Can I Offer Fasting to Get My Duaa Answered?

01 May, 2020
Q My question is regarding voluntary fasting. I want to fast for a purpose so that my duaa will be answered and I can marry the person whom I love. We can't marry because of some problems, and we don't want to have a haram relationship. He wants to do the same but we don't know if it's right in Islam to fast because of a purpose?

Answer

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful. 

All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.


In this fatwa:

It is OK for a person to fast in order to bring himself or herself nearer to Allah and to have a good time for duaa. 


Answering your question, Dr. Wael Shehab, PhD in Islamic Studies from Al-Azhar University and currently the Imam of the Downtown Toronto Masjid in Canada, states:

Among the ethics of duaa is that a person does good deeds so that Allah will respond to his duaa. Also, duaa when breaking one’s fasting will be answered by the grace of Allah.

As far as duaa is concerned, a Muslim needs to follow the ethics and conditions of duaa as elaborated by the Sunnah.

So, a Muslim needs to obey Allah, draw himself or herself nearer to Him by doing good deeds, and choose good times in which duaa will be answered by Allah Almighty.

Fasting is one of the good deeds through which a Muslim draws himself or herself closer to Allah. Also, duaa at the time of breaking one’s Fasting will be answered by Allah’s grace and favor. Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, A fasting person, upon breaking his fast, has a supplication that will not be rejected. (At-Tirmidhi)

Almighty Allah knows best.

Editor’s note: This fatwa is from Ask the Scholar’s archive and was originally published at an earlier date.