Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Abi Nasr,\nsimilar to many other people, kept on praying for a need, but his prayers\nseemed to never be answered. Slowly he was beginning to doubt the mercifulness\nof Allah (SWT). The feelings of anxiety and despair were taking over. He\ndecided to consult Imam Reza (PBUH). He visited the Imam and said:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMy majesty, I\nhave a need which I have asked and prayed for it for a long time; its delay to\nbe granted has made me doubtful.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In response, the eighth Imam (PBUH)\nassured that answering the prayers (whether in this world or the afterworld) is\ndefinite, and added that hopelessness from divine mercy and grace is a satanic\nconspiracy. Then he explained about one of the reasons that sometimes the\nprayer of the faithful are delayed as follows:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cO, Ahmad,\nbeware not to let Satan open a way in your heart to make you hopeless from\nGod\u2019s mercy and grace. My ancestor Imam Baqir (PBUH) said: ‘sometimes a\nfaithful servant of Allah (SWT) prays for a need, but He delays answering to\nhis prayers because He loves the voice of the faithful and hearing his moans.’<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What the Creator grants to the\nfaithful person with a delay (and in the afterworld) is better than what he\nreceives earlier in this world; how priceless is this world?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Then, taking into account the\ncertainty of the answering of the prayers, he reminded the importance of\nfocusing on our duties, adding that the two important duties in this respect\nare not taking the prayers trivial in every situation and removing the\nobstacles for them in order to be answered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMy ancestor,\nImam Baqir (PBUH) said: ‘the prayer of the faithful person in the times of ease\nmust be like his praying during the times of hardship; not that when he\nreceived his answer forget Allah (SWT) again.’<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So don\u2019t get tired of praying for that\npraying has a great rank and value. Be patient and look for a just income and\nstrengthen your relationship with family and relatives. Never make people turn\naway and don\u2019t have enmity toward them. We, the Ahl al-Bait (PBUT), join the\none who has left us, and do goodness in return for vice, and by Allah (SWT), we\nhave always seen good destiny.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Adding to his points, Imam Reza (PBUH)\ndoes not count the fulfilling the needs in this world as the final goal;\nhowever, with the prayers been answered, not only one should not become\nnegligent, but also he should be more attentive in doing one\u2019s duties. Therefore\nhe says:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cTruly when the\none who has been granted with blessing always receives whatever he asks for (he\nwill become greedy), will ask for more; therefore the blessing of God will look\ncheap and usual for him, and he will never get satisfied. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Therefore when the blessings of God\nare abundant the Muslim will be at stake, there would be rights that have to be\npreserved, and he fall in a divine experiment.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Again Imam Reza (PBUH) subtly advises\nibn Abi Nasr to have trust in God and says: \u201c Tell me, will you trust on what I\ntell you?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ibn Abi Nasr says: \u201cI replied quickly:\nMy majesty, who should I trust if I don\u2019t trust you? For that you are the\nargument (Hujjah) of God upon his creatures.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Imam Reza (PBUH) answered: \u201cHave more\ntrust on the promise of Allah (SWT). For God has promised to answer the\nprayers. Isn\u2019t it in the Holy Quran \u201cAnd when my servants ask you about me,\ntell them that I am close. I answer the prayer of the praying when he calls\nme\u2026?\u201d(1) Isn\u2019t it in the Holy Quran that \u201cDon\u2019t become hopeless from the mercy\nof Allah\u2026?\u201d(2) Hasn\u2019t God said \u201cAllah has promised to forgive you\u2026?\u201d(3)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You must have trust in God more than\nanyone else. Don\u2019t stick to anything other than good thoughts in your heart for\nthat you are subject to Allah\u2019s (SWT) mercy.\u201d (4)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yes. Although a thousand years has\npassed from the dialogue between Abi Nasr and Imam Reza (PBUH), Imam\u2019s (PBUH)\nresponse is a comprehensive guide over time for those who passionately look for\ntheir prayers to be answered. Our kind Imam invites us to be more attentive in\norder not to get overwhelmed by the satanic impressions. Therefore he advises\nus to behold the rules of the prayer and remove the obstacles to be answered,\nand having more trust in the Creator of the worlds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
(The above is a\nsection taken from \u201cA Detailed Research on the Life of Imam Reza (PBUH)\u201d, by\nlate Hujjat al-Islam Shaykh Baqir Sharif Qurashi)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Roshd Website congratulates all\nMuslims, especially you dear friend, upon 11th of Dhul Qa\u2019dah, the birthday\nanniversary of the guiding Imam and the leading Master, the eighth Imam of the Shiites, Imam Ali ibn Musa\nal-Reza (PBUH).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Footnotes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
1. The Holy\nQuran, (2:186)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
2. The Holy\nQuran, (39:53)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
3. The Holy\nQuran, (2:268)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
4. Usul al-Kafi,\nvol. 2, p. 488<\/p>\n\n\n\n
5. “I\ntestify that you are the guiding Imam and the leading Master.” (A phrase\nfrom the Ziarat of Imam Reza (PBUH) Mafaatih al-Jinan)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Abi Nasr, similar to many other people, kept on praying for a need, but his prayers seemed to never be answered. Slowly he was beginning to doubt the mercifulness of Allah (SWT). The feelings of anxiety and despair were taking over. He decided to consult Imam Reza (PBUH). He visited the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8937,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28248],"tags":[22287,17778,22286,22290,22163,22288,18418,17955,20728,22289],"class_list":["post-4525","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-occasional-letters","tag-2013-09-17","tag-allah","tag-answer-my-prayer","tag-hopeless","tag-imam-reza","tag-need","tag-occasion-letters","tag-people","tag-praying","tag-removing"],"yoast_head":"\n