Conditions of du`a being accepted by Allah

Question

What are the conditions of du`a so that the du`a will be answered and accepted by Allah?.

Praise be to Allah.

There are many conditions of du`a, including the following:

1 – You should call upon no one except Allah. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “If you ask, then ask of Allah, and if you seek help, then seek the help of Allah.” Narrated by al-Tirmidhi, 2516; classed as saheeh by al-Albani in Saheeh al-Jaami’.

This is what is meant by the verse (interpretation of the meaning):

“And the mosques are for Allah (Alone), so invoke not anyone along with Allah”

[al-Jinn 72:18]

This is the most important condition of du`a, without which no du`a will be accepted and no good deed taken up. There are some people who make du`a to the dead and regard them as intermediaries between them and Allah. They claim that these righteous people will bring them closer to Allah and intercede for them with Him, and they claim that their sins are so great that they have no status before Allah, and that is why they set up these intermediaries and pray to them instead of Allah. But Allah says (interpretation of the meaning):

2 – You should seek to draw close to Allah in one of the ways that are prescribed in sharee’ah.

3 – You should avoid seeking a quick response, for this is one of the problems that may prevent the du`a from being accepted. In the hadeeth it says: “One of you may be answered so long as he is not hasty and says, ‘I said du`a but I got no response.’” Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 6340; Muslim, 2735.

In Saheeh Muslim (2736) it says: “A man’s (du`as) may be answered so long as it does not involve sin or severing the ties of kinship or hastening.” It was said: “O Messenger of Allah, what does hastening mean?” He said: “When he says, ‘I made du`a and I made du`a but I did not see any response,’ so he gets discouraged and stops making du`a.”

4 – The du`a should not involve sin or severing of the ties of kinship, as stated in the hadeeth quoted above: “A man’s (du`as) may be answered so long as he does not involve sin or severing the ties of kinship …”

5 – You should think positively of Allah. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “Allah, may He be exalted, says: ‘I am as My slave thinks I am.’” Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 7405; Muslim, 4675. According to the hadeeth of Abu Hurayrah: “Make du`a to Allah when you are certain of a response.” Narrated by al-Tirmidhi; classed as hasan by al-Albani in Saheeh al-Jaami’, 245.

Whoever thinks well of his Lord, Allah will bestow His bounty upon him and give him in abundance.

6 – You should be focused, aware of the greatness of the One upon Whom you are calling. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “Know that Allah does not answer a du’aa from a distracted heart.” Narrated by al-Tirmidhi, 3479; classed as hasan by al-Albani in Saheeh al-Jaami’, 245.

7 – Ensuring that one’s food comes from good (halaal) sources. Allah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“Verily, Allah accepts only from those who are Al-Muttaqoon (the pious)”[al-Maa’idah 5:27]

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) stated that a response was unlikely for one who eats, drinks and wears haraam things. In the hadeeth it says: [The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)] mentioned the man who undertakes a lengthy journey and is disheveled and covered with dust, and he stretches his hands towards heaven saying, ‘O Lord, O Lord,’ when his food is haraam, his drink is haraam, his clothes are haraam. He is nourished with haraam, so how can he be granted a response?

Narrated by Muslim, 1015.

Ibn al-Qayyim said: Thus eating haraam things saps the strength of the du`a and weakens it.

8 – You should avoid aggression in du`a, for Allah does not like aggression in du`a. Allah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“Invoke your Lord with humility and in secret. He likes not the aggressors”[al-A’raaf 7:55]

See also question no. 41017.

9 – You should not let du`a distract you from an obligatory duty such as an obligatory prayer that is now due, and you should not neglect parents’ rights on the basis of du`a. This is indicated by the story of Jurayj, when he did not answer his mother’s call and turned instead to his prayer. She prayed against him and Allah tested him sorely.

Al-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said: The scholars said: This indicates that what he should have done is to answer her, because he was offering a supererogatory (naafil prayer), continuation of which was voluntary, not obligatory, whereas answering his mother and honouring her was obligatory and disobeying her was haraam.

Saheeh Muslim bi Sharh al-Nawawi, 16/82.

For more information see Kitaab al-du`a by Muhammad ibn Ibraaheem al-Hamad.