Sunnah Daily سُنَّة

When your dua seems unanswered

Chapter 6 · about 13 min read

In short

  • Allah hears every dua. He promised to answer the one who calls on Him (Quran 2:186). But He answers in His way and at His time, not always in the way we pictured.
  • Nabi ﷺ said Allah either gives you what you asked, or turns away a harm of the same size from you. Many scholars add a third way from another report: He saves the reward for you in the Hereafter.
  • The one thing that stops a dua is giving up. Nabi ﷺ said your dua is answered as long as you do not rush and say: I prayed and nothing happened (Bukhari 6340).
  • Some things can block a dua, like living on haram money or asking for something sinful. Other things help, like praying in sujud and in the last part of the night.
  • Prophets waited too. Yaqub waited many years for Yusuf. Ayyub was sick for a long time. Both kept calling on Allah, and both were answered.
Take the short lessonsThe key points of this chapter, a few screens at a time, with a quick check at the end.

"I keep asking, and nothing happens"

You prayed for your mother to get better, and she died. You have asked Allah for a husband or a wife for years. You begged for a child, a job, a way out of debt. You did it at night, with tears. And nothing seems to change.

Then a hard thought comes: is anyone listening? Does Allah care about me? Is my faith fake? Some people go further: if Allah does not answer, maybe He is not there at all.

This is a fair question. It is not a sin to ask it, and it does not mean you are a bad Muslim. It comes from pain, and from caring about Allah enough to want Him to answer. The fact that you are still asking shows the faith in your heart. If doubts in general worry you, read Is it normal to have doubts?

This chapter answers the question honestly, from the Quran and the Sunnah. It also tells you what we do not know, and what to do while you wait.

The short answer

  • Allah hears every dua. Not one is lost.
  • Every sincere dua gets an answer, but not always the thing you asked for, and not always right away. Allah may give you what you asked, or protect you from a harm you never saw coming, or save the reward for you on the Day you need it most.
  • Allah knows what is good for you, and you do not always know. A "no" or a "not yet" from Allah can be a mercy.
  • The only sure way to lose is to give up. So keep asking.

Does Allah really answer every dua?

Yes. This is a promise from Allah, said many times in the Quran:

  • When My servants ask you about Me, tell them: I am near. I answer the call of the one who calls, when he calls on Me1.
  • Your Lord says: call on Me, and I will answer you2.

Nabi ﷺ also said: your Lord is shy to send His servant away empty-handed when he raises his hands to Him3.

But answering is not always giving what you asked

Nabi ﷺ explained how the answer comes. He said: there is no Muslim on earth who calls on Allah with a dua, except that Allah gives it to him, or turns away from him a harm of the same size, as long as he does not ask for something sinful or for cutting family ties. A man said: then we will ask a lot. Nabi ﷺ said: Allah has even more4. Another narration says the same5.

How Allah may answerWhat it looks like in real life
1. He gives you what you askedYou asked for the job, and you got it. Sometimes right away, sometimes years later.
2. He turns away a harm of the same sizeYou did not get the job. But you were also kept safe from an accident, an illness or a loss you never knew was coming6.
3. He saves it for you in the HereafterYou see nothing in this life. On the Day of Judgment you find a reward waiting for you.
The first two ways are in the hadith above. The third way comes from a report in the Musnad of Imam Ahmad, a large hadith book that is not one of the six books this site checks. Many scholars accept that report, so we mention it here without a number.

So when you feel your dua "did not work", it may be working in a way you cannot see. Nothing you asked was wasted.

Sources for this section
  1. 1(Quran 2:186)
  2. 2(Quran 40:60)
  3. 3(Abu Dawud 1488)
  4. 4(Tirmidhi 3573)
  5. 5(Tirmidhi 3381)
  6. 6(Tirmidhi 3573)

Even Nabi ﷺ did not get everything he asked

This may surprise you. The most loved person to Allah also had duas that were answered in a different way.

  • Nabi ﷺ once prayed two rakat (units of prayer) in a masjid and made a long dua. Then he said: I asked my Lord for three things. He gave me two and held back one. He asked that his ummah (his followers) would not be destroyed by famine, and that was given. He asked that they would not be destroyed by drowning, and that was given. He asked that Muslims would not fight each other, and that was not given7.
  • Nabi ﷺ said every prophet had one special dua that would surely be answered. He chose to save his for the Day of Judgment, to ask Allah to forgive his ummah8.

If even Nabi ﷺ heard "not this" from Allah, then a "not this" for you does not mean Allah has left you. It means Allah is the One who decides, with wisdom.

Sources for this section
  1. 7(Muslim 2890)
  2. 8(Bukhari 6304)

Why would Allah say "not this" or "not yet"?

Allah has not told us the reason behind every single answer. But the Quran gives us some reasons that help.

You may be asking for something that would hurt you

Allah says: you may hate something while it is good for you, and you may love something while it is bad for you. Allah knows, and you do not know9.

Think of a patient who begs a doctor for a medicine he saw online. The doctor says no, because it would harm him. The patient feels ignored, but the doctor is the one who cares. Allah knows far more than any doctor, and He is more merciful to you than anyone.

The time may not be right yet

You see today. Allah sees your whole life. Something given too early can break a person. Something given at the right time can be a blessing. That is why Nabi ﷺ taught the dua of istikhara (asking Allah to choose for you). In it you ask Allah to give you what is good for you, and turn you away from what is not10. See how to pray istikhara.

The waiting itself is a gift

While you wait, you keep coming back to Allah. You talk to Him every night. You grow in patience. Many people find that the time of waiting was when they were closest to Allah in their whole life. For more on why hard times come, read Why is there evil and suffering? and Why is Allah testing me?

The full story: the day at Taif, and an answer that came years later

Aisha once asked Nabi ﷺ: was there ever a day harder for you than the battle of Uhud? He said yes. It was the day he went to a chief of the people of Taif and asked them to accept Islam. They turned him away.

He walked away so sad that he did not notice where he was going. When he looked up, he saw a cloud giving him shade, and Jibril was in it. Jibril said Allah had heard how his people treated him, and had sent the angel of the mountains to do whatever he wanted.

The angel of the mountains greeted him and said: if you want, I will bring the two mountains down on them.

Nabi ﷺ said: no. I hope that Allah will bring from their children people who worship Allah alone11.

He did not see that hope come true that day. But years later, the people of Taif did become Muslim, and many of their children grew up worshipping Allah alone.

What this teaches us

  • A hope can take years to come true. The answer was still coming.
  • Even on his hardest day, Nabi ﷺ did not give up on Allah, and did not ask for harm.
  • Sometimes the better answer is bigger than what you asked for.
Sources for this section
  1. 9(Quran 2:216)
  2. 10(Bukhari 1166)
  3. 11(Bukhari 3231)

Am I doing something wrong? What can block a dua

Before anything else: this list is not here to make you blame yourself. Many people do everything right and still wait, like the prophets did. But the Sunnah does tell us some things that can hold a dua back, so it is good to know them.

What can block a duaWhat Nabi ﷺ said
Giving upYour dua is answered as long as you do not rush and say: I prayed and it was not answered12. In another narration he explained: a person says "I prayed and I prayed and saw no answer", then he gets tired and stops making dua13.
Haram moneyNabi ﷺ described a traveler, dusty and tired, raising his hands: O Lord, O Lord. But his food, drink and clothes came from haram money. He said: how can his dua be answered?14
Asking for something sinfulAllah answers as long as you do not ask for a sin, or for cutting off family15.
Asking half-heartedlyDo not say "O Allah, forgive me if You want". Ask with full hope, because no one can force Allah16. Ask while being sure you will be answered. Allah does not answer a dua from a heart that is careless and busy with other things17.

A sin does not lock the door

Do not think: "I am a sinner, so Allah will not listen to me." That thought is a trap. Allah answered even Iblis when he asked for more time18. Allah tells all people who have wronged themselves: do not lose hope in Allah's mercy19. Say sorry to Allah, change what you can, and keep asking. A sinner who keeps making dua is far better off than one who stops.

Sources for this section
  1. 12(Bukhari 6340)
  2. 13(Muslim 2735)
  3. 14(Muslim 1015)
  4. 15(Tirmidhi 3573)
  5. 16(Bukhari 6339)
  6. 17(Tirmidhi 3479)
  7. 18(Quran 7:14-15)
  8. 19(Quran 39:53)

Times and ways that help a dua

Allah can answer any dua at any time. But Nabi ﷺ told us some times and ways that are special:

  • The last third of the night. Allah calls out: is anyone calling on Me, so I can answer him? Is anyone asking Me, so I can give him?20
  • In sujud (putting your forehead on the ground in salah). That is when a servant is closest to his Lord, so make a lot of dua there21.
  • Between the adhan and the iqamah (the first and second call to prayer). A dua made then is not turned back22.
  • A special hour on Friday. Nabi ﷺ said a Muslim who asks Allah for something in that short hour is given it23.
  • Praying for someone else in secret. When you make dua for a fellow Muslim behind his back, an angel says: and the same for you24.
  • Thinking well of Allah. Allah says: I am as My servant thinks of Me25. Expect good from Him.

For more, see six times a dua is rarely refused, and find duas from the Quran and Sunnah on the duas page.

Sources for this section
  1. 20(Bukhari 1145)
  2. 21(Muslim 482)
  3. 22(Abu Dawud 521)
  4. 23(Bukhari 935)
  5. 24(Muslim 2732)
  6. 25(Bukhari 7405)

The prophets waited too

Some of the greatest people Allah ever made waited a long time for their duas. Their stories are in the Quran so that we do not lose hope. You can read more about them on the prophets page.

Yaqub: patience, and tears

Yaqub lost his son Yusuf when Yusuf was a boy. His other sons came home with a shirt covered in fake blood. Yaqub said: patience is beautiful, and Allah is the One whose help I ask26. Then years later he lost a second son, and he said the same words again: patience is beautiful. Maybe Allah will bring them all back to me27.

He was so sad that he cried until his eyes turned white28. But he said: I only complain of my sadness and grief to Allah29. And he told his sons: do not lose hope in Allah's mercy30.

In the end, Allah brought Yusuf and his family together again, and Yusuf said: my Lord has made it come true31.

Ayyub: a long illness

Ayyub lost his health and his family. He called on Allah: great harm has come to me, and You are the Most Merciful of all who show mercy32. Allah answered him, took away his pain, and gave his family back to him, and as many again with them33. Allah said about him: We found him patient. What an excellent servant!34

Zakariya: a child in old age

Zakariya was very old, and his wife could not have children. He still asked Allah for a child, and he said: my Lord, I have never been disappointed when I called on You35. Allah gave him a son, Yahya36.

What their stories teach us

  • Being sad is not a lack of faith. Yaqub cried for years and is still one of Allah's chosen prophets.
  • Take your pain to Allah, not away from Him. You can tell Allah exactly how much it hurts.
  • Do not decide for Allah that it is too late. Zakariya was old. Yaqub had waited for years.
Sources for this section
  1. 26(Quran 12:18)
  2. 27(Quran 12:83)
  3. 28(Quran 12:84)
  4. 29(Quran 12:86)
  5. 30(Quran 12:87)
  6. 31(Quran 12:100)
  7. 32(Quran 21:83)
  8. 33(Quran 21:84)
  9. 34(Quran 38:44)
  10. 35(Quran 19:4-5)
  11. 36(Quran 21:89-90)

What we do not know

We should be honest. There are things about dua that Allah has not told us:

  • We do not know which way your dua is being answered: given, a harm turned away, or saved for later.
  • We do not know why one person's dua is answered in a week and another person waits twenty years.

Some things you ask for may never come in this life. That is hard, and it is okay to feel sad about it. What we do know is enough to trust Allah: He hears, He is wise, He is merciful, and no sincere dua is wasted. How dua fits with what Allah has already written is explained in Qadr: Allah's decree. In short, Nabi ﷺ said: nothing turns back the decree except dua37. Your dua is part of Allah's plan, not outside it.

Sources for this section
  1. 37(Tirmidhi 2139)

What to do while you wait

  • Keep asking. Every day, if you can. Giving up is the one thing that can stop the answer38.
  • Do your part too. A man asked Nabi ﷺ if he should tie his camel or just trust Allah. He said: tie it, and trust Allah39. Make dua for a job, and also send out your CV.
  • Check your money. If some of your income is haram, try to fix it. See doubtful things and real need.
  • Ask for what is best, not only for one thing. You can add in your own words: "O Allah, if this is good for me, give it to me. If it is not, give me something better and make me happy with it."
  • Make dua for others. The angel says "and the same for you"40.
  • Talk to Allah honestly. Like Yaqub, you can tell Allah your sadness41.
  • Do not wish for death because of a hardship. If it feels too much, Nabi ﷺ taught us to say: O Allah, keep me alive as long as life is better for me, and take me when death is better for me42.
If you feel very low. Waiting for a long time can bring deep sadness, anxiety, or thoughts of hurting yourself. If that is you, please talk to someone today: family, a friend, an imam, a doctor or a counselor. Getting help is not weak faith. For habits that keep your faith steady, read Keeping your faith strong.
Sources for this section
  1. 38(Bukhari 6340)
  2. 39(Tirmidhi 2517)
  3. 40(Muslim 2732)
  4. 41(Quran 12:86)
  5. 42(Bukhari 5671)

Common questions

I prayed for my father to get better, and he died. Did Allah ignore me?
No. Allah heard every word. Each person's time of death is already written, and your dua did not go to waste. It may have eased his pain, or it may be saved as a reward. Keep making dua for him now. Nabi ﷺ said a good child who prays for a parent who has died is one of the things that still benefits that parent43.
I have asked for marriage for years. Should I stop?
No. Keep asking, and keep taking real steps too, like asking family and good friends to help you look. Ask Allah for a spouse who is good for you, not only for one person you have in mind. Many people wait a long time, and Allah still answers.
My friend's dua was answered fast, and mine was not. Does Allah love her more?
Not necessarily. A quick answer is not a sign of more love, and a slow one is not a sign of less. The prophets waited for years. Allah treats each person with His own wisdom.
Someone hurt me badly. Can I make dua against him?
Nabi ﷺ said there is no barrier between the dua of a person who was wronged and Allah44. So Allah hears you. But do not ask for more than is fair, and remember that forgiving brings great reward. Asking Allah to guide the person, or to give you justice, is always safe.
I am a sinner. Is it any use for me to make dua?
Yes. Allah answered even Iblis's request for more time45. Say sorry to Allah, and keep asking. Allah says: do not lose hope in Allah's mercy46.
The waiting makes me doubt that Allah is there at all. What do I do?
Do not carry that alone. Read How do we know Allah exists? and talk to someone with knowledge that you trust. A dua that has not been answered yet does not prove anything about whether Allah exists. It only means the answer is not here yet.
Sources for this section
  1. 43(Muslim 1631)
  2. 44(Bukhari 1496)
  3. 45(Quran 7:14-15)
  4. 46(Quran 39:53)
Take the short lessonsThe key points of this chapter, a few screens at a time, with a quick check at the end.

This guide gives what scholars agree on and the main views where they differ. If a doubt stays with you, talk it through with a scholar you trust or your local imam. Asking is not a sin.

All of Dealing with Doubts