Why Your Dua Might Not Be Answered
The Conditions of Accepted Dua: Purity as the Foundation of Divine Response
Summary
This lecture discusses the comprehensive nature of Islamic teachings by referencing Al-Nawawi's collection of 42 hadith (expanded to 50 by Ibn Rajab), which serve as the foundational principles of the Prophet's Sunnah. Sh. Ali Mashhour explains that the Sunnah is largely derived from the Prophet's understanding of the Quran, with Divine confirmation through the angel Jibril. The core teaching centers on a hadith from Abu Huraira about purity (tahara), emphasizing that Allah is pure and only accepts what is pure. Sh. Ali Mashhour elaborates that purity encompasses not just physical consumption of halal food and drink, but also what we consume through our senses—what we watch, listen to, and think about.
The lecture then presents a detailed analysis of a hadith describing a man on a journey who makes extensive dua with multiple enhancing factors (raised hands, use of the name 'Rabb', travel, humility), yet his dua is not accepted because his sustenance, clothing, and drink are from haram sources. Sh. Ali Mashhour uses this to illustrate that dua, like salah, has conditions and prohibitors. Just as salah requires wudu, intention, proper timing, and covering of awrah to be valid, dua requires that a person consume only that which is halal and pure. The lecture emphasizes that consuming haram nullifies dua before it even leaves one's lips, and those whose prayers go unanswered must examine whether they have fulfilled the conditions of dua rather than blaming Allah.
Note: This transcript was generated using YouTube's automatic captioning, with AI-assisted cleanup for readability. It may contain inaccuracies due to background noise, audio quality, or limitations of the transcription software — particularly during Arabic recitation. Listener discretion is advised; please refer to the original video for precise wording.
The Nawawi Rahimullah mentions the narration here. This is considered one of the encompassing, most comprehensive narrations in all of the Sunnah. So much so that Al-Hafiz An-Nawawi Rahimullah made this one of the select 42 narrations that he chose for that very important, very grave, and and substantial book. And so, the point of that book, and why it's important for us to point out that it was included in the 40 narrations, is that that book aims to comprehensive statements of the prophet Sallallahu alaihi wasallam. So comprehensive that when we look at that book, 42 narrations in total, Al-Hafidh ibn Rajab came after and added eight more narrations. So he made them 50 in total. Every single verse in the Quran can be rooted back to one of those 50 narrations. Every single one. Every single verse. Those narrations draw from every one of the verses of the Quran and every one of the verses of the Quran draw from those 50 narrations. And this is why students typically begin with memorizing those 50 narrations because they are essentially more or less the foundation of all of the prophet Sallallahu alaihi wasallam's Sunnah. Let me ask you a question. Where does most of the Sunnah come from? I mean, we know that it's revelation. It's wahy, right? But is is it to be understood that every single statement he made, Jibril came down and told him verbatim, "Say these exact words in this exact order" every time he spoke? Is that how the Sunnah works? No, that's not how the Sunnah works. The Sunnah of the prophet Sallallahu alaihi wasallam is largely, if not mostly, based on the confirmation of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Meaning that Allah sends down the Quran, the prophet Alayhi Wasallam learns from it. And he extrapolates much of his words from the Quoran. And if he is to make a mistake, Jibril will immediately correct him. If he does not make a mistake, and that is incredibly rare, right? We only have like five or six instances in the whole Sunnah, and there was a purpose to that mistake. It was to learn something. If Jibril does not correct him, then it is assumed that it is what? It is correct. What he says is derivative of the Quoran. Largely, if not most, of everything he said is what he understood from the Quoran. And this is why we always begin with the Quoran. Because in order to properly properly contextualize the Sunnah, we have to understand where he draws most of his conclusions from.
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Allah says that he sent down the Quoran upon the prophet Alayhi Wasallam so that he would judge between the people with that which Allah has shown him. Al Shafi said, "Every single judgment the prophet made was all from a result of what he understood from the Quran. Here we get a direct reference from the prophet Sallallahu alaihi wasallam to the Quran. He says, Abu Huraira narrates that the messenger of Allah Sallallahu alaihi wasallam said, "Oh people, indeed Allah is pure and good and he will only accept that which is pure and good. And indeed Allah has commanded the believers with the same thing that he has commanded the messengers. Allah has said to the messengers, 'Oh messengers, eat and consume from that which is good and pure and do righteous.' And he has said to the believers, 'Oh you who have believed, consume and eat from that which is good and pure of what we have blessed you with, what we have sustained you with.' So, what do we understand from this? We understand that in order for a person to be accepted by Allah, they have to be what? Pure. This is a purity that a person has to have in order to be fit to be accepted by Allah. And the first thing that the human being is is what he consumes, what you put into your body of anything is going to result in what your body is made up of. I think that's pretty clear, right? And we're not just talking about food. Food is only one of the many, many, many things that human beings consume. We're talking about food, drink, we're talking about what you listen to, what you watch, what you look at, what you smell, what you feel, what you do. Any action that you take is type of consumption. You are consuming. You are taking this physical outside world and you are putting it into your heart and into your soul. And so, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has commanded that we only consume that which is pure. Because Allah is pure and will only accept that which is what? That which is pure. And this teaches us why there are some people that have to go to the hellfire before they go into paradise. Why? To burn out and burn off all of the impurities that they have accumulated because of their misdeeds before they can be allowed into the purest of places, which is paradise. Correct? We've spoken about the the connectivity between the people of paradise and paradise itself. We've spoken about this before. That paradise is a living place, a living breathing place that is connected on some level to the people that it inhabit it. And that is why it moves with the people and it accommodates the people in a way that is beyond words. When they desire something, all they have to do is merely desire it and it is presented by this place of paradise. Why? Because it is a result of their deeds. It is an extension of them. And so, a person will only be accepted when a person is pure or purified. And this is why Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says qad aflaha man ishq qad aflaha man tazakka very good. That's not the one I had in mind. Another one qad aflaha man zakkaha tazakka same meaning more or less. And that is who is the successful? The one who has purified and enhanced his soul, his nafs. Because zakah is not just purification, it's enhancement as well. A zakah fil lughah huwa an namuw. It's something that grows. So it is an enhancement and a purification. So what are we commanded to do? We understand this principle. What is the principle? Allah is pure and will only accept that which is pure. The only thing that is of Allah is that which is pure. Okay. And so where does our purity begin? With what we consume. And we can only be as good in our actions as we are good in our consumption. If we consume filth, we can never produce good. Right? And this is why it's very dangerous that a person allow even his mind to ponder and think about negative things. Because what is a person's thoughts? Every single deed, good or bad, always begins where? With the thought. He then says thumma dhakara rajulun yutilu safara ash'atha aghbara ash'ath ya'ni sha'ruhu ghayr mumashshat aghbar yamuddu yadaihi ila as-sama' ya rabb ya.
[Arabic recitation]
Sallallahu alaihi wasallam gave an example of a man who is in a long journey. His hair is uncombed. His clothing is dusty from that journey. He is extending and reaching his hands out to the heavens saying, "Ya Rab, oh Lord, oh Rab, Rab." All right, so he's making dua. So, these are five things that make a person that enhance a person's dua. Why do we raise our hands in dua? Because raising the hands in dua is an enhancement to our dua. Certain words that we use are an enhancement to our dua. When we go to a certain place and make dua there, it's an enhancement to our dua. These are five enhancing elements to this man's dua. First of all, his hair is unkempt and his clothing is dusty. He is on a long travel. The travel is something that enhances a person's dua. So much so that the prophet Sallallahu alaihi wasallam tells us that the dua of the traveler is accepted by Allah. What does that mean accepted? Meaning it is enhanced. It is more likely to be accepted by Allah. He raises his hands, which is another enhancer of dua. And he uses Ya Rab. And Ya Rab or Rab, this particular word, this name of Allah, this is one of the greatest enhancers of dua of all of the names of Allah. That's why in all the major duas in the Quran, what is the word that is used to refer to Allah? Rab. Rab.
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The messengers in their dua,.
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Rabbi. So, these are five enhancers of dua, right? Humility and travel and However, he's still not his dua is not accepted. Why? Why is his dua not accepted? The prophet tells us sallallahu alayhi wasallam, his food is from haram. And his drink is from haram. And his clothing is from haram. And he has nourished his body from haram. So, how could this man's dua ever be accepted? That's how he says it. He frames it in that way. How could it ever be accepted? Will Allah always accept a person's dua? Dua has conditions and it has prohibited prohibitors. Things that if a person does it, it will prohibit their dua from being accepted. Right? Mawani. And so, when a person makes dua, the essential or the natural state of Allah's connection with his creation,.
[Arabic recitation]
Your Lord has proclaimed and said, "Call upon me and I will respond." However, if a person does something that prohibits response or if a person fails to fulfill a condition of dua, then it's the same thing as salah. Salah has conditions, right? Salah has pillars, it has obligations, it ha it has things that nullify it, correct? And dua is no different. And one of the nullifiers of dua is what? That a person eats, drink, clothe himself, sustain himself, nourish himself with haram. Either something that is haram in itself or something that has been acquired by way of haram. This is a man of dua. This will stop a person's dua. It will nullify a person's dua before it even makes it past his lips. And so, a lot of times when people say, you know, I I prayed, but my prayers were not answered. Allah said, Falyastajibuli. Hal antastajabta lillah qabla an yujibak Allah? Allah said, "Make dua to me, I will answer. If you If my slaves ask you about me, I am near. I answer the dua of those who call upon me and pray to me, so let them in turn respond to my call. Have you responded to Allah's call before making the dua? Right? It is no different than a person saying, "I made salah, but my salah was invalid." Did you make wudu? Did you make ghusl? Did you cover your awrah? Did you face the qibla? Did you make salah in its time? Did you have intention? These are all conditions of salah. If any one of them is not fulfilled, then the salah is invalid. Very simple. Right? And so, dua is no different. It has conditions, it has pillars, it has mawani. And if a person sabotages himself, then he has no one but himself to what? To blame.