Dua for parents: Quran wording and meaning

What is the Quran's dua for parents?

It is the prayer that closes Al-Isra 17:24, after the words "and say". It is also searched as rabbir hamhuma rabbayani saghira.

Pronunciation (our learning aid, not from a source): rab-bi ir-ḥam-hu-ma, ka-ma rab-ba-ya-ni, ṣa-ghī-ra. The ḥ is a breathy h from the throat. A recording by a fluent reciter is coming.

The verse before it speaks of "kindness to parents", and the verse itself begins "And lower to them the wing of submission through mercy". So the prayer follows an action: lower the wing of submission through mercy, then say it. Al-Tabari, in his commentary Jami' al-Bayan on 17:24, explains the words as a prayer to Allah for mercy for one's parents. He adds that it asks Allah to be tender to them with His forgiveness and mercy, as they were tender to the speaker in childhood (source 2). This page adds no count and no time for saying it.

Which dua asks forgiveness for parents?

Surah Ibrahim 14:41 asks forgiveness for the speaker, the speaker's parents and the believers.

Al-Tabari, in his commentary on 14:41, calls it a supplication of Ibrahim, peace be upon him, for his parents, in which he asks forgiveness for them (source 3). The verse gives no count and no time for saying it.

Is there a dua for parents in Surah Nuh?

Yes, within a wider prayer. Verse 71:26 begins "And Noah said: My Lord!", naming Nuh, peace be upon him, as the speaker, and 71:28 is another "My Lord!" prayer two verses on. It includes parents. Only part of it is printed here.

This is an excerpt: the first ten words of 71:28, ending at "believing men and believing women". The verse goes on with a separate petition about the wrongdoers, which is not printed here and is not about parents. If you save or share these lines, keep the label "Nuh 71:28, excerpt" with them.

How do the three Quran passages differ?

Our learning comparison below is not a grouping the Quran itself makes. It helps keep the three passages apart rather than joined and labelled as one.

Is there a hadith about praying for a parent who has died?

Sahih Muslim 1631 (graded sahih) is the report this page uses. Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, reported that the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, said that when a person dies, his deeds come to an end except three. They are ongoing charity, or knowledge from which people benefit, or a righteous child who prays for him. Its grade rests on its place in Sahih Muslim.

1AuthenticSahih Muslim 1631

The report names a child's prayer for the one who has died. It does not use the word parent and gives no wording for the prayer. Its three things are kinds of continuing benefit, not a count of prayers. Ongoing charity, also named in it, has its own page: sadaqah jariyah.

This page gives no separate dua for parents who have died and does not cover prayers at a grave. The words for the moment you hear of a death are on Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi rajiun.

Can a daughter use these duas for her father?

The wordings say "my parents" (14:41, 71:28) and "them both" (17:24), and none says whether the speaker is a son or a daughter. This page has no daughter-only or father-only wording and issues no ruling on who may use which verse. This page does not cover praying for one parent alone; a scholar you trust can advise.

Some people know a version that begins "Allahummaghfirli wa liwalidayya". This page gives no source for a version that opens with Allahumma. The words ighfir lī wa li-wālidayya, "forgive me and my parents", appear in 14:41, after Rabbana ("our Lord"), and in 71:28, after Rabbi ("my Lord"). If someone taught you a version, ask them for its source first.

When should you ask a scholar?

If this is on your mind, a scholar you trust can advise you. Al-Tabari's passages on 17:24 and 14:41 each raise a question about a parent's religious status (sources 2 and 3). This page does not discuss that question, and nothing here is a personal ruling.