Duas for Studying and Exams

اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَسْأَلُكَ عِلْمًا نَافِعًا وَرِزْقًا طَيِّبًا وَعَمَلاً مُتَقَبَّلاً

Allaahumma ‘innee ‘as’aluka ‘ilman naafi’an, wa rizqan tayyiban, wa ‘amalan mutaqabbalan

O Allah, I ask You for beneficial knowledge, goodly provision and acceptable deeds. [ibn Majah]

رَبِّ اشْرَحْ لِي صَدْرِي وَيَسِّرْ لِي أَمْرِي وَاحْلُلْ عُقْدَةً مِّن لِّسَانِي يَفْقَهُوا قَوْلِي

rabbi ishrah lee sadree Wayassir lee amree Waohlul AAuqdatan min lisanee Yafqahoo qawlee

My Lord, expand for me my breast [with assurance] And ease for me my task And untie the knot from my tongue That they may understand my speech. [Qur’an 20:25-28]

سُبْحَانَكَ لَا عِلْمَ لَنَا إِلَّا مَا عَلَّمْتَنَا ۖ إِنَّكَ أَنتَ الْعَلِيمُ الْحَكِيمُ

Subhanaka laAAilma lana illa ma AAallamtanainnaka anta alAAaleemu alhakeem

Exalted are You; we have no knowledge except what You have taught us. Indeed, it is You who is the Knowing, the Wise. [Qur’an 2:32]

رَّبِّ زِدْنِي عِلْمًا

rabbizidnee AAilma

My Lord! Increase me in knowledge. [Qur’an 20:114]

اللهُمَّ لاَ سَهْلَ إِلَا مَا جَعَلْتَهَ سَهْلاً، وَأَنْتَ تَجْعَلُ الْحَزْنَ إِذَا شِئْتَ سَهْلاً

Allahumma la sahla illa ma ja’altahu sahla, wa anta taj’alul-hazna iza syi’ta sahla.

“O Allah, there is no ease except in that which You have made easy and You make the difficulty if You wish, easy.” — from Fortress of the Muslim — Sahih Ibn Hibban

Duas for Success

رَبِّ أَعِنِّي وَلَا تُعِنْ عَلَيَّ، وَانْصُرْنِي وَلَا تَنْصُرْ عَلَيَّ، وَامْكُرْ لِي وَلَا تَمْكُرْ عَلَيَّ، وَاهْدِنِي وَيَسِّرِ الهُدَى إِلَيَّ، وَانْصُرْنِي عَلَى مَنْ بَغَى عَلَيَّ

Rabbi a’inni wa-la tu’in ‘alayya, wa-nsurni wa-la tansur ‘alayya, wa-mkur-li wa-la tamkur alayya, wa-hdini wa-yassir-il-huda ilayya, wa-nsurni ‘ala man bagha ‘alayya

The Prophet (ﷺ) used to supplicate, saying: “My Lord, aid me and do not aid against me, and grant me victory and do not grant victory over me, plan for me and do not plan against me, guide me and facilitate guidance for me, grant me victory over those who transgress against me.” [Sunan At-Tirmidhi]

يَا حَيُّ يَا قَيُّومُ، بِرَحْمَتِكَ أَسْتَغِيثُ، أَصْلِحلِي شَأْنِ كُلَّهُ، وَ لَا تَكِلْنِي إِلَى نَفْسِي طَرْفَةَ عَيْن

Ya Hayyu Ya Qayyum, birahmatika astaghitsu, aslih li sha’ni kullahu, wa la takilni ila nafsi tarfata ‘aini

“O The Ever-Living, O The Self-Subsisting, I seek help through Your Mercy. Set right all my affairs and do not leave me to myself even for the blinking of an eye (i.e. a moment).” — Fortress of a Muslim [Sahih]

رَبِّي هَبْ لِي حُكْماً و أَلحِقْني بِالصَّالِحِينَ، وَاجْعَل لِِّي لِسَانَ صِدْقٍ فِي الآخِرِينَ، وَ اجْعَلْنِي مِنْ وَرَثَةِ جَنَّةِ النَّعِيم

Rabbi habli hukman wa al-hiqni bis salihin, waj-’al li lisana sidqin fil-aakhirin, waj-’alni min waratha-ti jannatin-naa’im.

My Lord! bestow wisdom on me and make me among the righteous. Bless me with honourable mention among later generations and make me one of the inheritors of the Garden of Bliss. — Qur’an 26:83-85

رَبَّنَا آتِنَا فِي الدُّنْيَا حَسَنَةً وَ فِي الآخِرَةِ حَسَنَةً وَ قِنَا عَذَابَ النَّارِ

Rabbana atina fiddunia hasanatan wa fil aakhirati hasanatan wa qina ‘azabannar

“Our Lord, give us in this world [that which is] good and in the Hereafter [that which is] good and protect us from the punishment of the Fire.” — Qur’an 2: 201

Praying for Success

Prayer, du’a, takes many forms: beseeching Allah; relying on Him; and trusting in His plan. We always ask for guidance and goodness.

What does prayer look like though? We are always free to talk to Allah and beseech him with our requests but the best of prayers are those from the Qur’an, the beautiful prayers of the prophets.

The Notion of Prayer

يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ ٱسْتَعِينُوا۟ بِٱلصَّبْرِ وَٱلصَّلَوٰةِ ۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ مَعَ ٱلصَّـٰبِرِينَ ١٥٣

“O believers! Seek comfort in patience and prayer. Allah is truly with those who are patient.” — Qur’an 2:153

It’s helpful to remember that asking of Allah isn’t just about the end result. When we don’t attain something we desire, it simply wasn’t ordained for us at the time. Perhaps there is something better stored around the corner or perhaps we need simply wait and pray with patience and perseverance.

قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم ” عَجَبًا لأَمْرِ الْمُؤْمِنِ إِنَّ أَمْرَهُ كُلَّهُ خَيْرٌ وَلَيْسَ ذَاكَ لأَحَدٍ إِلاَّ لِلْمُؤْمِنِ إِنْ أَصَابَتْهُ سَرَّاءُ شَكَرَ فَكَانَ خَيْرًا لَهُ وَإِنْ أَصَابَتْهُ ضَرَّاءُ صَبَرَ فَكَانَ خَيْرًا لَهُ “

Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) said: “Amazing are the ways of a believer for there is good in every affair of his and this is not the case for anyone except for the believer. For if he has an occasion to feel delight, he thanks (God), thus there is a good for him in it. If he gets into some hardship he endures it patiently and there is a good for him in it.”

With prayer, it is not the outcome or the the final goal that is important, rather Allah already knows the outcome and He knows what we want. The very act of us asking Allah and making a prayer is the act of worship. Asking of Allah is an important part of showing our humility and it’s a habit that continually reminds us of Allah’s power.

Through our asking of Allah we accept our position as humble servants of Allah. All we can do is ask him to help us; we have no capacity — save the means he has provided us — and all success is only through his granting it to us.

وَقَالَ رَبُّكُمُ ٱدْعُونِىٓ أَسْتَجِبْ لَكُمْ ۚ إِنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ يَسْتَكْبِرُونَ عَنْ عِبَادَتِى سَيَدْخُلُونَ جَهَنَّمَ دَاخِرِينَ

Your Lord has proclaimed, “Call upon Me, I will respond to you. Surely those who are too proud to worship Me will enter Hell, fully humbled.” — Qur’an 40:60

Importance of Studying and Seeking Knowledge

خَيْرُكُمْ مَنْ تَعَلَّمَ الْقُرْآنَ وَعَلَّمَهُ

The Prophet (ﷺ) said, “The best among you (Muslims) are those who learn the Qur’an and teach it.” [ Sahih ]

Clearly we can see that learning the Qur’an and teaching it is one of the most noble acts one can perform. That isn’t to say however that other acts of learning and teaching are to be belittled.

In Islam we have a notion of beneficial knowledge “ilm nafia – عِلْم نَافِع”. Any knowledge that benefits us and helps us to draw closer to Allah is considered virtuous. We don’t necessarily differentiate between “Islamic” and “secular” knowledge, any knowledge sought with right intention is virtuous.

If we’re learning Mathematics to help us get a good job and to support our family that is noble. If we’re learning English to help us connect with people and educate them, that too is noble. If we’re learning about Science, Technology, Engineering or Medicine so that we may insha’Allah benefit society and others, this too is noble.

Ultimately if we’re studying with the intention of improving ourselves, understanding the world better and in turn understanding Allah that is an act of worship.

What is important is that we have a vision of our purpose and what we want to strive for. Even if we don’t know exactly what that looks like in the future. By having a noble goal such as wanting to draw closer to God; to help people; to establish a school; to build economic comfort for ourselves and our family we can turn our education into an act of worship.

Learning anything beneficial can be an act of worship and I pray Allah rewards all students who are seeking his pleasure.

With that in mind I have compiled a few list of prayers for students and I have put them at the beginning of this article

Conclusion

I pray Allah increases us in beneficial knowledge and allows us to act upon all we learn; drawing closer to him, relying on him alone and seeking his pleasure always.

Tawfiq’s Blog

Duas for Studying and Exams — The Value of Education