Times in which Du’a is Accepted - Shaykh Zakaullah Saleem

Khutbah Opening

Indeed, all praise is due to Allah. We praise Him and ask His help and ask His forgiveness. And we seek refuge in Allah from the evils of our souls and from the evils of our deeds.

Whomsoever Allah guides, none can misguide him. And whosoever He leads astray, none can guide him. I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, alone, with no partner. And I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger.

O you who have believed, fear Allah as He should be feared. And do not die except as Muslims.

O you people, fear your Lord, Who created you from one soul, and created from it its mate. And He spread among them many men and women. And fear Allah in Whom you ask for help and mercy. Indeed, Allah is ever watching over you.

O you who have believed, fear Allah and say the right words. He will correct your deeds and forgive your sins. And whosoever obeys Allah and His Messenger has certainly attained a great triumph.

Allah Hears Every Call

Allah ذو الجلال والإكرام hears the calls of His slaves whenever they call upon Him. He has said in Surah Al-Baqarah:

"Whenever My slaves ask you, O Muhammad ﷺ, about Me, then I am close. I answer the call of the caller whenever he calls upon Me."

This is the promise of Allah. And He also said:

"Call upon Me and I will answer your call."

It is the mercy of Allah that He has opened the doors of His mercy for us so that we can call upon Him whenever we need. And actually we need Him all the time. So whenever you feel that you need to make du'a to Allah, you should not delay it. You should raise your hands and make du'a straight away. Because He says:

"I answer the call of the caller whenever he calls upon Me." — Day and night, morning, evening, regardless of the restriction of any time.

However, there are certain times in which there are more chances for your du'a to be accepted — or for your du'a to be accepted and answered by Allah maybe immediately, or most definitely.

Times When Du'a is Accepted

1. The Last Third of the Night

One of them is what the Prophet ﷺ said in a hadith reported by Imam Al-Bukhari:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 1145; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 758)

He ﷺ says that Allah descends to the lowest heaven every single night in the last part of the night — when the last third of the night remains — as it befits His Majesty. And then He says: "Who is there who wants to call upon Me so that I can answer his call? Who is there who wants to ask Me for anything so that I can grant him? Who is amongst My slaves who wants to seek My forgiveness so that I can forgive him?"

And remember, that is a precious time. This is one of the most important times within 24 hours. That is why Rasulullah ﷺ said the best prayer after the fard prayer is the night prayer. And when He ﷺ arrived in Madinah Al-Munawwarah, one of the very first pieces of advice that He ﷺ gave to the people of Madinah, He said:

(Sunan Ibn Majah, Hadith 1334; Jami' al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 2485)

"Try to wake up at night and pray and stand before Allah while the rest of mankind are asleep." So you have a secret conversation with your Lord at that time. And this is the time in which the du'a is accepted and answered by Allah.

My dear brothers and sisters in Islam, the days we are going through now — we are approaching and entering into the winter season. And this is a time, a season about which our Salaf, our predecessors used to say: this is the best time. This is Al-Ghanimatul Baridah — an easy booty and pleasure, a blessing from Allah, when the nights are long. So none of us should have any excuse for not waking up at the later part of the night.

And nowadays, the nights are going to get longer and longer as we enter into the winter season. And even now, if we pray Isha at 8 o'clock and Fajr is at half past 6, you have ample time. So if you want to have your lifestyle according to the Sunnah of Rasulullah ﷺ, then you should be trying to go to sleep after Isha as soon as possible so that you can wake up early in the morning to pray Salatul Tahajjud.

And you do not have to pray all 11 rak'at. If you can, it is good, Alhamdulillah. But at least try to pray at least 2 rak'at. Rasulullah ﷺ said in a hadith that if a person wakes up at night and offers only 2 rak'at of night prayer, he is not written amongst those who are neglectful — those who do not care about gaining the mercy of Allah.

So if not every single night, then twice a week, three times a week — we should try our best to wake up in the early morning. Then you can pray Salatul Tahajjud, make du'a to Allah, and it is a time of peace and quiet, so you can have that secret conversation between you and your Lord. And then you can easily attend Salatul Fajr in the masjid. May Allah give us tawfiq and ability.

2. The Time of Sujood (Prostration)

The second time is an opportunity that we get every single day — at least 17 times, or more, because in every single rak'ah we make two sajdas. And the du'a that is made in the sajda is accepted and answered by Allah. It is a promise.

Rasulullah ﷺ said: when you bow down, when you make ruku, then glorify your Lord — say the adhkar that Rasulullah ﷺ used to recite and has taught his companions. And about the sujood, he ﷺ said:

(Sahih Muslim, Hadith 482)

"The closest that a servant is to his Lord is when he is in the position of sujood — so increase in du'a."

When you prostrate, when you go into the position of sajda, make your best effort to make du'a. Try to prolong the sajda. Make as many du'as as you want, because this is one of the times in which the du'a is answered by Allah.

When you place your forehead on the ground, on the earth, you actually humble yourself before your Lord. And this is the highest and best way of humbling yourself before Him. Then you call upon Him — you place your forehead on the ground and you say:

"Glory be to my Lord, the Most High." And when you praise Allah this way and then ask Him, Allah showers His mercy upon you.

3. Between the Adhan and the Iqamah

The third time in which du'a is accepted is what the Prophet ﷺ said:

(Sunan Abi Dawud, Hadith 521; Jami' al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 212)

"The du'a of the slave of Allah is not rejected between the adhan and the iqamah."

The interval — the gap — the time between the adhan and before starting the congregational prayer, those 10–15 minutes, is a precious time. Very important. You should not be wasting this time in hanging around, in vain talk, or doing nothing. And especially if you have arrived in the masjid early, then Alhamdulillah, you should make the best usage of that time. One of the best deeds you can do in that particular time is to raise your hands and ask Allah. Make du'a to Allah. The du'a that is made between the adhan and the iqamah is never rejected.

4. The Special Hour on Friday

The fourth time, my dear brothers and sisters in Islam, is the du'a that we make on this particular day — the day of Friday. One of the distinctive qualities of this day is what Rasulullah ﷺ said: in this day there is a time — and when he ﷺ mentioned this, he gestured with his two fingers, indicating it is a short, very brief time. But this is so precious that if a slave of Allah makes du'a in that particular time, Allah answers his du'a.

The companions, رضوان الله عليهم أجمعين, differed about exactly when this time is. Some of them held the position that it is from the time the Khatib comes on the minbar to deliver the khutbah, all the way until the Jumu'ah prayer begins. So when the Khatib is sitting and the adhan has started — and also when the Khatib sits between the two khutbahs — that short time; whatever you ask Allah in that time, Allah answers your du'a.

Some other companions — and this is the opinion of the majority of the companions, رضوان الله عليهم أجمعين — held the position that this time is between Asr and Maghrib on Friday. Although that time seems a bit long, comparing it to the whole 24-hour day, it is a short period of time anyway. So this is the time in which we should try our best to make du'a to Allah.

May Allah give us tawfiq and ability to make du'a to Him all the time. And may Allah answer all of our du'as.

Obstacles to the Acceptance of Du'a

There are certain things that prevent your du'a from being accepted and answered by Allah.

1. Haste and Impatience (Al-Isti'jal)

One of them is al-isti'jal — being hasty in your du'a and showing frustration. It is not for you to show frustration or haste when making du'a to Allah. Your duty and your task is to simply make du'a to Allah and then leave the result with Allah, having full trust that He will choose whatever is best for you. As the Prophet ﷺ said:

"Allah answers the du'a of one of you as long as you do not be hasty."

2. Cutting the Ties of Kinship (Qati'at al-Rahim)

Another obstacle is when you make du'a about committing — or while committing — any sin, and particularly what is mentioned in the hadith regarding Qati'at al-Rahim. When you are cutting the ties with your kinship, your du'a is not answered by Allah.

3. An Inattentive Heart

Another obstacle is when you make du'a to Allah but your heart is not attentive — you are just uttering the words but your mind is not there. In this case, the du'a is also not answered by Allah.

4. Consuming the Haram (Al-Akl al-Haram)

And lastly, Al-Akl al-Haram. If you consume haram, if you eat haram, if you drink haram, if your earning is haram — then your du'a is not answered by Allah.

We ask Allah that He accepts our du'as, and may Allah give us tawfiq and ability to call upon Him every single day. And whenever we need Him, we raise our hands to Him and He answers our du'a.