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Dhikr and du‘a · Daily

Open your du'a with praise and salawat

The practice
Before asking Allah for anything, first praise Him, then send salawat on the Prophet ﷺ, then ask what you wish.
When
In the final sitting of prayer, before your own du'a
In daily life
In the last sitting, before you give salam, praise Allah first, send salawat on the Prophet ﷺ, and then make your du'a. A du'a from the Qur'an, like 'Rabbana atina fid-dunya hasanah', fits beautifully here.

The source

سَمِعَ النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم رَجُلاً يَدْعُو فِي صَلاَتِهِ فَلَمْ يُصَلِّ عَلَى النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم فَقَالَ النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم ‏"‏ عَجِلَ هَذَا ‏"‏ ‏.‏ ثُمَّ دَعَاهُ فَقَالَ لَهُ أَوْ لِغَيْرِهِ ‏"‏ إِذَا صَلَّى أَحَدُكُمْ فَلْيَبْدَأْ بِتَحْمِيدِ اللَّهِ وَالثَّنَاءِ عَلَيْهِ ثُمَّ لِيُصَلِّ عَلَى النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم ثُمَّ لِيَدْعُ بَعْدُ بِمَا شَاءَ ‏"‏ ‏.‏

“Amr bin Malik Al-Janbi narrated that he heard Fadalah bin `Ubaid saying:“The Prophet ﷺ heard a man supplicating in his Salat but he did not send Salat upon the Prophet ﷺ, so the Prophet ﷺ said: ‘This one has rushed.’ Then he called him and said to him, or to someone other than him: ‘When one of you performs Salat, then let him begin by expressing gratitude to Allah and praising Him. Then, let him send Salat upon the Prophet ﷺ, then let him supplicate after that, whatever he wishes.’””
Narrated by Fadalah bin UbaidJami at-Tirmidhi 3477 (sahih, al-Albani)
The full hadith, with its chain and grading →

Arabic: ara-tirmidhi · Translation: translator not named in the edition (eng-tirmidhi), from the eng-tirmidhi edition of hadith-api (public domain), sunnah.com numbering.

More Sunnahs like this

Remember Allah as you enter your homeWalking through your front doorMake du'a for someone who isn't thereAfter an obligatory prayer you chooseSay 'Inna lillah' and ask for something betterWhen bad news or a loss reaches youGreet the believers when you visit a graveyardEntering a graveyardAfter a bad dream: spit left, seek refuge, turn overWaking from a bad dreamAsk for guidance, piety, chastity and sufficiencyAfter an obligatory prayer you choose, or in sujud

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Sources: Sahih al-Bukhari, Sahih Muslim, and narrations of Jami at-Tirmidhi graded sahih or hasan sahih by al-Albani.