Does rebelling because one’s prayer is not accepted eliminate prayers in the past?

- There was something that I wanted for 5 months and I had been praying for it for a long time. In the end, I could not stand it and I rebelled a lot because Allah did not accept my prayer.
- As far as I know, if one says that my prayer is not accepted, all the prayers said in the past will be deleted; they will go for nothing.
- Did all my prayers in the past go for nothing since I said so?

Dear Brother / Sister,

In the test of religion, deeds are evaluated with the most precise balance as a necessity of justice. As it is stated in the verse, “An atom’s weight of good and an atom’s weight of evil are taken into account in the reckoning.” (see az-Zilzal, 99/7-8)

Likewise, it is stated in the Qur’an that the reckoning in the hereafter takes place according to the weight / abundance or scarcity of good and bad deeds done in the world. (see al-Qaria, 101/6-11)

It is understood from the verses above and similar ones that bad deeds done later do not cause good deeds done before to be eliminated. Although it is a bad deed of disrespect and a sin to criticize Allah – God forbid -, the owner of infinite mercy, wisdom and power, and to rebel by claiming that one’s prayer was not accepted, the rejection and elimination of previously accepted prayers is not in question.

We recommend you to read Risale-i Nur Collection regarding the issue and the following statements as an example:

“O soul! You have received this wage, and you are charged with the pleasurable, bountiful, easy, and light duty of worship. But you are lazy in this too. If you perform it half-heartedly, it is as though the former wages are insufficient for you and you are overbearingly wanting greater things. Also, you are complaining: “Why was my prayer not accepted?” But your right is not complaint, it is supplication. Through His pure grace and munificence, Almighty God bestows Paradise and eternal happiness. So, seek refuge in His mercy and munificence constantly. Trust in Him and heed this decree:” (see Sözler, p. 360)

“Prayer is a sort of worship, for through illness one understands one’s impotence and seeks refuge at the divine court. Therefore, although for thirty years I have offered supplications to be healed and apparently my prayer has not been accepted, it has not occurred to me to give it up. For illness is the time for supplication. To be cured is not the result of the supplication. If the All-Wise and Compassionate One bestows healing, He bestows it out of His abundant grace. Furthermore, if supplications are not accepted in the form we wish, it should not be said that they have not been accepted.” (see Lem’alar, p. 215)

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