Dua For The Sick

Dua for the Sick: What to Say, and What Giving Sadaqah Can and Cannot Promise

When someone you love falls ill, there are words the Prophet ﷺ himself used and taught - established, word for word, in the most reliable collections of hadith.

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When someone you love falls ill, there are words the Prophet ﷺ himself used and taught - established, word for word, in the most reliable collections of hadith. This page gathers them, in Arabic, transliteration and meaning, alongside the etiquette of visiting the sick, and an honest look at the popular practice of giving sadaqah for healing.

The short version: the two duas most firmly established for the sick are reported in Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim. A third, said seven times, is reported in Sunan Abi Dawud and graded authentic. Giving sadaqah when someone is unwell is a beautiful and widely practised custom, and the general virtues of sadaqah are rock solid - but the specific narration "treat your sick with sadaqah" rests on individually weak chains, and honesty requires saying so rather than presenting it as if it were as firmly established as the duas above.

The short version, in a box

Say this when visiting: "Allahumma Rabban-nas, adhhibil-ba's, washfi, Antash-Shafi, la shifa'a illa shifa'uka, shifa'an la yughadiru saqaman" - reported in Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim, from 'Aishah.
A short alternative: "La ba'sa, tahurun in sha' Allah" ("No harm - it will be a purification, if Allah wills") - reported in Sahih al-Bukhari, from Ibn 'Abbas.
Said seven times, for someone not yet at the point of death: "As'alu Allah al-'Azim, Rabbal-'Arshil-'Azim, an yashfiyaka" - reported in Sunan Abi Dawud, graded authentic (sahih) by Shaykh al-Albani.
Visiting etiquette: keep the visit brief unless the sick person wants you to stay, sit near their head where practical, and make dua for them sincerely.
Sadaqah for the sick: giving charity on behalf of someone unwell is a beautiful practice, and the general virtues of sadaqah in Islam are firmly established. The specific hadith "treat your sick with sadaqah" is weaker than many people assume - see the honest breakdown below before you repeat it as if it were certain.

This page gives you the wording and the honest picture. It is not medical advice, and dua and sadaqah are acts of the heart alongside - never instead of - proper medical care.

Duas for the sick, verified word for word

1. The dua the Prophet ﷺ said while touching the sick person

It is reported in Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim (as recorded in Riyad as-Salihin, hadith 902) that 'Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) said that when the Prophet ﷺ visited a sick member of his family, he would touch them with his right hand and say:

اللَّهُمَّ رَبَّ النَّاسِ أَذْهِبِ الْبَأْسَ وَاشْفِ أَنْتَ الشَّافِي لاَ شِفَاءَ إِلاَّ شِفَاؤُكَ شِفَاءً لاَ يُغَادِرُ سَقَمًا

Allahumma Rabban-nasi, adhhibil-ba'sa, washfi, Antash-Shafi, la shifa'a illa shifa'uka, shifa'an la yughadiru saqaman.

"O Allah, Lord of mankind, remove the affliction and grant healing, for You are the Healer. There is no healing except Your healing - a healing that leaves behind no illness."

2. A shorter dua of comfort

It is reported in Sahih al-Bukhari (as recorded in Riyad as-Salihin, hadith 907) that Ibn 'Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) said that whenever the Prophet ﷺ visited someone who was sick, he would say:

لاَ بَأْسَ طَهُورٌ إِنْ شَاءَ اللَّهُ

La ba'sa, tahurun in sha' Allah.

"No harm - it will be a purification (from sins), if Allah wills."

This one is short enough to say without hesitation at a bedside, and it carries real theological weight: illness, borne with patience, is described here as a means by which sins are wiped away.

3. A dua said seven times

It is reported in Sunan Abi Dawud, on the authority of Ibn 'Abbas, that the Prophet ﷺ said: whoever visits a sick person whose time has not come, and says the following seven times in their presence, Allah will heal them of that illness - a hadith graded sahih (authentic) by Shaykh al-Albani:

أَسْأَلُ اللَّهَ الْعَظِيمَ رَبَّ الْعَرْشِ الْعَظِيمِ أَنْ يَشْفِيَكَ

As'alu Allah al-'Azim, Rabbal-'Arshil-'Azim, an yashfiyaka.

"I ask Allah, the Mighty, Lord of the Mighty Throne, to heal you."

Some scholars note the condition attached in the hadith itself - "whose time has not come" - as a reminder that this dua, like all dua, operates within Allah's decree, not as a guaranteed formula.

The etiquette of visiting the sick

Visiting the sick (iyadat al-marid) is itself a strongly encouraged act in Islam, separate from any specific wording. A few points of adab, drawn from the same collections:

Keep it brief, unless they want you to stay. The visit is for their comfort, not yours - a short, sincere visit is generally better than a long one, unless the sick person clearly wants company.
Sit near them, and be gentle in how you speak. The Prophet ﷺ would sit close to the person he was visiting and speak to them directly and kindly, often touching their hand or forehead.
Make sincere dua, and encourage patience. Remind them gently of Allah's mercy and the reward in illness, without minimising their discomfort or making the visit about reassuring yourself.
The reward for visiting is itself significant. A hadith reported in Jami' al-Tirmidhi (969) and Sunan Abi Dawud (3098) describes seventy thousand angels supplicating for the one who visits a sick person, until evening or until morning depending on when the visit takes place. The grading is mixed (al-Tirmidhi himself called it "hasan gharib"; sunnah.com's modern checking grades the Tirmidhi route da'if and the Abu Dawud route sahih mauquf).

Sadaqah for the sick: what is solid, and what is not

This is the part of the page where honesty matters most, and it is worth slowing down.

What is firmly established: the general virtues of sadaqah

Charity in Islam is not in doubt. It is reported in Sahih Muslim that the Prophet ﷺ said sadaqah does not decrease wealth, and that Allah raises the one who forgives, and elevates the one who humbles himself for His sake. It is widely reported in Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim that the Prophet ﷺ urged his companions to "protect yourselves from the Fire, even by giving half a date in charity." And it is reported in Sahih Muslim that a person's good deeds end at death except for three things - one of them being sadaqah jariyah, ongoing charity. None of that is in question, and it applies whether the giver or the intended beneficiary is sick or well.

What is popular, but weaker: "treat your sick with sadaqah"

A specific narration, often quoted as "Daawoo mardakum bis-sadaqah" - "Treat your sick ones with sadaqah" - circulates widely, usually as part of a longer saying: "Protect your wealth with zakah, treat your sick with sadaqah, and meet calamity with dua." It is a comforting, popular teaching, repeated in many khutbahs and charity appeals.

Here is the honest picture: this wording is reported through several routes attributed to different companions, and several of those individual chains - including the versions found in al-Bayhaqi's Shu'ab al-Iman - have been described as weak (da'if) by hadith scholars, including Imam al-Munawi in his commentary Fayd al-Qadir. A minority of later scholars, notably Shaykh 'Abdullah al-Siddiq al-Ghumari, have argued that because the wording is reported through multiple independent weak chains, the cumulative effect is enough to treat the saying as established for the purpose of encouraging a good deed (a category where many scholars of hadith are more lenient about weak narrations than they are for matters of belief or law).

What that means in practice: it is not dishonest to mention this narration, and giving sadaqah when someone is unwell remains a beautiful and widely practised custom among Muslims worldwide. But it would be dishonest to present "treat your sick with sadaqah" as if it carried the same certainty as the duas quoted above, or as if giving sadaqah were a guaranteed cure. Sadaqah is a means of drawing closer to Allah and seeking His mercy - including His mercy in the form of healing - never a mechanical transaction, and never a substitute for medical treatment.

Giving sadaqah for someone who is unwell

If you are visiting someone who is sick, or thinking of a loved one who is unwell, giving sadaqah in that moment is a way of turning concern into action - reported customs aside, it is charity given sincerely, at a time of need, for someone you care about. Many families give sadaqah for a sick relative alongside dua, exactly as they would give sadaqah for a deceased relative or in celebration of good news - the intention is what makes it theirs, or a gift given on their behalf.

Aid For Mankind operates a 100% donation policy, as a Registered UK Charity (No. 1202015): every penny given through our general Sadaqah cause goes directly to those in need, with nothing deducted for overheads. If you would like to give sadaqah for the health of someone unwell - a parent, a friend, a child - you can do so through our general Sadaqah giving option, and dedicate the gift in your own heart and dua to the person you have in mind.