What is a dua?

Dua (also spelled du'a) is the Arabic word for calling on Allah, asking and supplicating. It is distinct from salah, the five daily ritual prayers, which have a fixed form. A dua can be made at any time and in any place, standing, sitting or lying down, in the heart or aloud, in Arabic or in any language, in your own words or in the words of the Quran.

Why the Quran quotes prayers

Many of the best-known duas are quoted in the Quran as the words of prophets and believers in particular situations: Adam after his mistake, Ibrahim as he built the Kaaba, Musa before he met Pharaoh, Yunus in the dark, Ayyub in illness. They are a kind of teaching by example: these are the words with which people who were close to Allah asked for what they needed.

Parts of a prayer

Many prayers in the Quran follow a pattern: they begin by calling Allah by a name (Rabbana, "our Lord"; or Rabbi, "my Lord"), then make the request, and often close with a name of Allah that fits the request (the Forgiving, the Merciful, the Bestower). You can see this pattern in most of the prayers on this site.

Personal and shared

Notice which prayers say "my Lord" and which say "our Lord": some are personal and others are asked on behalf of a family or community. Many people find it easy to start with a short one, like Rabbi ighfir warham or Rabbi zidni ilma.

The notes on this page are in our own words and are not a ruling or a commentary (tafsir). For questions of practice, please ask a trusted scholar or your local imam.