In the name of Allah, most Gracious, most Merciful.
Allah says in the Holy Quran: Call upon Me, and I will answer your prayers. Why then are some of our prayers not answered?
Ibrahim Ad’ham who was once the ruler of Khurasan was asked this question and responded with: “Because of ten things your hearts are dead; if a person has these ten bad qualities in him, how should God accept his prayer?’
The ten qualities are:
- You acknowledge Allah, you pretend to acknowledge Him, and yet you do not give His due
- You read the Quran, yet you do not observe it’s commands and prohibitions
- Although you say that Satan is your enemy, you follow and obey him
- You call yourselves members of the Ummah of Muhammad (S.A.W), yet you do not follow his examples
- You claim that you will go to paradise, yet you do none of the deeds required to gain entrance therein
- You wish to achieve salvation from the Fire of Hell, yet you throw yourselves into it by committing sin
- You know that death is inevitable, yet you make no preparation for it
- You pay a lot of attention to the faults of others, yet you do not see your own faults
- You consume the bounty of your Lord without showing gratitude
- You bury your dead without taking warning
Check yourself before you wreck yourself!
O Allah, graciously afford us the gift of faith and spirituality, and include us among those who achieve success and find salvation from the Hell fire… Ameen!