Ramadan Du’as on Repeat
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Ep. 5 - Du'a Qunoot: How to Transform Your Witr
Download the list of du'as from the series here.
Have you ever prayed witr behind an imam and said "ameen" without understanding the du'a he was making? Taught by the Prophet ﷺ, it's called du'a qunoot—a comprehensive prayer made every witr salah that consists of five requests. Understanding it can transform your prayer.
In this video, Dr. Tahir breaks down the deep meanings and wisdom behind the five requests: guidance, aafiyah, Allah's friendship (the awliya of Allah), barakah or blessings, and safety from evil.
Du’a of qunoot
اللَّهُمَّ اهْدِنِي فِيمَنْ هَدَيْتَ وَ عَافِنِي فِيمَنْ عَافَيْتَ و تَوَلَّنِي فِيمَنْ تَوَلَّيْتَ وَ بَارِكْ لِي فِيمَا أَعْطَيْتَ وَ قِنِي شَرَّ مَا قَضَيْتَ إنَّكَ تَقْضِي وَلا يُقْضَى عَليْكَ إنَّهُ لا يَذِّلُّ مَنْ وَالَيْتَ تَبَارَكْتَ وَتَعَالَيْتَ
Allahumma ihdini fi-man hadayta wa-ʿafini fi-man ʿafayta wa-tawallani fi-man tawwalayta wa-barik li fi-ma aʿtayta wa-qini sharra ma qadayta innaka taqdi wa-la yuqda ʿalayka innahu la yadhillu man walayta tabarakta wa-taʿalayta
O Allah, guide me among those whom You have guided, grant me well-being among those whom You have granted well-being, befriend me among those to whom You have befriended, bless me in what You have bestowed, and save me from the evil of what You have decreed. Truly, You decree and none can decree against You; one whom You have befriended is not humiliated. Blessed are You (O Allah) and Exalted.
Transcript
This transcript was auto-generated using AI and may contain misspellings. Alhamdulillah wa salatu wasalamu ala rasulillah wa ba'ad. Have you ever prayed witr behind the imam at the masjid and when the imam begins the qunoot, you just say ameen during the pauses, you don't really understand the du'a that he's making? Or maybe you yourself are making du'a, you've memorized the du'a and you don't really know what it means, you're just saying the du'a. Well, we want that to change. We want this Ramadan to be a Ramadan where you really feel the du'a. When you say ameen, you mean, oh Allah, answer this prayer. So inshallah, what we're going to cover today is the famous du'a that the Prophet salallahu alaihi wasalam taught his grandson, al-Hassan radiallahu ta'ala anhu, to say. And that du'a is, Allahumma hadini fee man hadit, wa aafini fee man aafit, wa tawallani fee man tawallit, wa barik li fee ma a'tit, wa qini sharra ma qadit, innaka taqdi wa la yuqda alik, innahu la yadhillu man waleyt, tabarakta Rabbana wa ta'aleyt. This du'a includes five requests from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. The first of those requests is a request for guidance. Allahumma hadini fee man hadit, oh Allah, guide me amongst those whom you have guided. Look at this du'a, subhanallah. The du'a starts off asking Allah for guidance. Now you're making this du'a a qunoot, which means that you've already prayed 17 obligatory rakats that day, and then some rakats for witr or qiyam al-layl. So you've asked Allah already during the day for guidance in surat al-Fatiha several times throughout the day, and yet here we are again asking Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala for guidance. And that's because guidance is essential
in every aspect of our lives. We need Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala's guidance for everything that we do, and we need Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala's guidance in the next life. That part there I think most of us understand, but there's a part of this du'a that is often skipped over, and that is fee man hadit, guide us amongst those whom you have guided. This is very similar to what we say in surat al-Fatiha when we say ehdina al-surat al-mustaqim, guide us along the straight path. That straight path at this particular point in the du'a, and when we're asking for guidance, it's somewhat abstract and somewhat theoretical until we say surat al-ladhina an'amta alayhim, the path of those whom you have favored. Now that path becomes something that is not abstract because we know those whom Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has favored from the prophets and from the sincere and truthful and from the martyrs and from the righteous. And so by studying their lives, we now have a blueprint. We have a roadmap to what guidance actually looks like. Similarly, when we say guide us among those whom you have guided, then we think about those whom Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has actually guided. And this shows us the importance of having a role model or role models when we talk about guidance, not just some abstract theoretical path, but actually a path that is well-trodden so that we can bi-idni-llah, travel that path that is pleasing to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. The second request is for that of al-afiyah, which we normally translate as well-being. We're asking Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to grant us well-being physically, mentally, and spiritually. Now a lot of times when we make this du'a, when we think
about well-being, everybody kind of knows that they want to be well physically and mentally. What may not immediately come to mind is spiritual well-being. And that is something that we should not neglect to think about when we're making du'a. You see, when we're making du'a, it's not just something that we're saying off of our tongues. We're actually supposed to be thinking about the things that we're saying. We're supposed to be recalling these meanings. So when we're asking for al-afiyah, we want to be healthy, both our physical and mental health, but we also want to be spiritually healthy, free from the diseases of shubuhat, that is doubts, and free from vain desires, shahwat. The third request is a very interesting request. You're asking Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to be your close ally, to be a close companion. وَتَوَلَّنِي فِي مَنْ تَوَلَّيْتَ And befriend me amongst those whom you have befriended. What does it mean for Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to be your wali, to be your protector, or to take you as a wali? And so there is a companionship there. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala talks about this in the Quran when he says, اللَّهُ وَلِيُّ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا يُخْرِجُهُم مِّنَ الظُّرُمَاتِ إِلَى النُّورِ Allah is the wali of those who have faith. He takes them out of darkness into the light. So when Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is your companion or your ally, when he is your wali and he befriends you, then any dark situation that you are in, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will bring you into the light. And who are these people? أَلَىٰ إِنَّ أَوْلِيَٰءَ اللَّهُ لَا خَوْفٌ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلَا هُمْ يَحْزَنُونَ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَكَانُوا يَتَقُونَ Indeed, the awliya of Allah, they will not have any fear, nor will they be sad. And then Allah says who they are, الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا يُخْرِجُهُم مِّنَ الظُّرُمَاتِ إِلَى النُّورِ
Those who believe, وَكَانُوا يَتَقُونَ And who had taqwa. What are we striving for in this month of Ramadan? We're striving for taqwa, right? So this du'a, when we ask Allah to be our wali, we're asking that Allah increase us in our faith and make us people of taqwa. The fourth request is that Allah bestow barakah in everything that he has given us. وَبَارِكْ لِي فِي مَا أَعْطَيْتْ وَبَارِكْ لِي فِي مَا أَعْطَيْتْ Well, what does that exactly mean that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala put barakah in it? When Allah azawajal puts barakah in something, he stabilizes it and causes it to develop and to grow, nourishes that thing. So you have barakah in your time, for example, an hour for you, maybe like three hours for somebody else, because Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has put barakah in your time. When Allah puts barakah in food, you may only have a little bit, but it suffices so much. The Prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam talked about the barakah that's in suhoor, right, by eating the suhoor. Sometimes you only eat a very little bit for suhoor, but it lasts you throughout the day. Any other time of the year, you eat that, you know, you eat that little bit amount of food and it's not going to suffice you. And so this is what barakah is. But notice here, you're saying, well, barakah, female, take and put barakah in everything that you have given me. Well, is there something that you have that wasn't given to you by Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala? Everything that we have, tangible or intangible, was given to us by Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. وَمَا بِكُم مِّن نِعْمَةٍ فَمِنَ اللَّهِ Whatever blessing you have, whatever ni'ma you have, it's from Allah. Your hearing, your sight, your ability to taste, your time, your wealth, your children, all of that is from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. When Allah puts barakah in those things, He stabilizes them for you and He causes them to develop.
And this is what we're asking Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala when we say, well, barakah, female, take, bless me in everything that you have given me. Most people can think of something that has happened to them that they initially thought was bad, only to later see the wisdom of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala in that thing. These are things that we may dislike, but evil is a totally different matter. Evil is how we respond to those afflictions and calamities and things that may happen that we think are bad. So if we respond by losing trust in Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, or being dissatisfied and not content with His decree, then this is evil. Likewise, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has given mankind the ability to obey or disobey Him. So disobedience, even though it occurs by Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala's will, is not pleasing to Allah. It is the evil of what He has decreed. So in this prayer, we're seeking refuge with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala from the evil of disbelief and idolatry and murder and adultery and all other forms of disobedience to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
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