Dāwūd, Ibn Mājah, and al-Tirmidhī with a good chain of transmission. Al-Tirmidhī’s wording is: “And a parent’s supplication against his child.”1 The longer the journey, the more likely the supplication is to be answered, because prolonged absence from one’s homeland and the endurance of hardship are likely to humble the soul; and such brokenness is among the greatest causes for supplication to be answered.

The second is to be humble, self-effacing, and submissive. This, too, is conducive to one’s supplication being answered, as in the well-known hadith in which the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—said: “Many a dishevelled, dust-covered man is turned away from people’s doors, yet if he were to swear by Allah, Allah would surely fulfil his oath.”2

When Ibn ʿAbbās—may Allah be pleased with them both—was asked about the Messenger of Allah’s prayer for rain—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—he said: “The Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—went out without adornment, humbly and imploringly…” The hadith was narrated by Abū Dāwūd and others.3

The third is raising one’s hands towards the sky. This is among the etiquettes of supplication through which one may hope for it to be answered. In the Sunan of Abū Dāwūd and other works, Salmān al-Fārisī—may Allah be pleased with him—reported that the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—said: “Indeed, Allah is Modest and Generous. He is too modest, when His servant raises his hands to Him, to return them empty and disappointed.”4