Duas for husband and wife: 8 du'as from the Quran and Sunnah

There is a kind of love in marriage that your spouse may never see. It happens when you raise your hands after a prayer, or lie awake for a moment before sleep, and ask Allah to look after the person beside you. No gift, message or grand gesture is quite like it, because it is love spoken to the One who can actually give them what you wish for them.

Du'a is not a small extra in Islam. The Prophet ﷺ said: "Supplication (du'a') is itself the worship," and then recited the verse "And your Lord said: Call on Me, I will answer you" (Sunan Abi Dawud 1479, graded sahih by Al-Albani). The Quran also reassures us that Allah is close:

وَإِذَا سَأَلَكَ عِبَادِى عَنِّى فَإِنِّى قَرِيبٌ ۖ أُجِيبُ دَعْوَةَ ٱلدَّاعِ إِذَا دَعَانِ

And when My servants ask you, [O Muḥammad], concerning Me - indeed I am near. I respond to the invocation of the supplicant when he calls upon Me.

Below are eight du'as from the Quran and the authentic Sunnah that husbands and wives can make for each other, with a few simple ways to make praying for your spouse a habit rather than an emergency measure.

Why praying for your spouse matters

The Quran describes spouses as "a clothing for you and you are a clothing for them" (Quran 2:187, Sahih International). Clothing is close, it protects and it covers. Making du'a for your husband or wife is one of the most intimate ways to be that protection, because it reaches the parts of their life you cannot fix yourself: their health, their worries, their work, their faith.

There is also a beautiful promise for the one who prays. The Prophet ﷺ said: "There is no believing servant who supplicates for his brother behind his back (in his absence) that the Angels do not say: The same be for you too" (Sahih Muslim 2732). When you ask Allah for good for your spouse when they are not there, you are, in a sense, asking for yourself too.

1. The Quran's du'a for spouses and children (25:74)

This is the du'a most couples know, and for good reason. Allah describes the "servants of the Most Merciful" as people who say:

رَبَّنَا هَبْ لَنَا مِنْ أَزْوَٰجِنَا وَذُرِّيَّـٰتِنَا قُرَّةَ أَعْيُنٍ وَٱجْعَلْنَا لِلْمُتَّقِينَ إِمَامًا

Our Lord, grant us from among our wives and offspring comfort to our eyes and make us a leader [i.e., example] for the righteous.

Rabbana hab lana min azwajina wa dhurriyyatina qurrata a'yunin waj'alna lil-muttaqina imama.

"Comfort to our eyes" is a lovely phrase. It describes the person you are glad to see when you walk through the door. The Arabic word azwaj means spouses, so wives make this du'a for their husbands just as husbands make it for their wives.

Try this: make 25:74 the du'a you both say after one prayer a day, even if you pray in different places.

2. The Prophet's blessing for a married couple

When the Prophet ﷺ congratulated someone on their marriage, he made a short du'a for them. Abu Hurairah narrated that when supplicating for the newlywed, the Prophet ﷺ would say:

Barak Allahu laka wa baraka alaik, wa jama'a bainakuma fi khair. "May Allah bless you and send blessings upon you, and bring goodness between you."

A similar narration is in Sunan Abi Dawud 2130 (graded sahih by Al-Albani). It is the du'a we say at weddings, but nothing stops you from saying it for your own marriage on an ordinary Tuesday, ten years in. "Bring goodness between you" is exactly what most couples want.

3. A du'a for affection and mercy, in your own words (30:21)

The Quran describes marriage like this:

وَمِنْ ءَايَـٰتِهِۦٓ أَنْ خَلَقَ لَكُم مِّنْ أَنفُسِكُمْ أَزْوَٰجًا لِّتَسْكُنُوٓا۟ إِلَيْهَا وَجَعَلَ بَيْنَكُم مَّوَدَّةً وَرَحْمَةً

And of His signs is that He created for you from yourselves mates that you may find tranquility in them; and He placed between you affection and mercy.

This verse is not itself a du'a, but it tells you what to ask for. Affection and mercy are something Allah places between spouses. So if you are searching for a "dua for love between husband and wife", one honest answer is to ask Him, in your own words, for exactly what this verse describes: "O Allah, place affection and mercy between us, and let us find tranquillity in each other."

4. The du'a the Prophet ﷺ made most often (2:201)

Anas narrated: "The most frequent invocation of The Prophet (ﷺ) was: 'O Allah! Give to us in the world that which is good and in the Hereafter that which is good, and save us from the torment of the Fire'" (Sahih al-Bukhari 6389). It comes from the Quran:

رَبَّنَآ ءَاتِنَا فِى ٱلدُّنْيَا حَسَنَةً وَفِى ٱلْـَٔاخِرَةِ حَسَنَةً وَقِنَا عَذَابَ ٱلنَّارِ

Our Lord, give us in this world [that which is] good and in the Hereafter [that which is] good and protect us from the punishment of the Fire.

Notice the word "us". Many couples love this du'a because it naturally includes both of you: a good life together here, and a good ending there.

5. A du'a for your spouse's faith and prayer (14:40)

Prophet Ibrahim prayed for himself and his family to stay connected to prayer:

رَبِّ ٱجْعَلْنِى مُقِيمَ ٱلصَّلَوٰةِ وَمِن ذُرِّيَّتِى ۚ رَبَّنَا وَتَقَبَّلْ دُعَآءِ

My Lord, make me an establisher of prayer, and [many] from my descendants. Our Lord, and accept my supplication.

If you worry about your spouse's faith, du'a is gentler and more powerful than nagging. Ask Allah to make prayer beloved to both of you. The Prophet ﷺ also prayed for couples who help each other worship: "May Allah have mercy on a man who gets up at night and prays, and awakens his wife ... May Allah have mercy on a woman who gets up at night and prays, and awakens her husband" (Sunan Abi Dawud 1308, graded hasan sahih by Al-Albani).

6. A du'a of forgiveness for both of you (14:41)

Ibrahim's du'a continues:

رَبَّنَا ٱغْفِرْ لِى وَلِوَٰلِدَىَّ وَلِلْمُؤْمِنِينَ يَوْمَ يَقُومُ ٱلْحِسَابُ

Our Lord, forgive me and my parents and the believers the Day the account is established.

Asking forgiveness for your spouse is a quiet way to let go of small resentments. It is hard to stay bitter about the dishes when you have just asked Allah to forgive the person who left them. If you are working through a difficult season, our guide to handling disagreements in marriage may help too.

7. A du'a for your spouse's worries, work and success

Searches for a "dua for husband success" or a "dua for wife protection" are common, and the Sunnah has a du'a that covers many of the pressures a spouse carries. Anas bin Malik narrated that the Prophet ﷺ used to say: "O Allah! I seek refuge with You from worry and grief, from incapacity and laziness, from cowardice and miserliness, from being heavily in debt and from being overpowered by (other) men" (Sahih al-Bukhari 6369).

You can say this du'a for yourself, then turn it into a du'a for your spouse in your own words: "O Allah, protect my husband from worry and grief," or "O Allah, protect my wife from debt and from being overpowered."

8. A du'a for your whole life together

The Prophet ﷺ used to supplicate: "O Allah, set right for me my religion which is the safeguard of my affairs. And set right for me the affairs of my world wherein is my living. And set right for me my Hereafter on which depends my after-life. And make the life for me (a source) of abundance for every good and make my death a source of comfort for me protecting me against every evil" (Sahih Muslim 2720).

Religion, this world, the Hereafter: it is hard to think of anything you might want for your spouse that is not inside this du'a.

How to make praying for your spouse a habit

• Pray for them by name. Saying their name to Allah softens your heart towards them, even on difficult days.
• Be specific. Their job interview, their mother's health, the exam, the tiredness after a new baby. Specific du'as are easier to remember and easier to notice when they are answered.
• Choose a regular moment. After a daily prayer, before sleep, or in the last third of the night. The Prophet ﷺ said that Allah asks then: "Is there anyone to invoke Me, so that I may respond to invocation?" (Sahih al-Bukhari 1145).
• Tell them sometimes. "I made du'a for you today" can be one of the kindest sentences in a marriage. We write more about small words like this in small habits for a kinder Muslim marriage.
• Thank Allah when du'as are answered. Noticing answered prayers keeps gratitude alive. See our guide to gratitude in marriage.

A gentle word about du'a and expectations

Du'a is not a tool to change your spouse into someone else, and it is not a replacement for honest conversation or, when needed, help from a trusted counsellor or scholar. It is a way of carrying your marriage to Allah together. Pray for your spouse the way you hope they pray for you: with mercy, patience and a lot of hope.

Write your du'as down

Many couples keep a short list of the du'as they make for each other, or write one inside a card on an anniversary or after Eid. If you would like something more lasting, a Hubbuna page lets you gather your photos, the story of your marriage and a favourite du'a into one private page for your husband or wife.