Dua for deceased parents, and what still reaches them

The dua for deceased parents taught in the Quran is Rabbir-hamhuma kama rabbayani saghira: "My Lord, have mercy upon them as they brought me up when I was small" (17:24). Your dua is one of the few things that still reaches them. Below are the duas from the Quran and Sunnah, worded for your father and your mother, and the other deeds that benefit them.

Dua 1: The Quran's dua for parents

رَبِّ ٱرْحَمْهُمَا كَمَا رَبَّيَانِى صَغِيرًۭا

Rabbir-ḥamhumā kamā rabbayānī ṣaghīrā

My Lord, have mercy upon them as they brought me up [when I was] small.

Quran 17:24, translation by Sahih International

Dua 2: The dua of Ibrahim

رَبَّنَا ٱغْفِرْ لِى وَلِوَٰلِدَىَّ وَلِلْمُؤْمِنِينَ يَوْمَ يَقُومُ ٱلْحِسَابُ

Rabbanagh-fir lī wa li-wālidayya wa lil-muʾminīna yawma yaqūmul-ḥisāb

Our Lord, forgive me and my parents and the believers the Day the account is established.

Quran 14:41, translation by Sahih International

Dua 3: For your father

اللَّهُمَّ اغْفِرْ لَهُ وَارْحَمْهُ، وَعَافِهِ وَاعْفُ عَنْهُ، وَأَكْرِمْ نُزُلَهُ، وَوَسِّعْ مُدْخَلَهُ، وَاغْسِلْهُ بِالْمَاءِ وَالثَّلْجِ وَالْبَرَدِ، وَنَقِّهِ مِنَ الْخَطَايَا كَمَا نَقَّيْتَ الثَّوْبَ الْأَبْيَضَ مِنَ الدَّنَسِ

Allāhummagh-fir lahū warḥamhu, wa ʿāfihī waʿfu ʿanhu, wa akrim nuzulahū, wa wassiʿ mudkhalahū, waghsilhu bil-māʾi wath-thalji wal-barad, wa naqqihī minal-khaṭāyā kamā naqqaytath-thawbal-abyaḍa minad-danas

O Allah, forgive him and have mercy on him, keep him safe and pardon him, honour his arrival and make his grave wide, wash him with water, snow and hail, and cleanse him of sins as You cleanse a white garment of dirt.

Sahih Muslim 963, from Awf ibn Malik (the Prophet's ﷺ funeral dua)

Dua 4: For your mother

اللَّهُمَّ اغْفِرْ لَهَا وَارْحَمْهَا، وَعَافِهَا وَاعْفُ عَنْهَا، وَأَكْرِمْ نُزُلَهَا، وَوَسِّعْ مُدْخَلَهَا، وَاغْسِلْهَا بِالْمَاءِ وَالثَّلْجِ وَالْبَرَدِ، وَنَقِّهَا مِنَ الْخَطَايَا كَمَا نَقَّيْتَ الثَّوْبَ الْأَبْيَضَ مِنَ الدَّنَسِ

Allāhummagh-fir lahā warḥamhā, wa ʿāfihā waʿfu ʿanhā, wa akrim nuzulahā, wa wassiʿ mudkhalahā, waghsilhā bil-māʾi wath-thalji wal-barad, wa naqqihā minal-khaṭāyā kamā naqqaytath-thawbal-abyaḍa minad-danas

O Allah, forgive her and have mercy on her, keep her safe and pardon her, honour her arrival and make her grave wide, wash her with water, snow and hail, and cleanse her of sins as You cleanse a white garment of dirt.

Sahih Muslim 963, with the words changed for a woman

Dua 5: With your parent's name

اللَّهُمَّ اغْفِرْ لِـ(فُلَانٍ) وَارْفَعْ دَرَجَتَهُ فِي الْمَهْدِيِّينَ، وَاخْلُفْهُ فِي عَقِبِهِ فِي الْغَابِرِينَ، وَاغْفِرْ لَنَا وَلَهُ يَا رَبَّ الْعَالَمِينَ، وَافْسَحْ لَهُ فِي قَبْرِهِ، وَنَوِّرْ لَهُ فِيهِ

Allāhummagh-fir li-(name) warfaʿ darajatahū fil-mahdiyyīn, wakhlufhu fī ʿaqibihī fil-ghābirīn, waghfir lanā wa lahū yā rabbal-ʿālamīn, wafsaḥ lahū fī qabrihī wa nawwir lahū fīh

O Allah, forgive (name), raise his rank among the rightly guided, look after those he left behind, forgive us and him, O Lord of the worlds, make his grave spacious and fill it with light.

Sahih Muslim 920, the Prophet's ﷺ dua for Abu Salamah

Our teachers will check the Arabic and transliteration on this page before launch.

Guide

When and how to say it

How to use these duas

Say Dua 1 and Dua 2 in your salah, in sujood or before the salam, and after every prayer. They are from the Quran and cover both parents at once. Dua 3 and Dua 4 are the funeral prayer dua the Prophet ﷺ made; Awf ibn Malik heard it and wished he were the one who had died, to have that dua made for him.¹ Use it for your father or your mother, or say lahuma (for both of them) throughout. Dua 5 is what the Prophet ﷺ said when Abu Salamah died: put your father's or mother's name where it says (name), and for your mother change hu to ha. Duas in your own language are also accepted, at any time.

Your dua reaches them

The Prophet ﷺ said: "When a person dies, his deeds come to an end except for three: ongoing charity, knowledge that benefits, or a righteous child who makes dua for him."² You are that third thing. A report in Sunan Ibn Majah says a man's rank is raised in Paradise and he asks why, and is told: "Because your child asked forgiveness for you." Hadith scholars differ on its grading.³

Other deeds that benefit your parents

Charity for them. Sa'd ibn Ubadah's mother died while he was away. He asked if charity for her would help, the Prophet ﷺ said yes, and he gave a garden for her.⁴ Building something that lasts is sadaqah jariyah.
Hajj or Umrah for them, once you have done your own. A woman asked if she could perform the Hajj her mother had vowed, and the Prophet ﷺ said: "Yes, perform Hajj for her."⁵
Paying their debts and carrying out their will. Debts come out of the estate before anything else.
Keeping up their friendships. The Prophet ﷺ said one of the finest acts of kindness is for a man to keep ties with the people his father loved.⁶
Living well yourself. Every good deed you learned from them is reward for them too.

Hanafi position

The reward of any good deed may be given to a Muslim who has died, and it reaches them: dua, charity, Quran recitation, nafl prayer and fasting, Hajj and Umrah. A person does not fast or pray in place of a dead parent's missed fard; instead, fidya is paid for each missed fast and prayer, from the third of the estate if they asked for it in their will, or by the heirs as a gift if they did not. Reciting the Quran for the dead in return for a fee is not allowed.

Other madhhabs

Shafi'i: Dua and charity reach the dead by consensus, and Hajj on their behalf is valid. The well-known view is that the reward of recitation does not reach by itself, but many later Shafi'is say it does when you follow it with dua asking Allah to give its reward to them. In the old view, chosen by al-Nawawi, a relative may fast the dead person's missed fasts.
Hanbali: The reward of every good deed reaches the dead, including recitation. A relative may fast a fast the dead person had vowed; missed Ramadan fasts are paid with feeding.
Maliki: Dua and charity reach them. Fasting and praying on another's behalf are not done, and the earlier view is that the reward of recitation does not reach, though later Malikis allowed it.

To work out a fidya, use the fidya calculator. When you visit their graves, say the dua for visiting the grave.

What about the hadith of the man from Banu Salimah?

A man asked whether any kindness to his parents remained after their death, and the Prophet ﷺ is reported to have said: praying for them, asking forgiveness for them, carrying out their promises, keeping the family ties that only come through them, and honouring their friends (Sunan Abi Dawud 5142). Al-Albani graded its chain weak, but each of these five is supported by other authentic texts, as this page shows.

Sahih Muslim 963.
Sahih Muslim 1631.
Sunan Ibn Majah 3660; also Musnad Ahmad. Graded hasan by some scholars and weak by al-Albani in Sunan Ibn Majah.
Sahih al-Bukhari 2756.
Sahih al-Bukhari 1852.
Sahih Muslim 2552.
Sahih Muslim 920.
Ibn Abidin, Radd al-Muhtar, on giving the reward of deeds to the dead and on fidya. The other madhhabs' positions are summarised from their standard manuals.
Quran 17:24, translation by Sahih International
Quran 14:41, translation by Sahih International
Sahih Muslim 963, from Awf ibn Malik (the Prophet's ﷺ funeral dua)
Sahih Muslim 963, with the words changed for a woman
Sahih Muslim 920, the Prophet's ﷺ dua for Abu Salamah

The rulings on this page are pending review by the scholars on our team.

Questions

Good to know

What is the dua for deceased parents?

Rabbir-hamhuma kama rabbayani saghira (Quran 17:24), and Rabbanagh-fir li wa li-walidayya wa lil-mu'minina yawma yaqumul-hisab (14:41). You can also say the funeral dua, Allahummagh-fir lahu warhamhu (Muslim 963), for your father, or laha for your mother.

Does dua reach my parents after death?

Yes. The Prophet ﷺ said a righteous child's dua is one of three things that keep benefiting a person after death (Muslim 1631).

Can I give charity on behalf of my deceased mother?

Yes. Sa'd ibn Ubadah asked if charity would benefit his late mother, and the Prophet ﷺ said yes (Bukhari 2756).

Can I read Quran for my deceased father?

In the Hanafi and Hanbali schools, yes: you may give the reward of your recitation to him, and it reaches him. Some Shafi'i and Maliki scholars held that it reaches when followed by dua.

Can I fast for my parent who died?

In the Hanafi school you do not fast for them; fidya is paid for each missed fast instead. Some other scholars allow a relative to fast a vowed fast for them.