If a Muslim is falling short in his worship and obedience, that should make him feel that he is not worthy of having his du’aa’ answered, and perhaps that will motivate him to do more acts of worship and obedience that will bring him closer to Allaah. If the caller believes that he has done that which Allaah loves and is pleased with, and that he deserves an answer, that will make him think badly of his Lord, may He be exalted, and will make him feel let down and begin to despair, until he wishes that he could escape from life by committing suicide. All of that, unfortunately, we can see in your words.
This is unlike the one who is aware of his shortcomings before his Lord. This will make him think badly of himself, not of his Lord, may He be glorified and exalted, and that will motivate him to keep away from forbidden things and do obligatory things, and to follow the path of piety, and to avoid overindulging in permissible things which may distract him from obeying his Lord.
Ibn Rajab al-Hanbali (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: It was narrated that ‘Umar Ibn al-Khattaab (may Allaah be pleased with him) said:
By avoiding that which Allaah has forbidden, Allaah will accept du’aa’ and
tasbeeh. And it was narrated that Abu Dharr (may Allaah be pleased with
him) said: “The amount of du’aa’ with righteousness that is sufficient
is like the amount of salt that is sufficient with food.” And Muhammad
ibn Waasi’ said: A little du’aa’ is sufficient with piety.
One of the salaf said: Do not expect a response when you have blocked the way with sins. One of the poets also commented on this by saying:
We call upon Allaah for every hardship, then we forget Him when the hardship is relieved.
How can we hope for an answer to our du’aa’s, when we have blocked its way with sins?
Jaami’ al-‘Uloom wa’l-Hukam (1/107, 108).
Al-Qurtubi (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:
It was said to Ibraaheem ibn Adham: Why is it that we supplicate and receive no response?
Hesaid because you know Allaah but you do not obey Him, and you know theMessenger but you do not follow his Sunnah, and you know the Qur’aan
but you do not act in accordance with it, and you eat from the
blessings of Allaah but you do not give thanks for them, and you know
Paradise but you do not seek it, and you know Hell but you do not flee
from it, and you know the shaytaan but you do not fight him rather you
agree with him, and you now death but you do not prepare for it, and
you have buried the dead but you do not learn a lesson from that, and
you ignore your own faults and are preoccupied with other people’s faults.
Tafseer al-Qurtubi (2/312).
Study this brilliant passage from the writings of Ibn al-Jawziconcerning this matter. He (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:
"
I think part of the test is when a believer supplicates and receives no
response, and he repeats the du’aa’ for a long time and sees no sign of
a response. He should realize that this is a test and needs patience.
What a person experiences of waswaas when the response is delayed is a
sickness which needs medicine, I have experienced this myself. A
calamity befell me and I supplicated and did not see any response, and
Iblees tarted to lay his traps. Sometimes he said : The generosity (of
Allaah) is abundant and He is not miserly, so why is there a delay?
I said to him: Be gone, O cursed one, for I have no need of anyone to argue my case and I do not want you as a supporter!
Then I told myself: Beware of going along with his whispers, for if
there was no other reason for the delay except that Allaah is testing
you to see whether you will fight the enemy, that is sufficient wisdom.
My soul (nafs) said: How could you explain the delay in
the response of Allaah to your prayers for relief from this calamity?
I said: It is proven with evidence that Allaah, may He be glorified and
exalted, is the Sovereign, and the Sovereign may withhold or give, so
there is no point in objecting to Him. "
2 – The wisdom behind that is proven in definitive evidence. I may think that something is good, but wisdom does not dictate it, but the reason for that may be hidden, just as a doctor may do things that appear outwardly to be harmful, intending some good purpose thereby. Perhaps this is something of that nature.
3 – There may be an interest to be served by delay, and haste may be harmful. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “A person will be fine so long as he does not become impatient and says, ‘I
prayed but I did not receive any answer.’”
4 – The response may be withheld because of some fault in you. Perhaps there was something dubious in what you ate or your heart was heedless at the time when you said the du’aa’, or your punishment is being increased by
means of your need being withheld, because of some sin from which you
have not repented sincerely.
So look for some of these reasons, so that you might achieve your aim.
5 – You should examine the intention behind this request, because attaining it may lead to more sin, or prevent you from doing some good, so ithholding it is better.
It was narrated that one of the salaf used to ask Allaah to help him to go out on campaign, but a voice called out to him: If you go out on campaign you will be taken prisoner, and if you are taken prisoner you will become a Christian!
6 – Perhaps losing what you have missed out on will cause you to turn to Allaah and getting it will distract you from Him. This is obvious, based on the fact that were it not for this calamity you would not have turned to Him, because the real calamity is what distracts you from Him, but what makes you stand before Him is good for you and is in your best interests.
If you ponder these things you will focus on what is more beneficial for you, such as correcting a mistake or seeking forgiveness or standing before Allaah and beseeching Him, and forget about what you have missed out on . End quote.
Sayd al-Khaatir (59-60).
And Allaah is the Source of strength.
Islam Q&A
Subject: Why doesnt Allaah answer our duaas? part2 
Mon Jan 05, 2009 10:03 am
