Is It Permissible to Make Dua While Prostrating?

Answered by Shaykh Yusuf Weltch

Question

Is it permissible to make dua while prostrating? 

Is it permissible to lay one’s arms on the ground due to tiredness in prostrating? 

What is the Sunna method of making dua? 

What books would you recommend for a new revert as self reading? 

What English translation of Sahih al-Bukhari would you recommend?

Answer

In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate

Supplicating in Prostration

Regarding your first question, it is permissible and encouraged to supplicate during prostration. The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and give him peace) said, “The nearest the slave is to their Lord is when they are in prostration. So make abundant supplication therein.” [Abu Dawud, Nasaai]

Note that if you are supplicating audibly the supplication should be made in Arabic. If you do not know Arabic then you can supplicate in your heart. [Ibn ‘Abidin, Radd al-Muhtar] 

Placing the Hands on the Ground in Prostration

The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and give him peace) prohibited men putting their forearms on the ground during the prostration.

He (may Allah bless him and give him peace) said, “Be upright in your prostration and let none of you spread out his forearms like a dog.” [Abu Dawud]

However when the Companions complained to Him of the difficulty of prostrating for a long time whilst keeping their arms up, He (may Allah bless him and give him peace) said, “Seek help by the knees.” [Abu Dawud]

Thus although it is disliked for men to place the forearms on the ground during prostration one can place their elbows on their knees for more comfort.

Etiquettes of Making Dua

See the following link for more detail on making dua to Allah.

Book Recommendations for New Muslim

I would recommend, on top of attending classes (see seekersguidance.org for various classes), to read the following books:

(1) Ascent to Felicity by Imam Shurunbulali, translated by Sh. Faraz Khan.

(2) Book of Assistance by Imam al-Haddad

(3) Being Muslim by Asad Tarsin

I would not recommend for you to read the translation of Sahih al-Bukhari. It is indeed a great work and the most authentic book after the Book of Allah but it is a reference book for scholars. 

A translation is one persons interpretation and much is lost from the original Arabic. On top of that, the Hadith of Sahih al-Bukhari must be understood with context, a deep understanding of the time and place each Hadith occured, a high level of Arabic proficiency, etc…

Rather I would recommend the work of Imam al-Nawawi, The Gardens of the Righteous. 

Imam al-Nawawi has taken the Hadith which relate to virtue and etiquettes that every Muslim should have from the six most authentic books. You will find great benefit in this work.

Hope this helps

Allah knows best

[Shaykh] Yusuf Weltch
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Shaykh Yusuf Weltch is a teacher of Arabic, Islamic law, and spirituality. After accepting Islam in 2008, he completed four years at the Darul Uloom seminary in New York, where he studied Arabic and the traditional sciences. He then traveled to Tarim, Yemen, where he stayed for three years studying in Dar Al-Mustafa under some of the greatest scholars of our time, including Habib Umar Bin Hafiz, Habib Kadhim al-Saqqaf, and Shaykh Umar al-Khatib. In Tarim, Shaykh Yusuf completed the memorization of the Qur’an and studied beliefs, legal methodology, hadith methodology, Qur’anic exegesis, Islamic history, and several texts on spirituality. He joined the SeekersGuidance faculty in the summer of 2019.