
“Or have they taken gods besides Him? Say, [O Muhammad], “Produce your proof. This [Qur’an] is the message for those with me and the message of those before me.” [21:24]
Islam is a religion that encourages humanity to think, to reflect. It is evidence-based, it challenges us to think, and when you really reflect, when you really take in God’s word, one realizes that there is no greater truth than “la illaha ill Allah (there is no God but Allah).”
1. Have Wudu, face Qibla, be neat and clean 2. Raise both hands up to the shoulder with palms open facing up 3. Use words of Allah and Muhammad (SAW)- i.e. Duas found in Quran and Hadith 4. Ask by Asma alHusna- Allah's Beautiful Names 5. Ask Allah by your good deeds 6. Be insistent-repeat (i.e. 3x's) 7. Glorify Allah and recite Durud for the Prophet (SAW) at both the beginning and end 8. Show humility, entreaty, desire and fear while making Dua 9. Repent and try to make amends where one has wronged 10. Confess mistakes, shortcomings, and sins 11. Keep voice between a whisper and speaking aloud 12. Show the need for Allah's help and implore Him for release from weakness, hardship and tribulation. 13. Seize the opportunity of time, situation and circumstance in which prayers are answered 14. Avoid rhymed prose to keep concentration 15. Crying when making Dua 16. The Dua of Dhun-Nun (Yunus) by which he invoked Allah from within the belly of the whale was: "LAa ilaha illa Anta, Subhanaka innee kuntu min aDH-DHaalimeen." No Muslim ever makes Dua with it but Allah answers it." [at tirmidhi in his sunan, ahmad and hakim reported it and hakim declared it authentic and adh dhahabee agreed] 17. End with "Alhamdulillah rabbil alameen"