Can I Make Personal Supplication During My Prayer After the Fatiha?

Question: It is said that when reciting the Qur’an one should pause at certain verses and ask for heaven and seek refuge from hell and make certain supplications and so forth. Is this when reciting outside of prayer or even in prayer? 

Answer: Assalamu alaykum,

Thank you for your question. The du`a that you refer to should be done outside of the prayer. This is one of the benefits of learning Arabic. One can understand at what point to supplicate.

Stopping in between one’s Qur`an recitation to make du`a while standing in Qiyam (standing position) of the prayer is not the correct time for this du`a. Please see the following article about the rulings on supplications during the prayer:

What are the Legal Rulings and Conditions for Supplications During the Prayer?

[Ustadha] Shazia Ahmad

Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Ustadha Shazia Ahmad lived in Damascus, Syria for two years where she studied aqidah, fiqh, tajweed, tafseer, and Arabic. She then attended the University of Texas at Austin, where she completed her Masters in Arabic. Afterward, she moved to Amman, Jordan where she studied fiqh, Arabic, and other sciences. She recently moved back to Mississauga, Canada, where she lives with her family.