Virtues of Supplication

Ayah: "And your Lord says: Call on me; I will answer (your prayer). But those who are too arrogant to serve Me will surely find themselves in Hell in humiliation."
[Ghafur / Mu'min: 60]

Ayah: "When my servants ask you concerning Me, I am indeed close (to them). I listen to the prayer of every supplicant when he calls on Me. . ."
[Baqarah:186]

Hadith: "Dua is (a form) of worship; your Lord said, "Call on Me; I will answer you (your prayer).

Hadith: "Verily, your Lord (Blessed is He and Almighty) is alive, generous and if His servant raises his hands towards Him, He feels reluctant not to return anything to him."

Hadith: "Any Muslim who supplicates Allah with a supplication that does not contain any sin or cutting off of family relations, Allah will give him one of three things for it:
1. Either He will speedily answer his dua
2. or He will save it for him until the Hereafter
3. or He will avert something bad from him equal to the value of his dua.
(Explanation: a dua has a certain relative value determined by Allah, so if a person says a particular dua, say 15 times in a day, then Allah protects him from something bad that is equal to the valued amount of his dua.)

Customs and Manners of Making duas and the Causes for their Being Answered:

1. Faithfulness to Allah
2. To start with thanking Allah and praising Him and then giving salat on the Prophet (SAW) and ending the dua with the same.
3. To be serious in dua and certain that it will be answered
4. Persistence in the dua and not rushing it (Hadith says don't rush or be impatient. Don't say "I prayed for such and such a thing and Allah didn't answer my prayer. Allah dislikes that.)
5. To put your heart into the dua -- make it from your heart (even if you are reading the words, i.e., mean what you say)
6. Say dua in times of crises as well as times that are good -- don't just say dua in times of need only.
7. Ask Allah alone -- and no one else.
8. Do not make dua on someone's family or money or child or life -- that is, don't say I wish that that person's family be destroyed, or I pray that she loses all her money, or I wish his oldest son would fail or I wish that he would die.
9. Make dua in a moderately low voice -- not silent yet not completely out loud.
10. Know your sins (faults) and seek forgiveness for them and know and acknowledge the benefits and blessings you have been given and thank Allah for them.
11. The oppressor should make amends for what he has done and repent.
12. Turn to Allah with humility, desire and fear of Him.
13. Do not use rhymed prose when making dua.
14. The supplication is (said) three (times). [Hadith that states that the Messenger of Allah (SAW) when making dua, repeated it 3 times.]
15. Face the Qiblah when making dua.
16. Raise the hands during dua [sunnah, not wajib]
17. Make wudu before making dua when possible.
18. Don't pray for injurious or harmful things to happen to people (like praying someone has an unfortunate mishap, or falls down, or chokes or breaks his leg, etc.) Also remember, that the Angels say "Ameen" and the same for you," after your dua.
19. The person making dua should start with himself if he is going to pray for someone else.
20. To make intercession to Allah by use of His beautiful Names and superior Attributes, or by some good deed that the supplicator performed or by the dua of a good man living, who is in his presence (e.g., asking someone who is a good Muslim to make dua for you)
21. That the food and drink and clothing is halal and of a halal source
22. Do not make dua for a sin or cutting off of family ties.
23. To order that which is good and forbid that which is forbidden
24. Distancing one's self from all types of sin.

THE PREFERRED TIMES, CONDITIONS AND PLACES SUPPLICATIONS ARE ANSWERED:
(bearing in mind that one can make dua at any time and in any place; however, the following are the most preferable times, conditions and places.)

1. Lailatul Qadr
2. Deep in the last third of the night
3. Immediately after the mandatory prayers
4. Between the adhan and iqamah
5. An hour during every night -- [hadith states that Allah comes down to the sky of the earth during the last 3rd of the night and hears the duas of the believers]
6. At the time of the call to the mandatory prayers
7. At the time of rain
8. During jihad when the ranks of fighters (mujahidoun) advance in the path of Allah
9. An hour every Friday -- the soundest opinion regarding this hour is the last hour between the hours of Asr on the day of Juma, and it could be the hour of the khutba and salat.
10. At the time of drinking Zamzam water with true intentions
11. During sajda
12. At the time of waking up at night and there are hadith regarding what the Prophet r said in these duas
13. If you sleep after having made wudu then wake up at night and then make supplication
14. After you say dua Yunus, make your personal dua or one from Qur'an or sunnah and it is La illah ila Allah subhannaka inni kuntu min al thaalimeen.
15. Dua of people after the death of a person (e.g. the dua of a person who is praying for someone who has just died)
16. Dua after praising Allah and giving salat on the Prophet (SAW) in the tashah-hud at the end of salat. Make your dua before the 2 tasleems.
17. At the time of dua, call upon Allah by the greatest of His names that, if called by them, He answers, and if asked by them, He gives (e.g. Ya Rahman, Ya Raheem, Ya Thal Jalaali wal Ikraam, Ya Al Ahad As Samad, lam yalid wa lam yulad wa lam yakum kuf wan ahad)
18. The dua of a Muslim for his brother or sister Muslim stemming from the heart.
19. Dua on the Day of Arafat
20. Dua during the month of Ramadan
21. Dua at the time of a Muslim gathering for the purpose of remembering Allah.
22. Dua at the time of a crisis by saying Inna lilahi wa inna ilaihi raje'oon, Allahuma ajurni fi museebati, wa akhlif li khairun minha. Verily, we belong to Allah, and verily, to Him is our return. O Allah, Bless me in my problem and replace it for me with something better than it.
23. Dua when the heart reaches out to Allah and is ready to be totally sincere
24. Dua of the oppressed against the one who is oppressing him
25. Dua of the father or mother for or against the son
26. Dua of the traveler
27. Dua of the one fasting until he breaks his fast.
28. Dua of the one fasting at the time of breaking fast
29. Dua of a desperate person
30. Dua of a just Imam
31. Dua of a son or daughter obedient to his or her parents
32. Dua immediately after wudu saying what has been mentioned in the hadith that is directly related to it (ablution)
33. Dua after stoning the small Shaitan (jamrat sugra) during Hajj
34. Dua after stoning the middle Shaitan (jamrat wusta) during Hajj.
35. Dua made inside the Ka'aba and the dua of one who prays inside the hijr as it is part of the house (bait Allah). [This is the semicircle to the right of the Ka'aba if you face the door.]
36. Dua on the mount of Safa during Umrah or Hajj
37. Dua on the mount of Marwa during Umrah or Hajj
38. Dua at any of the holy sites.

Note: The believer can call to his Lord at any time, wherever he is but these times and conditions and places are special and more care should be taken.

Note: All of these circumstances are substantiated by hadith.