Prayer (Dua) is a spiritual worship and a big bridge of communication through that servants of Allah realize the greatness of their Lord and feel peace and pleasure, especially when human becomes weak and incapacitated by other ways and solutions, and material tools are not useful and working for him and he got disappointed by their effect and anxiety and distress take over his whole being and he imagines himself worthless in the universe as nothing. In such a condition, human suddenly realizes the source of values and rediscovers his true value and rushes towards him to get again his spiritual and inner comfort and peace in his infinite mercy and thereby prove his position of servitude and avoid the evil of temptations. He may take away his inner peace be safe from the devil who always tries to misgiud him, because the only cause of inner peace is the remembrance of Allah Almighty, as we find it in His golden speeches and He said:
«الذین آمنوا وتطمئن قلوبهم بذکرالله ألا بذکر الله تطمئن القلوب» [رعد: 28]
Prayer is a great example of remembering Allah (S.W.T).
Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him says:
«الدعاء هو العبادة»[ترمذی: 1969]
Prayer (Dua) is to get rid of oneself and to reach Allah Almighty; Because remembering Allah restores the real value of a person and makes him a constructive and an active person, and prayer is a very effective factor to recovery from mental and emotional illnesses, and this concept is more evident in the attributes and names of Allah (S.W.T) as Allah says:
«ولله الأسماء الحسنی فادعوه بها»[اعراف: 180]
Because Allah Almighty has shared and benefited the man in every attribute of his and he likes to be the manifestation of his names and attributes so the meanings and concepts of the names and attributes are crystallized in him always. That’s why he wants us to call him with his beautiful names and high attributes and worship Him and whisper Him in all times. as the sweetness of worship is quite tangible in prayer, because it is a kind of acknowledgment of Allah’s oneness, and it is a face to face worship and conversation with Allah Almighty like prayer (Salaat).
Allah says:
«وقال ربکم ادعوني أستجب لکم»[غافر: 60]
Therefore, it is necessary to answer and accept Allah’s call and go forward to His uncountable mercies; Because prayer is like a sedative medicine, the use of which soothes the whole being of a person and brings complete peace to him and gives him hope after repeated disappointments, ultimately it opens a way and a solution beyond the control of material means and tools for its owner and ban and cancel the material impasses ways.
The meanings for the word Dua
The word Dua has different meanings in the holy Quran such as:
1- Worship; as Allah says in the surah of Younus peace be upon him:
«ولاتدع من دون الله مالاینفعک ولایضرک فإن فعلت فإنک إذاً من الظالمین»[یونس: 160]
2- Getting help;
«وادعوا شهداءکم من دون الله إن کنتم صادقین»[بقره: 23]
3- Requesting for; as Allah says in the surah Ghafer:
«أدعوني أستجب لکم»[غافر: 60]
4- calling and bawling;
«یوم یدعوکم فتستجیبون بحمده وتظنون إن لبثتم إلا قلیلاً»[إسراء: 52]
Apart these Dua has other meanings such; speech, praising and…
But Dua as an expression consists of supplicating and lamenting in front of Allah with questions, showing desire and interest in the blessings and goodness that are with him and supplication and moving towards that unique and holy essence in order to realize the goal and reach the desired and at hand Bringing what is human’s desire and wish.
The Virtue of Dua and its high position
Definitely Dua is of the loveliest and greatest worships in front of Allah as Seyyedna Abu-Hurairah may Allah be pleased with him narrated from the holy prophet that he said:
«لیس شئ أکرم علی الله من الدعاء»[مسند احمد: 8748]
Nothing is greater for Allah as Dua is.
Because man expresses his poverty, incapacity, and weakness in front of Allah’s infinite power and strength in prayer, and since prayer is the best form of worship, without a doubt, the supplicant will receive a reward, and by doing it, he will be rewarded. Even if its effect does not appear soon, its reward is insured by Allah Almighty and will be stored with Allah almighty.
The common situation of accepting the Dua
Muslim feels nearness to Allah by Dua as Allah said:
وإذا سألک عبادي عني فإني قریب أجیب دعوة الداع إذا دعان فلیستجیبوا لي ولیؤمنوا بي لعلهم یرشدون»[بقره: 18]
And He says in another place:
«ونحن أقرب إلیه من حبل الورید»[ق: 16]
According to the prayer that is a kind of worship, its quality and format must also be within the framework of the Shariah standards explained in the holy Qur’an and Sunnah, therefore two major things are necessary for accepting the Dua:
2- Dua must be as the Sunnah of the holy Prophet peace be upon him; the way and the method explained in the Ahadith and Sunnah of him must be followed as it is ordered or banned.
Allah says in the holy Quran;
«قل إن کنتم تحبون الله فاتبعوني یحببکم الله ویغفر لکم ذنوبکم والله غفور رحیم»
[آل عمران: 31]
Not Accepting the Prayers and Its Reasons and Wisdom
Non accepting the prayers is one of the calamities that a Muslim suffers in his daily life; Therefore, if someone finds himself in this situation, it is better not to allow any doubts and turn to Allah with more insistence and confidence and not stop praying even for a moment and strengthen the belief in himself that after this failure There are amazing and incredible answers, wisdom and secrets that if a Muslim person reflects on them; He will never give way to despair and hopelessness, but with full hope and great desire he must pray and pray because Allah said:
«أدعوني أستجب لکم»[غافر: 60]
Reasons and wisdom for not Accepting prayers
1- the delay response is a test that requires patience, just as immediate response is also a kind of test for which one should be grateful; Because Allah always tests human beings with all kinds of troubles and problems in order to reveal future’s position towards them, therefore, patience is considered as a form of worship Allah Almighty so the prophet peace be upon him says:
«عجبا لأمر المؤمن إنّ أمره کله خیر، و لیس ذالک لأحد إلا للمؤمن، إن أصابته سراء شکر، فکان خیرا له، و إن أصابته ضراء صبر، فکان خیرا له»[مسلم: 2999]؛
Therefore, it is necessary for human to seek refuge in prayer and supplications in times of adversity and in times of happiness, and always ask Allah for glory with perseverance and forgiveness and never get disappointed.
2. Allah Almighty is free to give and withhold His favors to His servants, if He gives a favor to someone, it is from His grace, and if He takes away His grace from someone, it is also from His justice as Allah says:
«ذلک فضل الله یؤتیه من یشاء والله ذوالفضل العظیم»[حدید: 21]
So, our only responsibility is continuous and persistent Dua and supplication, despite this, if Allah does not favor us, we must know that there is definitely a deficiency in us that we have been deprived of Allah’s grace, therefore, with a firm determination to pray and Dua. We must clean ourselves of impurities, dirt and filth.
3. Allah (S.W.T) has greater and transcendent wisdom, giving and granting blessings and not giving and depriving are done in accordance with his wisdom. But the wisdom of the greatness is necessary for their non-realization, because there may be expediency, misfortunes and problems hidden behind it, which a person is unable to understand and realize at the moment.
4- Allah’s selection for a servant is definitely better, Allah is more aware of the human interests and needs and is kinder to him and always has a sincere and generous interaction with him. Hazrat Sufyan Thori, may Allah be pleased with him, says: Allah’s non-forgiveness to his servants is the same as his forgiveness, because his blessings He does not withhold from them because of avarice; Rather, it is for their own benefit; Therefore, not forgiving and not giving is actually expediency and good planning on the part of Allah towards his servants and believers.
[Mdarej-Al-Salkin: 2/40]
5- Not following the prayer rituals is one of the reasons for prayer not being answered; Dua has a series of customs and conditions such as: respecting the time and place of dua and being free from forbidden food etc…; If these customs are not observed, there will be a disturbance in accepting the prayers.
The effect of prayer in life
1- Training effects: The greatest effect of prayer is the truth of worship that lies in it and causes the spiritual evolution of man and his humanity; Of course, it is possible that in some prayers there are signs of self-indoctrination and the like; But these works are like the movement of the “jaws” during eating, which, while it does the work of chewing food, it also exercises itself and is strengthened for this reason, this exercise cannot be considered the real benefit of eating; Rather, the real benefit of eating is to provide the necessary substances for the body, and the real benefit of prayer is to pay attention to Allah, such effects that sometimes result from some prayers are very small and are not considered as anything compared to the main benefit.
The greatness and perfection of human is to understand his poverty towards Allah and admit this truth; Because until he admits this truth and recognizes his poverty properly, he will not achieve human perfection. One of the things that makes a person come close to this knowledge or his knowledge becomes complete is prayer, and prayer itself is worship and the only way to progress. is also worship; Therefore, prayer is one of the ways of human evolution and greatness.
2- Marginal effects: To know Allah is the main reason for Dua and supplication, this knowledge is the root of all happiness and the cause of all reforms. It states that one of the benefits is paying attention to their descriptive meanings and completing human knowledge about Allah (S.W.T.).
When we recite Allah’s names such as:
الرحمان: the most Kind
الرحیم:the most Merciful
الغفور:Forgiving
السمیع: all Hearing
البصیر: all Seeing
المنعم: the Granter
And etc…, it is achieved that we have a kind, seeing, hearing and forgiving God, and as a result, we hope for His mercy and forgiveness. Contemplation and meditation on these attributes, he sees himself connected to God, that nothing is a problem in front of his power, there is no problem or ease for him at all, this issue gives new hope and vitality to a person who is disappointed from everywhere and everything.
3- Cleanliness and Purity: one of the rituals of Dua, is that the food of the Dua maker must be from Halal way and pure. And the place of Dua must be an allowed and Halal place. Dua makers people deal with such prayers will be a happy nation and live a pure and blessed life.
4- Suppression of the human ego (Nafs): the biggest and the greatest benefit of Dua and even all worship is to prevent the ego from overflowing, destroying selfishness means eradicating all moral defects and preparing oneself to acquire virtues as Allah says:
«قد أفلح من زکاها»[شمس: 9]
The Dua maker by standing in front of Allah and paying attention to His greatness considering his own smallness and humiliation, the person who prays expresses his complete poverty and need in front of Allah Almighty so the Dua maker sees himself as free from all creatures and only in need of Allah Almighty.
We get in conclusion that the prayer follows humility combined with self-restraint and self-respect, which brings the human and Dua maker closer to his Lord and teaches a servant to associate, whisper, and pray with Allah Almighty. He should always pay attention to its conditions and manners and whisper to his Lord and screed with Allah Almighty the Lord of the worlds.
