Etiquette of Supplicating
29-4-2025 | IslamWeb
Question:
Are there some certain prayers one shouldn't ask Allah? How does one cope with praying but not seeing their prayers get answered?
Answer:
All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, and that Muhammad 
is His slave and Messenger.
Not every supplication made by a person is necessarily permitted or acceptable in Islam. Both the Quran and the Sunnah warn against certain types of supplications that go against the proper etiquette of prayer. After commanding us to call upon Him, Allah says in the Quran: {Call upon your Lord in humility and privately; indeed, He does not like transgressors} [Quran 7: 55]
The Prophet Muhammad also said: “A servant's prayer will continue to be answered so long as he does not ask for something sinful or for severing ties of kinship.” [Muslim and others]
Imam Ahmad, Abu Dawud, and Ibn Majah 
reported from ‘Abdullah ibn Mughaffal 
that he heard his son say, “O Allah, I ask You for a white palace on the right side of Paradise when I enter it.” He said to him, “O My son, ask Allah for Paradise and seek refuge with Him from the Fire, for I heard the Messenger of Allah say: ‘There will be people in this Ummah (nation) who transgress in their purification and in their supplications.’” [Narrated by Abu Dawood and graded as Sahih (sound) by Al-Albani]
Therefore, if a person’s supplication does not include anything sinful, prohibited, or impossible, nor does it request something that opposes Allah’s established norm in His creation or reflects improper attitude toward Allah like contradicting His Divine Attributes, then, in principle, the supplication is considered lawful and permissible.
The best supplications are those that combine the good of both this world and the Hereafter. The greatest of them are those concise and comprehensive supplications found in the Quran and Sunnah, followed by those passed down from the righteous predecessors, like the Companions and others (who came after them). Then come personal supplications that are driven by a genuine need of this world or the Hereafter, so long as one avoids affectation or transgression in them.
If a person makes a supplication and its answer is delayed, he should know that Allah only delays or withholds according to His wisdom. This delay may, in fact, be a hidden blessing for him.
Ibn al-Jawzi said in Kashf al-Mushkil: “Know that Allah does not reject the prayer of a believer. However, the best interest might lie in delaying the response, or what the person has asked for may not be good for him at all, so Allah gives him something better in return. Sometimes, the reward is stored for him until the Day of Judgment. Therefore, a believer should never stop asking, even if the answer seems delayed, because he is worshipping Allah through supplication and entrusting Him with what is best for him.” [End quote]
Ibn al-Qayyim also said in Madarij al-Salikin: “Do not assume that Allah gives to someone only because He honors him, or withholds from someone because He disgraces him.” [End quote]
Sometimes, a delay in response or withholding it may be because the person has not fulfilled the conditions for having his supplication answered. In such a case, Allah may want the person to make more effort in fulfilling those conditions, which strengthens his servitude to Him and increases him in closeness and righteousness.
Withholding the response might also be due to the person’s impatience. The Prophet said: “A person’s supplication will be answered as long as he is not impatient and says: ‘I have supplicated, but I haven’t been answered.’”[Agreed upon by Bukhari and Muslim]
The Prophet also highlighted some other reasons why a person's supplication might not be accepted. In one narration: “Then he mentioned a man who makes a long journey, in a disheveled and dusty state, who stretches out his hands to heaven saying: ‘O Lord, O Lord!’ Yet his food is unlawful, his drink is unlawful, his clothing is unlawful, and he is nourished by what is unlawful. So how can his supplication be accepted?” [Muslim and others]
So, a person must begin by blaming their own shortcomings. If they believe they have fulfilled all the necessary conditions for a supplication to be accepted and still do not see a response, they should trust that what Allah has chosen for them is better than their own choice and desire. Also, they should not be impatient. Ibn Hajar said in Fath al-Bari: “Ad-Dawood said: ‘One who says: ‘I supplicated but I have not been answered,’ risks being deprived of answering his supplication, or what may act on its behalf which is storing it up for him (in the next world) or atonement (i.e. turning away from him an equivalent amount of evil).” [End quote]
Allah Knows best.