I want all possible duas and prayers accepted so im looking to gather answers from every islamic section together compiled in this post. If you downvote without a valid reason, this forum will not run properly.
Mostly want references and citations.
Everyone please give real life examples and quotations from quran and ahadith together to help get duas accepted.I dont want this to be a muslim peer support group that is harmful so no comments please
[ this answer can be eloborated ]
no matter what sect or section of Islam one belongs to, the criteria for dua being accepted is the same. i will try to lay a brief answer to your question, as from what i understand, acceptance of the dua is the concern.
FROM THE QURAN
You (Alone) we worship, and You (Alone) we ask for help (for each and everything) (1:5)
this verse is the foundation for making dua (note that dua is also worship).
And when My slaves ask you (O Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم) concerning Me, then (answer them), I am indeed near (to them by My Knowledge). I respond to the invocations of the supplicant when he calls on Me (without any mediator or intercessor). So let them obey Me and believe in Me, so that they may be led aright (1:186)
in this verse Allah ﷻ shows us the basic criteria for dua being accepted. we must acknowledge the nearness of Allah ﷻ by His infinite knowledge and we must ask from Him without any intermediaries and what we ask should be something that always brings us close to Allah ﷻ and something that pleases Allah ﷻ.
And your Lord said: "Invoke Me, [i.e. believe in My Oneness (Islamic Monotheism) and ask Me for anything] I will respond to your (invocation)" (40:60)
and this is the verse in which Allah ﷻ has commanded us to ask from Him. there is nothing any other created being can do to help us, all the power is with Allah ﷻ.
FROM THE SUNNAH
it is through our beloved prophet ﷺ that we get much clarity and further instruction on dua. how to make dua, what kind of dua to make, preferred times to make dua, preferred places to make dua, what happens when we make dua and the importance of making dua are just a few clarities we can find.
i will mention a few relevant ahadith towards acceptance of dua, in sha Allah.
Narrated Abu Huraira : Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said, "Allah ﷻ said, 'I am to my slave as he thinks of Me (Bukhari 7505)
first and foremost what we have to understand and to believe is that, Allah ﷻ is the only one who can respond to our dua and only He can answer them. and we must have firm faith that our dua will be answered. always make dua with certainty.
there is a narration by Abu Huraira :
Make dua to Allah ﷻ when you are certain of a response (Al-Tirmidhi)
with that being understood, we must also know that there are numerous conditions for dua to be accepted and not to be accepted as well. the focus of your question was directed towards acceptance of dua but i think what's more important is to know how one's dua stands a chance of not being accepted. only when you know what nullifies something, then only you can be firm upon what you stand or believe.
namely, the conditions that dua cannot be accepted are, making dua for sin or anything Allah ﷻ has forbidden. dua for severing or cutting the ties of kinship, dua against a pious believer, making dua while you are consuming haram and being hasty.
EVIDENCES
not to be hasty when making dua (al-Bukhaari, 6340, Muslim, 2735)
not to make dua for sin and for severing ties of kinship (Muslim 2736)
consuming haram lessens/invalidates dua (Muslim 1015)
(note: even the conditions are laid out like this always remember that Allah ﷻ has all the sovereignty and He does whatever He wills, so we can only assume based on this instructions that one's dua has a lesser chance or no chance of being accepted but in reality, it is only Allah ﷻ who knows)
only knowing about how to make our dua being accepted is not enough, we must also know what happens when make dua.
Abu Sa'id al-Khudri reported: The Prophet ﷺ, said, "There is no Muslim who calls upon Allah, without sin or cutting family ties, but that Allah will give him one of three answers: He will quickly fulfill his supplication, He will store it for him in the Hereafter, or He will divert an evil from him similar to it." They said, "In that case we will ask for more." The Prophet said, "Allah has even more" (Musnad Aḥmad 11133)
"Nothing can change the Divine decree except dua" [Musnad Ahmad, 5/677; Ibn Majah, 90; Jami Al-Tirmidhi, 139]
may Allah the mighty and sublime grant us mercy and guide us to the straight path.
Allah knows best
Bismillah Hir Rahmaan Nir Raheem
As Salaamu 3laykum,
I hope you are doing well. When it comes to duas (supplications) all duas are accepted in general except for a few reasons.
General Acceptance
All duas are heard by ALLAAH (Glory Be To Him). The main thing is that we ask for good and do not rush our duas (supplications).
The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “There is no Muslim who calls upon ALLAAH, without sin or cutting family ties, but that ALLAAH will give him one of three answers: He will quickly fulfill his supplication, He will store it for him in the Hereafter, or He will divert an evil from him similar to it.” They said, “In that case we will ask for more.” The Prophet said, “ALLAAH has even more." (Musnad Ahmad)
When Duas Are Not Accepted
ALLAAH Messenger (ﷺ) as saying: O people, ALLAAH is Good and He therefore, accepts only that which is good. And ALLAAH commanded the believers as He commanded the Messengers by saying: "O Messengers, eat of the good things, and do good deeds; verily I am aware of what you do" (xxiii. 51). And He said: "O those who believe, eat of the good things that We gave you" (ii. 172). He then made a mention of a person who travels widely, his hair disheveled and covered with dust. He lifts his hand towards the sky (and thus makes the supplication): "O Lord, O Lord," whereas his diet is unlawful, his drink is unlawful, and his clothes are unlawful and his nourishment is unlawful. How can then his supplication be accepted? (Sahih Muslim in the book of zakat)
The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "By Him in Whose Hand my life is, you either enjoin good and forbid evil, or ALLAAH will certainly soon send His punishment to you. Then you will make supplication and it will not be accepted". (Tirmidhi)
The Messenger of ALLAAH, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “Every one of you will have his supplications answered, as long as he is not impatient and he says: I have supplicated but I was not answered.” (Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 6340, Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 2735)
Now I will be presenting ahadith as to how duas are accepted via special circumstances.
Acceptance Due to the Greatest Name of ALLAAH (Glory Be To Him).
The Greatest Name of ALLAAH, if He is called by which He will respond, is in three Surah: Al-Baqarah, Al 'Imran and Ta-Ha. (Hasan)Another chain for something similar from Al-Qasim, from Abu Umamah, from the Prophet (saas).
the Prophet (ﷺ) said: "ALLAAH greatest name is in these two Ayah: ‘And your deity is One deity, there is none who has the right to be worshipped but He, Ar-Raḥmān, Ar-Raḥīm.’ And the Opening of Al-`Imrān: ‘Alif. Lām. Mīm. ALLAAH, None has the right to be worshipped but He, the Ever living, the Sustainer.’”
The Messenger of ALLAAH (ﷺ) heard a man saying: O ALLAAH, I ask Thee, I bear witness that there is no god but Thou, the One, He to Whom men repair, Who has not begotten, and has not been begotten, and to Whom no one is equal, and he said: You have supplicated ALLAAH using His Greatest Name, when asked with this name He gives, and when supplicated by this name he answers. (Source)
Acceptance Due to Time of Day or Moment
“Jabir Ibn ‘Abdullah (may ALLAAH be pleased with him) said, “ The Messenger of ALLAAH(peace and blessings be upon him) supplicated to ALLAAH in this Masjid (Masjid Al-Fath) on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. His dua was answered on Wednesday between the prayers of Dhuhr and Asr. Jabir(may ALLAAH be pleased with him)said,” There wasn’t anything that was crucially important for me to have solved, except I called on ALLAAH during that hour of the day between Dhuhr and Asr knowing He would answer.” Graded Hasan by Shaykh Al-Albani(May ALLAAH have mercy upon him) in Saheeh Adab Al-Mufrad.
The Messenger of ALLAAH (ﷺ) said, "Do not invoke curses on yourself or on your children or on your possessions lest you should happen to do it at a moment when the supplications are accepted, and your prayer might be granted." (Sahih Muslim)
“The Messenger of ALLAAH (ﷺ) said: ‘Whoever wakes up in the morning and says upon waking: La ilaha illallah wahdahu la sharika lahu, lahul-mulku wa lahul-hamdu, wa Huwa ‘ala kulli shay’in Qadir; Subhan-ALLAAH walhamdu lillahi, wa la ilaha illallahu, wa ALLAAHu Akbar, wa la hawla wa la quwwata illa billahil-‘Aliyil-‘Azim (None has the right to be worshipped but ALLAAH alone, with no partner or associate. His is the dominion and all praise is to Him, and He is Able to do all things. Glory is to ALLAAH, praise is to ALLAAH, none has the right to be worshiped but ALLAAH, ALLAAH is the Most Great, and there is no power and no strength except with ALLAAH, the Most High, the Most Supreme), then he supplicates Rabbighfirli (O Lord, forgive me), he will be forgiven.’” Walid said: “Or he said: then if he supplicated, it will be answered for him then if he stood up and performed ablution and then performed prayer, his prayer would be accepted.” (Ibn Majah in the chapter of supplication)
‘Abd ALLAAH b. ‘Umar said to me: Did you hear your father narrating a tradition from the Messenger of ALLAAH (ﷺ) about an hour on Friday (when supplication is accepted by ALLAAH)? I said: Yes, I heard it. I heard the Messenger of ALLAAH (ﷺ) say: This hour is found during the period when the imam is seated (for giving Friday sermon) until the prayer is finished. Abu Dawud said: By sitting is meant sitting on the pulpit.
I asked: Messenger of ALLAAH, in which part of night the supplication is more likely to be accepted? He replied: In the last part: ....." (Abu Dawud)
The Messenger of ALLAAH, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “Supplication is not rejected between the call to prayer and its commencement.” They said, “What should we say, O Messenger of ALLAAH?” The Prophet said, “Ask ALLAAH for wellness in the world and in the Hereafter.” (Tirmidhi)
Acceptance Due to the Type of Person
the Messenger of ALLAAH said: "Three supplications are accepted , there is no doubt in them (about them being accepted): The supplication of the oppressed, the supplication of the traveler, and the supplication of his father against his son." (Tirmidhi)
Have a Nice Day!
Note #1: If you downvote my answer, please be courteous and say why you downvoted in a comment below.
Note #2: This is my own personal answer that I have derived from what I have researched.
