What Should We Pay Attention To When Making Dua?
The acceptance of prayers is one of the most important ways to gain Allah’s pleasure and communicate with Him. However, not every prayer is accepted in the same way. There are some important considerations to be taken into account for a prayer to be answered. In this article, we will learn what we should pay attention to so that our prayers can be more easily accepted.
6 Things to Consider When Making Dua
- Before Praying: Repentance and Istighfar: The prayer of a servant who commits sins and stays away from prohibitions is not worthy of acceptance. Therefore, it is important to repent and ask for forgiveness from Allah before making dua.
“A man who has gone on expeditions, his upper garment covered with dust, raises his hands to the sky saying, ‘O my Lord, O my Lord!’ But he eats haram, drinks haram, wears haram, is fed with haram. How can such a one’s prayer be answered?” (Muslim, Zakat, 65; Tirmidhi, Tafsir, 3) - Starting and Ending Prayer with Praise and Salutations: Approaching the acceptance of the prayer by praising Allah at the beginning of the prayer and sending salutations to our Prophet. It is also important to end the prayer with praise and salutations.
“The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said, ‘O worshiper, you have hurried! When you sit down after praying, praise Allah as He deserves to be praised, then send prayers and greetings upon me, and then make your supplication.’ (Tirmidhi, Duawāt, 66; Nasa’i, Sehwan, 48) - Making Dua with Sincerity, Humility, and Supplication: We should be sincere in our prayers, show humility, and supplicate to Allah for help.
“Call upon your Lord with humility and fear (of Him), and without extravagance, openly or secretly.” (Al-A’raf, 7/55) - Making Dua Persistently: A believer should not be hasty in having his prayers answered. We should be persistent in our prayers and repeatedly ask from Allah.
“Prayer is accepted as long as one does not despair and does not hasten.” (Tirmidhi, Duawāt, 12) - Making Dua with Hope and Fear: In our prayers, we should seek refuge in Allah’s mercy and pray while fearing His punishment.
“They used to compete in good deeds, and they would ask forgiveness from Us, hoping for His mercy and fearing His punishment.” (Al-Anbiya, 21/90) - Paying Attention to Prayer Times: While prayer can be made at any time, making it during certain times ensures that the prayer is more readily accepted. In addition to the early morning hours, prayers offered after obligatory prayers are particularly important.
“They would spend little of the night in sleep.” (Az-Zariyat, 51/17-18) and “The best times for supplication are at midnight and after the obligatory prayers.” (Tirmidhi, Duawāt, 80)