Duas Not Accepted

The Messenger of Allah (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) said: “By the One in Whose Hand is my soul! You will either command good and forbid evil, or soon Allah will send upon you a punishment from Himself, and you will call Him, and He will not respond to you.” [Ahmad]

Sins get in the way of Duas (supplication) being responded to. The sin mentioned in this hadith is to not enjoin good and not to forbid others from committing sins. To “command good” means to arouse others’ interest in doing those deeds that are pleasing to Allah (subhana wa ta’ala) and which He has defined as “good.”

Evil is not what my mind, feelings, society, or the charter of human rights, says is evil. Rather, evil is that which Allah (subhana wa ta’ala), Al-Aleem and Al-Hakeem, says is evil.

Appropriate means should be adopted to forbid evil: if a person has power, he must forbid evil using it. For example, a ruler must shut down brothels, inappropriate T.V. channels, shops that sell alcohol, or music, and crack down on the drug trade).

A ruler is responsible for all his people, a husband is responsible for his family, a mother for her children, etc. Additionally, all Muslims owe it to whoever they are in contact with to enjoin good and forbid evil. If a person does not have power he should merely advise others (as a scholar exhorts people) and hate that which displeases Allah (subhana wa ta’ala) from the bottom of his heart.

In general, it is easier to ask people to do good than it is to tell people to refrain from their evil deeds. People are more offended by the latter. However, both are equally important and not doing either can get in the way of our Duas being accepted.