Duas for exams & studies with Ahadith and recitation
Duas for exams are to seek Allah’s (Subhanahu wa Ta Ala) help to increase knowledge, wisdom, and brainpower. It is best to read these duas for exams whenever you start to study. You will get Allah’s special help to understand difficult subjects. All these duas for exams are from authentic references.
Whenever you start any dua always follow the rules described at “How to start and end dua” which tells us to start dua first by glorifying Allah (Subhanahu wa Ta Ala) (like saying Subhan Allah ) , and then say Salah ala Nabi ( Sallallaho alayhay wa alehi wabarik wa sallam) in the beginning and end of dua.
رَبِّ اشْرَحْ لِي صَدْرِي وَيَسِّرْ لِي أَمْرِي وَاحْلُلْ عُقْدَةً مِّن لِّسَانِي يَفْقَهُوا قَوْلِي
Transliteration : Rabb-ish-Raḥ lee Sadree wa Yassir Lee amree waḥlul ‛uqdatan min lisaanee yafqahoo qawlee [Quran, Surah Taha 25-28 ]
Translation : My Lord, expand for me my breast [with assurance] And ease for me my task And untie the knot from my tongue That they may understand my speech.
Reference and meaning : This is the dua of Prophet Musa (Alayhay wa Salawat wa salam) mentioned in the Quran [ Surah Taha 25-28 ] He had a tendency to stutter while speaking. Allah (Subhanahu wa Ta Ala) ordered him to Pharaoh and preach him Islam and tell him to release the Children of Israel from his slavery and oppression. At that moment, Musa(Alayhay wa Salawat wa salam) needed special help from Allah for this difficult task. So he prayed this dua to get the following benefits from Allah.
- To fill his heart with knowledge and wisdom.
- To make hard task , very easy for him
- To open his tongue for the best speech.
Dua #2
اللَّهُمَّ أَغْنِنِي بِالْعِلْمِ، وَزَيِّنِّي بِالْحِلْمِ، وَكَرِّمْنِي بِالتَّقْوَى، وَجَمِّلْنِي بِالْعَافِيَةِ
Transliteration : Allahuma ‘aghnini bililm, wazayyini bilhilm, wakarrimni bit taqwaa, wajammilni bilafiaAllahuma ‘aghnini bil-ilm, wazayyini bil-hilm, wa akarrimni bit taqwaa, wajammil ni bil afia . [ Kanzul Amaal Hadith 3657 ]
Translation : O Allah, enrich me with knowledge, adorn me with forbearance, honor me with piety, and make me beautiful with wellness. [ Kanzul Amaal Hadith 3657 ]
Reference and meaning : This dua is taken from the Hadith 3657 of .Kanzul Amaal ,
This Hadith is Narrated by companion Sayyidna Ibn Omar (RA) . The meaning of this beautiful dua are sel explanatory and will definitely help in gaining knowledge for exam in sha Allah .
Dua #3
اَللَّهُمَّ عَلِّمْنِي الْكِتَابَ
Transliteration : Allahumma Allimnil Kitab .
Translation : O Allah! Bestow on me, the knowledge of the Book . [ Saheeh Bokhari Hadith 75 ].
Reference and meaning : This dua is taken from the Hadith Saheeh Bokhari ,
Narrated by companion Sayyidna Ibn Abbas (RA): Once our dearest Prophet Muhammad (Sallallaho alayhay walehi wabrik wa sallam) embraced me and said, “O Allah! Bestow on him the knowledge of the Book (Quran).”
The actual Hadith words are: “O Allah! Bestow on him the knowledge of the Book “. But if we want to read this for ourselves then use the first person tense as , “”O Allah! Bestow me the knowledge of the Book . Though , the “Book” in this Hadith means the Quran , but we can make this dua for studying any book, subject and for exam.
Dua #4
اَللَّهُمَّ عَلِّمْنِي الْحِكْمَة
Transliteration : Allahumma Allimnil Hikmah .
Translation : O Allah! Bestow Wisdom upon me . [ Saheeh Bokhari Hadith 3756 ].
Reference and meaning : This dua is taken from the Hadith 3756 of .Saheeh Bokhari ,
Narrated by companion Sayyidna Ibn Abbas (RA): Once Allah’s dearest Prophet Muhammad (Sallallaho alayhay walehi wabrik wa sallam) embraced me and said: “O Allah, teach him wisdom”.
The actual Hadith words are: “O Allah, teach him wisdom”. But if we want to read this for ourselves then use the first person tense as , “O Allah, teach me wisdom” . This dua will in sha Allah provide Allah’s specail support to grant wisdom for studies and exam.
Dua #5
رَبِّ زِدْنِي عِلْمًا
Transliteration : Rabbi Zidni Ilman. [Quran 20:114]
Translation : My Lord, increase me in knowledge. [Quran 20:114].
Reference and meaning : This is one of the duas of our dearest Allah’s Prophet Muhammad(Sallallaho alayhay wa alehi wabarik wa sallam) . where he(Sallallaho alayhay wa alehi wabarik wa sallam) . is asking Allah to increase his knowledge. Dear Prophet Muhammad ((Sallallaho alayhay wa alehi wabarik wa sallam) . has made this on many occasions . This dua is mentioned in the holy Quran at [Quran 20:114]
Dua #6
سُبْحَانَكَ لَا عِلْمَ لَنَا إِلَّا مَا عَلَّمْتَنَا إِنَّكَ أَنْتَ الْعَلِيمُ الْحَكِيمُ
Audio :
Transliteration : Subhanaka La ilama Lana Illa ma Allamtana , Innaka Antal Aleem Al-Hakeem [Quran 2 : 32]
Translation : “Glory be to You! We have no knowledge except what You have taught us. You are truly the All-Knowing, All-Wise”
Reference and meaning : These are actually the words of angels where they are admitting their ignorance compared to Allah knowledge and praising Allah knowledge and wisdom .This was said at the time when Allah created the first human being in the Universe. You can read about this in the following verses of Quran.
It is He Who hath created for you all things that are on earth; then He turned to heaven and made them into seven firmaments; and of all things He hath perfect knowledge. (29) Behold thy Lord said to the angels: “I will create a vicegerent on earth.” They said “Wilt thou place therein one who will make mischief therein and shed blood? Whilst we do celebrate Thy praises and glorify Thy holy (name)?” He said: “I know what ye know not.” (30) And He taught Adam the names of all things; then He placed them before the angels and said: “Tell Me the names of these if ye are right.” (31) They said: “Glory to Thee: of knowledge we have none, save that Thou hast taught us: in truth it is Thou who art perfect in knowledge and wisdom.” (32) He said: “O Adam! tell them their names.” When he had told them their names, Allah said: “Did I not tell you that I know the secrets of heaven and earth, and I know what ye reveal and what ye conceal?” (33) [ Quran 2: 29-33]
Not in the beginning of the sentence , the angels are using the words to glorify Allah . Actually , this is told in Ahadith also, that whenever we make dua to Allah , we should first glorify Allah (just like these words of the angels) .Please read more at “How to start and end dua”
Dua #7
اللَّهُمَّ لَا سَهْلَ إلاَّ مَا جَعَلْتَهُ سَهْلاً، وأنْتَ تَجْعَلُ الحَزْنَ إذَا شِئْتَ سَهْلاً
Audio :
Transliteration : Allahumma La Sahla Illa Ja-alta-hu sahla , wa anta taj-alul Hazna Iza Sheta Sahla . [ Ibn Habban ] [Masnad Ahmad ]
Translation : “Oh Allah! Nothing is easy except what You have made easy. If You wish, you can make the difficult easy”.
Reference and meaning : This is also one of the duas of Holy Prophet Muhammad (Sallallaho alayhay wa alehi wabarik wa sallam) . mentioned in hadith books to make difficult tasks easy. The translation is self-explanatory. This will help in making studies and exams easy in sha Allah.
Dua #8
اللَّهُمَّ انْفَعْنِي بِمَا عَلَّمْتَنِي، وَعَلِّمْنِي مَا يَنْفَعُنِي، وَزِدْنِي عِلْمًا ، وَالْحَمْدُ لِلَّہِ عَلَی کُلِّ حَالٍ ، وَأَعُوذُ بِاللہِ مِنْ عَذَابِ النَّارِ
Audio :
Transliteration : Allahumma Anfani Bima Allamtani wa Allimni ma Yanfa-ani wa zidni ilma , wal Alhamdulillahay ala
Kulli Hal , wa Zidni Ilma , Wa Aoozubillah min Azabin Naar [Tirimzi 3599 , Ibn Majah 451 ].
Translation : O Allah benefit me with the knowledge you granted me & grant me the knowledge that benefits me & increase my knowledge & all praise for Allah at all situations & I seek protection of Allah from the torment of fire .
Reference and meaning : This is also one of the duas of the last Prophet Muhammad (Sallallaho alayhay wa alehi wabarik wa sallam) . mentioned in hadith books to increase beneficial knowledge and to take benefit from the knowledge gained. The translation is self-explanatory.
Dua #9
اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَسْأَلُكَ عِلْمًا نَافِعًا، وَرِزْقًا طَيِّبًا، وَعَمَلًا مُتَقَبَّلًا
Audio :
Transliteration : Allahumma inni Asaluka ilman Nafia , wa Rizkan Tayyiba , wa Amalam Mutaqabbila . [Sunan Ibn Majah 3833].
Translation : O Allah! I ask You for the beneficial knowledge, and good provision ,and deeds that will be accepted.
Reference and meaning : This dua is one of the duas of Prophet Muhammad (Sallallaho alayhay wa alehi wabarik wa sallam) . which he (Sallallaho alayhay wa alehi wabarik wa sallam) . read after the morning obligatory prayers. This can also be read before starting studies or after studying .The translation is self-explanatory .
Dua #10
حَسۡبُنَا اللّٰهُ وَنِعۡمَ الۡوَكِيۡلُ
Audio :
Transliteration : Hasbunallaho wa Nemal Wakeel [Al-Quran, Surah Al-e-Imran 173 ].
Translation : “Sufficient for us is Allah, and [He is] the best Disposer of affairs”.
Reference and meaning :This dua is one of the duas of Prophet Ibrahim ( عليه الصلاة والسلام) which he ( عليه الصلاة والسلام) read when he was thrown into fire. This dua is mentioned in Quran. This is very powerful dua to remove fear, anxiety and to get special support of Allah (سبحانه و تعالي) .
Dua #11
يَا حَيُّ يَا قَيُّومُ بِرَحْمَتِكَ أَسْتَغيثُ أَصْلِحْ لِي شَأْنِيَ كُلَّهُ وَلاَ تَكِلْنِي إِلَى نَفْسِي طَرْفَةَ عَيْنٍ
Audio :
Transliteration : Ya Hayyu Ya Qayyoom birahmatika astagheeth, ass-lih Lee Shahaani kullaahu, wa laa Takillni ila nafsee Tarfata Ain [ Saheeh Al-Jamia ].
Translation :“O ever living being! O Sustainer of all things! I ask you for help through your mercy, fix all my affairs, and do not entrust me to me even in the twinkling of an eye”.
Reference and meaning :This dua was first told by Allah’s ( سبحانه وتعالي) Prophet (Sallallaho alayhay wa alehi wabarik wa sallam) . to his daughter Fatima (رضي الله عنها) to read it morning and evening. Also another Hadith tells us that when Prophet Muhammad (Sallallaho alayhay wa alehi wabarik wa sallam) was in grief or anxiety he (Sallallaho alayhay wa alehi wabarik wa sallam) used to say the beginning words of this dua i.e “Ya Hayyu Ya Qayyoom birahmatika astagheeth”.
So this dua will not only remove anxiety before studies or exams but it will also make all affairs and tasks easy for you in sha Allah.
Dua #12
رَبَّنَآ ءَاتِنَا مِن لَّدُنكَ رَحۡمَةً۬ وَهَيِّئۡ لَنَا مِنۡ أَمۡرِنَا رَشَدً۬ا
Audio :
Transliteration : Rabbanaaa aatinaa mil ladunka rahmatanw wa haiyi’ lanaa min amrinaa rashadaa
Translation : “Our Lord! Bestow on us mercy from Yourself, and facilitate for us our affair in the right way! [Quran 18:10]”.[Al-Quran, Surah Al-Kahaf 18:10 ]
Reference and meaning :This beautiful dua is from Quran [Al-Quran, Surah Al-Kahaf 18:10 ] .The 6 or 7 pious people ,who took shelter in the cave to save themselves and their faith from afflictions of that time. They had fear of loosing their faith and get caught by the cruel King of that time.They asked Allah (Subhanahu wa Ta Ala)’s to shower His blessings upon them and get special support to make their affairs right. So this dua will benefit anyone who wants to get facilitation in his/her affairs and get the best guidance. That is why scholars have recommended this dua for exams and for any difficult task also
Common Mistake in Duas for Exams
On internet , some websites have posted a dua which has no reference from Quran and Hadith. It is sad that this dua is spread all over internet. It should not read as it has no reference . [ref]
May Allah (Subhanahu wa ta ala) reward you for reading . May Allah (Subhanahu wa ta ala) make it beneficial for all of us . Ameen. .Allahumma Sallay Ala Muhammad. You might be interestested in “Isme Azam Duas”.
