Tahajjud Dua
What should you actually say in the last third of the night? This page gathers the posture the hadith describes, the Prophet's ﷺ own opening supplication for the night prayer, Quranic duas that fit the hour, and plain guidance for asking in your own words. Pair it with tonight's tahajjud time so you know when your hour begins.
The posture of dua in the last third
The hadith frames the hour as an invitation with three doors: "Who will call upon Me, that I may answer him? Who will ask of Me, that I may give him? Who will seek My forgiveness, that I may forgive him?" (Sahih al-Bukhari 1145; Sahih Muslim 758). Call, ask, seek forgiveness — dua in the last third is not one narrow request but the whole conversation: praise, need, repentance, and hope. Come with all of it.
The Prophet's ﷺ opening dua for the night prayer
When the Prophet ﷺ rose at night, he would open his prayer with a long, beautiful supplication, narrated by Ibn Abbas (Sahih Muslim 770). It begins:
"O Allah, Lord of Jibreel, Mika'eel and Israfeel, Creator of the heavens and the earth, Knower of the unseen and the seen — You judge between Your servants in what they differ. Guide me to the truth in what is differed over, by Your permission; You guide whom You will to the straight path."
Learn it a line at a time if it is new to you; even its opening sentence is a complete way to begin — placing the night, and yourself, under the Lord of everything seen and unseen.
Quranic duas suited to the hour
- "Our Lord, give us good in this world and good in the Hereafter, and shield us from the punishment of the Fire." (2:201) — the most comprehensive of requests, and the one the Prophet ﷺ repeated most.
- "Our Lord, we have wronged ourselves; if You do not forgive us and have mercy on us, we will surely be among the losers." (7:23) — Adam's words; the grammar of every istighfar.
- "There is no god but You; glory be to You; indeed I was among the wrongdoers." (21:87) — the call of Yunus from the darkness, answered from the darkness; the night is its natural home.
- Seeking forgiveness itself — the Quran praises those who "in the hours before dawn seek forgiveness" (51:18). A hundred quiet astaghfirullah in the last third is not a small dua; it is the hour's named activity.
Asking in your own words
After the transmitted words, ask for your actual life: the debt, the diagnosis, the child, the exam, the marriage, the repentance you keep postponing. Ask for others by name — the absent are prayed for with an angel's "and for you the same" (Sahih Muslim 2732). Ask for the dead, who can receive nothing from you now except this. And ask for the prayer itself: that you be given more nights like this one. The benefits of Tahajjud page traces what the Quran promises this hour; the source collection holds the texts in one place.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best dua to make in Tahajjud?
The one you mean. The hadith of the last third promises a response to whoever calls, asks and seeks forgiveness — it does not hand you a script. The Prophet's ﷺ own opening supplication for the night prayer, forgiveness, and your real needs in your own words: that combination is the Sunnah's shape of the hour.
Should dua be in Arabic or my own language?
Both are at home in Tahajjud. The transmitted supplications are in Arabic and carry a beauty worth learning slowly; your personal requests can be made in the language of your heart, in sujud and after the prayer. Allah knows every tongue — presence matters more than polish.
Can I make dua for other people in Tahajjud?
Yes — and the angels respond to it: the Prophet ﷺ said that when a Muslim prays for his brother in his absence, an angel says 'Ameen, and for you the same' (Sahih Muslim 2732). The last third, when no one hears but Allah, is one of the kindest places to remember people.
How long should I spend in dua?
There is no measure. Some nights it is two sentences with tears; some nights it is twenty minutes. Let the dua be as long as your need and your wakefulness honestly allow, and end before exhaustion turns the prayer into a burden you will avoid tomorrow.
Dua needs a time. Find tonight's last third for your city.
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