The Muslim Handbook

By: Dr. Mubarak Ali

RECOMMENDED DU'A (SUPPLICATIONS)

5.3 CONDITIONS FOR ACCEPTANCE OF SUPPLICATION

     Allah cannot be deceived or tricked. He knows whether His servant is sincere, pure and clean in his intentions. For this reason, the supplicant must be serious, sincere and meet certain conditions before his petition to Allah can gain fruitful acceptance. This involves consuming Halal (lawful) food and drink (see chapter 9), wearing proper clothes (see Islamic dress codes in Chapter 3) and earning a Halal living. Once Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas requested the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) to entreat Allah to make his supplication heard. The Prophet (pbuh) instructed:

O Sa'd consume lawful things and your supplications will be heard, and by Him in Whose Hands is the soul of Muhammad, when a man puts into his stomach a morsel of what is forbidden his prayers are not accepted for forty days, and a servant of Allah whose body is nourished by usury or by what is forbidden becomes more deserving of the Hell fire (Al-Hafiz bin Marduwiyah).

In another Hadith, while stressing the consumption of lawful food and drink, it is also a requirement of the supplication to be neat, clean and tidy in appearance at all times including while making supplication. The Messenger (pbuh) mentioned someone who is careless in his appearance, unclean and untidy, in addition to consuming what is forbidden:

A person travels widely, his hair is dishevelled , and covered with dust. He lifts up his hands and makes supplication: 'O Lord O Lord', But his diet is unlawful, his drink is unlawful, and his clothes are unlawful, and his nourishment is unlawful. How then can his supplication be accepted? (Muslim and Ahmad).

Source: The Muslim Handbook (By Dr. Mubarak Ali)

(To Be Continued)