During the caliphate of ‘Umar ibn Al-Khattaab, may Allah be pleased with him, there was no rain for an entire year and the people were about to perish. So ‘Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, gathered the people and they went out to the desert. He then asked Al-‘Abbaas, may Allah be pleased with him, the paternal uncle of the Prophet  to invoke Allah The Exalted for the Muslims. Al-‘Abbaas, may Allah be pleased with him, raised his hands towards the sky and said, “O Allah, we stretch our hands to You admitting our sins and our forelocks to You declaring our repentance, so Grant us rain.” Thus, Allah The Almighty Sent down the rain.

The mother of Anas ibn Maalik, may Allah be pleased with them, went to the Messenger of Allah  while holding the hand of her son Anas to serve the Prophet  and asked him to supplicate Allah The Exalted for him. The Prophet  invoked Allah The Almighty Saying, “O Allah, Bless his wealth and offspring.” [Al-Bukhari and Muslim] Anas, may Allah be pleased with him, lived until his wealth and offspring increased in abundance and he saw one hundred of his children and grandchildren.

Supplication (Du‘aa’) means to ask for pardon, mercy, forgiveness and to ask Allah The Almighty for what one wants to achieve. It is one of the acts of worship that earns the Satisfaction of Allah The Almighty. The Prophet  said, “Supplication is worship.” [At-Tirmithi] Then the Prophet  recited the verse in which Allah The Almighty Says 

• {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]

• {Is He [not best] Who Responds to the desperate one when he calls upon Him and Removes evil} [Quran 27:62]

The Prophet  said, “Nothing is more honorable in the Sight of Allah than supplicating (to Him).” [At-Tirmithi and Ahmad]

There are etiquettes for supplicating that every Muslim should abide by. Some of these etiquettes are:

• Choosing the time for supplication: There are some times when supplication is likely to be answered such as in the month of Ramadan, the Day of ‘Arafah, Fridays, the time of Sahar (last third of the night) and the first ten days of Thul-Hijjah. The Prophet  said: “No good deeds done on any other day are superior to those done on these days (first ten days of Thul-Hijjah).” Some of his Companions asked, “Not even Jihaad in the Path of Allah?” He replied: “Not even Jihaad in the Path of Allah except that of a man who leaves (for it) with his life and wealth and does not return with either (i.e. he is martyred).” [Al-Bukhari]

It was narrated that upon entering the month of Ramadan, the Prophet  would say, “This month that has come has in it a night which is better than a thousand months. Whoever is deprived of it has been deprived of all of its goodness and none is deprived of its goodness except the truly deprived.” [Ibn Maajah] As for Friday, the Prophet  said, “There is an hour on Friday in which a Muslim does not ask Allah for anything except that Allah Will definitely Grant it to him.” [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]

The Prophet  said, “Allah Descends [in a way that befits His Majesty] in the last third of every night and Says: ‘I am the King… I am the King… Is there anyone invoking Me that I May Respond to his invocation? Is there anyone asking of Me so that I May Grant him his request? Is there anyone asking My Forgiveness, so that I May Forgive him?’ And this continues until the break of dawn.” [Muslim]

The Prophet  also said: “The supplication made in between the (two) calls for prayer (i.e. Athaan and Iqaamah) will never be rejected.” [Abu Daawood, At-Tirmithi, An-Nasaa’i and Ahmad] The Prophet  said, “The supplication made in between the (two) calls for prayer (i.e. Athaan and Iqaamah) is answered, so supplicate.” [Ibn ‘Adiyy]

The Prophet  said, “The slave is closest to his Lord when he is in prostration; so supplicate Allah much (in prostration).” [Muslim] Also among the times when supplications are answered is when facing the enemy, when it is raining, when roosters are crowing, after obligatory prayers and during prostration.

• Facing the Qiblah. Once, the Messenger of Allah  went out to lead the people in the prayer of Istisqaa’ (prayer for seeking rain). He faced the Qiblah and kept invoking Allah. [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]

• Raising the hands. It was narrated on the authority of ‘Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, that the Messenger of Allah  used to raise his hands when supplicating Allah The Almighty. [Al-Haakim] The Prophet  also said: “Allah Is Considerate and Generous; He Does not Turn away empty the hands of His servant when he raises them to Him.” [Abu Daawood, At-Tirmithi and Ibn Maajah]

• Praising Allah The Almighty and asking Him to Confer His Salutations on the Prophet : Salamah ibn Al-Akwa', may Allah be pleased with him, said, “I never heard the Messenger of Allah  begin a supplication other than by saying, ‘Glory be to my Lord The Exalted, The Bestower.’” [Ahmad]

One day, the Messenger of Allah  heard a man saying, “O Allah, I ask You as I testify that none is worthy to be worshipped except You, The One, The Absolute Who neither Begets nor Is Begotten, Nor is there to Him any equivalent.” The Prophet  said, “Indeed, you have asked Allah with His Greatest Name upon which He Gives when He is Asked with it and Answers when He is invoked by it.” [Abu Daawood]

Fadhaalah ibn ‘Ubayd, may Allah be pleased with him, said, “Once, while we were sitting with the Prophet  a man entered the mosque and prayed and then said, ‘Allahumma’ghfir li warhamni [O Allah, Forgive me for my sins and Bestow Your Mercy upon me].’ The Prophet  told him: ‘You have been hasty in your Du‘aa’ O you who are praying. When you finish your prayer and are seated, you should first praise Allah The Exalted as He Deserves, then ask Him to Confer His blessings and peace upon me , then Supplicate to Him.’” After this, another man entered and prayed. Then he praised Allah and asked Him to Confer His Peace upon the Prophet . Thus, the Prophet  told him, “O you who are praying, invoke Allah and He Will Answer your invocation.” [Abu Daawood, At-Tirmithi and An-Nasaa’i]

• Being persistent in supplication and repeating it thrice. ‘Abdullaah ibn Mas‘ood, may Allah be pleased with him, said, “If the Prophet  invoked Allah, he would do so thrice. And if he would ask Allah, he would do so thrice. And the Prophet  said: “The supplication of every one of you will be granted as long as he is not impatient and say, ‘I have supplicated my Lord but He has not answered it.’” [Al-Bukhari and Muslim] The Prophet  also said: “None of you should say, ‘O Allah, Forgive me if You Will, Have mercy upon me if You Will. Rather, be determined in asking for Allah Does whatever He Wills and no one forces Him. (i.e. one should invoke Allah The Almighty with certainty that his supplications would be answered as Allah Has Power over all things.)” [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]

Sufyaan ibn ‘Uyaynah  said, “None of you should abstain from invoking Allah because of what is apparent from his sins as Allah The Almighty answered the invocation of the worst of creation, Iblees, may Allah Curse him. Allah The Almighty Says (what means): {He said, "My Lord, then reprieve me until the Day they are resurrected." [Allah] Said, "So indeed, you are of those reprieved. Until the Day of the time well-known."} [Quran15: 36,37,38]

• Lowering the voice when supplicating. Allah The Almighty Says (what means): {Call upon your Lord in humility and privately;} [Quran 7:55] The Prophet  said to the Companions, may Allah be pleased with him, when they raised their voices in supplication, “You are not calling upon someone deaf or absent. You are calling upon One who is All-Seeing and All-Hearing. He is with you all the time.” [Muslim]

• Supplicating Allah The Almighty with what was mentioned in the Quran and the Sunnah. It is better for the Muslim to supplicate Allah The Almighty with what was mentioned in the Noble Quran of many invocations such as:

Allah The Almighty Says (what means):
• {"Our Lord, Forgive us our sins and the excess [committed] in our affairs and Plant firmly our feet and Give us victory over the disbelieving people."} [Quran 3:147]
• {"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] 

Islam attached great importance to supplicating, as it is the direct means through which the slave communicates with his Lord. As Muslims we do not need any mediators between us and Allah. In this article we will highlight some supplications that were mentioned in the Quran and the Sunnah of the Prophet,  (may Allah exalt his mention).

Allah Says (what means): "Our Lord, condemn us not if we forget or fall into error. Our Lord, lay not on us a burden like that you laid on those before us. Our Lord, lay not on us what we have no strength to bear.  Blot out our sins, and forgive us, and have mercy on us, You are our Protector, so give us Your help against the faithless people." [Quran 2:286]

Allah Says (what means): "Our Lord, not for naught have you created that (Heavens and Earth and what is between] Glory be to You, so shield us from the penalty of the Fire. Our Lord, whom you admit to the Fire, you have covered them with shame. Our Lord, forgive us our sins, and blot out from us our iniquities, and gather us with those righteous (in the Hereafter). Our Lord, grant us what you promised us through Your Messengers, and do not shame us on the Day of Resurrection. Truly You, Allah never break Your promise.” [Quran 3:191-194]

Allah Says (what means): "Our Lord, You are the Master of the Kingdom, You grant the Kingdom to whom You will, and expropriate the Kingdom from whom You will. You bring honor to whom You will and You let whom You will be disgraced. In Your Hand is all the good, for You are Powerful over everything. You cause the night to gain on the day, and You cause the day to gain on the night. You bring the living out of the dead and You bring the dead out of the living, and You give sustenance to whom You will without measure". [Quran 3:26-27]

Allah Says (what means): "Our Lord, truly You know what we conceal, and what we reveal, and nothing is hidden from Allah whether on Earth or in Heaven". [Quran 14:38]

Allah Says (what means): "Our Lord, forgive my parents and the faithful (people) when, the Day of Judgment comes. Our Lord, avert from us the wrath of Hell, for its wrath is indeed a grievous affliction. It is such a bad place to stay and abide". [Quran 25:65]

Allah Says (what means): "Our Lord, in You we trust, and to You we return in repentance, to You is the destination (of all Your creation)." [Quran 60:7].

Allah Says (what means): "Our Lord, forgive us our sins, and anything we may have done that transgressed our duty, and establish our feet firmly (when facing Your enemies) and help us against those that resist faith". [Quran 3:147]

Allah Says (what means): "Our Lord, we have wronged our own souls, and if You do not forgive us, then we are certainly failures (losers)." [Quran 7:23]

Allah Says (what means): "Our Lord, bestow on us Mercy from Yourself, and dispose of our affairs for us in the right way". [Quran 18:20]

Allah Says (what means): "Our Lord, we do believe, so forgive us and have mercy on us, for You (Allah) are the most Merciful of any who show mercy". [Quran 23:109] 

Allah Says (what means): "Our Lord, Your reach is over all things in mercy and knowledge, so forgive those who repent and follow Your way and preserve them from the torment of the blazing Fire. Our Lord, grant them that they enter Paradise which You have promised them and the righteous of their fathers, and their wives, and their posterity for You are Exalted in might, full of wisdom. And preserve them from ills, for one whom You preserve from ill –on that Day of Judgment – You bestow mercy on him, and that is the supreme success". [Quran 40:7-9]

Allah Says (what means): "Our Lord, let not our hearts deviate after You have guided us, And grant us Mercy from Your own presence, for You are (Allah) Granter of bounties without measure. Our Lord, You are He that will gather all the people together against a day which there is no doubt, for Allah never break his promise". [Quran 

Supplications Collected From The Prophet  :

 “O Allah, forgive my sins, my ignorance, and my extravagance in my affairs, and that which You know better than I.”

“O Allah, forgive my earnestness, my frivolity, my mistakes and (wrong) intentions, and all of that I have done.”

“O Allah, purify my heart from hypocrisy, and my actions from show (dissimulation), my tongue from lies, and my eyes from the breach of trust and betrayal. For You are “Allah”, Who certainly knows treacherous eyes and what breasts conceal.”

“O Allah, the Turner (Controller) of hearts, turn my heart to Your obedience.”

 “O Allah, I seek Your love, and the love of those who love You, and let me love to do every good act, which makes me closer to You.”

“O Allah, let your love become in my heart – dearer than my own soul, and dearer than my own property, and my family, and even dearer than the cold water when I am dying of thirst.”

“O Allah, let my love be for Your sake, and my hate for Your sake. Let me live for Your sake, and act for Your sake, and let me die for Your sake (as a martyr).”

“O Allah, instill Your fear in my heart (so that I can fear you even without seeing you), fill our hearts with faith, and make us guided and guiders (to others), and strengthen us in truthful speech, in both this life and in the Hereafter.”

“O Allah, forgive me, have mercy on me, guide me, and support and provide for me, let there be light in my heart, light in my sight, light in my hearing, and light in my own soul.”

“O Allah, improve my religion (faith) which is the prevention of my affairs, and make my life (in this world) good, wherein is my livelihood, and make my Hereafter good, wherein is my return.”

“O Allah, lengthen my life for me, for more good deeds, and let death be a consolation for me from all evil deeds.”