Question:
Assalamualaikum SS Mufti, I want to ask, will the supplication of a mother who is pregnant be more likely to be accepted?
Answer:
Alhamdulillah, praise and thanks to Allah for the countless blessings He has blessed us all with. Blessings and salutations to the prophet Muhammad PBUH, his family, companions and all those that follow his teachings to the day of judgement.
Basically, there is a guarantee of the acceptance of supplication for anyone who makes dua for Allah SWT. This is stated by Allah SWT through His statement in the Quran:
وَقَالَ رَبُّكُمُ ادْعُونِي أَسْتَجِبْ لَكُمْ
And your Lord says, "Call upon Me; I will respond to you."
Surah Ghafir (60)
According to the above verse, we conclude that supplication to Allah is an act of worship for Allah. The reason is, every commandment in the form of actions from Allah SWT to His slaves is a form of worship towards Him.
The same applies for the above verse, where Allah SWT asked His slaves to call upon Him and He even guarantees that He will answer their supplication. Khalid al-Rib’ie said: “How miraculous it is for this ummah, where it is commanded upon them: Call upon Me; I will respond to you. Allah SWT commanded them to supplicate to Him, and promises to answer their prayers without putting any conditions between the two.” Refer Al-Jami’ li Ahkam al-Quran, Al-Qurthubi (15/292).
At the same time, anyone who is making dua must believe and be optimistic in asking Allah SWT through dua. His heart should be present, focus and submissive towards Allah SWT. This is in accordance with a hadith from Abu Hurairah RA, where the Prophet PBUH said:
ادْعُوا اللَّهَ وَأَنْتُمْ مُوقِنُونَ بِالإِجَابَةِ وَاعْلَمُوا أَنَّ اللَّهَ لاَ يَسْتَجِيبُ دُعَاءً مِنْ قَلْبٍ غَافِلٍ لاَهٍ
Call upon Allah while being certain of being answered, and know that Allah does not respond to a supplication from the heart of one heedless and occupied by play.
Sunan al-Tirmizi (3479)
Coming back to the question asked, after our exhaustive search on narrations regarding the reasons a supplication is more likely to be accepted, we did not find any narrations specifically stating that the supplication of a pregnant woman is more likely to be accepted.
However, there is a general hadith stating that Allah SWT grants the supplication of someone who is facing hardship and difficulty in life. This is based on the statement of Allah SWT:
أَمَّنْ يُجِيبُ الْمُضْطَرَّ إِذَا دَعَاهُ
“Is He [not best] who responds to the desperate one when he calls upon Him.”
Surah al-Naml (62)
Imam al-Hafiz Ibn Kathir in his commentary of the above verse states: “Who would have the focus and attention except those who are in difficulty and hardship towards Allah SWT. And who would be able to remove the difficulty and hardship except for Allah?” Refer Tafsir al-Quran Al-‘Azhim, Ibn Katsir (6/206).
He also includes a story about a previous salafussoleh, ‘Ubaidullah bin Abi Soleh said: “One day, Thawus (Ibn Kaisan) came to visit me while I was sick in my house. Then I said to him: Make dua to Allah O Abu Abd al-Rahman. Then, he answered: Make dua for yourself, for Allah answers those who are in hardship and ask from Him.” Refer Tafsir al-Quran Al-‘Azhim, Ibn Katsir (6/206).
Conclusion
To conclude, we would like to state that it is natural for a pregnant woman to face difficulty and hardship since she is carrying her baby for months and the pain in the process of giving birth. Then the supplication of a pregnant woman is more likely to be accepted for it is included under the category of الْمُضْطَرَّ which are those who are in hardship.
Lastly, we pray to Allah SWT that this explanation will give understanding in this religion. Ameen.