Make dua daily: the best times and how to ask
Dua is talking to Allah directly, in any language, about anything. The Prophet ﷺ called it worship itself.
Dua is worship.
Abu Dawud and at-Tirmidhi
وَإِذَا سَأَلَكَ عِبَادِي عَنِّي فَإِنِّي قَرِيبٌۖ أُجِيبُ دَعۡوَةَ ٱلدَّاعِ إِذَا دَعَانِۖ فَلۡيَسۡتَجِيبُواْ لِي وَلۡيُؤۡمِنُواْ بِي لَعَلَّهُمۡ يَرۡشُدُونَ ﴿١٨٦﴾
Waitha saalaka ʿibadee ʿannee fainnee qareebun ojeebu daʿwata alddaʿi itha daʿani falyastajeeboo lee walyuminoo bee laʿallahum yarshudoona
And when My servants ask you, [O Muhammad], concerning Me - indeed I am near. I respond to the invocation of the supplicant when he calls upon Me. So let them respond to Me [by obedience] and believe in Me that they may be [rightly] guided
Quran 2:186 · Surah Al-Baqara
وَقَالَ رَبُّكُمُ ٱدۡعُونِيٓ أَسۡتَجِبۡ لَكُمۡۚ إِنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ يَسۡتَكۡبِرُونَ عَنۡ عِبَادَتِي سَيَدۡخُلُونَ جَهَنَّمَ دَاخِرِينَ ﴿٦٠﴾
Waqala rabbukumu odʿoonee astajib lakum inna allatheena yastakbiroona ʿan ʿibadatee sayadkhuloona jahannama dakhireena
And your Lord says, "Call upon Me; I will respond to you." Indeed, those who disdain My worship will enter Hell [rendered] contemptible
Quran 40:60 · Surah Ghafir
The best times for dua
- The last third of the night, when Allah asks: Who is calling upon Me that I may answer him? (al-Bukhari, Muslim)
- In sujud: "The closest a servant is to his Lord is when he is prostrating, so make much dua" (Sahih Muslim).
- Between the adhan and the iqamah: "Dua between the adhan and iqamah is not rejected" (Abu Dawud, at-Tirmidhi).
- An hour on Friday, most likely the last hour before Maghrib (al-Bukhari, Muslim; Abu Dawud).
- While fasting, when travelling and the dua of a parent for a child (at-Tirmidhi, Ibn Majah).
How to make dua
- Begin by praising Allah and sending salawat on the Prophet ﷺ (at-Tirmidhi).
- Raise your hands, face the qiblah if you can.
- Ask with certainty and persistence. Do not say "I prayed and it was not answered" (al-Bukhari, Muslim).
- Ask for good in this world and the next. Use the duas of the Quran, such as 2:201.
- End with praise and salawat.
وَمِنۡهُم مَّن يَقُولُ رَبَّنَآ ءَاتِنَا فِي ٱلدُّنۡيَا حَسَنَةٗ وَفِي ٱلۡأٓخِرَةِ حَسَنَةٗ وَقِنَا عَذَابَ ٱلنَّارِ ﴿٢٠١﴾
Waminhum man yaqoolu rabbana atina fee alddunya hasanatan wafee alakhirati hasanatan waqina ʿathaba alnnari
But among them is he who says, "Our Lord, give us in this world [that which is] good and in the Hereafter [that which is] good and protect us from the punishment of the Fire
Quran 2:201 · Surah Al-Baqara
A daily habit
Keep a short dua list on your phone: family, health, guidance, forgiveness, people who asked you to pray for them. Read it in sujud or after a prayer every day.
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