Answer
Wa`alaykum As-Salaamu Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh.
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:
There is nothing wrong that one makes duaa for things of this world as long as one does not implore Allah to achieve something haram.
In his response to the question, Dr. `Ajeel Jasem An-Nashmi, Professor of Shari`ah and former deputy chairman of the Kuwaiti Fatwa Committee, states:
Every committed Muslim is required by Allah to make duaa and implore Him earnestly.
Referring to this, Allah Almighty says, “And your Lord hath said: Pray unto me and I will hear your prayer. Lo! Those who scorn My service, they will enter hell, disgraced.” (Ghafir 40:60)
During prayer, it is preferable to make duaa when prostrating and after reciting the last tashahhud. It is part of the Sunnah to recite the duaa using Qur’anic verses that contain supplications.
If there is a Prophetic Hadith that contains a certain duaa formula, then it is not necessary to recite the exact words mentioned in the Hadith when reciting the duaa. There is nothing wrong in using words other than those mentioned in the Hadith.
Muslim jurists have disagreed regarding the point you have raised concerning making duaa for worldly benefits in prayer.
Both Malikies and Shafi`ies maintain that there is nothing wrong with making such duaa in prayer as long as one avoids making supplications to achieve something haram.
On the other hand, the Hanbalis maintain that it is not permissible to make such duaa in prayer. The opinion, which is deemed to be the most correct is the one maintained by both Malikies and Shafi`ies as there is no specific evidence to prohibit it.
It has become clear now that there is nothing wrong, as far as Islam is concerned, that one makes duaa for things of this world as long as one does not implore Allah to achieve something haram.
Allah Almighty knows best.
Editor’s note: This fatwa is from Ask the Scholar’s archive and was originally published at an earlier date.