AN INATTENTIVE HEART
There are some conditions for the acceptance of Du’a, just as Salaah is an Ibaadat (Worship) and it has certain pre-conditions for its acceptance.
What are these conditions? The place must be clean. The clothes must be clean. The body must be clean and one must face the Qibla. These are all the pre-conditions for the acceptance of Salaah. If a person leaves out any of these conditions and performs his Salaah, then will his Salaah be correct? The answer is no and if a person leaves out a condition contemptuously, considering it to be a trivial matter, then this is a dangerous state of affairs. That is why there are certain pre-conditions for the acceptance of Du'a as well.
It is stated in the Hadith Shareef: “Allah Ta’ala does not accept the Du'a of a person whose heart is unmindful.”
We are supplicating with our tongues but the mind is somewhere else. Our attention is not focused on the Du'a we are making. Du'a has to be made with full conviction and concentration.
A certain pious person narrates that he saw a person in Makkah Mukarramah who, for the entire day, held himself to the cover of the Baitullaah. He was lifting his hands and making Du'a, but not for a single moment was his heart's attention focussed towards Allah Ta’ala. On the other hand he saw a person in Mina conducting business. He earned great profits but not for a single moment was the attention of his heart focussed away from Allah Ta’ala. This aayat is mentioned in the Qur’an Shareef,
“There are men whose trade does not distract them from the remembrance of Allah Ta’ala.’
This is the reason why a person making Du'a, does not have any of his Du’as accepted because the heart and mind are not present. We know that a person, who is mentally retarded, is perpetually talking on many things at the same time. He swears and praises you in one breath but nobody pays any attention to him because he is not saying it from his heart.
“An insane person does not have any intentions.”
That is why a Du'a which is made inattentively, not focussing with the heart, is not accepted.
“Words spoken from the heart have an effect
They do not have the wings to ascend, but they do”
~ Taken from the Discourses of Mufti Mahmood ul Hasan Gangohi RA ~ |