Knowledge
Dua for Knowledge and Wisdom
My Lord, increase me in knowledge. UK Prayer Times provides the Arabic text, transliteration and meaning for this knowledge dua (Surah Ta-Ha (20:114) — a Quranic command and dua).
Last updated
The Quran contains a direct divine command for the Prophet ﷺ to ask Allah to increase him in knowledge (20:114) — making this one of the few duas where Allah instructed His Prophet to make it. Seeking Islamic and worldly knowledge is one of the highest acts of worship in Islam.
رَبِّ زِدْنِي عِلْمًا
Transliteration
Rabbi zidnī ʿilmā.
Translation
My Lord, increase me in knowledge.
Source: Surah Ta-Ha (20:114) — a Quranic command and dua
When to recite
- Before studying, reading Quran, or attending a lecture.
- When beginning any class, exam revision, or learning a new skill.
- Daily — knowledge is never complete and this simple dua should be on every believer's lips.
Virtues & Benefits
- Among the handful of duas commanded directly in the Quran.
- Seeking knowledge is described as farḍ ʿayn (obligatory on every Muslim) — Sunan Ibn Majah 224.
- The ink of the scholar is more precious than the blood of the martyr (attributed — commonly cited in Islamic scholarship traditions).
More Knowledge Duas
Dua for Parents
My Lord, have mercy upon them both as they brought me up when I was small.
Dua for Anxiety, Worry and Distress
O Allah, I am Your servant, son of Your servant, son of Your maidservant. My forelock is in Your hand, Your command over me is forever executed, and Your decree over me is just. I ask You by every name that belongs to You — by which You have named Yourself, or revealed in Your Book, or taught to any of Your creation, or kept with Yourself in the knowledge of the unseen — to make the Quran the spring of my heart, the light of my chest, the departure of my sadness, and the release of my anxiety.
Dua al-Istikhara — Seeking Guidance from Allah
O Allah, I seek Your guidance by Your knowledge, and I seek ability by Your power, and I ask You of Your great bounty. For You are able and I am not, You know and I do not know, and You are the Knower of the unseen. O Allah, if You know that this matter is good for me in my religion, livelihood, and in the hereafter, then decree it for me, make it easy for me, and bless it for me. And if You know this matter to be bad for me in my religion, livelihood and in the hereafter, then turn it away from me, and turn me away from it, and decree for me what is good wherever it may be, and make me content with it.
Dua When It Rains
O Allah, let it be a beneficial downpour.