How can our prayers be accepted by Allah :)

There are so many times we pray for something, though it is not always accepted by Allah. It is mentioned in a Hadith that after our death when our deeds will be weighted, our prayers/duas will be weighed also. The duas/prayers that wasn`t answered in our life will give us plenty of heavy good deeds. Allah will make us so happy, that at that moment we would wish for that none of our prayers should have been accepted as the bounty we will receive from it in the Hereafter.

It is very important that we, after our salah, take out time for dua. Allah does not like the person that does not make dua to him. In case some of your prayers haven`t been answered they way you want it to shouldn`t prevent you from making lots of dua. Because we don`t know what is good for us. All our prayers are answered some way or the other. It is just we who complain because we don`t know better. Allah has three ways of answering our prayer; 1. We don`t get what we asked for, but get something better instead. 2. We get what we asked for in this world and the hereafter. 3. We don`t get what we asked for but Allah protects us from a big calamity.

If we look at this three ways, we could ponder over the fact that if the things that didn`t happen before in my life, I wouldn`t have been where I am today. Isn`t it incredible. Sometimes we can`t see it but Allah is fixing everything for us.

There are some “tools” of having your prayers/duas accepted by Allah:

1. First of all try your out most to not eat something that is haram. Make sure everything you eat doesn`t contain any gelatine from swine or other animals that are slaughtered un-islamicly.
2. Ask for forgiveness before you ask Allah of something. Admit Him your faults and ask for sincere forgiveness and then ask Allah what you want. That is the way of the Prophet`s as well.
3. Earn your money the halal way, by halal work.
4. The prayer that we ask for our muslim brother and sister in her absence will be accepted. An angel by our side will say: “and may you have something similar”. So try to pray for the whole Ummah in your duas/prayers.
5. Don`t have any grudges with your loved ones from more than three days as your deeds would not be accepted if you don`t mend your ways.
6. In the start of the dua/prayer praise Allah, then send durood/blessings on our last Prophet, the dua you will ask preceding this will be accepted.
7. Ask a lot of dua in the sujood, in any language you know, it doesn`t have to be in arabic, it could be in your own language as well. You are the closest one can be to Allah in the sujood, so remember to make lots of dua then.
8. Know what you are saying in the prayer, when we pray with full concentration in our prayer especially when we pray surah fatiha, our prayers will be accepted. Allah answers the whole surah fatiha ayat by ayat, and at the end Allah says, “and my slave shall have what he asks for”.
9. Be patient. Find comfort and joy in your prayers. If Allah doesn`t answer your prayer right away don`t say that He didn`t answer your prayer and you prayed so much for one thing. Only Allah knows when He is going to grant you your wishes. Pray that it happens soon.
10. On fridays at the Jumu`ah prayer at the Mosque the dua/prayer between the Adhaan and the Iqamah, is answered.
11. On fridays 1 hour before the Magribh prayer that is the auspicious time when prayers are, in sha Allah answered, make lots of dua at that time.
12. Be thankful to Allah and Allah will give you more. Allah has said a lot of places in the Quran that he gives  a people something and instead of increasing in their prayers dhikr they become un-thankful. Think about this next time Allah grants you your wishes. Than we have every reason to pray more and more, InshaAllah. At least we can try to be more thankful to Allah.
    
13. Love Allah that much that you ask him for even the smallest thing. There is a hadeeth from Aisha Ra that our Prophet said that if your shoe-laces are cut, you should pray to Allah that you get new ones. Because if it isn`t Allah`s wish that you get new shoe-laces nothing in the world can help you to achieve that. Therefore we should ask Allah for even the smallest things, as well as the big.
14. Recite “Ya Samiyo Ya Mojibo” often. It means Allah the All-hearer and the accepter of prayers/duas.
15. Recite “Ya Fattaho Ya Razzako” often. It means open the doors for success in my rizk. Rizk can be children, spouse, work, business and stuff like that.
16. Prayers are answered when it is raining, so do supplicate then.
17. A travelers supplications are also answered, so do supplicate a lot when traveling.
18. Read “Ya Kadi-yil-hajaati” whenever you can throughout the day and especially in your supplications. It means Allah “the one that fulfils your requests”. (In the start it is a kafh with to dots, so the pronunciation is a bit different).
19. Read “Va-Yaa-Akramal-Akra-Mina” in your supplications. It means “of the ones who are kareem, You Allah are the most kareem, because of Your Rahma over me accept my dua”.
20. In your supplications, you can also read:  “Rabbana Ya Ghiasal-Mustaghisina-Aghisni”. It means “Oh my Lord, You are the One who helps, so help me”.
21. Your supplication at the time you break your fast, will in sha Allah be answered. Allah answers the prayers of the fasting person. Abu Hurayra Ra reported that the Messenger of Allah said : Three people doesn`t have their supplications rejected, the fasting person until he breaks his fast..”
22. The supplication after “salat-ul-tasbhi“,  which is the prayer of forgiveness, will in sha Allah not be refused. You can read it here, the manner of reading  the salat.
23. Read night prayer. It was narrated from Abu Sufyan Ra that Jabir Ra said>: ” I heard the Prophet (pbuh) say:” In the night there is an hour when if a muslim asks Allah for good in this world and in the Hereafter, He will give him it, and that happens every night.” (Sahih Muslim). Read more here.

Allah does not like  those people whom don`t asks him of anything i.e. makes dua/prayer to him. He loves it when we asks much from him, if we ask a lot he will feel shy to leave us empty-handedly, so he accepts something. Try to trust Allah and ask him a lot, and in sha Allah all your issues will be solved.

May Allah grant our prayers and make us His pious worshippers and give us a lovely life and the best hereafter for eternity. Ameen summa ameen.

Source; Jamia At-Tirmidhi, Sahih Muslim, The Ideal Muslimah (book), Lecture by Yasir Qadhi: “the power of dua”, Imam Bukhari`s book of manners.