Barakah is divine blessing: an increase in good that comes from Allah and stays. It is not just having more. A small house with barakah is roomy, an hour with barakah gets much done, and a modest income with barakah covers the family's needs. Without barakah, a great deal can still feel like nothing.
The word
The root b-r-k describes a camel kneeling down and settling firmly in place (baraka al-ba'ir). From it come two ideas: staying and lasting, and growing and increasing. The pool where water collects is a birkah. Something blessed is mubarak, and tabaraka, "blessed is He", is said only of Allah, as in Surah Al-Mulk: "Blessed is He in whose hand is dominion" (67:1).
Barakah in the Quran
وَلَوْ أَنَّ أَهْلَ ٱلْقُرَىٰٓ ءَامَنُوا۟ وَٱتَّقَوْا۟ لَفَتَحْنَا عَلَيْهِم بَرَكَٰتٍۢ مِّنَ ٱلسَّمَآءِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ وَلَٰكِن كَذَّبُوا۟ فَأَخَذْنَٰهُم بِمَا كَانُوا۟ يَكْسِبُونَ ﴿٩٦﴾
Wa law anna ahlal quraaa aamanoo wattaqaw lafatahnaa 'alaihim barakaatim minas samaaa'i wal ardi wa laakin kazzaboo fa akhaznaahum bimaa kaanoo yaksiboon
And if only the people of the cities had believed and feared Allah, We would have opened upon them blessings from the heaven and the earth; but they denied [the messengers], so We seized them for what they were earning."
Quran 7:96 · Sahih International · Read in Surah Al-Araf
The Quran is "a blessed Book" (38:29), rain is "blessed water" (50:9), and the land around al-Masjid al-Aqsa is land "We have blessed" (17:1). The key in 7:96 is faith and taqwa: barakah follows obedience.
What brings barakah, from the hadith
تَسَحَّرُوا فَإِنَّ فِي السَّحُورِ بَرَكَةً
"Take suhoor, for in suhoor there is barakah."
Sahih al-Bukhari 1923; Sahih Muslim 1095, from Anas ibn Malik
- Eating together. "Food for two is enough for three, and food for three is enough for four" (Sahih al-Bukhari 5392; Sahih Muslim 2058, from Abu Hurayrah). The companions complained they ate and were not filled; he told them to eat together and mention Allah's name (Sunan Abi Dawud, from Wahshi ibn Harb, graded hasan).
- Saying bismillah before eating, and eating from the side of the plate, not the middle, for barakah comes down in the middle (Jami at-Tirmidhi, from Ibn Abbas, graded hasan sahih).
- Honest trade. "If the buyer and seller are truthful and make things clear, their sale is blessed. If they hide and lie, the blessing of their sale is wiped out" (Sahih al-Bukhari 2079; Sahih Muslim 1532, from Hakim ibn Hizam).
- The early morning. "O Allah, bless my ummah in their early mornings" (Sunan Abi Dawud and Jami at-Tirmidhi, from Sakhr al-Ghamidi, graded hasan).
- Keeping family ties brings increase in provision and life (Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim, from Anas).
- Charity. "Charity does not decrease wealth" (Sahih Muslim, from Abu Hurayrah).
- The Quran, istighfar and gratitude: "If you are grateful, I will surely increase you" (14:7).
What removes barakah
Lying and cheating in business, riba, wasting food, ingratitude, and forgetting Allah. The hadith of trade above shows that the same sale can be blessed or stripped of blessing by honesty alone.
Phrases with barakah
| Arabic | Say it as | Meaning |
|---|
| بَارَكَ اللَّهُ فِيكَ | bārakallāhu fīk | May Allah bless you |
| اللَّهُمَّ بَارِكْ | Allāhumma bārik | O Allah, bless it (said to avoid the evil eye) |
| تَبَارَكَ اللَّهُ | tabārakallāh | Blessed is Allah |
| وَبَرَكَاتُهُ | wa barakātuh | And His blessings, the end of the full salam |
| رَمَضَانُ مُبَارَكٌ | Ramaḍān mubārak | A blessed Ramadan |
At a nikah, the sunnah dua for the couple is barakallahu laka, wa baraka alayka, wa jama'a baynakuma fi khayr: "May Allah bless you, shower blessings on you, and join you together in good" (Sunan Abi Dawud and Jami at-Tirmidhi, from Abu Hurayrah).
Related terms
- Quran 67:1, 7:96, 38:29, 50:9, 17:1 and 14:7, translation by Sahih International.
- Sahih al-Bukhari 1923; Sahih Muslim 1095.
- Sahih al-Bukhari 5392; Sahih Muslim 2058.
- Sahih al-Bukhari 2079; Sahih Muslim 1532.
- Sunan Abi Dawud, from Wahshi ibn Harb; Jami at-Tirmidhi, from Ibn Abbas; Sunan Abi Dawud and Jami at-Tirmidhi, from Sakhr al-Ghamidi and from Abu Hurayrah.
- Sahih Muslim, Kitab al-Birr, from Abu Hurayrah (charity does not decrease wealth).