Duas for Pregnancy: Qur'anic Duas for You and Your Baby

The two lines on the test. The first scan. The first flutter you’re not sure you felt. Pregnancy brings a kind of hope that is hard to put into words, and a kind of worry that keeps you awake at 3am.

Dua is the place to put both. This guide gathers the duas from the Qur’an that prophets and righteous believers made for their children, a few sunnah duas for anxious days, and a reminder that your own words, in your own language, count just as much.

Before we start: what is authentic

A quick search for “pregnancy duas” brings up long lists. Some are verses of the Qur’an. Some are sunnah duas for any hardship. And some are practices passed on from scholars’ personal experience, or simply family tradition, with no direct source.

That last group isn’t wrong to do. It just helps to know which is which. In this guide:

• Qur’anic duas are quoted with Arabic and their verse reference.
• Hadith are quoted with their grade.
• Practices without a direct source are marked as Parenting Wisdom or tradition.

Duas for a righteous child

These are the duas the Qur’an preserves from people asking Allah for good children. You can say them in sujud, after salah, or quietly while your hand rests on your bump.

The dua of Zakariyya: good offspring

Evidence · Qur’an

هُنَالِكَ دَعَا زَكَرِيَّا رَبَّهُۥ ۖ قَالَ رَبِّ هَبْ لِى مِن لَّدُنكَ ذُرِّيَّةًۭ طَيِّبَةً ۖ إِنَّكَ سَمِيعُ ٱلدُّعَآءِ

At that, Zechariah called upon his Lord, saying, “My Lord, grant me from Yourself a good offspring. Indeed, You are the Hearer of supplication.”

Rabbi hab li min ladunka dhurriyyatan tayyibah, innaka sami’ud-du’a. The dua itself starts at Rabbi. Zakariyya (peace be upon him) was old and had waited many years. If your pregnancy came after a long wait, this verse may feel written for you.

The dua of Ibrahim: a righteous child

Evidence · Qur’an

رَبِّ هَبْ لِى مِنَ ٱلصَّٰلِحِينَ

My Lord, grant me [a child] from among the righteous.

Rabbi hab li minas-salihin. Short enough to say a hundred times a day, while cooking, walking or waiting at an appointment.

Comfort for our eyes

Evidence · Qur’an

رَبَّنَا هَبْ لَنَا مِنْ أَزْوَٰجِنَا وَذُرِّيَّٰتِنَا قُرَّةَ أَعْيُنٍۢ وَٱجْعَلْنَا لِلْمُتَّقِينَ إِمَامًا

“Our Lord, grant us from among our wives and offspring comfort to our eyes and make us an example for the righteous.”

Rabbana hab lana min azwajina wa dhurriyyatina qurrata a’yunin waj’alna lil-muttaqina imama. This is a lovely one for both parents to say together. It asks for a home that brings peace when you look at it, and for you to be a good example.

Prayer in the family line

Evidence · Qur’an

رَبِّ ٱجْعَلْنِى مُقِيمَ ٱلصَّلَوٰةِ وَمِن ذُرِّيَّتِى ۚ رَبَّنَا وَتَقَبَّلْ دُعَآءِ

My Lord, make me an establisher of prayer, and [many] from my descendants. Our Lord, and accept my supplication.

Rabbij-‘alni muqimas-salati wa min dhurriyyati, Rabbana wa taqabbal du’a. A natural dua to say straight after your own salah.

“Make my offspring righteous for me”

Al-Ahqaf 46:15 describes a mother carrying her child “with hardship” and giving birth “with hardship”, and then the grown child’s dua: “My Lord, enable me to be grateful for Your favor which You have bestowed upon me and upon my parents and to work righteousness of which You will approve and make righteous for me my offspring.” It joins gratitude for your own parents with hope for your children. Pregnancy is often when we first understand what our mothers went through.

The dua of the mother of Maryam

The Qur’an tells us about a pregnant woman who dedicated her unborn child to Allah, then sought His protection for her baby the moment she was born.

Evidence · Qur’an

إِذْ قَالَتِ ٱمْرَأَتُ عِمْرَٰنَ رَبِّ إِنِّى نَذَرْتُ لَكَ مَا فِى بَطْنِى مُحَرَّرًۭا فَتَقَبَّلْ مِنِّىٓ ۖ إِنَّكَ أَنتَ ٱلسَّمِيعُ ٱلْعَلِيمُ

[Mention, O Muhammad], when the wife of ‘Imran said, “My Lord, indeed I have pledged to You what is in my womb, consecrated [for Your service], so accept this from me. Indeed, You are the Hearing, the Knowing.”

After the birth she said: “I have named her Mary, and I seek refuge for her in You and [for] her descendants from Satan, the expelled” (3:36).

Evidence · Qur’an

وَإِنِّىٓ أُعِيذُهَا بِكَ وَذُرِّيَّتَهَا مِنَ ٱلشَّيْطَٰنِ ٱلرَّجِيمِ

“…and I seek refuge for her in You and [for] her descendants from Satan, the expelled.”

Two things stand out. She spoke to Allah about her baby before it was born. And she was clearly delighted with a daughter, whatever she had expected. Many mothers today use her words in their own way: “O Allah, I give this child to You. Accept them, and protect them.”

Duas for ease and anxiety

Pregnancy can bring nausea, scans that need a second look, and nights of “what if”. These sunnah duas are for any distress, and they fit pregnancy well.

The dua in times of distress

Evidence · Hadith

لاَ إِلَهَ إِلاَّ اللَّهُ الْعَظِيمُ الْحَلِيمُ، لاَ إِلَهَ إِلاَّ اللَّهُ رَبُّ الْعَرْشِ الْعَظِيمِ، لاَ إِلَهَ إِلاَّ اللَّهُ رَبُّ السَّمَوَاتِ، وَرَبُّ الأَرْضِ، وَرَبُّ الْعَرْشِ الْكَرِيمِ

The Prophet ﷺ used to say at a time of distress: “There is no god but Allah, the Mighty, the Forbearing. There is no god but Allah, Lord of the Mighty Throne. There is no god but Allah, Lord of the heavens, Lord of the earth, and Lord of the Noble Throne.” Narrated by Ibn ‘Abbas (RA).

“Don’t leave me to myself”

Evidence · Hadith

اللَّهُمَّ رَحْمَتَكَ أَرْجُو فَلاَ تَكِلْنِي إِلَى نَفْسِي طَرْفَةَ عَيْنٍ وَأَصْلِحْ لِي شَأْنِي كُلَّهُ لاَ إِلَهَ إِلاَّ أَنْتَ

The Prophet ﷺ said that among the duas of a person in distress is: “O Allah, it is Your mercy I hope for, so do not leave me to myself even for the blink of an eye, and set right all my affairs. There is no god but You.” Narrated by Abu Bakrah (RA).

Allahumma rahmataka arju fa la takilni ila nafsi tarfata ‘ayn, wa aslih li sha’ni kullah, la ilaha illa ant.

The dua of Yunus

Evidence · Qur’an

لَّآ إِلَٰهَ إِلَّآ أَنتَ سُبْحَٰنَكَ إِنِّى كُنتُ مِنَ ٱلظَّٰلِمِينَ

“There is no deity except You; exalted are You. Indeed, I have been of the wrongdoers.”

The Prophet ﷺ said that no Muslim calls on Allah with the dua of Dhun-Nun (Yunus) for anything without Allah answering him (Jami’ at-Tirmidhi 3505, graded Sahih by al-Albani). A few verses later, the same surah tells of Zakariyya calling out, “My Lord, do not leave me alone [with no heir], while you are the best of inheritors” (21:89), and Allah answering him with a son.

Your own words

You do not need Arabic to be heard. Dua in English, Urdu, Somali, Bahasa, Turkish or French is dua. Allah knows what is in your heart before you say it.

Some things parents often ask for, in their own words:

• “O Allah, make this pregnancy easy and the birth safe.”
• “Give my baby a healthy body and a good heart.”
• “Make them love You, and make You beloved to them.”
• “Help me to be the parent they need.”
• “Protect us both, and give me patience on the hard days.”

Fathers, this is your dua too. The Qur’anic duas above came from fathers as much as mothers: Ibrahim, Zakariyya, the believers in Al-Furqan. A father who makes dua for his child every night before the baby is born is already parenting.

Worship in pregnancy without guilt

Pregnancy changes your energy from week to week. Some weeks you can pray every sunnah and read a juz a day. Other weeks, getting through the five prayers feels like climbing a hill.

Both are fine. Allah does not burden a soul beyond what it can bear (Al-Baqarah 2:286), and carrying a child is itself hard work that He sees.

• Small and steady beats big and exhausted. A few verses a day, or one dua after each salah, is plenty.
• Listen instead of reading on the days your eyes are heavy. Recitation in the background while you rest still fills the home with Qur’an.
• Pray sitting if standing is hard. Ask a scholar you trust about what applies to you.
• Talk to your midwife or doctor before fasting while pregnant, and read our guide to the Islamic pregnancy guide trimester by trimester for more on each stage.

When the baby arrives

Your duas don’t end at the birth. They change shape. The first days bring their own sunnahs, such as tahnik and choosing a name, which you can read about in what to do when a Muslim baby is born. If you’re still deciding on a name, our list of Islamic baby girl names with meanings is a good place to start. And as your child grows, our collection of duas for your children will grow with them.