What du'a can I make for my parents?

The du'a itself

رَبِّ ارْحَمْهُمَا كَمَا رَبَّيَانِي صَغِيرًاRabbi irhamhuma kama rabbayani saghira"My Lord, have mercy upon them as they brought me up when I was small."— Qur'an 17:24

A fuller form, asking forgiveness for yourself and for them together:

اللَّهُمَّ اغْفِرْ لِي وَلِوَالِدَيَّ وَارْحَمْهُمَا كَمَا رَبَّيَانِي صَغِيرًاAllahumma ighfir li wa liwalidayya warhamhuma kama rabbayani saghira"O Allah, forgive me and my parents and have mercy on them as they raised me when I was young."

What the words ask for

The verse asks for rahmah — mercy — and ties the request to a reason: as they raised me when I was small. The wording is deliberate. You are asking Allah to show them the same care they showed you when you were entirely dependent on them, unable to repay anything. It is a prayer of gratitude turned into a request.

The second wording widens the circle: forgiveness for your own sins alongside theirs. That is the pattern the Qur'an gives in Surah Nuh, where Nuh عليه السلام prays:

"My Lord, forgive me and my parents and whoever enters my house as a believer, and the believing men and the believing women."— Qur'an 71:28

Al-Sa'di drew a point from this ordering: the verse singles out the parents before the general believers because of the certainty of their right and the priority of honouring them. The same reasoning applies to the du'a of Surah al-Isra', which is placed directly after the command to treat parents with kindness and to lower to them the wing of humility.

When to say it

There is no fixed time the sources attach to this du'a. It belongs to the general category of supplication, so it can be made:

• In your regular du'a, at any point in the day or night.
• After the obligatory prayers, when supplication is encouraged.
• In the last third of the night, and in the times when du'a is answered.
• Whenever they come to mind — the verse gives no restriction, and the command to pray for them is not tied to an occasion.

If your parents have died, this du'a remains one of the most valuable things you can do for them. The Prophet ﷺ was asked who deserves the best treatment, and in the narration of Abu Dawud, when the man asked "Who should I honour?" he ﷺ replied, "Your mother," then "your mother," then "your mother," then "your father, then the nearest and then the nearest." The scholars read the repeated mention of the mother as a sign of her greater right to kindness — not as a limit on the father's, who is named immediately after.

How many times

Nothing in the sources sets a number of repetitions for this du'a. Say it as often as you wish; there is no count to complete.

Where it comes from

The primary wording is a Qur'anic verse, Surah al-Isra' 17:24, and is therefore the strongest possible basis for a du'a. The extended wording asking forgiveness for yourself and your parents follows the pattern of Surah Nuh 71:28. The hadith on honouring the mother before the father is reported by Abu Dawud (5139) and graded hasan-sahih.

Key takeaways

• The core du'a is Qur'anic: "My Lord, have mercy upon them as they brought me up when I was small" (17:24), and it applies whether your parents are living or deceased.
• You may add the plea for forgiveness — for yourself and for them — following the pattern of Surah Nuh 71:28.
• No fixed time or count is prescribed; make it in your prayers, in the night, and whenever they come to mind.
• The Qur'an gives parents priority in du'a before others, because their right is the most confirmed.
• For a deceased parent, this du'a is among the most beneficial acts you can still do for them.

And Allah knows best.