Re: Confusion!
Peace teelobhain
I'm not in a position to ratify what you are saying. As far as I understand doing duroos sharif before and after du'a is an adab. I'm taking the next bit from Chapter 14 of Sh. Yadir Qadhi's book Du'a The Weapon of the Believer. The section title is Du'a and its relationship with Destiny.
... Many people ask: "If everything has already been destined to occur, then of what use is du'a, as, if Allah has written what I want, I will get it without making du'a, and if it is not written for me, then I will never get it no matter how much du'a I make?"
The response to this question ... In other words, it has already been decreed, for example, that a seed will give fruit if planted, but this will not occur unless the farmer takes the appropriate efforts in irrigating the crop, maintaining it, protecting the seedling as it grows, and ensuring as much as he can that the factors are amenable for the plant to give fruit.
So even if a person believes in the Divine Decree, he must at the same time strive all he can to ensure that the desired goal occurs.
....
"Nothing increases one's life-span expect good deeds, and nothing repels Divine Decree except du'a. And verily, a person may be deprived of sustenance due to a sin that he does!"
Narrated by Ibn Majah #90 and Shaykh al-Albani said in Sahih Ibn Majah "It is authentic without the addition, 'And verily ...';
Durood Sharif is always accepted. What is Durood? It is the sending of blessings unto our dear Prophet Muhammad (SAW). The fact that this is accepted means that blessings are sent to Muhammad (SAW).
I have not heard about Durood Sharif to be a method of getting gold or a mansion in Paradise. Remember the primary purpose of sending durood is for Muhammad (SAW) to show that we appreciate his sadaqah of his time on Earth that we respect him and honor him. Doing Durood for selfish reasons defeats the purpose of Durood, which is the sending of blessings.
Again I cannot say if you are 100% right or wrong seeing that you are confused I don't understand why you want assurance rather you should be looking for clarfication.
Oh your reply has given me all my answers for now (i.e. i am satisfied) if i have something to ask which suddenly pops up in my head i will ask again.
I didnt want to actually sound like i was being selfish or anything, its just that some sites have all this so i was wondering if death is fixed then how come it is said it can get delayed by reciting the durood - Allah knows best and he probably know what to do with different people and he surely doesnt ignore anyones duas and prayers so he can just fill up one place rather then the other according to his will..but this was a bit to much for me to digest..thats why i just had to ask.