Powerful Dua of Parents for Their Children

Powerful Dua of Parents for Their Children

According to Quranic guidance and the teachings of our beloved Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, our dua or supplication transcends the test of time, generations, and life’s greatest trials. We should never feel shy or ashamed to turn to Allah, even when things seem hopeless. As parents, we may sometimes doubt ourselves and feel guilty about how well we are parenting our children. This may cause us to turn away from Allah in shame, thinking we failed to fulfill our responsibility as caregivers. But there are powerful duas that parents can and should make for their children constantly.

Remember, Allah wants us to turn to Him and seek His aid. He says, 

“And your Lord says, ‘Call upon Me; I will respond to you.’” 

(Surah Ghafir, 40:40)

Dua, the Weapon of the Believer

The Muslim community has faced many a trial since the time of Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him. In fact, even before that, believers of pure monotheism have been ridiculed, challenged, persecuted, and even killed for worshipping the One God. As Muslim parents living in this modern technological age, we encounter a unique set of challenges. A steady influx of negative influences are quite literally at our children’s fingertips. Handheld devices like laptops, tablets, and mobile phones introduce them to a worldwide web of ideas, confusion, and different beliefs. Knowing about other ideologies can help solidify our faith, however, if our children are too young or lack Islamic foundational knowledge, it can have negative consequences. More and more we see Muslim youth posting questions on social media about things that should be common knowledge for a believer. They are confused about the very basics such as the validity of the Quran and the Sunnah. The best defense is countering this information overload with adequate Islamic education. However, to keep our children guided once they step out of our homes and into adulthood, there is one tool more powerful than that: Dua. 

Just like the diversions that keep us distracted, dua is in our hands. There is a good reason why every time we perform our five daily prayers, we are making dua, or supplicating to Allah, for guidance. And every day our commitment to our faith is tested. When we recite the first chapter of the Quran, Surah Fatihah, we begin by praising Allah and then ask Him to, 

“Guide us to the Straight path; the path of those upon whom You have bestowed favor, not of those who have evoked [Your] anger or of those who are astray.” 

(Surah Al Fatihah, 1: 6-7)

This is the ultimate supplication that we recite with every unit of prayer, meaning at minimum 17 times a day. During the month of Ramadan with the additional prayers, it is even more than that. We ask Allah to keep “us,” meaning our families and community at large, firm on the correct path, never straying with all the distractions and confusion around us. Outside of the daily ritual prayers, we should also be raising our hands in supplication for ourselves and for our children. 

Allah tells us in the Quran: 

“O you who have believed, protect yourselves and your families from a Fire whose fuel is people and stones.”

 (66:6)

He also reminds us that the best method of protection is relying on and calling upon Him, when he says that, 

“Your Lord has proclaimed, ‘Call upon Me, I will respond to you. Surely those who are too proud to worship Me will enter Hell, fully humbled.’” 

(40:60)

In this verse, Allah refers to “calling upon him,” or supplication, as an act of worship that can save a believer from the Hellfire. Those who are too arrogant to ask Allah for His favor, will be humiliated in the next life. Thus, dua can save us and our families from all kinds of trials and torment. If we are not regularly engaging in supplication, we should start making it a constant habit. In addition, we should do so with our children, so they also understand the importance of calling upon Allah. 

Powerful Dua for Child Health and Protection

Here are five powerful duas from the Quran and the Sunnah that we should be making for our children daily:

1. The Dua of Hannah, the Mother of Maryam, peace be upon her.

Our prayers for our children should begin even before they are outside of the womb. A perfect example of this is the dua made by the mother of Maryam, peace be upon her, before she was born. Allah says: 

“Mention, [O Muḥammad], when the wife of Imran (Hannah) said, ‘My Lord, indeed I have pledged to You what is in my womb, consecrated [for Your service], so accept this from me. Indeed, You are the Hearing, the Knowing.’ But when she delivered her, she said, ‘My Lord, I have delivered a female.’ And Allah was most knowing of what she delivered, and the male is not like the female. ‘And I have named her Mary, and I seek refuge for her in You and [for] her descendants from Satan, the expelled [from the mercy of Allāh].’" 

(Surah Al-Imran, 3:35-36)

Hannah’s dua is broken down into three parts:

  • First, she offered her child in service to Allah.
  • Next, she sought refuge in Allah from Satan for her.
  • Finally, she sought refuge in Allah from Satan’s influence on her offspring.

We should not only remember to make dua for our children, but also for their progeny until the Day of Judgment. How many of us may still be Muslims because of Allah’s mercy and the supplication of our ancestors? What a beautiful realization!

2. The Dua of Prophet Zakariyya, peace be upon him. 

When Zakarriya saw that Allah answered the prayers of Hannah, and also provided Maryam, peace be upon her, with daily sustenance, he turned to his Lord in sincere dua. He also wanted to be blessed with a righteous child. Allah mentions his supplication in the Quran: 

“Then and there Zakariyya prayed to his Lord, saying, ‘My Lord! Grant me—by your grace—righteous offspring. You are certainly the Hearer of ˹all˺ prayers.’”

 (Surah Al-Imran, 3:38)

3. The Duas of Ibrahim, peace be upon him.

When our children are born, and throughout their lives, we should be praying for their guidance. Our own status with Allah does not guarantee that our children will not be led astray. Even the beloved Prophet Ibrahim, peace be upon him, used to make dua for his family. After Ibrahim, peace be upon him, was blessed with his children, he turned to Allah in gratitude and sought protection for them and their lineage. He said:

“All praise is for Allah who has blessed me with Ismail and Isaac in my old age. My Lord is indeed the Hearer of ˹all˺ prayers. My Lord! Make me and those ˹believers˺ of my descendants keep up prayer. Our Lord! Accept my prayers. Our Lord! Forgive me, my parents, and the believers on the Day when the judgment will come to pass.” 

(Surah Ibrahim, 14: 39-41)

Moreover, anytime that he performed a good deed or fulfilled a commandment from Allah, Prophet Ibrahim, peace be upon him, used to make dua and remember his children. An example of this is also mentioned in the following verses:

“And [mention] when Abraham was raising the foundations of the House and [with him] Ishmael, [saying], ‘Our Lord, accept [this] from us. Indeed You are the Hearing, the Knowing. Our Lord, and make us Muslims [in submission] to You and from our descendants a Muslim nation [in submission] to You. And show us our rites and accept our repentance. Indeed, You are the Accepting of repentance, the Merciful. Our Lord, and send among them a messenger from themselves who will recite to them Your verses and teach them the Book and wisdom and purify them. Indeed, You are the Exalted in Might, the Wise.’” 

(Surah Al-Baqarah, 2:127-129)

4. The Dua of Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, for his grandchildren.

Indeed, Allah answered the dua of Prophet Ibrahim, peace be upon him, when he granted prophethood to his descendant, Muhammad ibn Abdullah, peace and blessings be upon him. Our beloved Prophet Muhammad followed the example of his forefather, Prophet Ibrahim, in supplicating for his own children and grandchildren, peace and blessings be upon all of them.

Ibn Abbaas, may Allah be pleased with him, said that Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, used to seek refuge with Allah for his grandchildren, Hasan and Hussain. He said:

 “Your father (Ibrahim) used to seek refuge with (these words) for Ismail and Ishaq: A‘oodhu bi kalimaat Illaahi’t-taammah min kulli shaytaanin wa haammah wa min kulli ‘aynin laammah (I seek refuge in the perfect words of Allaah from every devil and every vermin, and from every evil eye).”  

(Bukhari)

5. The Dua of the companions, may Allah be pleased with them.

The companions of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, learned supplications directly from his prophetic wisdom. One of the duas they made is mentioned in the Quran: 

“Our Lord! Bless us with ˹pious˺ spouses and offspring who will be the joy of our hearts, and make us models for the righteous.” 

(Surah Al-Furqan, 25:74)

The meaning of this verse is explained in Tafsir Ibn Kathir. It refers to those who ask Allah to bring forth from their loins offspring who will obey Him and worship Him and not associate anything in worship with Him. Ibn Kathir mentioned that Ibn Abbas explained, 

"This means (offspring) who will strive to obey Allah and bring them joy in this world and the Hereafter."

Imam Ahmad recorded that Jubayr bin Nufayr said: 

"We sat with Al-Miqdad bin Al-Aswad one day, and a man passed by and said, ‘How blessed are these two eyes which saw the Messenger of Allah! Would that we had seen what you saw and witnessed what you witnessed.’ Al-Miqdad got angry, and I was surprised, because the man had not said anything but good. Then he turned to him and said, ‘What makes a man wish to be present when Allah had caused him to be absent, and he does not know how he would have behaved if he had been there. By Allah, there are people who saw the Messenger of Allah, and Allah will throw them on their faces in Hell because they did not accept him or believe in him. Are you not grateful that Allah brought you forth from your mothers' wombs believing in your Lord and in what your Prophet brought, and that the test went to others and not to you? 

Allah sent His Prophet during the most difficult time that any Prophet was ever sent, after a long period of ignorance, when the people could see no better religion than the worship of idols, and he brought the Criterion which distinguishes truth from falsehood and which would separate a father from his son. A man would realize that his father, son or brother was a disbeliever, and since Allah had opened his heart to Faith, he knew that if his relative died he would go to Hell, so he could not rest knowing that his loved one was in the Fire.” 

This situation is what prompted the dua Allah referred to in the verse. The companions, who suffered through difficulty when their own families did not accept Islam, sought comfort in supplication, asking Allah for rightly guided spouses and children.

The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said,

 “Dua is worship.”

 (Abu Dawud)

With this reassurance, we should feel good about constantly making dua. After all, we are getting a double reward, one for worship and the other is our prayers being answered. 

Wendy Díaz is a Puerto Rican Muslim writer, award-winning poet, translator, and mother of six (ages ranging from infant to teen). She is the co-founder of Hablamos Islam, a non-profit organization that produces educational resources about Islam in Spanish (hablamosislam.org). She has written, illustrated, and published over a dozen children’s books and currently lives with her family in Maryland. Follow Wendy Díaz on social media @authorwendydiaz and @hablamosislam.

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