Prophetic supplications
Duas
A small, focused selection. The "Knowledge" category is for students of the Quran and the teachers who guide them.
Duas for students who want their study to bear fruit, and for teachers who want their teaching to be a source of barakah.
Rabbi zidnī ʿilmā
My Lord, increase me in knowledge.
Benefit: The only thing the Prophet (pbuh) was commanded to ask for an increase of. Recite before any session of study.
Source: Quran 20:114
Allāhumma innī asʾaluka ʿilman nāfiʿan wa rizqan ṭayyiban wa ʿamalan mutaqabbalā
O Allah, I ask You for beneficial knowledge, wholesome provision, and accepted deeds.
Benefit: The Prophet (pbuh) recited this after the Fajr prayer. A complete dua: knowledge that benefits, sustenance that is pure, action that is accepted.
Source: Ibn Majah (sahih)
Allāhumma innī aʿūdhu bika min ʿilmin lā yanfaʿu, wa min qalbin lā yakhshaʿu, wa min nafsin lā tashbaʿu, wa min daʿwatin lā yustajābu lahā
O Allah, I take refuge in You from knowledge that does not benefit, from a heart that does not humble itself, from a soul that is never satisfied, and from a supplication that is not answered.
Benefit: Knowledge can puff up rather than humble. The Prophet (pbuh) sought refuge from this distortion.
Source: Sahih Muslim
Allāhumma yā muʿallima Ibrāhīma ʿallimnī, wa yā mufahhima Sulaymāna fahhimnī
O Allah, O Teacher of Ibrahim, teach me; O Granter of understanding to Sulayman, grant me understanding.
Source: Reported in classical works (e.g., al-Suyuti); often used by students of knowledge.
Rabbi-shraḥ lī ṣadrī, wa yassir lī amrī, waḥlul ʿuqdatan min lisānī, yafqahū qawlī
My Lord, expand for me my chest, ease for me my task, and untie the knot from my tongue so they may understand my speech.
Benefit: Recite before teaching, presenting, or any moment that requires courage and clarity.
Source: Quran 20:25-28 (Musa's dua before facing Pharaoh)
Allāhumma jʿal fī qalbī nūran, wa fī lisānī nūran, wa fī samʿī nūran, wa fī baṣarī nūran
O Allah, place light in my heart, on my tongue, in my hearing, and in my sight.
Benefit: The Prophet (pbuh) supplicated this on his way to the mosque. Light (nur) is one of the names for tajweed.
Source: Sahih al-Bukhari and Muslim (the long dua of Light)
Allāhumma rḥamnī bi-tarki l-maʿāṣī abadan mā abqaytanī, wa rḥamnī an atakallafa mā lā yaʿnīnī, wa rzuqnī ḥusna n-naẓari fīmā yurḍīka ʿannī
O Allah, have mercy on me by [enabling me] to abandon sins for as long as You let me live; and have mercy on me by [keeping me] from burdening myself with what does not concern me; and grant me a good outlook in what pleases You.
Benefit: Imam ash-Shafi'i complained to his teacher Wakiʿ of weak memory and was told that abandoning sin is the cure. This dua follows that wisdom.
Source: Tirmidhi (hasan)