Short answer
In the Hanafi school, no: inside the prayer, make du'a in Arabic, using wording from the Quran and Sunnah. A du'a in another language is makruh tahrimi there, and asking for worldly things in everyday words can break the prayer. Make your personal du'a in any language after the salam, or in your heart.
Du'a inside salah should be in Arabic and resemble the words of the Quran and hadith, such as the du'a after the tashahhud. Du'a in a non-Arabic language inside the prayer is makruh tahrimi, and a du'a in words like people's ordinary requests (for a car, a job by name, a particular person) breaks the prayer. Outside salah, du'a in any language is fully allowed.
Other madhhabs
- Shafi'i
- You may ask for anything of this world or the next in the prayer, in Arabic, since the hadith says to choose whatever du'a you like. One who can speak Arabic should not make made-up du'a in another language in the prayer.
- Maliki
- Du'a in the prayer for worldly and religious needs, in your own words, is allowed.
Explanation
Allah hears every language, and du'a in English, Urdu or any tongue is welcome outside the prayer. The question is only about du'a inside salah, which has its own rules. The Prophet ﷺ said that nothing of people's ordinary speech is fit for the prayer; it is tasbih, takbir and recitation of the Quran. Hanafi scholars therefore limit du'a in the prayer to the kind of words found in the Quran and Sunnah.
- Where du'a belongs in salah: in the last sitting after the tashahhud and salawat, before the salam. In nafl prayers you may also make du'a in sajdah and after ruku, using du'as reported from the Sunnah.
- In Arabic: the Hanafi school holds du'a in another language inside the prayer to be makruh tahrimi.
- Worldly requests in ordinary words: "O Allah, give me a BMW" or "marry me to so-and-so" resembles people's speech and, in the Hanafi school, breaks the prayer. "Allahumma inni as'aluka min fadlik" (O Allah, I ask You of Your bounty) is fine.
- In your heart: a thought or wish in the heart without speaking does not affect the prayer.
A practical way to do it: learn a few short Arabic du'as for the last sitting, such as "Rabbana atina fid-dunya hasanah" and the du'as in our page on the du'a after tashahhud. Then, after you finish with the salam, raise your hands and ask Allah for everything you need in your own words, for as long as you like. Many converts find this the easiest way to keep their prayer correct and their du'a heartfelt.
See also can you pray salah in English and the adhkar after salah.
The evidence
Quran, Surah Ghafir 40:60
وَقَالَ رَبُّكُمُ ٱدْعُونِىٓ أَسْتَجِبْ لَكُمْ ۚ إِنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ يَسْتَكْبِرُونَ عَنْ عِبَادَتِى سَيَدْخُلُونَ جَهَنَّمَ دَاخِرِينَ ﴿٦٠﴾
And your Lord says, "Call upon Me; I will respond to you." Indeed, those who disdain My worship will enter Hell [rendered] contemptible.
Allah invites du'a and answers it, in any language, outside the prayer as well as in it.
Sahih Muslim 537
Sahih... إن هذه الصلاة لا يصلح فيها شيء من كلام الناس ...
"This prayer is not fit for any of people's ordinary speech; it is only glorification, takbir and recitation of the Quran."
The basis for the Hanafi rule that du'a in the prayer must resemble Quranic and prophetic wording.
Sahih al-Bukhari 835
Sahih... ثم يتخير من الدعاء أعجبه إليه فيدعو ...
"Then let him choose whatever du'a he likes best and make it."
Du'a is made after the tashahhud; the schools differ over how wide this choice is.
Where the ruling is recorded
- al-Hidaya, Kitab al-Salah, chapter on the description of the prayer. He makes du'a with what resembles the words of the Quran and the transmitted du'as, not with what resembles people's speech.
- Radd al-Muhtar (Ibn Abidin), Kitab al-Salah, chapter on the description of the prayer. Du'a in a language other than Arabic inside the prayer is makruh tahrimi.
Checked by our team. For a more accurate answer to your own situation, consult a scholar. Quran translation by Sahih International. Hadith Arabic from the standard editions of the six books and the Muwatta, with gradings as recorded there; the English is our own rendering. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.