Question: I would like to know the proper way to make du'aa' during prayer, as the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) did it. Is it after the prayer or between the two prostrations or whilst standing or when?

Answer: Praise be to Allah.

Note that there is not one particular part of the prayer when du'aa' should be offered, rather there are several parts of the prayer where the scholars have stated that the Messenger of Allah offered du'aa', from the opening takbeer to the final tasleem.

It is also Sunnah to make du'aa' after the prayer and there are several du'aa's that we will mention below insh'allah. It should be noted that the best of guidance is the guidance of Muhammad and the best of du'aa's are those which are in accordance with the Sunnah of the Prophet . The wording of the Messenger of Allah is the best of wording, because he is the most knowledgeable of all people about the Arabic language, and the most eloquent in speech. Allah enabled him to express the most profound of meanings in few words, which is called conciseness of speech.

It was narrated that Abu Hurayrah said: I heard the Messenger of Allah say:
"I have been sent with concise speech." Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 6611; Muslim, 523.

Al-Bukhaari said: I heard that conciseness of speech means when many meanings which it would have taken books to write before are summed up in a phrase or two, and so on.

Based on this, if you want to say du'aa' in your prayers at the points at which it is prescribed and recommended (mustahabb) to say du'aa', the best of du'aa's are those which are said in the wording of the Prophet .

If you are not able to do that and you cannot memorize these du'aa's and dhikrs, then the best of du'aa' is that which avoids going to extremes in using fanciful language speech, and which avoids using rhyme to the point of absurdity, and which makes the du'aa' sincere and focused on the need in question, saying whatever is easy for you and whatever Allah enables you to say.

It was narrated that the Prophet said to a man:

"What do you say when you pray?" He said: "I recite the tashahhud, then I say: Allahumma inni as'aluka al-jannah wa a'oodhu bika min al-naar (O Allah, I ask You for Paradise and seek refuge in You from the Fire). I cannot murmur like you and like Mu'aadh." The Prophet said: "It is about them that we were murmuring." Narrated by Abu Dawood, 792; classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh Abi Dawood.

With regard to du'aa' after the salaam, what the Prophet used to do is to say, after finishing the prayer: Astghfir Allah, astaghfir Allah astaghfir Allah (I seek the forgiveness of Allah, I seek the forgiveness of Allah, I seek the forgiveness of Allah). Then he would say all the dhikrs that are narrated at this time.

Shaykh 'Abd al-'Azeez ibn Baaz (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
There is no saheeh report to say that the Prophet used to raise his hands following an obligatory prayer, or that his companions (may Allah have mercy on them) did that, as far as we know. What some people do, raising their hands after the prayer, is a bid'aah (innovation) for which there is no basis . Al-Fataawa, 1/74.

Ibn al-Qayyim said:

With regard to du'aa' after the prayer facing the qiblah or facing the congregation, this is not something that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) did at all. It is not narrated with a saheeh or hasan isnaad. As for doing that only after Fajr and 'Asr prayers, he did not do that and neither did any of his successors (khulafa'), and he did not teach his ummah to do that. Rather this is something that some people thought it was good to do to make up for not offering Sunnah prayers after those prayers. And Allah knows best.

The Prophet offered most of the du'aa's that are connected to the prayer during the prayer, and he commanded us to offer them during it. This befits the state of the one who is praying, for he is facing his Lord and conversing with Him so long as he is praying. When he says the salaam that conversation comes to a close and he is no longer standing before Him and close to Him. So why should he not ask of Him whilst he is conversing with Him and close to Him and turning to Him, and then ask of Him when he has turned away from Him? Undoubtedly it is better to do the opposite. There is another subtle point to be made, which is that when the worshipper has finished praying, and he has remembered Allah and proclaimed His oneness, glorified Him, praised Him and magnified Him by reciting the dhikrs that are prescribed following the prayer, it is mustahabb to send blessings upon the Prophet after that, and to make du'aa' as he wishes, His du'aa' should come immediately after this second act of worship, not because it is after the prayer but because it is mustahabb for anyone who remembers Allah and praises Him and sends blessings upon the Messenger of Allah to make du'aa' after that, as it says in the hadeeth of Faddaalah ibn 'Ubayd:
"When any one of you prays, let him start by praising Allah, then let him send blessings upon the Prophet , then let him say du'aa' however he wishes."

Al-Tirmidhi said: (it is) a saheeh hadeeth. It was also classed as saheeh by al-Haakim, and al-Dhahabi agreed with him. Zaad al-Ma'aad, 1/257, 258.

With regard to the points during the prayer at which du'aa' should be offered, we will sum this up for you as follows:

There are many du'aa's which may be recited during the prayer, but we cannot quote all of them in this answer. We have referred to a few of those that have been narrated. Our advice to the questioner - and to every Muslim - is to have a copy of al-Adhkaar by al-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him), which is a lengthy book. If he would like to have something shorter then he should get a copy of al-Kalim al-Tayyib by Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah, edited by al-Albaani (may Allah have mercy on them all).

And Allah knows best.

Source: The Muslim Link - Shaykh Muhammad Saalih al-Munajjid