Is there extra reward in making dua for someone in their absence, and may I ask others to make dua for me?

Yes — the Prophet (ﷺ) said, "The supplication of a Muslim for his brother in his absence is answered. At his head is an appointed angel; every time he supplicates for good for his brother, the appointed angel says: Āmīn, and for you the like of it" (Sahih Muslim 2733, from Abū'd-Dardā'). Allah also commanded seeking forgiveness for the believers generally: "and ask forgiveness for your sin and for the believing men and believing women" (Quran 47:19). It is permissible to ask a living Muslim who can hear your request to supplicate for you — the Companions did so with the Prophet (ﷺ) and with one another; ʿUmar asked Uways al-Qaranī to seek forgiveness for him (Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, Kitāb Faḍā'il aṣ-Ṣaḥābah). Still, the people of knowledge advise not making a habit of it, since that was seeking the dua of a known righteous man, not a substitute for one's own supplication. What is not allowed is directing the request to the dead, or calling upon an absent person in the belief that he hears and can respond, because that turns the request into a call upon other than Allah.

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