Dua for Debt Relief & Financial Difficulty: Arabic, English Meaning & Sunnah Reference

Debt is one of the heaviest burdens a Muslim can carry — so much so that the Prophet ﷺ used to seek refuge from it in nearly every prayer. He also taught his beloved cousin Ali ibn Abi Talib (RA) a single short dua so powerful that he said: 'If you owed a debt the size of Mount Sabir, Allah would pay it off for you.'

The dua for debt relief

A second dua specifically for debt and worry

Abu Sa'id al-Khudri (RA) reported a second powerful dua the Prophet ﷺ taught a man overwhelmed by debt: 'Allahumma inni a'udhu bika minal-hammi wal-hazan, wal-'ajzi wal-kasal, wal-bukhli wal-jubn, wa dala'id-dayni wa ghalabatir-rijal' — the same anxiety dua above. He told the man to say it morning and evening, and Allah relieved both his debt and his sadness (Sunan Abi Dawud 1555).

How to use this dua

• Recite morning and evening, and after every fard prayer if your situation is severe.
• Pair it with effort — Allah blesses the means, but the means must be sought. Apply for the job, sell what is sellable, write down every debt, talk to creditors.
• Avoid riba (interest-based borrowing) entirely — it is the root the Prophet ﷺ said erases barakah.
• Give what little you can in sadaqah — the Prophet ﷺ said wealth is not decreased by charity (Sahih Muslim 2588).
• Make the dua of the prophet Yunus (AS): 'La ilaha illa Anta subhanaka inni kuntu minaz-zalimin' — Allah promises to deliver the believer from distress when they say it (Surah al-Anbiya 21:87-88).

Hadith reference

The dua is in Jami at-Tirmidhi (3563) on the authority of Ali ibn Abi Talib (RA), graded Hasan. The full incident: a freed slave named Mukatab came to Ali and said he was unable to pay the price of his freedom. Ali taught him this dua and said: 'By Allah, if you owed a debt the size of Mount Sabir, Allah would pay it off for you.'