Manners of Supplication

1. Supplication should start with, “Bismillah…In the name of Allah, Praise is to Allah, and Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon the Messenger of Allah and should end with (Peace and Blessing be upon the Messenger of Allah).” 

2. Supplication should be performed secretly and with a present (sincere) heart. Allah (Glorified and Exalted be He) said: “Invoke your Rabb (Cherisher and Sustainer) with humility and in secret, He likes not the aggressors.”  (Qur'an, Surah Al-A’raf, 7:55)

3. Supplicate Allah (Glorified and Exalted be He) with humility and express your need to Allah. He said:   “Verily, they used to hasten on to do good deeds, and they used to call on Us with hope and fear, and used to humble themselves before us.”  (Qur'an, Surah Al-Anbiya', 21:90)

4. Insist to Allah (Glorified and Exalted be He) in your supplication by repeating it many times.

5. Invoke Allah (Glorified and Exalted be He) by His Names and Attributes. He said: “And (all) the Most Beautiful Names belong to Allah, so call on Him by them.”   (Qur'an, Surah Al-A'raf, 7:180)

6. Supplicate Allah (Glorified and Exalted be He) by mentioning the righteous deeds you have done. Narrated Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with him), that he heard Allah’s Messenger (Peace be upon him), saying “Three men, amongst those who became before you set out until night came and they reached a cave, so they entered it. A rock slithered down from a mountain and blocked the entrance of the cave. They said: “Nothing will save you from this except that you supplicate to Allah (Glorified and Exalted be He) by mentioning the righteous deeds you have done, etc.””   (Reported by Bukhari and Muslim)

7. Admit your sins during your supplication. Allah (Glorified and Exalted be He) said: “Dhan-Nun (Jonah), when he went off in anger, and imagined that We shall not punish him. But he cried through the darkness (saying): La ilaha illa Anta (none has the right to be worshiped but You) Glorified be You, Truly, I have been of the wrongdoers.”  (Qur'an, Surah Al-Anbiya’, 21:87)

8. Repeat each sentence of your supplication three times. From the long Hadith narrated by Ibn Masaud (may Allah be pleased with him), and when the Prophet (Peace be upon him) finished his Salat, he raised his voice and supplicated on them and when he supplicated, he supplicated three times....” (Reported by Muslim)

9. Face the Qiblah (Mecca) during your supplication. Narrated Abdullah bin Zaid (may Allah be pleased with him): “Allah’s  Messenger (Peace be upon him) went out to his praying place to offer the Salat of Istisqa (rain) He invoked Allah (Glorified and Exalted be He) for rain and then faced Al-Qiblah and turned his upper garment inside out.” (Reported by Bukhari)

10. Raise your hands while supplicating Allah (Glorified and Exalted be He) as in the Hadith of Abu Musa (may Allah be pleased with him): when the Prophet (Peace be upon him) had finished from the battle of Hunain, he said “the Prophet (Peace be upon him) asked for water, performed ablution and then raised his hands saying 'O Allah forgive Ubaid Abi Amir’.”   (Reported by Bukhari and Muslim)

11. Be in the state of Purity during your supplication. (See the previous Hadith)

12. When making supplication for others, start with yourself first then include others. Allah (Glorified and Exalted be He) said about Noah (Peace be upon him) “My Rabb (Cherisher and Sustainer) forgive me and my parents and him who enters my home as a believer, and all the believing men and women...”  (Qur'an, Surah Nuh, 71:28)

13. Do not be aggressive when you are supplicating Allah (Glorified and Exalted be He) such as asking Him to make you a prophet and you know there will not be a prophet after Mohammed (Peace be upon him) or make you live forever and you know everyone will die.

14. Remember to include your parents in your supplication (if they are Muslims only or they died on Islam but if they are alive and they are non-believers, you cannot supplicate Allah (Glorified and Exalted be He) to have mercy on them or forgive their sins, you are only allowed to ask Allah (Glorified and Exalted be He) to guide them to the right path “Islam”)

15. Be patient.  Do not expect an immediate response from Allah (Glorified and Exalted be He) although this could happen.  But if it does not, then you should be patient and continue supplicating Allah (Glorified and Exalted be He) until you see the results. Narrated Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him): Allah’s Messenger (Peace be upon him) said: “The invocation of anyone of you is responded to by Allah if he does not show impatience by saying; 'I invoked Allah (Glorified and Exalted be He) but my request has not been granted.’”  (Reported by Bukhari and Muslim)