Imam Hassan Askari (as) and the wild animals:

Mu'tamid, the Abbasid Caliph is just like his forefathers he too was
an open enemy of the Ahlul Bayt (as). He declared that Imam Hassan
Askari (as) should be imprisoned and that no mercy should be shown to
Him. And hence Mu'tamid, the Abbasid Caliph went to Salih bin Wasif
and told him to treat Imam Hassan Askari (as) harshly. Salih bin Wasif
sent for two of the evilest men he could find to take charge of the
Imam, but the men changed into men of worship, prayer and fasting to
an amazing extent. When Salih bin Wasif interrogated them about their
change in character, they said: "What can we say about a man who fasts
through the day and stands (in prayer) through the night, who does not
speak and occupies himself with nothing except worship? When he looks
at us, our limbs shake and within us is (a feeling) which we have
never had."
Then Imam Hassan Askari (as) was handed over to a man named Nahrir,
the Jailer who was a very cruel man was once advised by his wife who
said to him: "Fear Allah (SWT), have you no idea of who is imprisoned
in your prison? He is a pious man and a great worshipper of Allah
(SWT). I am afraid that Allah (SWT) will curse you." Her husband said:
"O' really. Just watch me; I am going to send him inside the cage of
the wild animals."
Nahrir, the Jailer got the permission from his Abbasid Caliph and
carried out his plan.
Imam Hassan Askari (as) was sent to this cage and the people thought
that this was the end of Imam Hassan Askari's (as) life. But when they
returned to look what had happened instead they all witnessed that
Imam Hassan Askari (as) was praying surrounded by the wild animals
which all were prostrating before Him. Now the order was given to take
Imam Hassan Askari (as) out from there.

Dua, - To expect the best from Allah

Whenever we as Muslims talk about Allah we should avoid speaking in a
negative way or assigning negative attributes to Him. In the same way,
we should always have a good opinion of Allah, and this inc
A person making Dua should expect the best from Allah, and anticipate
a response from Allah, whether that response is quick in coming or
not.
Allah has mentioned in many places in the Qur'an that He is the One who answers.
"And when My servants ask you concerning Me, then (answer them), I am
indeed near to them. I respond to the invocations of the supplicant
when he calls on Me!" [The Qur'an: Surah Al-Baqarah 2:186]
"So their Lord accepted of them (their supplication and answered
them), 'Never will I allow to be lost the work of any of you, be he
male or female!". [The Qur'an: Surah al-Imran 3:195]
"Verily your Lord has said: "Call upon Me, and I will answer you!"
Verily, those who are too arrogant to serve Me will surely find
themselves in Hell - in humiliation!" [The Qur'an: Surah al-Ghafir
40:60]
"And indeed, Noah called upon Us, and We are the best of those who
answer". [The Qur'an: Surah As-Saffat 37:75]
The Prophet [May the Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him] said:
"Make Dua to Allah in a state that you are certain that your dua will
be responded to." [Narrated by al-Tirmidhi and al-Hakim from Abu
Hurayrah, Sahih al-Jami #245]
"Indeed, Allah is Shy and Beneficent. He is Shy when His servant
raises his hands to Him (in dua) to return them empty!" [Ahmad, Abu
Dawud, al-Tirmidhi and others, from Salman al-Farsi, Sahih al-Jami
#1757]
Allah wants to respond to the worshipper even when he has not
requested something, so imagine the situation after the worshipper has
requested something from Allah?
Abu Hurayrah narrates that the Prophet [May the Peace and Blessings of
Allah be upon him] said: "Allah, all Glory and Praise be to Him, has
said, 'Whatever My servant assumes of Me, that is how I will treat
him, and I am with him when he remembers Me'". [Muslim from Abu
Hurayrah, Sahih al-Jami #8138]
So if a person expects only good from Allah, and is certain that Allah
will not destroy his hopes and desires, then Allah will fulfil his
expectations. On the other hand if he feels that he won't be responded
to, then he will be treated in the same way that he feels. Al-Shawkani
commented on this hadith: In this Hadith, Allah encourages His
servants to expect the best from Him, since He will treat them
according to their expectations. So whoever expects good from Him will
be showered with His Good, and will be shown His Beautiful
Generosity...But he who is not like that will not be treated in this
manner. And this is the meaning of the fact that Allah is with him
when he remembers Him. So it is obligatory on the slave to always
assume the best of Allah. And he should help himself to achieve this
state by always recalling the texts (of the Qur'an and Sunnah) that
show the great Mercy of Allah.
This is why the true Muslim always expects the best from Allah.
The Prophet [May the Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him] said:
"Let not any of you die except that he assumes the best from Allah".
[Muslim #2877]
Ibn al-Qayyim said: "Whoever reflects upon this issue deeply will
realist that having the best expectations from Allah is equivalent to
having good deeds, and doing good with one's soul. For only when a
person expects the best from Allah will he perform good deeds, since
he will expect that Allah will reward him for his deeds and accept
them. Therefore, the reason that he performed these good deeds was
because of his good expectations of Allah; so the more a person
betters his expectations from Allah, the more good deeds he does!"
[Al-Jawab al-Kafi p.23]

Dua, - Performing Wudu

Being in a state of Wudu is important to a Muslim, one requires it
when performing Salaah, the Prophet [May the Peace and Blessings of
Allah be upon him] used to love being in a state of wudu and some
Of the etiquettes of dua is that a person be in a state of Wudu
(Ritual purity) while making dua. This is confirmed in the Hadith of
Abu Musa al-Ash'ari in which he stated that the Prophet [May the Peace
and Blessings of Allah be upon him] after the Battle of Hunayn, called
for water, performed wudu, then raised his hands and said: "O Allah!
Forgive 'Ubayd ibn Amir!" Abu musa said, "I could see the whiteness of
his armpits" [al-Bukhari #4323 and Muslim #2498]

Dua, - Facing the Qiblah

The qiblah, being a blessed place, is a good direction to face when
making dua, this helps you focus when asking from Allah.
The Qiblah is a blessed direction to face, and through it Allah has
caused the Muslims to unite all over the world. By facing the qiblah,
a Muslim turns himself in the direction of the very first place of
worship ever built on Earth - the Ka'bah.
The proof to face the Qiblah when making dua can be found in the
following narration: Abdullah ibn Zayd said: "The Prophet left
(Madinah) to this prayer place, seeking rain. So he made a Dua, and
asked for rain, then he faced the qiblah and turned his cloak
inside-out". [al-Bukhari #6343, Muslim #894]
It has also been narrated that when the Quraysh tormented the Prophet,
he '...faced the Ka'bah and made a dua against them.' [al-Bukhari
#3960]