Dua After Durood in Namaz: Meaning Word by Word

After the Durood, in the last sitting of namaz, most of us say a short dua and then turn our heads for salam. The two duas you will hear most often are:

1. Allahumma inni zalamtu nafsi…: "O Allah, I have wronged myself greatly, and no one forgives sins except You. So forgive me with forgiveness from You, and have mercy on me. You are the Forgiving, the Merciful."
2. Rabbana atina…: "Our Lord! Give unto us in the world that which is good and in the Hereafter that which is good, and guard us from the doom of Fire." (Quran 2:201)

The first asks for forgiveness. The second asks for good in both worlds. Put together, they are a complete request, and they are the last words you say to Allah before leaving the prayer. Here is what each word means.

Dua 1: Allahumma inni zalamtu nafsi

Transliteration: Allāhumma innī ẓalamtu nafsī ẓulman kathīran, wa lā yaghfiru dh-dhunūba illā ant, fa-ghfir lī maghfiratan min ʿindik, wa rḥamnī, innaka anta l-ghafūru r-raḥīm.

Where it comes from: Abu Bakr as-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him) asked the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ to teach him a dua to say in his prayer, and this is what he was taught. Think about that: the closest friend of the Prophet ﷺ was given a dua that begins "I have wronged myself greatly". It is a lesson in humility for all of us. In South Asia this dua is often called Dua-e-Masura.

Word by word

"In the book" = the word's number in 600 Words of the Quran and how often it appears in the Quran.

Notice how the root gh-f-r (forgive) runs through the whole dua: yaghfiru, fa-ghfir, maghfiratan, al-ghafūr. Four times in one breath. Learn that one root and half the dua opens up.

The same words in the Quran

The heart of this dua is Quranic. When the Prophet Musa (peace be upon him) turned to Allah after a mistake, he said:

Innī ẓalamtu nafsī… fa-ghfir lī… al-ghafūru r-raḥīm: almost word for word the dua we say. And the verse tells us the result: fa-ghafara lahū, "Then He forgave him."

Dua 2: Rabbana atina fid dunya hasanah

Transliteration: Rabbanā ātinā fi d-dunyā ḥasanatan wa fi l-ākhirati ḥasanatan wa qinā ʿadhāba n-nār.

Word by word

Every word of this dua except the small attached pieces is in the 600 list. It is one of the best "first duas" to understand fully.

Why this dua is so balanced

Read it with the verse just before it. In 2:200, Allah describes a person who says only "Our Lord! Give unto us in the world," and says "he hath no portion in the Hereafter." Then 2:201 describes the believer who asks for good in this world and in the Hereafter, and protection from the Fire. The next verse says of them: "For them there is in store a goodly portion out of that which they have earned" (2:202).

So this dua teaches you not to be shy about asking for good in this life (health, family, rizq), as long as you do not forget the next one.

Which one should I read?

Both are widely read, and many people read both. You may also hear other Quranic duas at this point, such as Rabbij'alni muqīmaṣ-ṣalāh (14:40–41). Which duas may be said here, and in what words, is discussed slightly differently by the schools of fiqh, so follow what you were taught or ask a scholar you trust.

Make these last seconds count

These duas come at the very end of your prayer, when many of us are already thinking about what comes next. Try this:

• Slow down at ẓulman kathīran. Think of one specific mistake from today.
• At min ʿindik, remember you are asking for forgiveness that comes from Allah's own generosity, not because you earned it.
• At fi d-dunyā ḥasanatan, think of one worldly need. At fi l-ākhirati ḥasanatan, think of Jannah.

If you want to understand the whole sitting, read the Attahiyat meaning and Durood Ibrahim meaning first; this dua completes them. For the full prayer from takbir to salam, see namaz ka tarjuma, and if you want the forgiveness words explored further, see Astaghfirullah meaning.

Words like rabb, dunyā, ākhira, ʿadhāb, nār, ghafūr and raḥīm come back again and again in the Quran. 600 Words of the Quran teaches them in 30 short lessons, each with a real verse, so that duas like these start to make sense the moment you say them.