Many of our prayers are not answered in this world. It may be due to wisdom of God almighty but is it a satisfactory answer? Tassawauf have kashaf and karamat which are visible and are experienced through our senses so that can give us some faith and satisfaction. But can any intellectual debate regarding our unanswered prayers satisfy us?
Answer
We know that God almighty is running this universe. His wisdom in its management is apparent. Clearly opposing forces have harnessed to work for a single end and produce the desired result. Air and fire, night and day, summer and winter, male and female and life and death all join to smooth running of the world. This shows us that the creator and the manager of the universe is the wisest being.
Let us now turn to the question of prayers. There is fable which goes like this. A father has two daughters. One of the daughters is married to a farmer while the other is married to a potter. At a certain time in the year the father visits both the daughters. When he goes to the first daughter she asks him to pray for rain. Their livelihood depends on growing crops and if there is no rain at that time the harvest would not be promising. When the father enters upon the second daughter she asks him to pray that there is no rain. If the rain falls the pottery that is freshly put to dry and baking can be destroyed. Now what does the father do? He likes them both and wishes well for each. He must be perplexed as what to do. His knowledge is limited and he does not know the scheme of life set for the two daughters. The Almighty however knows everything and He is the one who has designed the entire scheme for all the creations. When His creatures plead to Him He responds in the light of His wisdom and the scheme of life outlined by Him for the creatures. If a mother prays for the life of her baby suffering from a lethal malady one cannot doubt the sincerity of the mother and her love for the child. However, this does not guarantee that the prayers shall be heard. They can be and they cannot be. This depends on the scheme of life and the test and trial set for the parents, the baby and indeed all the concerned people. Many sincere prayers by very true believers collide with the prayers of the other similarly sincere and true believers. Only the divine wisdom can solve this problem and decide the affairs.
I am sorry I could not understand how tasawwuf can expose the reality of the unseen before us. This is a demand that was not even granted to the Prophets and their addressees who demanded clear signs. I am also unable to understand how do tasawwuf and the karmaat explain why some prayers are not accepted and granted by Allah Almighty. I wonder if you could explain this issue in detail for us.
We believe that the faith in the unseen realities including Allah Almighty, the Books, the Messengers, the Angels and the Afterlife all depend on arguments. This is intellectual exercise and not physical exposure that takes one to these facts and makes one to have faith in them.
