Duas from the Qur'an: The Rabbanā Supplications and How to Use Them

When we don’t know how to ask, the Qur’an has already shown us. Scattered through it are the supplications of the prophets and the believers — short, precise, and almost always beginning the same way: Rabbanā, Our Lord.

That opening is itself a lesson. Before the request comes the relationship.

1. The dua for both worlds

رَبَّنَا آتِنَا فِي الدُّنْيَا حَسَنَةً وَفِي الْآخِرَةِ حَسَنَةً وَقِنَا عَذَابَ النَّارِ Rabbanā ātinā fid-dunyā ḥasanatan wa fil-ākhirati ḥasanatan wa qinā ‘adhāban-nār.

“Our Lord, give us good in this world and good in the Hereafter, and protect us from the punishment of the Fire.” — Qur’an 2:201

Anas (رضي الله عنه) said this was the dua the Prophet ﷺ made most often. It is the most complete short dua in the Qur’an: it leaves nothing out.

2. When you feel you’ve been given more than you can carry

رَبَّنَا لَا تُؤَاخِذْنَا إِن نَّسِينَا أَوْ أَخْطَأْنَا … وَلَا تُحَمِّلْنَا مَا لَا طَاقَةَ لَنَا بِهِ Rabbanā lā tu’ākhidhnā in nasīnā aw akhṭa’nā … wa lā tuḥammilnā mā lā ṭāqata lanā bih.

“Our Lord, do not take us to task if we forget or make a mistake… and do not burden us beyond what we can bear.” — Qur’an 2:286

The closing verse of Surah al-Baqarah, and the answer to it is recorded in the Qur’an itself: “He has already done so.”

3. When your heart feels unsteady

رَبَّنَا لَا تُزِغْ قُلُوبَنَا بَعْدَ إِذْ هَدَيْتَنَا وَهَبْ لَنَا مِن لَّدُنكَ رَحْمَةً Rabbanā lā tuzigh qulūbanā ba’da idh hadaytanā wa hab lanā min ladunka raḥmah.

“Our Lord, do not let our hearts deviate after You have guided us, and grant us mercy from Yourself.” — Qur’an 3:8

A dua for the people who have already been given faith and are afraid of losing it.

4. For your family

رَبِّ اجْعَلْنِي مُقِيمَ الصَّلَاةِ وَمِن ذُرِّيَّتِي Rabbi-j’alnī muqīmaṣ-ṣalāti wa min dhurriyyatī.

“My Lord, make me an establisher of prayer, and from my descendants too.” — Qur’an 14:40

Ibrahim (عليه السلام) asks first for himself, then for those who come after — the order matters. There’s more on this in duas for your children and family.

5. The dua answered from inside the whale

لَّا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا أَنتَ سُبْحَانَكَ إِنِّي كُنتُ مِنَ الظَّالِمِينَ Lā ilāha illā anta subḥānaka innī kuntu minaẓ-ẓālimīn.

“There is no deity except You; exalted are You. Indeed, I have been of the wrongdoers.” — Qur’an 21:87

No request in it at all — only acknowledgement. And Allah says of it: “So We responded to him and saved him from distress.” Keep it close on the heavy nights.

How to actually use them

Reading a list like this is easy; keeping it is harder. What works:

• Take one, not all. Learn 2:201 this month. It’s short, and it covers everything.
• Say it where it fits — in sujood, after salah, in the last third of the night. The best times for dua apply to Qur’anic duas too.
• Pair it with your own words. Open with the revealed wording, then continue in your language about your actual situation. Both are dua.
• Save the ones that reach you. A dua you can find again is a dua you’ll return to.

Dua Diary carries 36 of these Qur’anic duas across 21 surahs — each with its Arabic, transliteration, meaning, and reference — and you can save any of them into your own collections.

FAQ

How many duas are in the Qur’an? Counts vary by definition, but the well-known Rabbanā and Rabbi supplications number around forty, across roughly twenty surahs.

What does Rabbanā mean? “Our Lord” — the Qur’an’s most common way to open a dua, naming the relationship before the request.

Are Qur’anic duas better than my own words? Both are dua. Revealed wording is always safe to say; your own words carry your specific situation. Most people use both.