Can dua change what Allah has already decreed (qadar)?

Yes, in the sense that dua is itself part of the decree: Allah decrees outcomes together with their causes, and He decreed that a particular good would reach a servant by means of his supplication, just as He decreed that food comes by means of eating. Allah says, "Allah eliminates what He wills and confirms what He wills, and with Him is the Mother of the Book" (Quran 13:39), and He commands, "Call upon Me; I will respond to you" (Quran 40:60). The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Nothing turns back the decree except supplication, and nothing increases the lifespan except righteousness" (Jāmiʿ at-Tirmidhī 2139, narrated from Salmān al-Fārisī, graded ḥasan; a similar report from Thawbān is in Sunan Ibn Mājah 90, also graded ḥasan). So a Muslim never abandons dua on the excuse that "it is already written" — the writing includes the dua and its effect, and the response comes as the very thing asked for, or as its being stored up for the Hereafter, or as an evil averted in its place.

Ask your own question → All questions