Dua for Parents: Quranic Duas for Living and Deceased Parents

Why dua for parents matters so much in Islam

Allah says: "And your Lord has decreed that you worship none but Him, and to parents, good treatment. Whether one or both of them reach old age with you, say not to them a word of contempt, nor repel them, but speak to them a noble word. And lower to them the wing of humility out of mercy and say, 'My Lord, have mercy upon them as they brought me up when I was small.'" (Quran 17:23 to 24)

Read the structure of those two verses. Tawheed first, then parents, then a ready-made dua. Allah did not leave you to work out what to say. He told you.

The Prophet (peace be upon him) was asked which deed is most beloved to Allah. He said the prayer on time, then, "kindness to parents," and only then jihad in Allah's cause (Bukhari and Muslim). A man came asking who most deserved his good companionship, and the Prophet answered, "Your mother," three times, and then, "your father" (Bukhari and Muslim). He also said, "May his nose be rubbed in dust, may his nose be rubbed in dust, may his nose be rubbed in dust," and when asked who, he said, "The one who finds one or both of his parents in old age and does not enter Paradise (by serving them)." (Muslim)

Dua is the part of that service you can do at any hour, from any distance, and, as you will see below, even after they are gone.

The main dua for parents from the Quran: Rabbi irhamhuma

This is the dua Allah Himself put in your mouth in Surah al-Isra.

رَّبِّ ارْحَمْهُمَا كَمَا رَبَّيَانِي صَغِيرًا

Transliteration: Rabbi irhamhuma kama rabbayani saghira

Meaning: "My Lord, have mercy upon them as they brought me up when I was small." (Quran 17:24)

How to use it

Because it comes straight from the Quran, you can say it anywhere: in sujud, after the tashahhud before the salam, after the fard prayers, and in your own language whenever your parents cross your mind. It is very short, which is the point. Say it every single day, and say it with the picture of them actually raising you: the nights they did not sleep, the food they went without, the fear they hid from you.

If one parent has passed away or you are praying for one parent

The Arabic above is dual (for two people). For one parent, the form becomes:

• For a father: رَبِّ ارْحَمْهُ كَمَا رَبَّانِي صَغِيرًا (Rabbi irhamhu kama rabbani saghira)
• For a mother: رَبِّ ارْحَمْهَا كَمَا رَبَّتْنِي صَغِيرًا (Rabbi irhamha kama rabbatni saghira)

You are not obliged to change the grammar; many people keep the Quranic wording and intend the one parent. But the singular forms are correct Arabic if you prefer precision.

Dua for forgiveness for parents: Rabbana ighfir li wa liwalidayya

This is the dua of Ibrahim (peace be upon him), and it asks for the single most important thing anyone needs on the Day of Judgement.

رَبَّنَا اغْفِرْ لِي وَلِوَالِدَيَّ وَلِلْمُؤْمِنِينَ يَوْمَ يَقُومُ الْحِسَابُ

Transliteration: Rabbanaghfir li wa liwalidayya wa lil mu'minina yawma yaqumul hisab

Meaning: "Our Lord, forgive me and my parents and the believers on the Day the account is established." (Quran 14:41)

Ibrahim said this at the end of a long dua after settling his family in the barren valley of Makkah. It puts the parents right next to yourself and before the whole community of believers. Say it after your prayers, and especially at the times dua is most readily accepted: the last third of the night, between the adhan and iqamah, in sujud, and on Friday.

Dua of Nuh for parents and every believer

رَّبِّ اغْفِرْ لِي وَلِوَالِدَيَّ وَلِمَن دَخَلَ بَيْتِيَ مُؤْمِنًا وَلِلْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَالْمُؤْمِنَاتِ

Transliteration: Rabbighfir li wa liwalidayya wa liman dakhala baytiya mu'minan wa lil mu'minina wal mu'minat

Meaning: "My Lord, forgive me and my parents and whoever enters my house as a believer, and the believing men and believing women." (Quran 71:28)

Nuh (peace be upon him) said this after nine hundred and fifty years of calling his people. It is one of the last things recorded from him in the Quran, and his parents are in it. It is a good dua to say when you are hosting family or when family is in your home.

Dua of gratitude for parents from Surah al-Ahqaf

This one is different from the rest. It does not only ask for something for your parents; it asks Allah to make you the kind of person who is grateful for them, and it ties your own righteousness and your children's to that gratitude.

رَبِّ أَوْزِعْنِي أَنْ أَشْكُرَ نِعْمَتَكَ الَّتِي أَنْعَمْتَ عَلَيَّ وَعَلَىٰ وَالِدَيَّ وَأَنْ أَعْمَلَ صَالِحًا تَرْضَاهُ وَأَصْلِحْ لِي فِي ذُرِّيَّتِي ۖ إِنِّي تُبْتُ إِلَيْكَ وَإِنِّي مِنَ الْمُسْلِمِينَ

Transliteration: Rabbi awzi'ni an ashkura ni'matakal lati an'amta alayya wa ala walidayya wa an a'mala salihan tardahu wa aslih li fi dhurriyyati, inni tubtu ilayka wa inni minal muslimin

Meaning: "My Lord, enable me to be grateful for Your favour which You have bestowed upon me and upon my parents, and to do righteousness of which You approve, and make righteous for me my offspring. Indeed, I have repented to You, and indeed, I am of the Muslims." (Quran 46:15)

Allah places this dua in the mouth of a person who has reached forty. It is worth learning by heart as you get older, because it connects three generations: the parents who gave you what you have, yourself, and the children you hope will be good to you the way you are trying to be good to your parents.

A very similar dua is said by Sulayman (peace be upon him) in Surah an-Naml 27:19, where he too asks to be grateful for the favours upon himself and his parents.

Dua for parents who are sick

When a parent is ill, you have two things to do: serve them physically, and use the duas the Prophet (peace be upon him) used for the sick.

The dua the Prophet said for the sick, placing his hand on them

اللَّهُمَّ رَبَّ النَّاسِ، أَذْهِبِ الْبَأْسَ، اشْفِ أَنْتَ الشَّافِي، لَا شِفَاءَ إِلَّا شِفَاؤُكَ، شِفَاءً لَا يُغَادِرُ سَقَمًا

Transliteration: Allahumma Rabban nas, adhhibil ba's, ishfi antash Shafi, la shifa'a illa shifa'uk, shifa'an la yughadiru saqama

Meaning: "O Allah, Lord of mankind, remove the harm and heal. You are the Healer. There is no healing except Your healing, a healing that leaves behind no illness." (Bukhari and Muslim)

The seven-times dua for someone whose time has not come

The Prophet (peace be upon him) said that whoever visits a sick person whose appointed time has not yet come and says seven times:

أَسْأَلُ اللَّهَ الْعَظِيمَ رَبَّ الْعَرْشِ الْعَظِيمِ أَنْ يَشْفِيَكَ

As'alullahal Azim, Rabbal arshil azim, an yashfiyak

"I ask Allah the Mighty, Lord of the mighty Throne, to cure you," Allah will cure him of that illness. (Abu Dawud, Tirmidhi; graded sahih)

Say it at their bedside, with your hand on them if that is appropriate, and say it slowly enough that they can hear it. For a mother, the last word becomes yashfiyaki.

Ruqyah with Surah al-Fatihah

The Companions treated the sick by reciting al-Fatihah over them, and the Prophet approved of it (Bukhari). Recite al-Fatihah, the three Quls (al-Ikhlas, al-Falaq, an-Nas) and Ayatul Kursi, blow gently over your parent, and wipe with your hand. It is Sunnah, it costs nothing, and it comforts them to hear their child recite.

Dua for deceased parents

When a parent dies, your relationship with them does not end. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: "When a person dies, his deeds come to an end except three: ongoing charity, knowledge from which benefit is gained, or a righteous child who prays for him." (Muslim)

You are that third source. Every dua you make is a deed still being written for them.

The dua from the janazah prayer, which you can say at any time

اللَّهُمَّ اغْفِرْ لَهُ وَارْحَمْهُ، وَعَافِهِ وَاعْفُ عَنْهُ، وَأَكْرِمْ نُزُلَهُ، وَوَسِّعْ مُدْخَلَهُ، وَاغْسِلْهُ بِالْمَاءِ وَالثَّلْجِ وَالْبَرَدِ، وَنَقِّهِ مِنَ الْخَطَايَا كَمَا يُنَقَّى الثَّوْبُ الْأَبْيَضُ مِنَ الدَّنَسِ، وَأَبْدِلْهُ دَارًا خَيْرًا مِنْ دَارِهِ، وَأَهْلًا خَيْرًا مِنْ أَهْلِهِ، وَأَدْخِلْهُ الْجَنَّةَ، وَأَعِذْهُ مِنْ عَذَابِ الْقَبْرِ وَمِنْ عَذَابِ النَّارِ

Transliteration: Allahummaghfir lahu warhamhu, wa afihi wa'fu anhu, wa akrim nuzulahu, wa wassi' mudkhalahu, waghsilhu bil ma'i wath thalji wal barad, wa naqqihi minal khataya kama yunaqqath thawbul abyadu minad danas, wa abdilhu daran khayran min darihi, wa ahlan khayran min ahlihi, wa adkhilhul jannah, wa a'idhhu min adhabil qabri wa min adhabin nar

Meaning: "O Allah, forgive him and have mercy on him, keep him safe and pardon him, honour his reception and make his entrance wide, wash him with water and snow and hail, and cleanse him of sins as a white garment is cleansed of dirt. Give him a home better than his home and a family better than his family, admit him into Paradise, and protect him from the punishment of the grave and the punishment of the Fire." (Muslim)

Awf ibn Malik heard the Prophet say this over a deceased person and said he wished he had been that dead man. For a mother, change the pronouns: Allahummaghfir laha warhamha, wa afiha wa'fu anha, wa akrim nuzulaha, wa wassi' mudkhalaha... and so on with "ha" in place of "hu" and "hi".

The two short Quranic duas, said daily

• Rabbi irhamhuma kama rabbayani saghira (17:24), which is a dua for mercy and is fully appropriate for the dead.
• Rabbanaghfir li wa liwalidayya wa lil mu'minina yawma yaqumul hisab (14:41).

The dua for the deceased when you pass a graveyard

السَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُمْ أَهْلَ الدِّيَارِ مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَالْمُسْلِمِينَ، وَإِنَّا إِنْ شَاءَ اللَّهُ بِكُمْ لَاحِقُونَ، أَسْأَلُ اللَّهَ لَنَا وَلَكُمُ الْعَافِيَةَ

As-salamu alaykum ahlad diyari minal mu'minina wal muslimin, wa inna in sha Allahu bikum lahiqun, as'alullaha lana wa lakumul afiyah

"Peace be upon you, people of these dwellings, believers and Muslims. We will, if Allah wills, join you. I ask Allah for safety for us and for you." (Muslim)

How your dua actually reaches your parents after death

Abu Hurairah reported that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: "Allah raises the rank of a righteous servant in Paradise, and he says, 'My Lord, how did I get this?' He says, 'By your child seeking forgiveness for you.'" (Ibn Majah, Ahmad; graded hasan)

Think about what that describes. A parent already in Paradise, moved to a higher level, because a child on earth kept saying "Rabbanaghfir li wa liwalidayya." That is not a small thing you are doing after the fard prayer. It is construction work in the next world.

Other deeds that reach them

• Sadaqah on their behalf. Sa'd ibn Ubadah's mother died while he was away. He asked the Prophet whether it would benefit her if he gave charity for her, and the Prophet said yes. He gave a garden as sadaqah in her name (Bukhari). A water well, a share in a masjid, a Quran in a school, monthly support for an orphan: name it for them.
• Hajj and Umrah on their behalf, if they did not perform them or could not, and you have already performed your own (Bukhari).
• Paying their debts and fulfilling their vows and promises.
• Keeping ties with their relatives and friends. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said the best form of righteousness is for a man to maintain ties with his father's friends (Muslim). When a man asked whether anything remained of dutifulness to parents after their death, he was told: praying for them, seeking forgiveness for them, fulfilling their promises, honouring their friends and maintaining the ties of kinship that exist only through them (Abu Dawud, Ibn Majah; some scholars grade its chain weak, but the individual practices are each confirmed elsewhere).

Dua for parents who are not Muslim

You may be a convert, or your parents may simply not practise. The rules here are clear and kind. While they are alive, you can and should make every dua for their guidance, health, ease and happiness, and you owe them the same kindness the Quran commands. Allah says: "But if they endeavour to make you associate with Me that of which you have no knowledge, do not obey them but accompany them in this world with kindness." (Quran 31:15)

The one dua you do not make is asking forgiveness for someone who died upon shirk, because Allah says of Ibrahim's dua for his father, "when it became clear to him that he was an enemy to Allah, he disassociated himself from him" (Quran 9:114). Everything short of that, including praying that Allah guide them, soften their hearts and bring you together, is open to you and expected of you. Many of the Companions had parents who never accepted Islam, and they served them anyway.

Dua for parents in your own words

The set duas are the best because they are Quran and Sunnah. But Allah loves to hear His servant ask, and nobody said your dua has to stop at the Arabic. After the set words, in sujud or after the prayer, talk to Him about your parents specifically:

• Ask for what they actually need this week: a scan result, a mortgage payment, patience with a difficult sibling, sleep.
• Name the things they did for you, the way Rabbi irhamhuma does, "as they raised me when I was small". Gratitude in dua is a form of praise, and praise before asking is the Sunnah of dua.
• Ask Allah to make you good to them, not only to make things good for them. Half of the Ahqaf dua is about you.
• If there is friction between you, ask Allah to fix it from both sides. Dua for parents you are upset with is one of the fastest ways to melt the upset.

A daily routine for praying for your parents

You do not need a long session. You need consistency, because the reward is described in terms of an ongoing deed.