What are the rulings and etiquette of supplication (du'a) concerning certainty of response, supplicating for the general Muslim populace, and does the one prayed for receive a reward? And how are the supplications of seeing an afflicted person and entrusting something responded to? Is there a special virtue for the supplication upon leaving the home?

The response to supplication takes multiple forms. The one who supplicates may be granted what he asked for, or an equivalent evil may be averted from him, or it may be stored for him in the Hereafter, which is the fundamental principle. The effects of adhkar (remembrances) and du'as (supplications) vary among people according to their certainty and uprightness. If texts state a promise for a specific act, and it is not fulfilled, the reason is the presence of an impediment or the absence of a condition. Supplicating for the general Muslim community for forgiveness, mercy, and healing is beneficial for them and for the supplicator. It may alleviate punishment, forgive sins, or lighten affliction, even if it does not remove it entirely. Allah commanded His Prophet to seek forgiveness for believing men and believing women, and the prophets supplicated with this. As for the reward for the one for whom the supplication is made when the reward is stored for the supplicator, or the narration about the supplication upon leaving the house that angels are assigned to seek forgiveness for the supplicator until he returns—there is no authentic text proving this.