5 Duaas for our Children from the Quran

The talk opens with a truth every parent already feels: a righteous child is a joy of life, while a wicked, disrespectful, disobedient child can make even a wealthy parent’s life miserable. Ustadh Baajour emphasizes the seriousness Islam places on disrespect and disobedience toward parents. From there, Ustadh Baajour grounds the whole talk in a hadith naming three supplications that are answered, with no doubt about it: the dua of a parent for their child, the dua of the traveler, and the dua of the one who has been wronged. A parent’s dua for their child sits in that short, powerful list, which is exactly why the Quran preserves so many examples of parents making it.

The first dua comes from our father Ibrahim (peace be upon him), in Surat Ibrahim: “Rabbij ‘alnee muqeemas-salati wa min dhurriyyati, Rabbana wa taqabbal du’a” — “My Lord, make me one who establishes prayer, and from my offspring. Our Lord, and accept my dua.” Ibrahim (AS) asks for his own prayer first, then his children’s. Ustadh Baajour connects this directly to a question he says he is asked constantly: “my son is 16, my son is 18, my son is 21, my daughter is 23, and they are not praying.” This dua is offered as one of the greatest a parent can make for a child to start praying, starting with the parent’s own example.

The second dua belongs to a mother, so that no one thinks these duas are only for fathers: the wife of Imran, the mother of Maryam (peace be upon her), recorded in Surat Aal-Imran, ayah 36. After naming her newborn daughter Maryam, she said, in effect, “I have commended her and her descendants to Your protection from Shaytan, the outcast.” Ustadh Baajour notes this dua isn’t limited to daughters or to the name Maryam; any parent can use it, asking Allah to protect their children, sons or daughters, from the whispers of both human and jinn shayateen.

The third dua is Zakariya’s (peace be upon him), also in Surat Aal-Imran, ayah 38, made after he saw Maryam provided for out of season and realized such provision comes from Allah alone: “…good offspring from Your presence. Indeed, You are the One who hears the dua.” Ustadh Baajour recommends this dua especially for those struggling to have children, and encourages making it in the last part of the night with yaqeen.

The last two duas are not tied to a specific prophet; they are general duas any believer can make. The fourth, from Surat Al-Furqan, ayah 74, asks Allah to “grant us from our spouses and our offspring comfort to our eyes, and make us an example for the righteous.” A wife can make it for a righteous husband, a husband for a righteous wife, and it covers not just one’s children but grandchildren and every generation after. The fifth, from Surat Al-Ahqaf, ayah 15, is described as one of Ustadh Baajour’s personal favorites because it covers past, present, and future all at once: gratitude for the blessing Allah gave both you and your parents, help to do righteous deeds that please Him, righteousness for your offspring, all of them, not just your children but your grandchildren and great-grandchildren, and personal repentance. He recommends memorizing this one and repeating it often.

The talk closes with two practical points. First: every so often, let your child actually hear you making dua for them, hear you say “ya Allah, be pleased with my son,” out loud. Ustadh Baajour shares that one of his own most joyous moments is his mother telling him, before hanging up the phone, “may Allah be pleased with you,” because the Prophet (peace be upon him) taught that Allah’s pleasure is tied to a parent’s pleasure. Letting a child hear the dua both strengthens the bond and teaches them, by example, to one day make dua for their own children. Second, and most urgent: Ustadh Baajour strongly warns parents against making dua against their children in anger, citing a Prophetic warning against invoking curses at a time when supplications may be accepted. The talk closes with a collective dua: may Allah protect all our children, make them the coolness of our eyes, bless them with righteous spouses and righteous friends, and make their last deeds their best deeds.