Duas for for those who have passed. Du'a for the ones who went before us
The du'a of the living reaches the dead. The Prophet ﷺ taught words for the funeral prayer and for greeting the people of the graves, and the Quran teaches us to ask forgiveness for the believers who came before us.
14 sourced Du'as Arabic, transliteration, meaning, and source
Allahumma-ghfir lahu warhamhu wa 'afihi wa'fu 'anh, wa akrim nuzulah, wa wassi' mudkhalah, waghsilhu bi-l-ma'i wa-th-thalji wa-l-barad, wa naqqihi mina-l-khataya kama naqqayta-th-thawba-l-abyada mina-d-danas, wa abdilhu daran khayran min darih, wa ahlan khayran min ahlih, wa zawjan khayran min zawjih, wa adkhilhu-l-jannah, wa a'idhhu min 'adhabi-l-qabri, aw min 'adhabi-n-nar.
“O Allah, forgive him and have mercy on him, keep him safe and pardon him. Honour his arrival and make his entry spacious. Wash him with water, snow and hail, and cleanse him of sins as a white garment is cleansed of dirt. Give him a home better than his home, a family better than his family, and a spouse better than his spouse. Admit him to Paradise and protect him from the punishment of the grave, or from the punishment of the Fire.”
Sahih Muslim 963
'Awf ibn Malik memorised this from the Prophet ﷺ as he prayed over a funeral, and said he wished he had been that deceased. The final words "or from the punishment of the Fire" keep the narrator's own hesitation. When praying for a woman, the pronouns are made feminine (Allahumma-ghfir laha warhamha).
Rabbana-ghfir lana wa li-ikhwanina-lladhina sabaquna bi-l-iman, wa la taj'al fi qulubina ghillan li-lladhina amanu, Rabbana innaka Ra'ufun Rahim.
“Our Lord, forgive us and our brothers who preceded us in faith and put not in our hearts resentment toward those who have believed. Our Lord, indeed You are Kind and Merciful.”
Quran 59:10
The Quran describes the believers who came after the first generations as praying in these words for those who went before them in faith.
As-salamu 'alaykum ahla-d-diyari mina-l-mu'minina wa-l-muslimin, wa inna in sha' Allahu la-lahiqun. As'alu-llaha lana wa lakumu-l-'afiyah.
“Peace be upon you, people of these dwellings, from among the believers and the Muslims. We will, if Allah wills, join you. I ask Allah for well-being for us and for you.”
Sahih Muslim 975
The Prophet ﷺ taught his companions to say this when they went out to the graves. A visit to the graves is a reminder of death and a chance to pray for the dead; the du'a is made to Allah (SWT) alone.
Allahumma-ghfir li-fulan, warfa' darajatahu fi-l-mahdiyyin, wakhlufhu fi 'aqibihi fi-l-ghabirin, waghfir lana wa lahu ya Rabba-l-'alamin, wafsah lahu fi qabrih, wa nawwir lahu fih
“O Allah, forgive [name] and raise his rank among the rightly guided. Be the guardian of those he leaves behind. Forgive us and him, O Lord of the worlds. Make his grave spacious for him and fill it with light.”
Sahih Muslim 920
The Prophet ﷺ said this for Abu Salamah after closing his eyes. Say the person's name in place of fulan, and use the feminine forms for a woman.
Allahumma-ghfir li-hayyina wa mayyitina, wa shahidina wa gha'ibina, wa saghirina wa kabirina, wa dhakarina wa unthana. Allahumma man ahyaytahu minna fa-ahyihi 'ala-l-islam, wa man tawaffaytahu minna fa-tawaffahu 'ala-l-iman. Allahumma la tahrimna ajrah, wa la tudillana ba'dah
“O Allah, forgive our living and our dead, those present and those absent, our young and our old, our men and our women. O Allah, whoever of us You keep alive, keep him alive upon Islam, and whoever of us You take, take him upon faith. O Allah, do not deprive us of the reward for him, and do not let us go astray after him.”
Sunan Abi Dawud 3201 (sahih), Jami at-Tirmidhi 1024 (sahih), Sunan Ibn Majah 1498 (hasan)
Allahumma inna fulana-bna fulanin fi dhimmatik, wa habli jiwarik, fa-qihi min fitnati-l-qabri wa 'adhabi-n-nar, wa anta ahlu-l-wafa'i wa-l-haqq, faghfir lahu warhamh, innaka anta-l-Ghafuru-r-Rahim
“O Allah, [name, son of name] is in Your care and under the rope of Your protection, so guard him from the trial of the grave and the punishment of the Fire. You are the One who keeps faith and is true, so forgive him and have mercy on him. Truly, You are the Forgiving, the Merciful.”
Sunan Abi Dawud 3202 (sahih), Sunan Ibn Majah 1499 (hasan)
Heard from the Prophet ﷺ in a funeral prayer. Say the person's name in place of fulan ibn fulan.
Allahumma 'abduka wabnu amatika-htaja ila rahmatik, wa anta ghaniyyun 'an 'adhabih, in kana muhsinan fa-zid fi hasanatih, wa in kana musi'an fa-tajawaz 'anh
“O Allah, Your servant, the son of Your maidservant, is in need of Your mercy, and You have no need to punish him. If he did good, increase his good deeds, and if he did wrong, overlook it.”
Al-Mustadrak al-Hakim 1346 (sahih per al-Hakim and adh-Dhahabi)
Al-Hakim graded its chain sahih and adh-Dhahabi agreed. The Prophet ﷺ said this when standing for a funeral prayer.
“O Allah, protect him from the punishment of the grave.”
Muwatta Malik, Mishkat al-Masabih 1689 (sahih, as Abu Hurayrah's practice)
These are not the Prophet's ﷺ words but the practice of the Companion Abu Hurayrah in the funeral prayer for a child. Hisn al-Muslim also lists a longer du'a here from later scholars; it is not from a hadith and is left out.
After a burial the Prophet ﷺ would stand at the grave and say: Ask forgiveness for your brother and ask that he be made firm, for he is now being questioned. These words carry out that instruction.
As-salamu 'alaykum ahla-d-diyari mina-l-mu'minina wa-l-muslimin, wa inna in sha'a-llahu bikum lahiqun, wa yarhamu-llahu-l-mustaqdimina minna wa-l-musta'khirin, as'alu-llaha lana wa lakumu-l-'afiyah
“Peace be upon you, people of these dwellings, among the believers and the Muslims. We will, if Allah wills, be joining you. May Allah have mercy on those of us who have gone ahead and those who come later. I ask Allah for well-being for us and for you.”
Sahih Muslim 975, Sahih Muslim 974
The line asking mercy for those who went before and those who follow comes from 'A'ishah's narration (Sahih Muslim 974). Visiting graves is for remembering the Hereafter and praying for the dead.