Fatwa.. Accepted Prayers

Egypt's Dar al-Iftaa answers readers' questions in various fatwas. We at See publish these fatwas. The question says:

How do I know if my prayers are accepted?

ANSWER

The issue of the acceptance of acts of worship has occupied the minds of renowned Muslim scholars over centuries and they pointed to some signs that help us recognize whether or not our acts of worship are accepted by God Almighty. Sa’id Ibn al-Musayab maintained that one of the obvious signs is following one act of obedience with another. For example, if a person was blessed with praying the noon prayer and then he was guided to perform the midafternoon prayer, it is a sign that the noon prayer was accepted as God has guided him/her to perform another act of obedience following the preceding one.

Another sign of acceptance is the byproduct of thinking well of God (husn dhann billah) as God Almighty said in His Qudsi Hadith, “I am as my servant think of Me.” Therefore, Muslims are to think well of God Almighty and believe that He is All- Merciful and Most Gracious. Thus, out of His infinite mercy, God will accept our good deeds and forgive our bad ones.

And God Almighty knows best.