Nisbah Magazine Nisbah, Winter 2013 | Page 21

Types of Acceptance There are different types of acceptance. One type of acceptance is that the validity of a particular action is accepted. For example, the Prophet of Allah  said in one hadith (narration); ّٰ ‫ال يقبل الل صالة أحدمك إذا أحدث ت‬ �‫ح‬ ‫يتوضأ‬ “Allah will not accept the prayer of anyone of you when you break your wudu until you renew it.” The word that is used here is also acceptance. The Prophet of Allah  is talking about the acceptance in terms of the validity – the prayer will not be valid if you do not make your wudu. In another hadith, the Prophet of Allah  said: ‫ت‬ ‫ي ئ‬ ‫من ا� عرافا فسأهل عن ش� مل تقبل هل صالة‬ ‫ين ة‬ ‫اربع� ليل‬ “Whoever visits a fortune teller and asks him for something, his prayer will not be accepted for forty nights.” (Sahih Muslim) By going to such people and asking them about your future, your prayer will not be accepted for forty days. One may be praying his prayer in the very best way, he may be doing his wudu with khushoo (tranquility) and he may be abiding by all the rulings of prayer; but it will not be accepted in the sight Allah . This acceptance is, for example, you go to the fruit section in a supermarket, with a list which your wife might have given you, i.e. bananas, apples. When you get there you see the grapes looking very beautiful and juicy. But because your purpose wasn’t to buy them, you don’t get them. They are not accepted near you; these grapes did not get that acceptance from you and those bananas and apples got that acceptance from you. This is what acceptance is. 21 NISBAH