Du'as for Guidance
The first thing a Muslim asks for in every prayer is guidance: 'guide us to the straight path'. The Quran follows it with a request that the heart not swerve after having been guided — the recognition that guidance is not a one-time grant but something asked for and kept.
Updated July 16, 2026
- Surah Al-Fatihah 1:6
ٱهۡدِنَا ٱلصِّرَٰطَ ٱلۡمُسۡتَقِيمَ
Ihdinas-siratal-mustaqim.
“Show us the straight path”
Recited in every unit of every prayer — the central request of Surah Al-Fatihah.
Source: Quran 1:6
- Surah Ali 'Imran 3:8
رَبَّنَا لَا تُزِغۡ قُلُوبَنَا بَعۡدَ إِذۡ هَدَيۡتَنَا وَهَبۡ لَنَا مِن لَّدُنكَ رَحۡمَةًۚ إِنَّكَ أَنتَ ٱلۡوَهَّابُ
Rabbana la tuzigh qulubana ba'da idh hadaytana wa hab lana min ladunka rahmah, innaka antal-Wahhab.
“Our Lord! Cause not our hearts to stray after Thou hast guided us, and bestow upon us mercy from Thy Presence. Lo! Thou, only Thou, art the Bestower”
The du'a of those firm in knowledge — asking that the heart not deviate after guidance.
Source: Quran 3:8
- Muslim 2721
اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَسْأَلُكَ الْهُدَى وَالتُّقَى وَالْعَفَافَ وَالْغِنَى
Allahumma inni as'alukal-huda wat-tuqa wal-'afafa wal-ghina.
“O Allah, I ask You for guidance, piety, chastity, and self-sufficiency.”
A concise du'a of the Prophet ﷺ gathering the four things a person most needs.
Source: Muslim 2721
Quranic du'as on this page: Arabic text — Tanzil Uthmani (public domain); English translation — Marmaduke Pickthall, “The Meaning of the Glorious Koran” (1930), public domain. Translations of hadith du'as are our own.
Frequently asked questions
What du'a is said for guidance?
The central one is Quranic and recited in every prayer: 'Ihdinas-siratal-mustaqim' — 'guide us to the straight path' (1:6). Quran 3:8 asks that the heart not deviate after guidance, and Muslim 2721 records the Prophet ﷺ asking for guidance, piety, chastity and self-sufficiency together.
Why ask for guidance if you are already Muslim?
Because the Quran treats guidance as continuing, not finished — 3:8 asks Allah not to let hearts swerve 'after You have guided us'. The request in Al-Fatihah is repeated in every rak'ah of every prayer for that reason.
What is the straight path?
Al-Fatihah itself defines it in the next ayah (1:7): the path of those upon whom Allah has bestowed favour, not of those who earned anger nor of those who went astray.
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