I came to know LOVE... - English translated

A beautiful poem written by Rabia al-Adawiyya (also known by Rabia Basri), and sang in the melodious voice of munshid Othman Al Rashidi.

Its is a unique love song for the true love of ones life, ones own creator Allah (swt).

Present day Hadith

Role of Yemen in present-day events in light of hadiths of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh)

Question to Sheikh Abu Muhammad al-Maqdisi:

It has been narrated to us from Abdullah that Abi Thana Abd ar-Razaq narrated from al-Munther bin Nu'man al-Aftas that he said: "I heard Wahb narrating that Ibn Abbas said, the Prophet (pbuh) said: 'An army of twelve-thousand will come out of Aden-Abyan. They will give victory to Allah and His messenger; they are the best between myself and them'."

(Hasan Hadith reported by Imam Ahmed in his collection and Tabarani in his Mu’jam al-Kabir)

Every Moment Is Another Chance, Dont Wait Till Its Too Late...

For this Clip, Subhan'Allah reminds me of indeed what Allah has clearly stated to us in Surah Al-Asr (103):

"By Al-'Asr (the time). (1) Verily, man is in loss, (2) Except those who believe (in Islâmic Monotheism) and do righteous good deeds, and recommend one another to the truth (i.e. order one another to perform all kinds of good deeds (Al-Ma'ruf) which Allâh has ordained, and abstain from all kinds of sins and evil deeds (Al-Munkar) which Allâh has forbidden), and recommend one another to patience (for the sufferings, harms, and injuries which one may encounter in Allâh's Cause during preaching His religion of Islâmic Monotheism or Jihâd). (3)"

Raise your Imaan - O' Muslims rise up.

A lecture of few minutes talk... Masha'Allah uust these few words are enough for us Muslim's to realize our reality, our true reason of being a Muslim... Insha'Allah enough to indeed raise your Imaan.

The Delight of our life.

Ibn-Al-Qayyim Al-Jawziyyah (Rahimahullaah), a prominent Muslim Scholar, categorized prayer into five levels. This is a great guide to judge where you’re at in relation to your prayer and to constantly be trying to move to the next level.

The First: The level of the one who is negligent and wrongs his soul: He is the one who falls short in performing wudhoo (ablution) properly, performing the prayer upon its time and within its specified limits, and in fulfilling its essential pillars.

The Second: The one who guards his prayers upon their proper times and within their specified limits, fulfills their essential pillars and performs his Wudu with care. However, his striving (in achieving the above) is wasted due whisperings in his prayer so he is taken away by thoughts and ideas.

The Third: The one who guards his prayers within the specified limits, fulfills their essential pillars and strives with himself to repel the whisperings, thoughts and ideas. He is busy struggling against his enemy (Shaytaan or Satan) so that he does not steal from the prayer. On account of this he is engaged in (both) prayer and Jihad (Struggle/Sacrifice).

The Fourth: The one who stands for the prayer, completes and perfects its due rights, it’s essential pillars, performs it within its specified limits and his heart becomes engrossed in safeguarding its rights and specified limits, so that nothing is wasted from it. His whole concern is directed towards its establishment, its completion and its perfection, as it should be. His heart is immersed in the prayer and in enslavement to his Lord the Exalted.

The Fifth: The one who stands for the prayer like the one mentioned above. However, on top of this, he has taken and placed his heart in front of his Lord, looking towards Him with his heart with anticipation, (his heart) filled with His love and His might, as if he sees and witnesses Allah. The whisperings, thoughts and ideas have vanished and the coverings which are between him and his Lord are raised. What is between this person and others with respect to the prayer, is superior and greater than what is between the heavens and the earth. This person is busy with his Lord, delighted with Him.

The First type will be punished, the Second type will be held to account, the Third type will have his sins and shortcomings expiated, the Fourth type will be rewarded and the Fifth type will be close to his Lord, because he/she will receive the portion of the one who makes his prayer the delight and pleasure of his eye. Whoever makes his prayer, the delight and pleasure of his eye, will have the nearness to his Lord made the delight and pleasure of his eye in the hereafter. He will also be made a pleasure to the eye in this world since whoever makes Allah the pleasure of his eye in this world, every other eye will become delighted and pleased with him.

Advice to the Du'aat - from Tarek Mehanna (May Allah Hasten his release-AMEEN)

In the Name of Allâh, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful

Question: As salaam 'alaikum, Jazak Allah Khair for the detail answers to my previous question, however I would like you to clarify further some issues. You stated, in your previous answer, that you thought of the du'at in the west as being "Uncle Toms". With reference to this statement how would you openly address the issues of the Ummah (with hikmah) as I think many of the du'at do not speak out due to imprisonment... in other words what should they do?

The Devil's Deception of the Goofi Soofi - By Shk Abdullah Faisal

The Soofis are a group which can be classified as one of the cancers in the body of the Ummah. Imam Shafi said: "When we speak of the Soofis we berate the ones from among them who stray from the siratal mustaqeem (straight path) we do not berate all the people who call themselves Soofis."

This article is about the extreme Soofis hence the title "The Devil's Deception of the Goofi Soofis". 

A Goofi is a person who is known for making mistakes due to his feeble-mindedness. The word Soofi takes its name from the word soof (wool). The Soofis believe that it is piety to renounce the material things of this world so to wear coarse woollen clothing is more akin to piety. From this practice of theirs they gained the label Soofis. The most prominent Soofi tariqas (orders) in the world today are five - the Tijania, Shazilia, Naqshabandia, Qadiria and the Chistia tariqa. These groups have some weird beliefs that are contradictory to Qur'an and Sunnah; hence it’s incumbent on the sincere scholars of Islam to refute their creed so that they will not succeed in leading astray unsuspecting Muslims who are not firmly grounded in the knowledge of Tawheed (Islamic Monotheism). 

The first problem we the members of Ahlus Sunnah wal Jamaa'ah have with the Goofi Soofis is that they believe that the Holy Prophet Muhammad was Noor (light) and not a Bashar (human being like us). The angels are noor hence they don't eat, drink or have sex. The Holy Prophet ate, drank and had sex. At times he would have sex with all nine wives in one night with one ghusl (Tirmidhi). This erroneous creed of the Goofi Soofis contradicts the Holy Qur'an hence Allah said: قُلْ إِنَّمَا أَنَا بَشَر ٌ مِثْلُكُمْ Say to them O Muhammad: "I am only a bashar, human being like you. (Surah 18:110) At the battle of the Ditch the Rasool tied stones on his belly to quell the pangs of hunger. If he wasn’t bashar he would not have felt hunger. The second problem we have with the Goofi Soofis is that they lie on the Holy Prophet with impunity. Thus they claim that the Holy Prophet comes out of his grave and appears to them in broad daylight and gives them instructions and at times gives them the good news that all of their mureeds (flock) are in Jannah.

Others claim that when their shaikh goes to Madina to give salam to the Prophet a hand would appear from out of the grave to greet their shaikh. The Goofi Soofis use a hadith which is found in both Bukhari and Muslim to justify lying on the Holy Prophet This hadith says: "Whoever sees me in a dream will see me when he is awake." This hadith which is agreed upon was explained by the great Shafi scholar Ibn Hajar al Asqalaani. Thus he said it means they will see him when they make hijra and catch up with him in Madina. It also means they will have the honour of seeing the Prophet in the hereafter (Fathul Bari 12/384).

The other Shafi Imam Nawawi gives the same explanation in Sharh Sahih Muslim 15/26 The scholars of Islam have refuted this lie of the Goofi Soofis and say: “This claim of theirs means that there are sahabas living amongst us even till today. It's worthy of mentioning that to lie on the Holy Prophet deliberately ejects the person outside the fold of Islam. The best generations were the sahabas (companions of Muhammad) and the taabi’een. They suffered trials and tribulations eg. the battle of the Camel between Ali and Aisha (ra) and the fitna of Ali and Mu'awiya at Siffeen. Yet the Holy Prophet didn't come out of his grave to give instructions to stop sahabas from killing sahabas at the battle of the Camel between Ali and Aisha or at Siffeen between Ali and Mu'awiya. This was the perfect time for him to come out of his grave because the sahabas were the best generation. So how can the Goofi Soofis claim that the Rasool appears to them today to give instructions and glad tidings?! Another problem we have with the Goofi Soofis is that they like to quote fabricated Hadiths and use these fabricated Hadiths to spread their heretical beliefs among the Muslims. The most famous of these fabricated Hadiths are: “When Adam sinned, Allah told him to seek forgiveness in the name of Muhammad, then Allah said to him: Had it not been for Muhammad I wouldn’t create the heavens and the earth. I Allah created the heavens and the earth for the sake of Muhammad." This fabricated hadith found in the Mustadrak of al Haakim contradicts the Holy Qur'an, thus Allah said: وَمَا خَلَقْتُ الْجِنَّ وَالإِنسَ إِلاَّ لِيَعْبُدُونِ "I did not create the jinns nor humans for any reason except that they should worship Me." (Surah 51:56)

Another problem we have with the Goofi Soofis is their claim that no-one is allowed to question their shaikh even if you see him drinking alcohol or having a girl friend because what the shaikh is doing may have a hidden meaning which the mureeds cannot comprehend since they are not on his level of spirituality. We refute the Goofi Soofis by saying even the Holy Prophet himself was questioned by his sahabas on many occasions. At the battle of Badr they questioned his decision to camp at a spot and said his choice was not strategic enough. The Holy Prophet abandoned his idea and followed the sahabas and set up camp by the wells of Badr. On another occasion the Rasool prayed three rakahs for dhuhur instead of four. The sahabas questioned him and corrected him and he (the Holy Prophet) had to perform the other rakah which he forgot. And even the angels questioned Allah when He told them He is about to create man and place him on earth as His khalifa. They questioned Allah about the hikma of His decision since man will create mischief and shed blood in abundance.

Three stray sects promote the infallibility of their shaikhs. The Saudi Salafis, the Goofi Soofis and the Shia. They do so because their creed doesn’t coincide with Qur'an and Sunnah. All three groups go against the ijmaa of the Ummah with their Aqeeda. The Shias do not accept the ijmaa of the Ummah that the Qur'an is protected by Allah and is therefore perfect. The Goofi Soofis believe the Rasool is ever-living and cannot die. The Saudi Salafis went against the ijmaa of the Ummah by claiming that to dislodge Allah's sharia is a minor kufr. Anyone who believes this is an enemy of Allah and His deen. The Goofi Soofis like to promote poverty in the ranks of the Muslims even though Umar (ra) said: “Poverty leads to kufr" Umar also said: "If poverty was a man I would have killed him with my own two hands" Allah didn’t encourage poverty in the Holy Qur'an hence Allah said: وَلاَ تَنسَ نَصِيبَكَ مِنَ الدُّنْيَا "Do not forget your portion of the dunya." (Surah 28:77)

If poverty had any good in it why the Holy Prophet used to seek refuge from poverty, the dajjaal and the punishment of the grave?! Another problem we have with the Goofi Soofis is their belief that the Holy Prophet is still alive in his grave and thus he is fully aware about the affairs of his Ummah (nation). This erroneous creed of theirs contradicts the Holy Qur'an thus Allah said: إِنَّكَ مَيِّت ٌ وَإِنَّهُمْ مَيِّتُونَ "You Muhammad shall die and all your sahabas shall die too." (Surah 39:30)

When the Holy Prophet died Abu Bakr kissed him on his forehead and gave a speech to the Ummah and said: "People those who worship Muhammad, Muhammad is dead and those who worship Allah, Allah is alive and cannot die." All the sahabas heard this speech of Abu Bakr and accepted his verdict that the Rasool was dead, because Abu Bakr recited the Qur'anic verse: إِنَّكَ مَيِّت ٌ وَإِنَّهُمْ مَيِّتُونَ "You Muhammad shall die and all your sahabas shall die too." (Surah 39:30) Because the sahabas accepted this verdict of Abu Bakr it's called the ijmaa of the sahabas. To go against the ijmaa (agreement) of the sahabas is an act of kufr. The Goofi Soofis are committing this kufr. To say the Prophet is still alive in his grave and is fully aware about the affairs of his Ummah is the utterance of someone who is a heretic.

We will now use a hadith from Bukhari to refute their claim.

Thus the Holy Prophet said: "Some people will come on Judgement Day to drink from my Hawd (lake-fountain) but two angels will stop them. I will cry out, ‘they are my sahabas!’ But the two angels will say to me: ‘You don't know what they did after you left, they turned back on their heels as apostates from Islam." Bukhari vol.9 Book 88 No.172 This is the creed of the Berailwis also, i.e. that the Holy Prophet is alive and fully aware about the affairs of his Ummah. The Berailwis also believe that Allah created the universe for the sake of Muhammad.

Another problem we have with the Goofi Soofis is that they worship the graves by praying to them and asking them for things. Hence they don’t believe in Surah Fatiha where Allah said: إِيَّاكَ نَعْبُدُ وَإِيَّاكَ نَسْتَعِينُ You alone we worship and You alone we ask for help (Surah 2:5) They recite it in Surah Fatiha but they don't believe in it. When Umar was the caliph the Ummah suffered three years of drought. Yet Umar didn't go to the grave of Muhammad to ask him to beg Allah to send the rain. Instead Umar went to the Prophet's uncle Abbas and said: When the Holy Prophet was alive and we suffered a drought we would ask him to pray for us and Allah would send the rain. Now he the Prophet is dead we will ask his uncle to pray for us. Abbas then prayed and the rain came immediately. Bukhari Vol. 2 Book 17 No.123 

The Goofi Soofis are pagans and not Muslims because Muslims worship Allah alone and nothing else. Another problem we have with the Goofi Soofis is their claim that Allah is everywhere with His Dhaat (in person). This concept is kufr because Allah is not in the toilet, the brothel, the disco, the casino etc. Real Muslims don't go to brothels as it's below their dignity so how can Allah be inside there? Do we have more honour than Allah?! It is incumbent on all Muslims to believe that Allah is on His throne above the seventh heaven. In this regard Allah said: الرَّحْمَنُ عَلَى الْعَرْشِ اسْتَوَى "Allah the Most Gracious istawa (rose over) His Mighty throne, in a manner that befits His Majesty." (Surah 20:5) Not only do we have this ayah to prove that Allah is on His arsh (throne) but we have also a hadith in Muslim. The Holy Prophet asked a slave girl: "Who am I?" she said: "You are Muhammad the Messenger of Allah" He then asked her: "Where is Allah?" she pointed to the skies and said: "Fis samaa, above the heavens". The Holy Prophet accepted her two answers and said to her master Mu'awiya ibn al Hakam as-Sulami. "Free this girl because she is a believer". The Goofi Soofis do not accept the answer of the slave girl. They believe Allah is everywhere in person and not above the heavens like the rest of the Ummah. So they believe the Rasool was wrong to accept the answer of the slave girl. And they believe they understand Islam better than the Rasool. 

The Berailwis use an ayah to say Allah is everywhere. The ayah says: فَأَيْنَمَا تُوَلُّوا فَثَمَّ وَجْهُ اللَّهِ Wherever you turn your face you will find the Face of Allah. ( Surah 2:115) This ayah means Allah's knowledge is everywhere because He sees everywhere. It doesn't mean He Allah is everywhere like the Berailwis and the Goofi Soofis believe. Even though some Berailwis and Goofi Soofis memorise the Holy Qur'an they don't really believe in it because the Holy Qur'an tells us Allah is above the Heavens.

Thus Allah said: أَأَمِنتُمْ مَنْ فِي السَّمَاءِ أَنْ يَخْسِفَ بِكُمُ الأَرْضَ فَإِذَا هِيَ تَمُورُ "Do you feel secure that He Allah who is above the heavens, will not cause the earth to sink with you with a violent quake?" (Surah 67:16) Then Allah went on to say in the following ayah of the same surah: أَمْ أَمِنتُمْ مَنْ فِي السَّمَاءِ أَنْ يُرْسِلَ عَلَيْكُمْ حَاصِبا ً Or do you feel secure that He Allah who is above the heavens will not send against you a violent whirlwind? (Surah 67:17) If there is a mountain of evidences from Qur'an and Sunnah proving that Allah is above the heavens, why then the Goofi Soofis reject this integral part of the deen?! The answer is: they promote the notion that Allah is everywhere and use it to facilitate their creed of "wahdatul wujood" (union). Wahdatul Wujood or union means a man can become so pious till he himself becomes Allah. And when he becomes Allah he doesn’t have to pray anymore as there is no one for him to pray to and when wahdatul wujood takes place everything which is haram is now halal for them.

Quite frequently these Goofi Soofis sodomise small boys as stated by Ibn Taymiyya in his essay on the jinn, translated by Dr. Bilal Phillips. All the peers in India and Pakistan believe in wahdatul wujood. The biggest proponent of wahdatul wujood was Ibn Arabee. Ibn Arabee was born in Spain in 560 AH and died in Damascus 638 AH. He was the first person to introduce this heresy of wahdatul wujood to the Ummah of Muhammad. Today the peers of India and Pakistan as well as the Goofi Soofis follow him in his heresy like a lamb to the slaughter. Today all Soofi movements sing the praise of Ibn Arabee and call him "the great teacher" (al ustaadh al a'tham.) 

Another fabricated hadith cited by the Goofi Soofis is: "Jihadun nafs jihad akbar" i.e. to fight the evil of the soul is the greatest jihad. This hadith was classified fabricated by all the scholars of hadith. Ibnul Qayyim said: "Its obnoxious" This is so because it contradicts the holy Qur'an and a strong hadith. The strong hadith is: "The greatest jihad is to speak the truth in front of a tyrannical ruler" As for the Qur'anic verse it contradicts it's Allah's words: أَجَعَلْتُمْ سِقَايَةَ الْحَاجِّ وَعِمَارَةَ الْمَسْجِدِ الْحَرَامِ كَمَنْ آمَنَ بِاللَّهِ وَالْيَوْمِ الآخِرِ وَجَاهَدَ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ لاَ يَسْتَوُونَ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ Do you consider the providing of drinking water to the pilgrims and the maintenance of Masjidul Haram at Makkah as equal to the worth of those who believe in Allah and the Last Day and strive hard and wage jihad in the Cause of Allah? They are not equal before Allah. (Surah 9:19) 

Allah told us in the above-mentioned ayah that the one who goes out and fight jihad is better than the one who stays behind in Makkah and give water to the pilgrims who come for hajj. 

The Goofi Soofis don't believe in jihad so they will forever fabricate Hadiths to support their apostasy and heresy. Another problem we have with the Goofi Soofis is that they don't practise al walaa wal baraa, loyalty to the Ummah and disloyalty to the enemies of the Ummah. The Goofi Soofis always take sides with the crusaders when they invade Muslim lands. I was told by my Algerian classmates in Riyadh that in the 1960s the Mujaahideen used to kill the Goofi Soofis in Algeria because they used to help the French to brutally occupy Algeria. Likewise I was told that the Mujaahideen of Chechnya blew up and killed the Mufti of Chechnya because he was a Goofi Soofi who passed a fatwa endorsing the brutal Russian occupation of this Muslim country.

The Goofi Soofis also spy for the taghoots (tyrants). To be a real Muslim it's not enough to believe in Allah we need to reject the taghoot. The Goofi Soofis do not reject the taghoots, instead they are in bed with the taghoot hence this makes them kuffaar outside the fold of Islam. They even believe in Democracy even though it's the religion of Iblis. They are known to claim that their shaikhs have the power to take the souls of his mureeds (flock). And the Soofi shaikh will be there to answer the three questions of Munkar and Nakeer in the grave. Shaikh Naazim al Haqqaani of Cyprus claims to have the mobile number of the Holy Prophet (saw) and only he has it. Surprisingly when these Soofi masters tell their lies they find enough people to believe them. They are known to twist the fatwas of sincere scholars so as to have them incarcerated by the taghoots. They are known to lock themselves up in dark rooms with the female mureeds who come to them for advice. Claiming that thikr is the solution to their problems. Then half an hour into the thikr they tamper with the genitalia of these women and say it’s part of the thikr. Dr. Bilal Phillips voiced this concern when refuting the Naqshabandi tariqa on a CD I heard in Cape Town, South Africa. Another hoax of the Goofi Soofis is that a man can marry his own daughter if he had her by way of zinaa (fornication or adultery). All the taghoot governments would like all Muslims to become Goofi Soofis because they are a movement which seeks to turn the Muslims from lions into goats. They marginalise Islam to mere thikr. They have made up their own Islam which we call Hislam. Their creed goes against Qur'an and Sunnah thus it leads to the hellfire.

May Allah bless us all with sincerity and sound knowledge to save ourselves and our families from the scourge of the Goofi Soofis-Ameen.

The Devil’s Deception of the Saudi Salafis - By Shk Abdullah Faisal

All praise is due to Allah lords of the world. He gives life and takes life. I testify that none deserves to be worshipped except Allah and Muhammad (saw) is His last Prophet and Messenger. 

We the members of ahlus sunnah wal jamaa'a are in a bitter dispute with the Saudi Salafis about crucial aqeeda issues. I use the word crucial as these matters even though they are known of Islam by necessity they are denied by the Saudi Salafis. 

We were commanded by Allah to refer all our disputes to Allah and His Rasool, hence we have no choice but to refer these matters to Qur’an and Sunnah for the ummah of Muhammad to see who is speaking the truth and who are the cursed liars. Its incumbent on the ulamaa of the Haqq to refute the heretics who peddle falsehood and seek to mislead unsuspecting Muslims, it is called ‘’to command the good and forbid the evil. 

We have 10 major doctrinal differences with the Saudi Salafis. 

Racism and Prejudice

ISLAM'S MANIFESTO OF UNIVERSAL BROTHERHOOD OF HUMAN BEINGS: QURAN AND SUNNAH ABOUT RACISM AND PREJUDICE

From the Quran: “O Mankind, We created you from a single (pair) of a male and a female and made you into nations and tribes, that you may know each other. Verily the most honored of you in the sight of God is he who is the most righteous of you” (49:13).

O Muslims, Allah will TEST you !!!

Allah, Glory be to Him, says in the Quran: "Do men think that they will be left alone on saying, 'We believe,' and that they will not be tested? We did test those before them, and Allah will certainly know those who are true from those who are false" (Quran, 29: 2-3).

By virtue of being created as human beings, we will be tested. We will be thrown into countless trials, into situations that may arise unpleasant and awkward, and into times of difficulty when it seems as though there is little reason to hope.

Etiquettes of Dua'

1. Allah Loves to Be Asked

He encourages that in all things. He is angry with the one who does not ask of Him and He encourages His slaves to ask of Him. Allah says:
"And your Lord said: "Invoke Me [i.e. believe in My Oneness (Islamic Monotheism) and ask Me for anything] I will respond to your (invocation)" [Noble Quran 40:60]

"And when My slaves ask you (O Muhammad) concerning Me, then (answer them), I am indeed near (to them by My Knowledge). I respond to the invocations of the supplicant when he calls on Me (without any mediator or intercessor). So let them obey Me and believe in Me, so that they may be led aright" [Noble Quran 2:186]

2. Sincerity Towards Allah Alone in Making Du'a

Allah says:
"And they were commanded not, but that they should worship Allah, and worship none but Him Alone (abstaining from ascribing partners to Him)" [Noble Quran 98:5]

3. Ask Allah by His Most Beautiful Names

Allah says:
"And (all) the Most Beautiful Names belong to Allah, so call on Him by them, and leave the company of those who belie or deny (or utter impious speech against) His Names" [Noble Quran 7:180]

4. Praising Allah as He Deserves Before Calling Upon Him

Fadalah ibn 'Ubayd said: Whilst the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) was sitting, a man came in and prayed and said, "O Allah, forgive me and have mercy on me." The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said, "You have been too hasty, O worshipper. When you have prayed and are sitting, praise Allah as He deserves to be praised, and send blessings upon me, then call upon Him."
[At-Tirmidhi]

5. Sending Blessings Upon The Prophet (peace be upon him)

The Prophet (peace be upon him) said:
"Every Du'a is kept back until you send blessings upon the Prophet (peace be upon him)." [At-Tabarani]

6. Facing Towards The Qiblah

'Umar ibn al-Khattab said: On the day of Badr, the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) looked at the Mushrikun, who were one thousand strong, and his companions numbered three hundred and nineteen. Then the Prophet of Allah (peace be upon him) turned to face the Qiblah, then he stretched forth his hands and started to cry out to his Lord: "O Allah, grant me what You have promised me, O Allah, give me what You have promised me. O Allah, if this small band of Muslims perishes, You will not be worshipped on earth." He kept on crying out to his Lord, stretching forth his hands, facing towards the Qiblah, until his cloak fell from his shoulders. [Muslim]

An-Nawawi said: This shows that it is Mustahabb (preferred) to face towards the Qiblah when making Du'a, and to raise the hands.

7. Raising The Hands

The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said:
"Your Lord, may He be blessed and exalted, is Kind and Most Generous, and He is too kind to let His slave, if he raises his hands to Him, bring them back empty."

The palm of the hand should be raised heavenwards, in the manner of a humble beggar who hopes to be given something.

The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said:
"When you ask of Allah, ask of Him with the palms of your hands, not with the backs of them." [Abu Dawud].

Should the hands be held together when raising them or should there be a gap between them?

Sheikh Ibn 'Uthaymeen stated that they should be held together. What he said is: "As for separating them and holding them far apart from one another, there is no basis for that in the [Abu Dawud].Sunnah or in the words of the scholars." End quote.

8. Having Certain Faith That Allah Will Respond

Focusing with proper presence of mind, because the Prophet (peace be upon him) said:
"Call upon Allah when you are certain of a response, and remember that Allah will not answer a Du'a that comes from a negligent and heedless heart."
[At-Tirmidhi]

9. Asking Frequently

A person should ask his Lord for whatever he wants of the good things in this world and the Hereafter, and he should beseech Allah in Du'a, and not seek a hasty response, because the Prophet (peace be upon him) said:
"The slave will receive a response so long as his Du'a does not involve sin or severing of family ties, and so long as he is not hasty." It was said, "What does being hasty mean?" He said: "When he says, 'I made Du'a and I made Du'a, and I have not seen any response,' and he gets frustrated and stops making Du'a." [Bukhari]

10. Being Firm in Du'a

Because the Prophet (peace be upon him) said:
"No one of you should say, 'O Allah, forgive me if You wish, O Allah, have mercy on me if You wish'; he should be firm in his asking, for Allah cannot be compelled." [Bukhari and Muslim]

11. Beseeching, Humility, Hope & Fear

Allah says:
"Invoke your Lord with humility and in secret" [Noble Quran 7:55]

"Verily, they used to hasten on to do good deeds, and they used to call on Us with hope and fear, and used to humble themselves before Us" [Noble Quran 21:60]

"And remember your Lord within yourself, humbly and with fear and without loudness in words in the mornings and in the afternoons" [Noble Quran 7:20]

12. Saying Du'as Three Times

'Abd-Allah ibn Mas'ud said: "Whilst the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) was praying at the Ka'bah, Abu Jahl and his companions were sitting nearby. They had slaughtered a camel the previous day, and Abu Jahl said: "Which of you will go and get the abdominal contents of the camel of Banu So and so and put it on the back of Muhammad when he prostrates?" The worst of the people went and got it, and when the Prophet (peace be upon him) prostrated, he placed it between his shoulders. They started laughing, leaning against one another. I was standing there watching, and if I had had any power, I would have lifted it from the back of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him). The Prophet (peace be upon him) remained in prostration, not lifting his head, until someone went and told Fatimah. She came with Juwayriyah, and lifted it from him, then she turned to them and rebuked them. When the Prophet (peace be upon him) had finished his prayer, he raised his voice and prayed against them. and when he made Du'a or asked of Allah he would repeat it three times. and he said: "O Allah, punish Quraysh" three times. When they heard his voice, they stopped laughing and were afraid because of his Du'a. Then he said, "O Allah, punish Abu Jahl ibn Hisham, 'Utbah ibn Rabi'ah, Shaybah ibn Rabi'ah, al-Walid ibn 'Uqbah, Umayyah ibn Khalaf and 'Uqbah ibn Abu Mu'ayt," and he mentioned the seventh but I cannot remember who it was. By the One Who sent Muhammad (peace be upon him) with the truth, I saw those whom he had named slain on the day of Badr, then they were dragged and thrown into the well, the well of Badr."
[Bukhari and Muslim]

13. Ensuring That One's Food and Clothing Are Lawful (i.e., Halal)

The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said:
"O people, Allah is Good and does not accept anything but that which is good. Allah enjoins upon the believers the same as He enjoined upon the Messengers. He says:

'O (you) Messengers! Eat of the Tayyibat [all kinds of Halal (lawful) foods which Allah has made lawful (meat of slaughtered eatable animals, milk products, fats, vegetables, fruits)] and do righteous deeds. Verily, I am Well-Acquainted with what you do' [Noble Quran 23:51]

'O you who believe (in the Oneness of Allah. Islamic Monotheism)! Eat of the lawful things that We have provided you with' [Noble Quran 2:172]

Then he mentioned a man who travels for a long distance and is disheveled and dusty, and he stretches forth his hands towards heaven saying, 'O Lord, O Lord,' but his food is Haram, his drink is Haram, his clothing is Haram, he has been nourished with Haram, so how can he be responded to?" [Muslim]

Ibn Rajab said: Ensuring that one's food, drink and clothing are Halal, and that one is nourished with Halal, is a means of having one's Du'a answered. End quote.

14. Saying Du'a Silently and Not Out Loud

Allah says:
"Invoke your Lord with humility and in secret" [Noble Quran 7:55]

And Allah praised His slave Zakariyyah (peace be upon him) by saying:
"When he called to his Lord (Allah) a call in secret" [Noble Quran 19:3]