The question of why my dua is not being answered is asked most of the time by people. And before we talk about the mistakes that prevent dua from being answered, we must first know that when you say, “My dua is not being answered,” theologically speaking, that statement isn’t accurate. We must know that Allah is always ready to respond to our dua as He said in the Quran…
“And when My servants ask you concerning Me, indeed I am near. I respond to the call of the supplicant when he calls upon Me.” Surah Al-Baqarah 2:186 Qur’an
And this is where many misunderstand. Response Does Not Always Mean Immediate Fulfilment. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ clarified this in an authentic hadith collected by Muhammad Nasir al-Din al-Albani (رحمه الله), the Prophet ﷺ said:
“There is no Muslim who calls upon Allah with a dua that does not involve sin or cutting ties of kinship except that Allah gives him one of three things:
Either Allah grants his request, or He stores it for him in the Hereafter, or He diverts from him an equivalent harm. But there are some common mistakes that prevent dua from being answered, which we are going to treat today. The mistakes you shoule be avoided when making dua, and we should take note of the correct way of making dua, the sunnah way.
List of the common mistakes that prevent dua from being answered.
1. When the Dua Includes Shirk Calling Upon Others Besides Allah
If your dua includes calling upon someone other than Allah, whether a prophet, a righteous person, a saint, or a sheikh, this is one of the gravest mistakes that prevent dua from being answered. The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ taught us something important about the nature of du’a. He said:
“Supplication is worship.” Sunan Abi Dawud (1479),
Think carefully about what this means. If dua is worship, then directing your du’a to someone other than Allah is directing your worship to someone other than Allah. And directing worship to other than Allah is the definition of Shirk. Calling upon other than Allah in matters that only Allah can do, such as relief from hardship, forgiveness, provision, and healing of the unseen, is major shirk. And major shirk does not merely delay dua, it nullifies it.
This is like saying, “Ya Sheikh Help Me, Ya Abdul Qadir relieve me from my grief and protect me from so so harm.” But when you call upon someone who is absent, deceased, in your Dua, asking them for relief, protection, children, wealth, or forgiveness, this crosses you into disbelief. This won’t only prohibit your Dua from being answered but also take you into disbelief.
2. Having a Haram Income (Major Barrier to Dua)
This is one of the most serious and common mistakes that prevent dua from being answered. This is because Allah is Pure and He accepts what is pure. Our Prophet Muhammad ﷺ taught us something terrifying about this situation. He said:
“O people, Allah is Good and accepts only that which is good. And indeed, Allah commanded the believers with that which He commanded the messengers. He said: ‘O messengers, eat from the good foods and work righteousness. Indeed I, of what you do, am Knowing.’ And He said: ‘O you who have believed, eat from the good foods which We have provided for you.'”
Then the Prophet ﷺ mentioned a man:
“Who undertakes a long journey, disheveled and dusty, stretching forth his hands to the sky, saying, ‘O Lord, O Lord,’ while his food is unlawful, his drink is unlawful, his clothing is unlawful, and he has been nourished by what is unlawful so how can his supplication be answered?” Sahih Muslim (1015)
Look closely at the image the Prophet ﷺ painted for us. This man is a traveller, and travel itself is a time when duas are more likely to be accepted. He stretches forth his hands to the sky and calls out, “O Lord, O Lord”. Everything seems perfect, but his food is haram, his drink is haram, his clothing is haram, and he has been nourished by haram.
This hadith indicates that consuming haram prevents duas from being accepted. It is a powerful encouragement to seek halal earnings and to avoid haram in food, drink, and clothing. The acceptance of duas is often prevented by sins, and the greatest of sins is consuming haram wealth. When the heart is nourished by haram, it becomes hard, dark, and distant from Allah
3. Being Impatient when making Dua
This is a mistake that has caused countless souls to abandon the very weapon that could have saved them, Dua. It is the mistake of being impatient by saying, “Where is the response? Why hasn’t Allah answered me? This is the weapon of Shaytan. He makes you believe that your dua has fallen on deaf ears. He makes you question whether it was all worth it.
But the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, gave us a clear warning about this very trap. He said:
“A person’s dua will be answered as long as he does not become impatient, saying, ‘I have made dua but my dua has not been answered.'” Sahih Al-Bukhari (6340) and Sahih Muslim (2735)
This is the trap. When you abandon dua entirely because you didn’t see results on your timeline, you have fallen into the trap of Shaytan that the Prophet ﷺ warned us about. The one who makes dua should not say, ‘I made dua and received no response.’ This reflects bad manners with Allah and indicates that the person considers themselves entitled to an immediate response. Another narration that sheds further light on this issue is:
“The Prophet ﷺ said, there is not a servant who raises his hands such that his armpits become visible, and then he asks Allah for something, except that Allah will give it to him, so long as he is not hasty/impatient.”
They asked, ‘How is one hasty?’ He replied, ‘He says, “I asked and I asked but I was not given anything.”‘ Sunan Al-Tirmidhi (3604)
4. Making Dua Without Presence of Heart (Distracted Dua)
My dear brothers and sisters, let us now turn to a mistake that is so common, so widespread, that nearly every one of us has fallen into it at some point. It is the mistake of making dua with the tongue while the heart is somewhere else entirely. There should be humility, awareness, and emotional engagement with Allah while you are making dua. Our Prophet Muhammad ﷺ taught us something profound about this kind of dua. He ﷺ said:
“Allah does not accept the supplication from an absent heart.” Sunan Al-Tirmidhi (3479)
The meaning is that Allah does not accept the dua of one whose heart is heedless, distracted by worldly matters, not present in its understanding of what the tongue is saying and not reflecting on its meaning. In other words, it is a dua where the tongue moves automatically, like a recording playing in the background, while the heart is occupied with other things.
The person may be saying, “O Allah, forgive me,” but in their mind, they’re thinking about the meeting at work tomorrow. They may be saying, “O Allah, grant me Jannah,” but their heart is calculating their monthly expenses. Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala commands us to call upon Him with specific qualities that include the presence of the heart. He says:
“Call upon your Lord in humility and privately. Indeed, He does not like transgressors.” Surah Al-A’raf (7:55)
5. Sinning Constantly Without Repentance
One of the most dangerous and overlooked common mistakes that prevent dua from being answered is persistent sin without sincere repentance. It is the mistake of living in sin, not just falling into sin occasionally, which is part of our human nature, but persisting in sin, wallowing in sin, refusing to repent, and yet still expecting our duas to soar to the heavens, accepted. Allah says:
“And those who, when they commit an immorality or wrong themselves, remember Allah and seek forgiveness for their sins, and who can forgive sins except Allah?—and [who] do not persist in what they have done while they know.” Surah Aal-Imran (3:135)
Notice the description of the true believers: they do not persist in their sins. They may fall, but they get up. They may sin, but they repent. They do not allow sin to become a permanent fixture in their lives. And in another verse, Allah warns those who persist:
“And whoever does a wrong or wrongs himself but then seeks forgiveness of Allah will find Allah Forgiving and Merciful.” Surah An-Nisa (4:110)
Our Prophet ﷺ said:
“A man is deprived of provision because of the sins that he commits.” (Narrated by Ibn Majah 90)
A sinful person experiences a sense of alienation from his Lord. Think about this. You may be making dua for wealth, for sustenance, for increase, but your sins are actively pushing that provision away. The very thing you’re asking for is being blocked by the very behaviour you’re engaging in.
Disobedience to Allah is one of the greatest causes of duas not being answered. Just as obedience to Allah is one of the greatest causes of duas being answered. The Prophet ﷺ mentioned the man who undertook a long journey, which we have discussed above, the man dishevelled and dusty, stretching forth his hands to the sky, saying…
‘O Lord, O Lord,’ while his food was haram, his drink was haram, his clothing was haram, and he was nourished by haram, and he said, ‘How can his dua be answered?’ This indicates that consuming haram or wallowing in sin is an obstacle to the acceptance of duas.
6. Making Dua for Sinful or Harmful Things
Another common mistakes that prevent dua from being answered is asking Allah for things that Allah Himself has forbidden or requesting help to commit sin, praying for harm to come to others unjustly, or demanding things that contradict the very nature of our relationship with our Creator. This is transgressing the limits of supplication. And then you expect that dua to be answered? Obviously no. Our Prophet Muhammad ﷺ cleared this that..
“A person’s dua will continue to be answered so long as he does not pray for something sinful or for the breaking of family ties.” Sahih Muslim (2735)
From the etiquettes of dua is to avoid transgression. And transgression in dua can take many forms, like asking for things that are haram, asking for impossible things that Allah does not do, or using inappropriate language and tones that reflect bad manners with Allah. This includes asking Allah to help you commit a sin, asking Him to harm an innocent person, or asking for things that would necessitate sin. This, in general include…
- Asking for help in disobedience
- Praying for harm against others unjustly
- Asking to break family ties
- And other things related to sin or harm
So, among the serious mistakes that prevent dua from being answered is asking Allah for something sinful or harmful, and this is to be checked when making dua.
7. Not Sending Salawat Upon the Prophet ﷺ or glorifying Allah
My dear brothers and sisters, let us be very careful of the mistake of jumping straight into our requests and dua without first properly glorifying and sending salutations upon the one He loved most, our Prophet Muhammad ﷺ.
Imagine that you need a favour from a king. You burst into his court, out of breath, and immediately begin demanding what you need without greeting him, without acknowledging his position, without any introduction or courtesy. How do you think the king would receive you? Would he feel inclined to grant your request?
But imagine instead that you approach the king with proper etiquette. You greet him with respect. You acknowledge his greatness. You praise his generosity and justice. You mention your connection to someone he loves and honours. And then you humbly present your need. How different the reception would be!
This, my dear brothers and sisters, is the difference between a dua that is rushed and one that is presented with proper etiquette. And the Prophet ﷺ taught us that the greatest honour we can show and the highest form of introduction is to praise Allah and then to send salawat upon him before we make our requests. There is a powerful narration reported in Sunan al-Tirmidhi.
The Prophet ﷺ heard a man making dua in prayer without praising Allah or sending salutations upon the Prophet ﷺ. He said:
“This man has been hasty.”
Then he ﷺ said:
“When one of you makes dua, let him begin by praising Allah and glorifying Him, then send blessings upon the Prophet, then let him ask for whatever he wishes.” (Sunan Abi Dawud (1481), Sunan Al-Tirmidhi (3477)
The hadith means that the one making dua should begin with praising Allah, using beautiful words of glorification and gratitude. Then he should send blessings upon the Prophet ﷺ. Thereafter, he may ask for whatever he wishes. The scholars agree that it is recommended to start one’s dua by praising Allah, then sending blessings upon the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, and to end the dua in the same manner.
Umar ibn al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, said,
“Verily, the supplication is suspended between the heavens and the earth. Nothing ascends from it until you send blessings upon your Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him. (Sunan al-Tirmidhī 486)
8. Lack of certainty (Yaqeen)
Let me ask you something that requires honesty. When you raise your hands in dua… do you truly believe with full conviction that Allah will respond? That hidden hesitation, that quiet doubt, is one of the subtle but powerful mistakes that prevent dua from being answered. Because dua without yaqeen (certainty) is like planting a seed while believing it will never grow.
Abdullah ibn Amr reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said,
“The hearts are vessels and some have greater capacity than others. When you ask from Allah Almighty, O people, then ask Him while you are convinced He will answer. Verily, Allah does not answer the supplication of a servant from behind an unmindful heart.” (Musnad Aḥmad 6655)
Certainty means that the one making dua should be firmly convinced that Allah is able to do what he asks, that He is generous and loves to give, that He has promised to respond, and that He never breaks His promise. He should not doubt, for doubt is a form of bad manners with Allah. Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala has given us the most powerful assurance in His Book. He says:
“And your Lord says, ‘Call upon Me; I will respond to you.'” Surah Ghafir (40:60)
My dear brothers and sisters, we have explored the common mistakes that can prevent our duas from being answered. This is not to burden you with guilt, not to make you feel that your relationship with Allah is broken, but to let you know where you are getting it all wrong, and you have to correct yourself.
We ask Allah to purify our hearts from shirk and hypocrisy. Purify our income from haram and forgive our persistent sins and grant us sincere tawbah before death. We ask You o Allah, to make us from those whose duas are accepted in this world and rewarded in the Hereafter. Aameen.
