format_quote Originally Posted by
hisnameiszzz
Can I just start off by apologising about my post. I am ashamed of myself for moaning about nasty neighbours and duas not being accepted especially when there are innocent children and people being slaughtered in Gaza/Syria/Iraq. However, I am coming so close to walking away from Islam, I just want to get this off my chest.
I do make loads of dua for their hidaayat and have done for months possibly even a year, but it's not happening. So I now pray that something bad happens to them. I am not fully sure if they are Muslims (shame on me for judging them I know!). They do not follow Huquqool Ibaad at all and I know that is quite important in Islam. Today the lovely ***** woke us all up at 9am when she decided to hoover the bedrooms. She clearly knew we were in bed and were fasting but that makes no difference to her. Then it was followed up by non stop door slams. How a Muslim could trouble a neighbour like that is beyond me. And it's not just the 30 year old daughter, the 66 year old mother, the 63 year old father and 26 year old son are all exactly the same. And this is not something new, this is something that happens on a daily/weekly basis and has done for years.
(We can't sell the house as we have to tell buyers about any disputes. Besides as soon as people find out which family lives next to us, they pull out straight away. We've tried talking to them, but they will just slam doors even harder or put dead rats on our car/throw all their rubbish in our yard. We can't go to the Police or the authority because they too know that family is beyond help - the son has been in and out of prison so many times you would lose count. Also the son has friends he made in prison who "sort" people out for him).
Jazakallah for your response. You sound just like my Mom when she tells me to be patient and do Sabar. I get what you mean about my prayers not being answered because something better is lined up for me, but I am coming close to the point of walking away from Islam, so anything lined up in the hereafter would be no good for me. It might sound very dramatic but put yourself in my shoes. When I make dua, I am not asking for worldly things - no designer car, no posh job, no supermodel wife, no holidays around the world. All I am asking for is peace of mind and I can't even get this. I pray that the nasty neighbours stop causing us so much harm, but it just goes on and on. We can't buy somewhere else until this house sells, so it seems we are stuck in a rut. I turned to Allah because I am at my wits end. I've even contacted numerous Molvi/Mufti (I don't sit and feel sorry for myself, I have researched and contacted people) who have told me to pray certain surahs after each Fardh namaaz and then make dua, but again, no response.
The funniest thing is the mother from the family next door is always telling the whole world and his wife that all her prayers get answered (she is always having loud gossip with someone in the back street so you can't miss it). Everyone is in excellent health, her children are getting married blah blah blah.
Do you think me and my family are being punished by Allah via means of this nasty family for something we have done? Would we better off being like the neighbours? I am sure I could force my sister to dress like a tramp with her bits and pieces on show and her hair out, and get my Mother to go out and gossip and backbite all day everyday, and I am sure I could, if I really tried start doing drugs/alcohol/credit card fraud etc. We could also start hoovering when we know the neighbours are asleep and slam doors non stop too. Maybe our duas will get accepted then.
Any advice please? Please tell me one of you has a secret dua I can pray to sort this dilemma out. Please. Please. Please.........
PS. I love being a Muslim and I love following Islam, but I have just hit a brick wall with this. I can't make heads nor tails of this and I just don't know what to do. I pray namaz/Qur'aan (I pray Yaseen and Kahf and Mulk daily as I've memorised the whole Qur'aan)/tasbeehs, you name it, I do it. I give shed loads of money to poor people. I respect my family/community/even the nasty neighbours (I need help I know!). Don't get me wrong, I am not perfect and I am not floating my boat, but this continuous harassment is just too much.
:sl:
Almighty Allah says in the Qur'an:
"And of the people are some who say, “We believe in Allah,” but when one [of them] is harmed for [the cause of] Allah, they consider the trial [i.e. harm] of the people as [if it were] the punishment of Allah. But if victory comes from your Lord, they say, “Indeed, We were with you.” Is not Allah most knowing of what is within the breasts of the worlds [i.e. all creatures]? And Allah will surely make evident those who believe, and He will surely make evident the hypocrites."
[Quran 29:10-11]
Thus, every claim must have its proof, and faith is a claim which needs proof. Steadfastness in times of hardship is a manifestation of faith and it is also the proof of its existence and its firmness. Almighty Allah Says (what means): "Do the people think that they will be left to say, We believe and they will not be tried? But We have certainly tried those before them, and Allah will surely make evident those who are truthful, and He will surely make evident the liars.…."
[Quran 29:2-3]
Trials will befall us in our lives. Some of us more than others. We only need to look at the situation with our Ummah around the world to realise that what we may be going through is nothing close to what our brothers, sisters and children are going through right now. Looking at those who are worst off than us actually helps us put our own trials into perspective and should make us thankful to Allah that we are not going through any where near as harsh a trial as others are going through right now.
Also we must never lose hope in Allah when making Dua.
Sufyan ibn 'Uyaynah said "Let none of you think that his Du'aa will go unanswered because of the sins that he knows of himself.
Indeed, Allah responded to the Du'aa of the worst amongst His creation; Iblees (Shaitan, the cursed one), when he said; 'O My Lord! Give me respite until the Day of Judgement!' He (Allah SWT) replied, 'Then you are of those who have been reprieved.'
(Surah al-Hijr 36-37).
So if the Du'aa of Iblees' can be accepted, then surely the Du'aa of a sinner has more right than the devil himself!" And surely your Lord is never unjust...
Just because we may not see the immediate effects of our Dua's then it does not mean that we should get disheartened and lose hope in the effectiveness and powers of our Dua.
Ibn Al-Jawzi (Ra) commented in one of his books where he discusses this topic about the matter of Dua’s not being answered:
I think part of the test is when a believer supplicates and receives no response, and he repeats the dua for a long time and sees no sign of a response. He should realize that this is a test and needs patience.
What a person experiences of waswaas (whispers from shaytan) when the response is delayed is a sickness which needs medicine – I have experienced this myself. A calamity befell me and I supplicated and did not see any response, and Iblees started to lay his traps. Sometimes he said: The generosity (of Allah) is abundant and He is not miserly, so why is there a delay?
I said to him: Be gone, O cursed one, for I have no need of anyone to argue my case and I do not want you as a supporter!
Then I told myself: Beware of going along with his whispers, for if there was no other reason for the delay except that Allah is testing you to see whether you will fight the enemy, that is sufficient wisdom.
My soul (nafs) said: How could you explain the delay in the response of Allah to your prayers for relief from this calamity?
I said: It is proven with evidence that Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, is the Sovereign, and the Sovereign may withhold or give, so there is no point in objecting to Him.
The wisdom behind that is proven in definitive evidence. I may think that something is good, but wisdom does not dictate it, but the reason for that may be hidden, just as a doctor may do things that appear outwardly to be harmful, intending some good purpose thereby. Perhaps this is something of that nature.
There may be an interest to be served by delay, and haste may be harmful. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “A person will be fine so long as he does not become impatient and says, ‘I prayed but I did not receive any answer.’”
The response may be withheld because of some fault in you. Perhaps there was something dubious in what you ate or your heart was heedless at the time when you said the dua, or your punishment is being increased by means of your need being withheld, because of some sin from which you have not repented sincerely. So look for some of these reasons, so that you might achieve your aim.
You should examine the intention behind this request, because attaining it may lead to more sin, or prevent you from doing some good, so withholding it is better.
Perhaps losing what you have missed out on will cause you to turn to Allah and getting it will distract you from Him. This is obvious, based on the fact that were it not for this calamity you would not have turned to Him, because the real calamity is what distracts you from Him, but what makes you stand before Him is good for you and is in your best interests.
If you ponder these things you will focus on what is more beneficial for you, such as correcting a mistake or seeking forgiveness or standing before Allah and beseeching Him, and forget about what you have missed out on.
Source: Sayd al-Khaatir (59-60).
Therefore we must realise that Allah knows better what is best for us so we should have full faith, trust and reliance on him that he will do what is best for us. Also if we wants to increase the effectiveness of our Dua's then the following hadith tells us how to do this:
It was narrated that Faddalah ibn ‘Ubayd (Ra) said: The Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) heard a man making dua after his prayer, but he did not send blessings upon the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). The Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) said: “This man is in a hurry.” Then he called him and said to him or to someone else: “When any one of you has finished praying (and makes dua), let him start by praising Allah, then let him send blessings upon the Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam), then after that let him ask for whatever he wants.”
(Al-Tirmidhi, 2765)
The Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) said: “The slave will receive a response so long as his dua does not involve sin or severing of family ties, and so long as he is not hasty.” It was said, “What does being hasty mean?” He said: “When he says, ‘I made dua and I made dua, and I have not seen any response,’ and he gets frustrated and stops making Dua.”
(Al-Bukahari, 6340; Muslim, 2735)
So my brother we must realise that trials will befall us but Allah is testing us to see how strong our resolve is and whether we will turn to him or not. So we must never lose hope. We should make us of the times when Dua's are readily accepted especially the time of Tahajjud. Ask of him, beg and cry unto him and he will never leave you empty handed!
May Allah never make us lose hope in him and make us patient and persevere through trials and hardships. Ameen