4 supplications

Duas for the Sick

Visiting the sick is a right of the Muslim, and the Prophet ﷺ always prayed for the sick person’s recovery. Whoever visits a sick person and says the dua below seven times, Allah will cure him unless his time has come (Abu Dawud, al-Tirmidhi).

Visiting the sick

لَا بَأْسَ، طَهُورٌ إِنْ شَاءَ اللَّهُ

La ba’s, tahurun in sha’allah.

No harm: it is a purification, if Allah wills.

Source: Sahih al-Bukhari

Asking healing for the sick×7

أَسْأَلُ اللَّهَ الْعَظِيمَ، رَبَّ الْعَرْشِ الْعَظِيمِ، أَنْ يَشْفِيَكَ

As’alullahal-‘adhim, rabbal-‘arshil-‘adhim, an yashfiyak.

I ask Allah the Mighty, Lord of the Mighty Throne, to cure you. Seven times.

Source: Sunan Abi Dawud; Jami‘ al-Tirmidhi

For a pain in the body

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ (ثَلَاثًا)، أَعُوذُ بِاللَّهِ وَقُدْرَتِهِ مِنْ شَرِّ مَا أَجِدُ وَأُحَاذِرُ (سَبْعًا)

Bismillah (3×). A‘udhu billahi wa qudratihi min sharri ma ajidu wa uhadhir (7×).

Place your hand on the place of pain and say “In the name of Allah” three times, then seven times: I seek refuge in Allah and His power from the evil of what I feel and fear.

Source: Sahih Muslim

The Prophet’s ruqyah

اللَّهُمَّ رَبَّ النَّاسِ، أَذْهِبِ الْبَأْسَ، اشْفِ أَنْتَ الشَّافِي، لَا شِفَاءَ إِلَّا شِفَاؤُكَ، شِفَاءً لَا يُغَادِرُ سَقَمًا

Allahumma rabban-nas, adhhibil-ba’s, ishfi antash-shafi, la shifa’a illa shifa’uk, shifa’an la yughadiru saqama.

O Allah, Lord of mankind, remove the harm and heal, for You are the Healer. There is no healing but Your healing, a healing that leaves no illness behind.

Source: Sahih al-Bukhari; Sahih Muslim

Visiting the sick and the patience of the ill

Visiting a sick Muslim is a right he has over his brother. The Prophet ﷺ said: “Whoever visits a sick person remains in the harvest of Paradise until he returns” (Muslim). Whoever says seven times beside a sick person “I ask Allah the Mighty, Lord of the Mighty Throne, to cure you”, Allah cures him unless his time has come (Abu Dawud, at-Tirmidhi).

For the sick person himself, illness is an expiation: “No fatigue, illness, worry or grief befalls a Muslim, not even a thorn that pricks him, except that Allah expiates some of his sins by it” (al-Bukhari, Muslim). He places his hand where it hurts, says “Bismillah” three times and seven times “I seek refuge in the might and power of Allah from the evil of what I feel and fear” (Muslim).

Meaning of “Adhhibil-ba’s, Rabban-nas”

The Prophet ﷺ wiped the sick person with his right hand saying: “O Allah, Lord of mankind, remove the harm and heal, You are the Healer; there is no healing but Yours, a healing that leaves no illness” (al-Bukhari, Muslim). It calls on Allah as Lord of all people, admits that healing is from Him alone whatever the means, and asks for a complete cure that leaves no trace of the illness.

Practical tips

  • Visit sick relatives and keep the visit short and gentle.
  • Say the du‘a of cure seven times beside the patient.
  • Bring something useful: a meal, help with errands, a recited ruqyah.
  • Remind the patient of the reward of patience, without lecturing.
  • Ask the patient to pray for you: the sick person’s du‘a is hoped to be answered.

Duas for the Sick: questions and answers

May a sick person wish for death?

No. If he must, let him say: “O Allah, keep me alive as long as life is better for me, and take me when death is better for me” (al-Bukhari, Muslim).

Can I make ruqyah for a sick relative?

Yes. The Prophet ﷺ made ruqyah for his family by wiping with his right hand and saying the du‘a “Rabban-nas” (al-Bukhari, Muslim).

Related duas

All duas and adhkar