People are in dire need of supplication, given what surrounds them. Are there any etiquettes you would kindly direct the supplicant to?

The questioner:
May Allah reward you with good and do you well. Shaykh Salih, we are in the chapter of supplication, and people are in dire need of turning to Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) with supplication, given what surrounds them every evening and morning. Are there any etiquettes you would kindly direct the supplicant to? May Allah reward you with good.

The Shaykh:
We have referred to some of that.

The presenter:
Yes, yes.

The Shaykh:
The most important of these is that a person supplicates with a heart turned toward Allah, certain of the response, not supplicating while heedless and distracted, but rather uttering words in which he does not reflect or know their meaning, or he is heedless of them. Also, eating what is lawful,

The presenter:
Yes, yes.

The Shaykh:
The Shaykh said: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, "Eat lawfully, and you will have your supplications answered." He also said (peace and blessings be upon him): Therefore, eating what is forbidden prevents the acceptance of supplication. Likewise, there are conditions regarding supplication, such as not cursing someone who does not deserve to be cursed, or supplicating for a sin, or severing family ties, or supplicating for the occurrence of something for oneself from among the forbidden things and sins. For this reason, He (Exalted and Majestic is He) said: A person may supplicate with a supplication that harms him, or harms a Muslim, or harms his family and children. So the Muslim avoids these matters so that he does not coincide with a time of response. Among the etiquettes of supplication is seeking the times in which supplication is answered, and that is in prostration. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) encouraged increasing supplication in prostration, for the servant is closest to his Lord when he is prostrating, whether in the obligatory prayer or the voluntary prayer. Likewise, supplication on Friday, hoping to coincide with the hour of response, in which the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Indeed, in it—meaning Friday—there is an hour in which no Muslim servant who supplicates to Allah while standing in prayer will not be given what he asks for." This hour is on Friday, but it is not known exactly when it is. The scholars have exerted effort in determining it, but if one supplicates throughout the day, or between the Imam sitting on the pulpit and the start of the prayer, exerting effort in supplication, or in the last hour of Friday before the sun sets, he is likely to coincide with it, and it is an hour of response. Likewise, supplication on the Night of Decree, supplication on the Day of 'Arafah, and supplication in the last part of the night at the time of the Divine Descent. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: So I forgive him? This is a great time in which many people are heedless, and they sleep during this time, and perhaps they sleep through their prayer, the Fajr prayer. How befitting is it for a Muslim who believes in Allah and the Last Day, and hopes for salvation for himself and fears the Fire, to sleep through the Fajr prayer and neglect these great hours, which are the fruit of one's life? A person has nothing of his life except what he used in the obedience of Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He). These hours are the fruit of life. As for wasting one's time in play, amusement, heedlessness, and sleep, that is a loss for him, and he