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What are the conditions of Du`a so that the Du`a will be answered and accepted by Allah?
Praise be to Allah.
To have your supplications ( Du`a ) accepted, certain conditions need to be met; you should:
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 ask (i.e., supplicate) 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. However, Allah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“And when My slaves ask you (O Muhammad) concerning Me - indeed I am near (to them by My Knowledge). I respond to the invocations of the supplicant when he calls on Me (without any mediator or intercessor).” [Al-Baqarah 2:186]
In Sahih Muslim (2736) it says: “A man’s (Du`a) may be answered so long as it does not involve sin, severing the ties of kinship, or hastening.” It was said: “O Messenger of Allah, what does hastening mean?” He (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) 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.”
“Verily, Allah accepts only from the pious”[Al-Ma’idah 5:27]
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) stated that a response was unlikely for one who obtains his food, drinks and clothing from prohibited sources. In the Hadith it says: [The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)] mentioned the man who undertakes a lengthy journey and is dishevelled and covered with dust, and he stretches his hands towards heaven saying, ‘O Lord, O Lord,’ when his food is unlawful (bought with ill-gotten money), his drink is unlawful, his clothes are unlawful. He was nourished with what is unlawful, so how can he be granted a response?] (Narrated by Muslim, 1015)
Ibn Al-Qayyim said: “Thus eating from ill-gotten sources saps the strength of the Du`a and weakens it.”
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 prayer, continuation of which was voluntary, not obligatory, whereas answering his mother and honouring her was obligatory and disobeying her was prohibited.” (Sahih Muslim bi Sharh Al-Nawawi, 16/82)
For more information, please see Kitab Al-Du`a by Muhammad ibn Ibrahim Al-Hamad.
And Allah knows best.