in our societies. May Allah
subhanaw taala protect us from ever playing with fire in this life so that we are saved from the
fire of the next life alone. I mean, seven, he says to these people were asking about their dua
being accepted. He said, You say death is true. That is a reality, but you do not prepare for it.
We've seen millions in the last two years, millions of people passed away due to the pandemic
		

			millions of people pass away for many other reasons, many other diseases, many other problems, many
other struggles, we see many people displaced due to wars and conflicts. And we see the cycles of
life and death all the time in our bodies. In the seasons around us. As we notice, especially here
in Michigan, we see these signs all the time, death and life, people entering this world and people
leaving this world, you're praying janazah and the very next day someone was born. And so my point
here is that while we see all the signs and all human beings agree that death is inevitable, we do
not all embrace it and prepare for what comes after it. And this is why we go to this one Hadith of
		

			autonomy in which the Prophet sallallahu ryson tells us the intelligent person is the one who holds
himself accountable. Well, I mean that email abandonment and you prepare for what comes after death.
When the IGs do the foolish lazy person is the one who follows their desires without any boundaries.
What termina laundy had false hope in Allah, I'm going to do the wrong thing. And yet I expect it
after death, everything will be easy. Allah subhanaw taala gives us reminders. Allah subhanaw taala
gives us reminders, Allah subhanaw taala gives us reminders, Let us act on these reminders. Number
eight, he says you busy yourselves with the faults of other people and you disregard your own and
		

			Wallahi this is something we see today and it has existed then and it will always exist to Allah
Tala Adam, the people who, for example, on social media, all they are doing is looking for faults
and others. And sometimes it's within a family too. It could be maybe a family member, it could be
the father, the mother, it could be one of the children. All these individuals are doing in society
is pointing out the faults of other people, and they disregard their own. If people try to advise
them, they are the most arrogant egoistic of people. And the reality is we need to be cautious when
it comes to people who formed their entire identities and followings on constantly criticizing and
		

			attacking others. There's a distinction between scholars who are talking about matters and a random
person who tries to claim that they are scholars or students of knowledge and whatever it may be,
just constantly looking to fault others out of envy, out of arrogance, out of jealousy and on and on
and on. This is a trap of shape on because the believer who sees a mistake in another believer is
supposed to call his brother talk to his brother advise his brother why the point is not to
humiliate. The point is to correct for their own sake and for the Ummah sake. And so when you see
people doing this, they usually are neglecting their own selves their own neffs of hustle and
		

			bustle. rahamallah He says, when a believer seeks knowledge with the right intention, when you learn
for the right reasons, you will notice it because your actions will change. And amongst the things
that change in your life when you act or you seek knowledge in order to act is that you will no
longer be focused so much on others because you're distracted by your own mistakes. You're trying to
become better. And this is the real
		

			altar of the believer May Allah subhanaw taala guide us, number nine. Number nine, he says you
consume the blessings of Allah and yet you are not grateful for them. Allah has given us so much the
things you can see and count and reflect on and the things we cannot even possibly begin to measure.
Why in Tarot diameter Hola, hola hola. And it's not just about your life, or your body, also the
blessings of life in general the blessing of this world that we are in the blessing of time that we
were given, how many blessings do we have that we were not grateful for until we were tested with
it? How often when people are tested with an illness do they start to say my jaw now hurts and I
		

			wish I was thankful for the last 3040 50 years of my life for something that we just overlook every
day. A person who said he had to swallow his food as a liquid for two months after a surgery. He
said Never in my life that I thank Allah so much for every single part of our bodies that we forget
about. And that's the thing that you can see and identify, what are the what about the blessings we
cannot see? And of course, the most important blessing, the blessing of guidance to Islam, how
thankful are we for this blessing, when so many people are looking for it? May Allah subhanaw taala
keep us grateful. True gratitude is to worship Allah in times of ease and times of difficulty. And
		

			we all know that here in the United States, compared to many other places around the world that we
have. It's really good at hamdulillah despite the areas of shortcoming in the society and the
systems that need to be improved and the many oppressions here as well. We know we generally have it
better than many other people. So let us be grateful for all that we have by reflecting on those who
have less than us as the Prophet salallahu alayhi salam instructed, and finally number 10, he says
you Bury Your Dead, and yet you take no lessons from them. You bury people all the time you pray
Janessa you hear the announcement, you say it Nadella we're in a in a hit on your own. We see these
		

			signs and yet we do not take lessons from them. Imagine every time someone left his house, and they
walked the corner, they turn the corner every single time there's a part of the sidewalk that they
kept tripping on that was messed up, they kept tripping and getting her tripping, getting her
tripping and getting hurt, didn't learn a lesson a single time eventually, it becomes a serious
injury. Now there is a sign that's placed until they fix the sidewalk and this person sees the sign
they ignore the sign and they continue getting hurt. This is a clumsy analogy. And it's not
equivalent to the point here, which is often times we do receive all the signs and more and more and
		

			more and we ignore the signs and do not take lessons until it's too late. May Allah subhanaw taala
protect us, forgive us guide us and elevate our ranks Allama meet and make us amongst those who are
constantly seeking to fulfill his rights and to call upon him continuously ask Allah for forgiveness
here. Here's the offer giving the Ever Merciful.
		

			hamdu lillah wa Salatu was Salam ala Rasulillah while early he was Sufi woman wider.
		

			Let us make dua throughout our lives Let us make dua in sujood let us make dua for our families and
in front of our families and behind their backs as well. Let us make dua sincerely knowing that it
is accepted so long as you don't ask for something prohibited. Ask Allah knowing the Rooney a steady
black comb is a way of life that you are responding to Allah by submitting to him and Allah subhanaw
taala is responding to you every time you call upon Him. And so once again to summarize the 10
things inshallah Tada and this is recorded for those who asked for these references later. The
scholar said to these people who asked about their dua number one, you know Allah but you do not
		

			fulfill his rights. Number two, you read the Quran, but you do not act upon it. Number three, you
claim to love the messenger of allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam and yet you abandoned his sunnah.
Number four, you claim to be enemies of the devil and yet you conform to his ways. Number five, you
say you love paradise and yet you do not work for it. Number six, you say you fear of the Hellfire,
and yet you place yourselves closer to it by sinning. Number seven you say death is true, but you do
not prepare for it. Number eight, you busy yourselves with the faults of others and you disregard
your own. Number nine you consume the blessings of Allah upon you but you are not grateful for them.
		

			And number 10 You bury the dead and you take no lesson from them. May Allah subhanaw taala guide us
and allow us to be amongst those who seek for our hearts to be awakened and to act properly and to
act consistently until our last breath