The Sunnah and Etiquettes of Making Dua

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‘Dua is worship itself,’ the Prophet (saw) declared. The Prophet (saw) then said, “Your Lord says: “Call upon Me, and I will answer to you.” Those who scorn My worship, verily, shall be humiliated in Hell” [The Noble Qur’an, 40:60]’. [Tirmidhi]

What should we do in order to become ready for dua?
Allah can be contacted at any time, Alhamdulillah. You can make du’a as soon as you get up or as you fall asleep, in public or in private, as a conscious decision or as an intuitive response to difficulty. You can also make a du’a in any language for any desire or need (as long as you are not asking for something sinful or wishing harm on others).

However, there is a lovely etiquette (adab) to making dua that, in sha Allah, will intellectually and spiritually prepare you for this crucial prayer.

1st, make wudu.
Before making dua, it is not necessary to conduct wudu. Performing wudu, on the other hand, is a method of purification and preparing yourself to talk to Allah.

After the battle of Hunain, the Prophet (saw) requested water, performed wudu, and then lifted his hands and cried, “O Allah!”, according to Abu Musa Al-Ash’ari (ra). Ubaid Abi Amir, please forgive me!’ [Bukhari]

2. Align yourself with the Qiblah.
Again, facing the Qiblah when making du’a is not required. However, as related in the following narrative, the Prophet (saw) would sometimes do so:

‘Allah’s Messenger (saw) went out to this Musalla (prayer location) to offer the Istisqa prayer,’ Abdullah bin Zaid (ra) recounted (a prayer for rain). He prayed for rain, then turned his cloak inside out and faced the Qiblah…’ [Bukhari]

3. Raise your hands 
   Raising our hands in du’a is a Sunnah that has such a lovely significance! Every time you physically raise your hands, we invite you to consider the following hadith:

‘Indeed, your Lord, Blessed and Almighty as He is, is Shy and Most Generous,’ stated the Prophet (saw). When His servant lifts his hands in du’a to turn them away empty, He is embarrassed. [Abu Dawud]

4. In a low voice, pray to Allah.
‘We were on a journey with the Prophet (saw) and every time we ascended a high area, we used to chant Takbir,’ Abu Musa Al-Ash’ari (ra) remarked (in a loud voice). “O people!” cried the Prophet (saw). Be gentle with yourself, for you are supplicating the All-Hearing, All-Seeing God, not a deaf or absent one.” [Bukhari]

The hadith above is a lovely reminder that Allah is always close to us when we are doing a private du’a, therefore there is no need to be loud! ‘And remember your Lord by your mouth and within yourself, humbly and with awe, without loudness in words, in the morning and afternoon, and do not be among the negligent,’ says Allah. [7: 205] The Noble Qur’an

This is true not just in our own quarters, but also at masjids, where it is preferable not to disturb others in the vicinity. There will be moments when we become emotional and cry – the Prophet (saw) used to cry during du’a! – but we must ensure that our tone remains low while speaking.

To summarise, doing wudu, facing the Qiblah, raising your hands, and calling on your Lord in a hushed voice is the greatest approach to prepare for du’a.

What should our du’a contain

1: Start by praising Allah
Don’t start your du’a without first thanking Allah and then praying for our beloved Prophet (saw):

‘When any of you has completed Salah (prayer) and wishes to supplicate, let him begin by thanking and worshipping His Lord (swt), then send prayers onto the Prophet,’ the Prophet (saw) stated (saw). Then he can ask for everything he wants.’ [Tirmidhi]

2: Use Allah’s names to invoke Him.

‘And the Beautiful Names belong to Allah, so invoke Him by them,’ Allah declares. 7:180 in the Noble Qur’an

There are a plethora of names you can use to address Allah, but the ones listed above are among the most popular. Always choose the most appropriate Name for your du’a. You could utilise Al-Ghafur if you’re seeking forgiveness, and Al-Wakil if you’re seeking assistance with a problem.

There are a several different ways to invoke Allah by His Names, as shown below:

‘Ya Allah, you are Al-‘Afuww; you love to forgive, so forgive me’.
‘You are the Most Forgiving of all forgivers, so forgive me,’ says Allah.
You do not need to pronounce the two letters before the hyphen if you want to invoke one of these Names directly (O ‘Afuww / Ya ‘Afuww).

3: Make a list of all your requirements.
When making du’a, it is critical to include all you require and desire. Allah can fulfil any desire. ‘When one of you prays to Allah, let him hope for the best of things,’ said the Messenger of Allah (saw). Nothing, therefore, can compare to Allah’s greatness.’ Ibn Hibban was a Muslim who lived in the seventh century.

We earlier released an article regarding Prophet Sulaiman (as), who made three huge du’as to Allah while constructing Masjid Al-Aqsa:

We should all follow Sulaiman’s (as) example and never limit our du’as! (To learn more about this du’a, click here.)

4: Make a du’a for someone else.

Make du’a for others if you haven’t already. “No Muslim servant supplicates behind his brother’s back unless an angel says, “And for you the same”,” declared Allah’s Messenger (saw). [Muslim]

It’s also vital to make du’a for the Ummah as a whole, such as, “Our Lord, forgive all the believers.” ‘Whoever asks forgiveness for the believing men and women, Allah will register a good act for him by each man and woman,’ as the Messenger of Allah (saw) said. [Tabarani]

5: Say ‘Amin’ at the end.
Say ‘Amin’ to seal your du’a after you’ve completed supplicating Allah:

‘We went out one night with Allah’s Messenger (saw), and a man came to us, fervently supplicating to Allah for some reason,’ Abu Zuhayr said. “It must be so if he seals it,” the Prophet concluded after pausing to listen to him. “With what does he seal it?” a man in the crowd inquired. ‘Amin, for if he closes it with amin, it will be so…’ said the Prophet. [Abu Dawud] is a character in the novel Abu Dawud by Abu Da

Wipe your hands over your face after pronouncing ‘Amin,’ as directed by the Sunnah: ‘When the Prophet (saw) lifted his hands in supplication, he would not put them down until he cleaned his face,’ according to Umar Ibn al-Khattab (ra). [Tirmidhi]

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To summarise, your du’a should contain praise for Allah and prayers for the Prophet (saw), calling Allah by His Names, asking for all things big and little, making du’a for others, and closing with amin.

How should we approach du’a?
To begin with, we should never be afraid to seek for help. Allah loves it when we come to Him and supplicate, and He never gets tired of meeting our needs or forgiving us.

‘Ask Allah for His favour,’ the Prophet Muhammad (saw) stated. Allah Almighty, verily, enjoys being queried, and one of the noblest acts of worship is to wait for alleviation.’ [Tirmidhi]

Second, having faith in Allah and knowing that He will respond to our du’as is crucial.

‘There is no Muslim who calls upon Allah without committing sin or severing family ties who will not receive one of three responses from Allah: He will quickly fulfil his supplication, He will store it for him in the Hereafter, or He will divert an evil similar to it from him,’ the Prophet (saw) said. ‘In that case, we’ll request more,’ they responded. ′Allah has even more,’ replied the Prophet. [Ahmad]

As a result, we should not be reluctant or unsure when performing du’a, and we should not wonder whether Allah has responded our du’as thereafter.

Finally, while we await Allah’s response, we must exercise patience.

‘The servant will have his supplications fulfilled as long as he does not ask for sin or break family ties, and he is not impatient,’ stated the Prophet. They said, “What is its impatience, O Messenger of Allah?” ‘I have supplicated again and again, but I have not received an answer,’ the Prophet continued. He feels irritated and ceases to supplicate as a result”’. [Bukhari]

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SubhanAllah, we must never forget that Allah is Ash-Shakur (The Appreciative One) and Ar-Rahman (The Most Gracious or Compassionate), thus we should never question that He hears our du’as and will respond in the best way possible for us.

Finally, excellent deeds elevate our du’as. “Good words ascend to Him, and righteous activity elevates them,” Allah declares. 35:10 in the Noble Qur’an

We should fill our days with good works while supplicating Allah, just as Sulaiman (as) did while completing a good deed for Allah’s sake – rebuilding Masjid Al-Aqsa. There are various ways we can demonstrate our commitment to Allah and our desire to please Him, from donating to those in need to worshipping His Blessed Masjid. We should never grow frustrated while waiting for His response to our du’as; instead, we should enhance our good deeds for His sake!