It seems so easy, perhaps a little too easy. Which makes us wonder, am I really doing it right? Am I asking in the right way?

As muslims being able to talk to Allah directly is a great honour;

it is an immense blessing. We are able to talk to The Almighty, The All-Powerful! It is an amazing grace that we have been bestowed with. The truth of the matter is, is it really that easy; to be able to talk to the Greatest of all Kings, just like that?!

Well, yes and no. You can pour your heart out to him as you wish, with a million words. Or you can say just a word or two and He will understand it all. He knows the depths of our hearts, the complications of our situations and the causes of our sadness. He knows it all, inside out.

In the Quraan, Allah relates the story of Prophet Ayyub (peace be upon him), who was afflicted with suffering on top of suffering. He lost all his wealth, all his children and even his health. Yet he made a very simple duaa. He had full trust in Allah, and he knew that Allah knew his distress more than he did. He simply said, “verily distress has seized me, and You are the Most Merciful, of all those who show mercy.” (21:83)

Similarly, Yunus (peace be upon him); his people rejected him, and he was eventually thrown in the ocean, and then swallowed by a whale. Yet, his duaa was also very short. He said, “there is no God but You, Glory be to You, surely, I was among the wrongdoers.” (21:87)

The two above duaas are very short, yet very powerful, and Allah answered both their invocations. Prophet Ayyub called on Allah by His attribute of being the Most Merciful. Prophet Yunus called on Allah, by associating none with Him.

Let us take some good manners we should uphold when making duaa, so as to have our duaas accepted:

1. Before making duaa, we should have complete belief in Allah. We should have utmost conviction in Tawheed, in all three aspects of it (Ruboobiyyah, uloohiyyah, and Asmaa was Sifaat). We should obey Allah in our lives, and ask only of Allah sincerely.
2. Seek out times and conditions that are more likely for your duaa to be accepted. You can find out more about these here.
3. It is recommended that a person faces the qiblah, as derived from various ahadith in which the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did so.
4. We should raise our hands when we make duaa, the Prophet said, “Your Lord, may He be blessed and exalted is Kind and Most Generous, and He is too kind to let His slave, if he raises his hands to Him, bring them back empty.” (Abu Dawud, Saheeh by Sh Al-Albaani) So, Allah will not return you with empty hands if you ask of Him.
5. The Prophet (peace be upon him) gave us a formula for duaa, he said, “When one of you prays, let him start with praise of Allah, then let him send blessing on the Prophet (peace be upon him), then let him ask whatever he likes after that.” (Tirmidhi)

1. a) We should first praise Allah and glorify Him. Use His Names and Attributes, as He (azza wa jal) said, “And to Allah belong the most beautiful names, so invoke Him by them.” (Surah ‘Araf 7:180) By calling on Allah by His Names and Attributes we are in effect glorifying Him, as we are submitting to Him, and accepting Him as our Lord.
2. b) Then we should send salutations on the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), because he told us, “every duaa is kept back, until you send blessings on the Prophet.” (At-Tabaraani in Al-Awsaat, Saheeh by Albani)

You may ask whatever you wish from Allah. He is the Bestower, the Granter, the Provider, and He is Capable of all things. When making duaa we should be humble, yet firm. We should believe that Allah will respond to us, because He is the All-Hearer, the Responder.

6. Repentance: precede your duaa with repentance, for sins can block duaas from being answered.
7. Call on His Beautiful Names: “And to Allah belong the most beautiful names, so invoke Him by them.” (Al-A’raaf 7:180) By calling on Allah by His names and attributes we are in effect glorifying Him, submitting to Him, and accepting Him as our Lord.
8. We should believe that Allah will respond to our duaa. To have doubt in Him is to underestimate His ability. Abu Hurairah narrated that the Messenger of Allah said: “Indeed Allah Most High says: ‘I am as My slave thinks of Me, and I am with him when He calls upon Me.'” (Tirmidhi, Saheeh by Darussalam) Hence we should have good thoughts about Allah, and high hopes. He is the All-Hearing, The Responder.
9. Having a presence of mind: Do not repeat a memorised duaa like a parrot, but rather mean what you say. Say it because you mean it. Ask from the bottom of your heart. Glorify Allah expressing your wonder, amazement, love and fear of Him. If you have memorised a duaa, learn what it means. The Prophet peace be upon him said, “Call upon Allah when you are certain of a response, and remember that Allah will not answer a duaa that comes from a negligent and heedless heart.”(Tirmidhi, Saheeh by Sh Al-Albaani)
10. Ask frequently and repeat your invocation: the Prophet peace be upon him was known to repeat his duaas thrice as a means of imploring Allah may He be exalted. Ibn Mas’ud (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) liked to say a duaa three times and ask for forgiveness three times. (Abu Dawud, An-Nisa’i)
11. Ensure that your food and clothing are halaal: on one occasion the prophet mentioned a man who travels a long distance, is dishevelled and dusty, and said “and he stretches forth his hands towards heaven saying, ‘O Lord, O Lord,’ but his food is haraam, his drink is haraam, his clothing is haraam, he has been nourished with haraam, so how can he be responded to?” (Muslim)
12. Remember Allah in times of ease, and He will remember you in times of hardship. (Ahmad)

Making duaa is easy. We just have to follow the guidelines taught to us by our beloved Prophet peace and blessings be upon him. May Allah accept our duaas, and guide us.