Will Allah answer my dua?

Have you ever been in a desperate situation, where there was nothing that could be done? You lived a life where you did whatever you wanted, and yet there came a time that it was completely out of your hands. And so you finally decide to raise your hands, towards the One you had turned your back for so long. As your desperate call to Him is about to escape your lips as a whisper, suddenly your heart starts reminding you of the sins you have committed in the past. The uncountable ways in which you have disobeyed Allah. All of it comes flashing back right in front of your eyes. And then you start assuming that Allah Himself is not pleased with you. Hence you conclude that He will not accept your dua and you hopelessly put your hands down. And then you ask someone who looks “pious” from the outside to make that dua for you. Thinking that Allah only listens to people who look and talk a certain way.

If you felt like the words above were about you, read this ayah.

وَإِذَا سَأَلَكَ عِبَادِي عَنِّي فَإِنِّي قَرِيبٌ ۖ أُجِيبُ دَعْوَةَ الدَّاعِ إِذَا دَعَانِ ۖ فَلْيَسْتَجِيبُوا لِي وَلْيُؤْمِنُوا بِي لَعَلَّهُمْ يَرْشُدُونَ

“When My slave asks you [O Muhammad ] about Me, then indeed I am near. I respond to the call of the caller whenever he calls. So they should respond to Me and believe in Me so that they may be guided.” Suratul Baqarah, ayah 186

Subhaanallah there is so much beauty in this ayah <3 Notice how Allah uses the first person pronoun for Himself in this ayah. He says “Me” instead of “He” or “We”. He uses “Me” in very rare occasions. He uses that pronoun either out of extreme love and extreme anger. Well what is this ayah about, then? Lets dig deeper into it to see.

At the beginning of this ayah Allah is talking to the Prophet (SAW). The ayah says “When My slave asks you about Me.” Now, if Allah is talking to the Prophet (SAW), the expected words are, “When My slave asks you about Me, then TELL THEM that I am near”. But that is not what the ayah says. The ayah says, “When My slave asks you about Me, then indeed I am near.” Subhaanallah! Notice how Allah answered His slave Himself. As though even the Prophet (SAW) did not have to tell the slave about Allah. But rather Allah Himself told His slave that He is indeed near.

Then He says something even more beautiful. He says, “I respond to the call of the caller whenever he calls.” Think about this brothers and sisters. Think about a manager who runs an entire company. Will it be very easy for you to make an appointment or a request to the manager? Is the date of your meeting with him in your hands? And even if you work for him, what are the chances that he will know you so well to understand your situation? And even if you were able to make a request to him, what are the chances of it being accepted?

Now think about Allah. He is more Perfect and Above any example. He has an entire universe that He controls and takes care of. Every creature of the heavens and the earth depends on Him. This being the case, how incredible is that Allah says that He responds to THE call of THE caller, rather than a call of a caller. You use THE instead of a, when you know something very well. Allah, despite Him being the Sustainer of everything, He still knows you personally so well that He calls you THE caller instead of a caller. Subhaanallah! And look at how incredibly He says that he responds to the caller WHENEVER he calls. The date of “appointment” with this Master is literally in your hands.

Now in the amazing ending of this ayah, Allah reminds us that after we make the dua, we respond to Him as well. Yes we can ask Allah for things. But we musnt forget that Allah asked us to do some things as well. And then He says we must believe in Him. Because a lot of times when we make a dua and it doesn’t get responded immediately, our faith starts shaking. So Allah says ‘believe in Me.’ And what is the reason for this? This is for us to be rightly guided. Through this we are learning that frequently making duas is for us to be guided.

So even if you find yourself in the depths of darkness, have the strength of heart, raise your hands and ask Allah for what you desperately want. And then obey Allah, because of that dua you made. And believe in Him. And when you see your dua getting responded right in front of your eyes, you will realize that indeed He is the One Who Listens. And so you wont choose a path away from guidance from then on In Sha Allah.

May Allah make us of those whose duas are accepted and hence are rightly guided. Ameen!