Fatwa ID: 07819

 

 

Written by Molana Sibghat Ullah

 

 

Question:

 

 

As per my understanding, the quranic dua that we say from Surah Ibrahim in the prayer:
 رَبِّ جَعَلْنِي مُقِيمَ الصَّلَاةِ وَمِنْ ذُرِّيَّتِي رَبَّنَا وَتَقَبَّلْ دُعَاءِ رَبَّنَا اغْفِرْ لِي وَلِوَالِدَيَّ وَلِلْمُؤْمِنِينَ يَوْمَ يَقُومُ الْحِسَابُ
is not one of those integral or mandatory components of the prayer that cannot be omitted or altered i.e. it is an optional dua and thus even if one skips it, it would not invalidate the prayer. 

 

Now my question is that if due to some reason, one decides to modify the words of this dua for instance change the word وَلِوَالِدَيَّ (my parents) to والدتي (my mother) or والدي (my father), is there anything wrong with this or can I do this? I understand that one should ideally not change words of Quran and say them as they are, but if one feels that a particular parent, on the account of being highly abusive, does not deserve that one prays this dua for him or her in every prayer, can this justify this modification? 

 

I personally feel that since one is not changing the words of the Quran during recitation (as in Qiyam) but in an optional dua, it should not be a problem, but I still felt asking an expert was important.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

 

 

Answer: 

 

 

It is permissible to adopt the words of the Qur’an for your personal duas, if it does not distort the meaning or context of the verse. This is because when used in dua, the intention is not recitation of the Qur’an but rather supplication to Allah.

 

For example, the verse:

 

رَبَّنَا آتِنَا فِي الدُّنْيَا حَسَنَةً وَفِي الْآخِرَةِ حَسَنَةً وَقِنَا عَذَابَ النَّارِ

Our Lord, grant us good in this world and good in the Hereafter, and save us from the punishment of the Fire.

 

(Surah Al-Baqarah, 2:201).

 

You can say:

 

رَبِّ آتِنِي فِي الدُّنْيَا حَسَنَةً وَفِي الْآخِرَةِ حَسَنَةً وَقِنِي عَذَابَ النَّارِ

My Lord, grant me good in this world and good in the Hereafter, and save me from the punishment of the Fire.

 

So if your intention is for dua, you can use the words of Quran as long as it does not distort the meaning of the Quran. 

 

 

Lastly, you should never leave your parents out of your duas, instead you should make dua for him/her to be guided even if they are too harsh or not on the right path. We can take the example of the prophet ibraheem (peace be upon him) who made dua for his father to be guided.

 

 

Hope this answers the question.

 

 

Only Allah knows best.

Written by Molana Sibghat Ullah

Checked and approved by Mufti Mohammed Tosir Miah

Darul Ifta Birmingham

 

 

References

 

 

 Raddul Mukhtar, Volume 1, Book of Salah, Chapter of reciting Quran in salah, Page 338

وَيَجُوزُ الدُّعَاءُ بِالْقُرْآنِ لِأَنَّهُ يُفِيدُ الدُّعَاءَ إِذَا لَمْ يَقْصِدْ التِّلَاوَةَ كَمَا فِي الْبَحْرِ

It is permissible to make du’a using the Qur’an because it serves the purpose of supplication if one does not intend its recitation, as mentioned in Al-Bahr al-Ra’iq.