Judging Whether Allah Has Accepted or Rejected a Person's Deeds

Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah.

Judging whether deeds are accepted or rejected is among the matters of the unseen whose knowledge Allah alone has reserved for Himself. Therefore, no one may definitively state that another person's prayer has been accepted or rejected unless there is clear evidence from the Islamic sources.

If it is known with certainty that the person praying failed to fulfill one of the conditions of prayer, omitted one of its essential pillars, or committed something that invalidates it—for example, praying before the prescribed time began, praying without ritual purification, failing to recite Surat al-Fatihah where it is obligatory, or performing an act that nullifies the prayer—then it is permissible to rule that the prayer is invalid and legally unacceptable, because the Islamic texts clearly establish this.

However, if the prayer outwardly fulfills all of its conditions and pillars, and nothing that invalidates it is apparent, then it is not permissible to state that it has not been accepted by Allah. The acceptance of prayer depends upon matters of the heart, such as sincerity, truthful intention, and humility (khushu'), and these are known only to Allah, the Exalted.

Therefore, if someone says, "So-and-so's prayer has not been accepted," merely because they have seen that person commit certain sins or display shortcomings, they have spoken without knowledge and claimed knowledge of something that Allah has kept for Himself. This is among the prohibited matters.

However, this is not considered presuming upon Allah (ta'alli 'ala Allah) in the specific sense mentioned in the hadith. Presuming upon Allah refers to swearing about what Allah will or will not do, or making a definite claim about His judgment. An example is the man who said, "By Allah, Allah will never forgive so-and-so." Allah then said:

"Who is the one who swears about Me that I will not forgive so-and-so? Indeed, I have forgiven him, and I have rendered your deeds worthless."

Thus, presuming upon Allah means swearing concerning Allah or making a definite claim about His judgment—not merely saying that a particular prayer has not been accepted.

In summary: If Islamic law clearly establishes that a prayer is invalid because a condition or pillar was omitted or because something occurred that nullified it, then it is permissible to judge that the prayer is invalid. However, if the prayer appears outwardly valid, it is not permissible to state definitively that Allah has not accepted it, because the acceptance of deeds belongs to the unseen, known only to Allah. Speaking in this manner is speaking about Allah without knowledge, although it is not considered presuming upon Allah unless it involves swearing about or definitively claiming what Allah will do.

And Allah knows best.