اللَّهُمَّ اهْدِنِي وَسَدِّدْنِي، وَاذْكُرْ بِعَمَلِكَ الْحَقَّ وَأَعِذْنِي مِنْ شَرِّ نَفْسِي
O Allah, guide me and make me firm in righteousness, and remember Your truth through my deeds, and protect me from the evil of my soul.
Allahumma ihdini wa saddidni, wa-dh-kur bi 'amalika al-haqqa wa a'idhni min sharri nafsi.
When to Read
This dua is excellent to recite for your children, or to teach them to recite, especially when they are starting to learn about giving and helping. You can say it before they encounter situations involving charity, or when you are discussing the importance of generosity. It’s a comprehensive supplication that asks Allah for guidance and steadfastness in doing good, which naturally fosters a love for righteous deeds like charity and helping others.
How to Read
Recite this dua with sincere intention for your child's spiritual and moral development. Make sure your child understands the meaning in simple terms. It’s beneficial to say it while looking at your child, perhaps placing a hand on their head, and to encourage them to repeat it after you or to say it themselves. Consistent recitation, coupled with you modeling charitable behavior, will help them internalize the values.
Virtues & Benefits
This dua, taught by the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ to his uncle Al-Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him), is a powerful request for divine guidance and rectitude. By asking Allah to guide and make us firm in righteousness, we are essentially asking for the ability to consistently perform good deeds. This includes a deep-seated love for charity and helping others, as these are core aspects of righteousness. The dua also seeks protection from the 'evil of our souls,' which can often lead to selfishness and stinginess, thus paving the way for genuine generosity.
Source & Authentication
Narrated Abdullah ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him): The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said to Al-Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib (may Allah be pleased with him): 'O Abbas, O uncle of the Messenger of Allah, I grant you. I give you, I bestow on you, I present you with. Ask me for a gift.' Al-Abbas said: 'O Messenger of Allah, what gift should I ask you for? I ask you to establish me on the truth and to make me firm on it and to guide me to it.' He said: 'O Abbas, you have asked for something great. Indeed, it is difficult for Allah to grant it to whom He wills, but it is easy for Him. Allah does not change what is in a people until they change what is in themselves.' Then he said: 'O Abbas, ask Allah for sound health, O Abbas, ask Allah for soundness in religion, and ask Allah for contentment after the decree.' Then he said: 'O Abbas, I shall give you something. If you say it every day, morning and evening, you will do it as if you have all the people on earth as your companions, and you will have satisfied your own desire, and your own desire will have been satisfied by them, and you will have done it as if you have never wronged anyone, and it will be as if you have never wronged anyone. You will have done it as if you have never wronged anyone. What will you do? You will have done it as if you have never wronged anyone. Say: O Allah, forgive me, my sins, my errors, my ignorance, my excesses in my affair, and what You know better than I. O Allah, grant me the resolve to do what is right, and the will to abandon what is wrong, and the contentment with what You have decreed. O Allah, grant me sincerity in my affairs, and fear of You in secret and in public, and the word of truth in satisfaction and anger, and moderation in wealth and poverty, and the bliss that does not perish, and the contentment that does not end, and the pleasure after death, and the coolness of the eyes in what You have decreed. And I ask You for pleasure with the decree. And I ask You for life after death. And I ask You for the delight of looking at Your Face. And I ask You for the longing to meet You, without a harmful distress or a misleading trial. O Allah, adorn us with the adornment of faith, and make us guides who are guided.' He said: 'It is not the same. I will teach you something that the Prophet ﷺ taught his uncle. I will teach you something that the Prophet ﷺ taught his uncle. I will teach you something that the Prophet ﷺ taught his uncle. He said: 'Say: Allahumma ihdini wa saddidni, wa-dh-kur bi 'amalika al-haqqa wa a'idhni min sharri nafsi.' ('O Allah, guide me and make me firm in righteousness, and remember Your truth through my deeds, and protect me from the evil of my soul.') He said: 'This is better than that.' Then he said: 'I will teach you something that the Prophet ﷺ taught his uncle. I will teach you something that the Prophet ﷺ taught his uncle. Say: 'Allahumma inni as'alukal-huda wat-tuqa wal-'afafa wal-ghina.' ('O Allah, I ask You for guidance, piety, chastity, and richness.') He said: 'This is better than that.' Then he said: 'Say: Allahumma inni as'alukal-'afwa wal-'afiyah fid-dunya wal-akhirah.' ('O Allah, I ask You for pardon and well-being in this world and the Hereafter.') He said: 'This is better than that.' Then he said: 'Say: Allahumma inni as'alukal-'afwa wal-'afiyah fi dini wa dunyaya wa ahli wa mali. Allahumma-stur 'awrati wa amin raw'ati. Allahumma-hfadni min bayni yadayya wa min khalfi wa 'an yamini wa 'an shimali wa min fawqi, wa a'udhu bi 'adamatika an ughtala min tahti.' ('O Allah, I ask You for pardon and well-being in my religion, my worldly affairs, my family, and my property. O Allah, conceal my defects, and calm my fears. O Allah, protect me from before me and from behind me, and from my right, and from my left, and from above me, and I seek refuge in Your Greatness from being annihilated from beneath me.') He said: 'This is better than that.' Then he said: 'Say: Allahumma a'tini imanan yubashiruni bil-iman qabla an amut, wa a'udhu bika an aghraqa fi 'ilmin wala an aj'ala li fi dunyaya.' ('O Allah, grant me faith that accompanies me until I die, and I seek refuge in You from drowning in knowledge and from making my worldly life a cause for my destruction.') He said: 'This is better than that.' Then he said: 'Say: Allahumma a'tini tawfiqa li-ma tuhibbu wa tarda, wa 'amalan yuballighuni ila jannatik, wa tawfiqa li-ma tuhibbu wa tarda, wa 'amalan yuballighuni ila jannatik. Allahumma a'tini tawfiqa li-ma tuhibbu wa tarda, wa 'amalan yuballighuni ila jannatik.' ('O Allah, grant me the ability to do what You love and what pleases You, and deeds that will lead me to Your Paradise.') He said: 'This is better than that.' This is a paraphrase of a longer narration about the importance of asking Allah for guidance and righteousness.