Why all Prayers are not accepted?

By: Sayyid Jan Ali Kazmi .
But sometimes we see that a man asks for a son in his prayers and God does not bestow him with a son. In such a situation a man should not lose heart that God did not accept his prayers because God has the knowledge of the unseen, and He knows that whether the thing a man is asking for is good for him or not. For example if God bestows us with a son and the son grows up and kills forty or fifty people and then is hanged to death and bring a bad name to the parents and family then in this situation is it a blessing that God should give a son or is it a blessing that He should not give a son.
In the same manner we sometimes ask God for money and wealth but God does not lent us the wealth that we wish for but this does not mean that God has not granted our prayers. But on the other hand if God gives us wealth and money and we get killed for that money or we forget God because of that money, then in this situation is wealth a blessing or the absence of it?
Thus prayers are always granted and in this respect the greatest scholar, intellectual, philosopher and abstemious person of the world Jaffer Sadiq states:
“If a person continuously prays for something for ten or twenty years, and his prayer is not granted, and if it is granted it is after a long span of time. Then when this person will be summoned (called) on the Day of Judgment, God will address him and say, ‘O my beloved person you prayed to me for a certain thing for ten years but I did not grant your prayer, it was because that thing was not of any good for you in the world. Although the act of prayer is in itself a worship, and it is an act which has its fruits both in the world and the hereafter then, O man ask whatever you desire today?’
And when a man will see the fruits of that not granted prayer he will wish that none of his prayer should have been granted in his life, and wished he would have done nothing else in the world but pray to God.”
Thus it is not possible that a prayer is not accepted, and it is an act of worship in itself and it is one of the best acts to improve our condition both of the world and the hereafter.

Etiquettes of Prayers
Now what are the most elegant manners of prayers? In this regard a man should firstly purify himself; his clothes and his body should be clean. If possible a man should take a bath and then with full concentration he should spread a clean mat on the floor and sit down. The first etiquette (manners) of prayer is that a man should recall and remember the graces and the blessings of God and whatever God has blessed him since his adulthood. Next he should thank God that He had assigned him eyes and he was not born blind, that God had assigned (appointed) him hands and he is not handicapped (disabled). Then recall all the benefits and graces of God, which God saved him from disease and all the difficulties of life, thus a man should once recall all the graces and blessings of God.
God states in his Holy book: “O man if you wish to compute all my blessings it would be an impossible task”, and it is the truth that a man cannot fathom the greatness of the blessings of God.

Remember the Blessing and Insubordination
Thus the first etiquette of prayers is that a man should remember the blessings of God according to the Great Scholar imam Jaffer Sadiq (pbuh) and the second thing to do is to recall all the insubordination (disobedience) that one has committed before the will of God, and remember if he has ever slandered, told a lie, have injured someone, or got involved in lust or eaten the forbidden or sinned. Thus a man should recall those acts which he had committed against the will of God, feeling repentant and thinking, that if God had punished me while he was committing sin and evil how could have he come to God for prayers. Calling upon God that, ‘O Lord You showed patience while I was committing sin and did not punish me then, you did not take away my sight and did not change my face to that of a beast, I was not paralyzed (inactive), then O Lord this shows and indicates that You want to forgive me and now I present myself before You that I should be forgiven my sins and evil deeds.’
Now for the forgiveness of ones sins a man should ask forgiveness on account of the most beloved men of God. A man should seek forgiveness on account of thousand Prophets. Then seek forgiveness in connection to the most abstemious men who have acquired the knowledge and the wisdom of God and those who have taught men the manners of prayers, like Great Scholars and Prophets. Thus he should share all the difficulties and confusions with his Lord that he is relieved (comforted) of all his problems.

Prayers a means of relaxation
Even if man spends five to ten minutes in this act of prayers, then no doubt he will feel relaxed and also attain great pleasure in this act. And if our daily acts include acts which are approved by God like, offering thanksgiving, helping others, show patience then as a reward God would gradually increase the time of this appointment (prayers), from five minutes to half an hour and then to an hour. In this way finally a man would be able to enjoy the spiritual pleasures of prayers, which have its effect both in this world and the hereafter.