Allah isn’t answering my duaa’ —
is he punishing me??
This is one of the most painful thoughts a believer can have.
You make sincere du’aa (prayer) — you repeat it — you cry — you wait — and yet it feels like nothing is changing… why?
And so the question is formed: “Is Allah (SWT) ignoring me? Or worse — is He displeased with me?”
Let’s start by saying, you’re not alone. In fact, not by a long shot. This feeling is more common that people dare to admit, yet it’s rarely openly voiced. Many people unfortunately automatically assume that unanswered duaa’ HAS to mean rejection, punishment, or distance from Allah (SWT) — but the Islamic understanding of duaa’ is far deeper, more nuanced, and far more helpful than this immediate assumption.
Despite common misconception, it is not the case that all you have to do is declare your repentance to Allah (SWT), and all of a sudden all of your hardships will disappear and you will start living a life of luxury and wealth and ease. If that were the case, life as a Muslim wouldn’t really have much of a test to it — and everyone would become Muslim after seeing how easy and convenient our lives are.
First:
Surah Al-Insan (76:2)
إِنَّا خَلَقْنَا ٱلْإِنسَـٰنَ مِن نُّطْفَةٍ أَمْشَاجٍۢ نَّبْتَلِيهِ فَجَعَلْنَـٰهُ سَمِيعًۢا بَصِيرًا
“Indeed, We created man from a sperm-drop mixture1 that We may try him; and We made him hearing and seeing.”
“To try him” — meaning to test him. And it is important, before continuing with anything else, to state that every mu’min (believer) needs to look at their life as a test. To weigh their words and actions and their faith using this broad reality of being tested as the overhead by which they interpret, define, and believe.
Allah (SWT) says in Surah Al-Mulk (67:2):
ٱلَّذِى خَلَقَ ٱلْمَوْتَ وَٱلْحَيَوٰةَ لِيَبْلُوَكُمْ أَيُّكُمْ أَحْسَنُ عَمَلًۭا ۚ
“[He] who created death and life to test you [as to] which of you is best in deed.”
Time and time again, Allah (SWT) has made it clear — both through the Qur’an, as well as through the teaching of His Prophet ﷺ — that this dunya (world/life) is but a test for us to EARN, with His Mercy, a place in His paradise.
So where does duaa’ fall within this framework?
Let us first address the object of your duaa’. We make duaa’ from a place of desire/need, not from a place of knowing for sure that what we are asking for is better for us or worse for us — even if the answer may seem obvious. When we are poor, we make duaa’ for wealth and prosperity, but can you guarantee that the money will not change you? Do you think any of the countless examples of people whom the granted wealth DID change, knew or expected it to do so? They also asked for wealth to live an easier/better life, yet when the wealth came, they stopped relying on Allah (SWT), and stopped/reduced their worship and therefore doomed themselves in the afterlife. So was the wealth good for them?
A common example to consider is the prophet of Allah (SWT) — Ayyub (AS). He had everything — health, wealth, and progeny. Yet Allah (SWT) took away his wealth, all of his children died one after the other, and then He took away his health - leaving him bedridden with illness and disease. For a long period of time too (exact figure disagreed upon). Did this mean that Allah (SWT) was displeased with His slave? Or that He was punishing him?
No. Rather, it was a test, which Ayyub (AS) passed due to his patience, his faith and his reliance on Allah (SWT). And so, after much pain, when Ayyub (AS) made a prayer to Allah (SWT), He finally lifted the test, granting him more wealth, more children, and better health than what he had before. And this was a prophet — much higher standard than any of us could ever hope to achieve. In fact, in Sunan Ibn Majah (4023), that Sa’d ibn Abu Waqqas (RA) asked the Prophet ﷺ who the most severely tested of people will be, and the response was “the prophets”. Therefore, we can conclude that:
‘being tested severely or for a long period’ ≠ ‘displeasure of Allah (SWT) or punishment’.
Additionally, in Surah Al-Baqarah (2:286), He says:
لَا يُكَلِّفُ ٱللَّهُ نَفْسًا إِلَّا وُسْعَهَا ۚ
“Allāh does not charge a soul except [with that within] its capacity.”
and again in Surah Al-Baqarah (2:216):
وَعَسَىٰٓ أَن تَكْرَهُوا۟ شَيْـًۭٔا وَهُوَ خَيْرٌۭ لَّكُمْ ۖ وَعَسَىٰٓ أَن تُحِبُّوا۟ شَيْـًۭٔا وَهُوَ شَرٌّۭ لَّكُمْ ۗ وَٱللَّهُ يَعْلَمُ وَأَنتُمْ لَا تَعْلَمُونَ
“But perhaps you hate a thing and it is good for you; and perhaps you love a thing and it is bad for you. And Allāh knows, while you know not.”
and in Jami at-Tirmidhi (3479), the Prophet ﷺ says:
ادْعُوا اللَّهَ وَأَنْتُمْ مُوقِنُونَ بِالإِجَابَةِ وَاعْلَمُوا أَنَّ اللَّهَ لاَ يَسْتَجِيبُ دُعَاءً مِنْ قَلْبٍ غَافِلٍ لاَهٍ
“Call upon Allah while being certain of being answered, and know that Allah does not respond to a supplication from the heart of one heedless and occupied by play.”
So what can we take from all of this?
Make duaa’. Keep making duaa’. Don’t ever stop making duaa’.
But assess yourself, for only you can be an accurate judge of yourself (aside from Allah (SWT)).
While making duaa’, ask yourself: “Am I truly relying on Him?” “Do I believe that He will answer my duaa’?” “Is there a better duaa’ I can make?”
And before you pass judgement on yourself that this MUST be punishment, ask yourself: “Are there sins that I am currently committing that I need to stop?” “Are there sins that I had committed previously that I have not made tawbah (repentance) for?” “Am I worshipping Him correctly?” “Am I abstaining from sin AND staying on top of the mandatory acts of worship that He has ordained upon me?”
And with regards to making tawbah (repenting) for sins, many people do not fully acknowledge or understand it’s conditions:
You must give up the sin.
You need to feel regret.
To resolve yourself that you will not go back to that sin again.
To seek forgiveness (from Allah (SWT), as well as anyone the sin may have harmed).
Once more, in Jami at-Tirmidhi (2396), the Prophet ﷺ says:
إِذَا أَرَادَ اللَّهُ بِعَبْدِهِ الْخَيْرَ عَجَّلَ لَهُ الْعُقُوبَةَ فِي الدُّنْيَا وَإِذَا أَرَادَ اللَّهُ بِعَبْدِهِ الشَّرَّ أَمْسَكَ عَنْهُ بِذَنْبِهِ حَتَّى يُوَفَّى بِهِ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ
"When Allah wants good for his slave, He hastens his punishment in the world. And when He wants bad for His slave, He withholds his sins from him until he appears before Him on the Day of Judgement."
To conclude, if your duaa’ are not being answered, consider a number of things:
Am I currently sinning for Him to be punishing me? If so, make a proper tawbah.
Have I sinned in the past for which I have not made tawbah for? If so, make a proper tawbah.
I can’t think of any sins — am I doing all I can with regards to worship? If not, better yourself and further your devotion to Him through worship.
I can’t think of any sins — and I do all that I can think of (or to my current ability) with regards to worship. Then consider that what you are asking for may not be good for you, and ask Allah (SWT) to grant you whatever is truly best for you — be it in this life or the next.
And if you adjust your duaa’ to “Ya Allah, bring to me what is best for me in this life and the next, and keep away from me whatever is bad for me in this life and the next.”, do so with yaqeen (certainty) that Allah (SWT) will do so for you. For no one other than Him knows what is good for you, or what is bad for you. So rely on Him to figure out the details, whilst being certain that He will do so in the best of ways insha’Allah.
NOTE: IslamIQ does not issue fatwas or religious verdicts. Our content is intended to provide educational insight and present proofs from the Qur’an, the Sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ, and accepted, accurate scholarly perspectives.
