Du'a: Muslim Prayers For Healing Sickness

Du'a to ask Allah to heal someone who is sick

Many hands raised in Muslim prayer or du'a

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Muslims are taught to understand that human beings are fragile, weak, and prone to illness. We all get sick at one time or another, some more seriously than others. And although modern medicine has come a long way in preventing and curing illness, many people also find comfort in prayer when poor health strikes.

Muslims see illness not as a punishment from Allah, but rather as a test and a purification of one's sins. Will you keep your faith strong despite your poor health? Will you see your illness as a cause of despair or as an opportunity to turn to Allah for mercy and healing?

Muslims may recite personal prayers (du'a) in any language, but the ones from Islamic tradition are most common. Here are several Muslim prayers for health recovery.

Du'a From the Quran

The Islamic prophet Ayyub is the same as Job in the Judeo-Christian Old Testament, and he suffered greatly and gracefully. This is his du'a, from the Quran: "‘An-nee mas-sa-ni-yaD-Dur-ru wa ‘AN-ta ‘Ar-Ha-mur-raa-Hi-meen." (Truly distress has seized me, but You are Most Merciful of those that are merciful.) —Quran 21:83–84

Du'as From the Sunnah

Whenever the early Muslims became sick, they sought the advice of the prophet Muhammad himself. When someone fell ill, the Prophet would recite one of these four du'as for them.

  1. It is recommended to touch the area of pain with the right hand while reciting this supplication: "Allahuma rabbi-nas adhhabal ba'sa, ashfi wa entashafi, la shifa' illa shifa'uka shifa' la yughadiru saqama." (Oh Allah! The Sustainer of Mankind! Remove the illness, cure the disease. You are the One Who cures. There is no cure except Your cure. Grant us a cure that leaves no illness.)
  2. Repeat the following du'a seven times: "'As'alu Allah al 'azim rabbil 'arshil azim an yashifika." (I ask Allah, the Mighty, the Lord of the Mighty Throne, to cure you.)
  3. "Rabbana 'atinaa fid dunyaa hasanat wafil aakhirati hasana taw wa qinaa azaaban near." (Oh Allah! Our Lord and Sustainer! Grant us good in this world and good in the Hereafter, and save us from the Fire of Jahannam (Hell).)
  4. This du'a should be recited while the sick person places his or her right hand on the area of pain. The word "bismillah" should be repeated three times, and the entire supplication should be recited seven times: "A'oozu bi'izzatillaahi wa qudratihi min sharri maa ajidu wa uhaaziru." (I seek protection in the might of Allah and His power from the evil of what I am experiencing and of what I fear.)

How to View Death

No matter how great the pain or suffering, a Muslim should never wish for death or commit suicide. Rather, the prophet Muhammad advised the Muslims: "None of you should wish for death because of a calamity befalling him; but if he has to wish for death, he should say: 'O Allah! Keep me alive as long as life is better for me, and let me die if death is better for me.'"

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Huda. "Du'a: Muslim Prayers For Healing Sickness." Learn Religions, Aug. 27, 2020, learnreligions.com/prayers-for-healing-sickness-2004521. Huda. (2020, August 27). Du'a: Muslim Prayers For Healing Sickness. Retrieved from https://www.learnreligions.com/prayers-for-healing-sickness-2004521 Huda. "Du'a: Muslim Prayers For Healing Sickness." Learn Religions. https://www.learnreligions.com/prayers-for-healing-sickness-2004521 (accessed March 19, 2024).