Why some prayers are not answered?

Prayer is the most important spiritual sanctuary and form of supplication to their Lord for a believing individual. In the Holy Quran Surah Ghafir verse 60 it is clearly commanded to man to pray by stating Your Lord says Call upon Me I will respond to you. Despite this many believers feel disappointed that their prayers are outwardly not answered for a long time. This situation stems from not fully understanding the meaning of prayer and the mechanism of its acceptance. However Islamic scholars explain this situation with the principle that responding is different from accepting. That is Allah hears and responds to every prayer but granting the exact request depends on His absolute wisdom and what is best for the worshipper. The nonacceptance does not mean that the prayers are in vain but rather a sign that the prayer will manifest in different ways.

The obstacles to the acceptance of prayer or the reasons why a prayer is answered differently are explained in detail in both hadiths and the works of Islamic scholars. Firstly not adhering to the conditions of prayer can prevent its acceptance. The Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him in a hadith questioned the prayer of a man whose food drink and clothing were unlawful saying How can such a persons prayer be accepted (Muslim Zakat 65). This hadith shows the immense importance of lawful sustenance and a pure life for the acceptance of prayer. Furthermore a hadith in Tirmidhi states that Allah does not accept prayers made with a heedless heart. This emphasizes that prayer must be made with sincerity and complete certainty. In Risale i Nurs Twenty Third Word this issue is clarified and it is emphasized that the essence of prayer is worship. Bediuzzaman Said Nursi states that Worship has its fruits in the hereafter indicating that the true fruits of prayer belong to the afterlife and worldly goals are only the occasions for that prayer. For example the prayer for rain is not offered just to bring rain but because the drought itself is an occasion for worship.

In conclusion instead of saying the prayer was not accepted one should say the time for the prayer has not yet ended. The mechanism of prayer acceptance is likened to a sick child asking a doctor for medicine. Although the child asks for a specific medicine the doctor will either give the exact request or something better for the child or nothing at all if it is known to be harmful. Allah Almighty by His wisdom either grants the worshippers request exactly or reserves something better for them as a great reward in the afterlife. Thus even if a prayer seems unanswered in this world it is recorded in the afterlife and considered accepted. In this way both Allahs name Mujib ud Dawat The Responder to Prayers is manifested and the worshippers temporary desires are transformed into eternal rewards. Prayer is a secret of worship and requires trust in Divine wisdom. / 2025-10-19 01:02:27