Sunan Abi Dawud

Ibn Sa'd said: My father (Sa'd ibn AbuWaqqas) heard me say: O Allah, I ask Thee for Paradise, its blessings, its pleasure and such-and-such, and such-and-such; I seek refuge in Thee from Hell, from its chains, from its collars, and from such-and-such, and from such-and-such. He said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) say: There will be people who will exaggerate in supplication. You should not be one of them. If you are granted Paradise, you will be granted all what is good therein; if you are protected from Hell, you will be protected from what is evil therein.

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) heard a person supplicating during prayer. He did not mention the greatness of Allah, nor did he invoke blessings on the Prophet (ﷺ). The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: He made haste. He then called him and said either to him or to any other person: If any of you prays, he should mention the exaltation of his Lord in the beginning and praise Him; he should then invoke blessings on the Prophet (ﷺ); thereafter he should supplicate Allah for anything he wishes.

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) liked comprehensive supplication and abandoned other kinds.

"One of you should not say (in his supplication): O Allah, forgive me if You please, show mercy to me if You please.' Rather, be firm in your asking, for no one can force Him."

"One of you is granted an answer (to his supplication) provided he does not say: 'I prayed but I was not granted an answer.'"

The Prophet (ﷺ) said: Do not cover the walls. He who sees the letter of his brother without his permission, sees Hell-fire. Supplicate Allah with the palms of your hands; do not supplicate Him with their backs upwards. When you finish supplication, wipe your faces with them. Abu Dawud said: This tradition has been transmitted through a different chains by Muhammad b. Ka'b; all of them are weak. The chain I have narrated is best of them; but it is also weak.

The Prophet (ﷺ) said: When you make requests to Allah, do so with the palms of your hands, and not backs, upwards. Abu Dawud said: The narrator Sulaiman b. 'Abd al-Hamid said: according to us Malik b. Yasar was a Companion of the Prophet (ﷺ).

I saw the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) supplicating Allah in this manner with the palms of his hands and also with their backs upwards.

The Prophet (ﷺ) said: Your Lord is munificent and generous, and is ashamed to turn away empty the hands of His servant when he raises them to Him.

Ikrimah quoted Ibn Abbas as saying: When asking for something you should raise your hands opposite to your shoulders; when asking for forgiveness you should point with one finger; and when making an earnest supplication you should spread out both your hands.

Earnest supplication should be made like this: he raised his hand and made his palms in the direction of his face.

The above mentioned tradition has also been transmitted in a similar manner by Ibn 'Abbas from the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ).

When the Prophet (ﷺ) made supplication (to Allah) he would raise his hands and wipe his face with his hands.

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) heard a man saying: O Allah, I ask Thee, I bear witness that there is no god but Thou, the One, He to Whom men repair, Who has not begotten, and has not been begotten, and to Whom no one is equal, and he said: You have supplicated Allah using His Greatest Name, when asked with this name He gives, and when supplicated by this name he answers.

"He has asked Allah using His Greatest Name."

I was sitting with the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and a man was offering prayer. He then made supplication: O Allah, I ask Thee by virtue of the fact that praise is due to Thee, there is no deity but Thou, Who showest favour and beneficence, the Originator of the Heavens and the earth, O Lord of Majesty and Splendour, O Living One, O Eternal One. The Prophet (ﷺ) then said: He has supplicated Allah using His Greatest Name, when supplicated by this name, He answers, and when asked by this name He gives.

"Allah's Greatest Names is in these two verses: "And your Ilaah (God) is One Ilaah (God), none has the right to be worshipped but He, the Ever-Merciful, the Mercy-Giving' and the beginning of Surah Al 'Imran, "A.L.M Allah, there is no deity but He, the Living, the Eternal."

Ata' said: The quilt of Aisha was stolen. She began to curse the person who had stolen it. The Prophet (ﷺ) began to tell her: Do not lighten him. Abu Dawud said: The meaning of the Arabic words la tasbikhi 'anhu means "do not lessen him or lighten him".

I sought permission of the Prophet (ﷺ) to perform umrah. He gave me permission and said: My younger brother, do not forget me in your supplication. He (Umar) said: He told me a word that pleased me so much so that I would not have been pleased if I were given the whole world. The narrator Shu'bah said: I then met Asim at Medina. He narrated to me this tradition and reported the wordings: "My younger brother, share me in your supplication."

The Prophet (ﷺ) passed by me while I was supplicating by pointing with two fingers of mine. He said: Point with one finger; point with one finger. He then himself pointed with the forefinger.