26. CONDITIONS OF ACCEPTING DUA
I realised that my ‘self-acts in surprising ways; it asks Allah for what it needs and forgets the crimes its committed!
I rebuked it, ‘O evil self (nafs al-su), how could a person like you dare to speak!
If you ever should utter a word, it should be to ask for His forgiveness alone.’
It replied, ‘Then from whom should I ask what I need?’ I replied, ‘How stubborn are you to realise the intended. I only advise you to repent sincerely then ask for what you want.’
It is similar to how we advise the one who intends to travel in order to commit a sin. If you had no food except a dead animal you find, it is unlawful for you to eat it. If one says, ‘Would you let him die then?’ We reply, ‘No he should repent from the sin he intended and then to eat.’
How dare you to ask for your needs while forgetting the preceding sins that should keep your head remain low? All you need to do is to busy yourself fixing your previous mistakes and regretting your sins, and then you shall receive what you asked for. It is as has been reported, “He who remembers me abundantly to ask me for his needs, I will grant him the best of what I grant those who ask.”
Bishr al-Hafi used to raise his hands to supplicate but then he would return them and say: ‘A person like me should not ask as my sins make me too ashamed to ask.’
Though this is specific to Bishr due to his profound knowledge of Allah, when he was asking he was too shy to ask due to his shortcomings as if he was asking Allah face to face. The people of heedlessness (ghafla) on the other hand, ask while they are far away from Allah!
You should therefore understand what I have mentioned and busy yourself in repenting from your sins. Besides that, I wonder at the supplications you make! You do not even ask a matter from the matters of this worldly life that are considered important. Rather, you ask for the surplus and do not bother asking for your heart to be rectified in the manner you ask for worldly affairs.
Be resolute and take control of your affairs because your heedlessness makes you stand on the edge of a cliff. Let your grief over your sins busy you from thinking of your needs.
Imam al-Hasan al-Basri was known as being an extremely Godfearing person (shahid al-kawf) and when he was asked about that he said, ‘I have no guarantee that He did not say when He viewed some of my sins, ‘Go, I shall never forgive you!’
(Source: al-Hafiz Abu’l-Faraj ibn al-jawzl [d. 597AH] “CAPTURED THOUGHTS being” a translation of his masterpiece ‘Sayd al-K hatir)
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