Are there special duas for specific days or parts of Ramadan?
The Prophet, on him be peace, did not specially prescribe certain dua for specific days or parts of Ramadan, generally. But he taught us to make much dua, meaning supplication to Allah alone, in this month of fasting.
There are seven duas that many of our sages recommend for us to make repeatedly in Ramadan. These are based on the Quran and the practice of the Prophet, on him be peace, only one of which is specified for a particular time in Ramadan.
We’ll come to them, inshaAllah, but let’s first take a quick look at the divinely made connection between dua and Ramadan.
Is there a special connection between dua and Ramadan?
Absolutely.
“Dua,” the Prophet, on him be peace, said, “is the marrow of worship,” meaning it is the essence and at the core of all religious rites and acts.
Our great Quran teachers have told us how significant it is that amid the four verses of the Quran that prescribe and explain the Ramadan fast for Muslims, Allah inserts one particular verse that inspires us to ask of Him in dua. It connects our supplications and His answer of them to our responsiveness to His divine commands.
Now, if My servants ask you [O Prophet] about Me — then, indeed, I am near. I answer the call of the caller when he calls upon Me. Then let them all respond to Me, so that they may be rightly guided.
Did the Prophet, on him be peace, describe how our approach to Ramadan and dua should be?
Yes, indeed. The Prophet, on him be peace, both told and showed us exactly how this special Ramadan connection should look. In addition to making a great deal of prayerful supplications — and urging Muslims to step this up specifically in Ramadan — he showed us what other kinds of worship we should focus on in Ramadan.
We are to increase our salah prayers, especially in the night, in Ramadan. The Prophet, on him be peace, instituted praying the successive two-rakah cycles of prayer in the night in Ramadan, known as taraweeh because of the brief period of rest between each cycle of salah prayer. In the last 10 nights, he spiritually retreated continuously in the mosque and prayed through the entire night.
We are to offer as many other acts of worship as we can throughout the month’s days, especially Quran recitation. The Prophet, on him be peace, reviewed the Quran in its entirety in Ramadan with the Arch-Angel of Revelation, Gabriel, on him be peace, and twice in his last Ramadan.
We are to ramp up our sadaqah (charity) giving in Ramadan. The Prophet, on him be peace, was known by all as the most generous of people. In Ramadan, he increased his sadaqah, or charitable giving, so much that his Companions compared his generosity then to the “free-blowing gusting of a Heaven-sent wind.”
Why has Allah singled out Ramadan?
Ramadan and its fast commemorate the start of Allah’s revelation of His final and culminating revelation —the Quran — to Prophet Muhammad, on him be peace.
It was the month of Ramadan in which the Quran was first sent down as guidance for all people, having in it clear proofs of divine guidance and the criterion for right and wrong. So whoever among you bears witness to the month shall then fast it (Surat Al-Baqarah, 2:185).
This is the reason Ramadan holds the promise of Heavenly mercy and forgiveness throughout all this month’s days and nights. This divine blessing is what is celebrated in Ramadan.
We Muslims honor Ramadan by fasting each of its days and standing in prayer in each of its nights — or as much as we can given our individual circumstances. And Allah distinguishes it by rewarding many, many times over, in unseen quantities known only to Him. Our obedience to His prescribed worship and every good work we do in it as believers is blessed extra throughout the month.
What one dua and occasion did the Prophet, on him be peace, single out for Ramadan?
He taught Aisha, his wife and Mother of the Believers, Allah be pleased with her, a special dua to say repeatedly on Laylat Al-Qadr, the Night of Empowering Decree.
Laylat Al-Qadr marks the Ramadan night in which Allah sent down His first revelation of the Quran to Prophet Muhammad, on him peace.
It is reported in the authentic hadith collection of Al-Tirmidi that Aisha, Allah be pleased with her, said:
I said: ‘O Messenger of Allah! If I know which night is Laylat Al-Qadr, what should I say on that night?’
He said: ‘Say: O Allah! You are all-pardoning. You love to pardon. So pardon me.’
(اللهم إنك عفو تحب العفو فاعف عني )
(“Allaahumma innaka ‘afuwwan tuhibb ul-‘afwa fa‘fu ‘anni.”)
This does not mean that this is the only dua one should make on Laylat Al-Qadr, or that that is the only time a person should make it.
A person should make much dua on Laylat Al-Qadr, which may be any one of Ramadan’s last 10 nights. So a worshipper should make this dua repeatedly throughout the last 10 nights and include it in their regular supplications throughout the year.
Are there duas recommended to be repeated more in Ramadan?
Yes. But, again, we should make as much dua as we can in Ramadan, and there are duas, from the Quran and the Prophet, on him be peace, we should make often in our lives that we should repeat even more in Ramadan.
Here are six we should repeat often:
Since we are fasting Ramadan’s days, we should know it is desirable to say after breaking fast:
Gone is the thirst. Moist are the veins. And, God willing, established is the reward.
(ذهب الظمأ وابتلت العروق وثبت الأجر إن شاء الله)
Dhahaba al-dhama’ wa abtalat al-‘urooq wa thabata al-ajr insha’Allah.)
The Quran tells us to ask Allah:
Our Lord! Give us good in the world and good in the Hereafter, and save us from the torment of the Fire of Hell (Surat Al-Baqarah, 2:201).
(رَبَّنَا آتِنَا فِي الدُّنْيَا حَسَنَةً وَفِي الْآخِرَةِ حَسَنَةً وَقِنَا عَذَابَ النَّارِ)
(Rabbana atina fi’l-dunya hasanata, wa fi’l-akhirati hasanata, wa qina ‘adhab an-nar.)
Also, Allah instructs us in the Quran to pray:
My Lord! Make me steadfast in the Prayer, and also my children, our Lord. And do accept my supplication. Our Lord! Forgive me and my parents — and all the believers — on the day the reckoning arises (Surat Ibrahim, 14:40-41).
(رَبِّ اجْعَلْنِي مُقِيمَ الصَّلَاةِ وَمِنْ ذُرِّيَّتِي رَبَّنَا وَتَقَبَّلْ دُعَاءِ . رَبَّنَا اغْفِرْ لِي وَلِوَالِدَيَّ وَلِلْمُؤْمِنِينَ يَوْمَ يَقُومُ الْحِسَابُ)
(Rabbi ij‘alni muqim al-salah wa min dhurriyati rabana wa taqabbal dua. Rabbana ighfir li wa li walidaya wa li’l-mu’minin yawma yaqumu’l-hisab.)
Also from the Quran, the people Allah honors with the title "Servants of the All-Merciful" make this dua in gratitude when they look upon their families, which should be said often in Ramadan:
Our Lord! Grant us in our spouses and our children the joy of our eyes. Moreover, make us an exemplar of goodness for the God-fearing (Surat Al-Furqan, 25-74).
(رَبَّنَا هَبْ لَنَا مِنْ أَزْوَاجِنَا وَذُرِّيَّاتِنَا قُرَّةَ أَعْيُنٍ وَاجْعَلْنَا لِلْمُتَّقِينَ إِمَامًا)
(Rabbana hab lana min azwajina wa dhurriyatina qurrat a‘yun wa ij‘alna li’l-muttaqina imama.)
The Prophet, on him be peace, favored comprehensive rather than particularized dua, like this one, which is an important supplication for us to say often, as in Ramadan:
O Allah! Indeed, I ask You for every good, all of it, hastened in this world and kept for the Hereafter, whatever I know of it and whatever I do not know. And I seek refuge in You from evil, all of it, hastened in this world and kept for the Hereafter — whatever I know of it and whatever I do not know.
O Allah! Indeed, I ask You for the best of what Your Servant and Your Prophet have asked You. And I seek refuge in You from whatever evil Your Servant and Your Prophet have sought refuge from in You.
O Allah! Indeed, I ask of You the Garden, and for all the words and deeds that draw one near it. And I seek refuge in You from the Fire, and for all the words and deeds that draw one near it.
And I ask that You make every decree that You have decreed for me good.
(اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَسْأَلُكَ مِنَ الْخَيْرِ كُلِّهِ عَاجِلِهِ وَآجِلِهِ ، مَا عَلِمْتُ مِنْهُ وَمَا لَمْ أَعْلَمْ ، وَأَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنَ الشَّرِّ كُلِّهِ عَاجِلِهِ وَآجِلِهِ ، مَا عَلِمْتُ مِنْهُ وَمَا لَمْ أَعْلَمْ ، اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَسْأَلُكَ مِنْ خَيْرِ مَا سَأَلَكَ عَبْدُكَ وَنَبِيُّكَ ، وَأَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنْ شَرِّ مَا عَاذَ منه عَبْدُكَ وَنَبِيُّكَ ، اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَسْأَلُكَ الْجَنَّةَ وَمَا قَرَّبَ إِلَيْهَا مِنْ قَوْلٍ أَوْ عَمَلٍ ، وَأَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنَ النَّارِ وَمَا قَرَّبَ إِلَيْهَا مِنْ قَوْلٍ أَوْ عَمَلٍ ، وَأَسْأَلُكَ أَنْ تَجْعَلَ كُلَّ قَضَاءٍ قَضَيْتَهُ لِي خَيْرًا)
(Allahumma inni as’aluka min al-khayri kullihi ‘ajilihi wa ajilihi, ma ‘alimtu minhu wa ma lam a‘lam, wa a‘udhu bika min ash-sharri kullihi ‘ajilihi wa ajilihi, ma ‘alimtu minhu wa ma lam a‘lam.
Allahumma inni as’aluka min khayri ma sa’alaka ‘abduka wa nabiyyuka, wa a‘udhu bika min sharri ma ‘adha minhu ‘abduka wa nabiyyuka.
Allahumma inni as’aluka al-jannata wa ma qarraba ilayha min qawlin aw ‘amal, wa a‘uhu bika min an-nari wa ma qarraba ilayha min qawlin aw ‘amal.
Wa as’aluka an taj‘ala kulla qada’in qadaytahu li khayran.)
The Prophet, on him be peace, also taught us to supplicate to Allah for pardon and well-being, in this life and the Hereafter:
O Allah! Indeed, I ask of You pardon in this world and the Hereafter.
O Allah! Indeed, I ask of You pardon and well-being in my religion and my worldly affairs, and my family and my wealth.
O Allah! Cover over my vulnerabilities and secure my anxieties.
O Allah! Shield me from before me and from behind me, and from my right and from my left, and from above me. And I seek refuge in Your magnificence so that I am not undone from beneath me.
اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَسْأَلُكَ الْعَافِيَةَ فِي الدُّنْيَا وَالْآخِرَةِ ، اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَسْأَلُكَ الْعَفْوَ وَالْعَافِيَةَ فِي دِينِي وَدُنْيَايَ وَأَهْلِي وَمَالِي ، اللَّهُمَّ اسْتُرْ عَوْرَاتِي وَآمِنْ رَوْعَاتِي ، اللَّهُمَّ احْفَظْنِي مِنْ بَيْنِ يَدَيَّ ، وَمِنْ خَلْفِي، وَعَنْ يَمِينِي ، وَعَنْ شِمَالِي ، وَمِنْ فَوْقِي، وَأَعُوذُ بِعَظَمَتِكَ أَنْ أُغْتَالَ مِنْ تَحْتِي)
(Allahumma inni as’aluka al-‘afiyata fi’d-dunya wa’l-akhirah.
Allahumma inni as’aluka al-‘afwa wa’l-‘afiyata fi dini wa dunyaya wa ahli wa mali.
Allahumma astur ‘awrati wa amin raw‘ati.
Allahumma ihfazni min bayna yadayya wa min khalfi wa ‘an yamini wa ‘an shimali, wa min fawqi, wa a‘udhu bi ‘azamatika an ughtala min tahti.)
Allah accept our fasting and standing in prayer and the best of our dua this Ramadan.