Peace be upon you, esteemed teacher.
During the session, you said:
“Nothing takes precedence over prayer. However much good we do for others, it will be of no benefit unless our prayer is accepted.”
There is a hadith from Imam al-Sadiq (peace be upon him) about the conditions for prayer to be accepted. He said:
«يا ابن جندب قال اللّه جل و عزّ فى بعض ما اوحى: انما اقبل لصلاة ممّن يتواضع لعظمتى و يكف نفسه عن الشهوات من اجلى و يقطع نهاره بذكرى و لايتعظم على خلقى و يطعم الجائع و يكسو العارى و يرحم المصاب و يؤوى الغريب فذلك يشرق نوره مثل الشمس اجعل له فى الظلمة نورا و فى الجهالة حلما اكلأه بعزتى و استحفظه ملائكتى يدعونى فالبّيه و يسألنى فاعطيه فمثل ذلك العبد عندي كمثل جنّات الفردوس لا يسبق اثمارها و لاتتغير عن حالها.»
“O Jundab, God said in some of what He revealed: ‘I accept prayer only from one who humbles himself before My majesty, restrains himself from desires for My sake, spends his day in remembrance of Me, does not act arrogantly toward My creation, feeds the hungry, clothes the unclothed, shows compassion to those afflicted, and gives shelter to the stranger. For such a person, I make his light shine like the sun. I place a light for him in darkness and forbearance amid ignorance. I protect him by My might and entrust him to the care of My angels. When he calls upon Me, I answer him; when he asks Me for something, I grant it. Such a servant is, in My sight, like the gardens of Paradise: their fruits never fail, and their state never changes.’”
Ibn Shuʿba al-Harrani, *Tuhaf al-ʿUqul*, p. 306.
Here, feeding the hungry, clothing the unclothed, showing compassion to those afflicted, and giving shelter to the displaced are mentioned as conditions for prayer to be accepted. Yet you also say that if prayer is not accepted, then no matter how much good we do for others, it will be of no benefit.
Esteemed teacher, are these two points not in contradiction? I would be grateful for your guidance.
Thank you.
َّهِ الرَّحْمنِ الرَّحيمِ