Anxiety is not a modern invention. The Prophet ﷺ taught specific words for it, which means the people around him felt it too, enough that they needed something to say when the chest tightened and the mind would not settle. Those words are still here. They are short, they are authentic, and they do a particular kind of work that nothing else quite does: they take the worry out of your own hands and put it in Allah’s.
Here are five duas for anxiety and stress, all from the Quran or the Sunnah, with the Arabic, a transliteration, and the meaning. One note before the duas. Dua is part of how we cope. It is not a replacement for the other parts. If anxiety is affecting your sleep, your work, or your relationships over weeks, talk to a doctor or a therapist as well. The Prophet ﷺ told us to seek treatment. Making dua and getting help are the same act of trust in Allah, done two ways.
1. The dua of refuge from anxiety and sorrow
This is the one most people reach for first, and for good reason. It is in Bukhari, and it names the exact things that weigh on us.
Arabic
اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنَ الْهَمِّ وَالْحَزَنِ، وَالْعَجْزِ وَالْكَسَلِ، وَالْبُخْلِ وَالْجُبْنِ، وَضَلَعِ الدَّيْنِ وَغَلَبَةِ الرِّجَالِ
Transliteration
Allahumma inni a’udhu bika minal-hammi wal-hazan, wal-‘ajzi wal-kasal, wal-bukhli wal-jubn, wa dala’id-dayni wa ghalabatir-rijal.
Meaning
O Allah, I take refuge in You from anxiety and sorrow, weakness and laziness, miserliness and cowardice, the burden of debts and from being overpowered by men.
Notice the order. Anxiety and sorrow come first. Then the things anxiety produces: the feeling of being unable to act, the heaviness that looks like laziness from the outside. Then debt and the pressure of other people. It is a complete picture of what stress does to a person, written fourteen centuries ago.
When to say it: Morning and evening, and any time the worry starts to loop.
2. The dua of the servant
This is a longer one, in Ahmad, and the Prophet ﷺ said that whoever says it when afflicted with anxiety or sorrow, Allah will remove their sorrow and replace it with joy. The companions asked if they should learn it, and he said that everyone who hears it should.
Arabic
اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي عَبْدُكَ، ابْنُ عَبْدِكَ، ابْنُ أَمَتِكَ، نَاصِيَتِي بِيَدِكَ، مَاضٍ فِيَّ حُكْمُكَ، عَدْلٌ فِيَّ قَضَاؤُكَ، أَسْأَلُكَ بِكُلِّ اسْمٍ هُوَ لَكَ، سَمَّيْتَ بِهِ نَفْسَكَ، أَوْ أَنْزَلْتَهُ فِي كِتَابِكَ، أَوْ عَلَّمْتَهُ أَحَدًا مِنْ خَلْقِكَ، أَوِ اسْتَأْثَرْتَ بِهِ فِي عِلْمِ الْغَيْبِ عِنْدَكَ، أَنْ تَجْعَلَ الْقُرْآنَ رَبِيعَ قَلْبِي، وَنُورَ صَدْرِي، وَجِلَاءَ حُزْنِي، وَذَهَابَ هَمِّي
Transliteration
Allahumma inni ‘abduka, ibnu ‘abdika, ibnu amatika, nasiyati biyadika, madin fiyya hukmuka, ‘adlun fiyya qada’uka. As’aluka bikulli ismin huwa laka, sammayta bihi nafsaka, aw anzaltahu fi kitabika, aw ‘allamtahu ahadan min khalqika, awista’tharta bihi fi ‘ilmil-ghaybi ‘indaka, an taj’alal-Qur’ana rabi’a qalbi, wa nura sadri, wa jala’a huzni, wa dhahaba hammi.
Meaning
O Allah, I am Your servant, son of Your servant, son of Your maidservant. My forelock is in Your hand, Your command over me is forever executed, and Your decree over me is just. I ask You by every name belonging to You, which You named Yourself with, or revealed in Your Book, or taught to any of Your creation, or kept with Yourself in the knowledge of the unseen, that You make the Quran the life of my heart and the light of my chest, a departure for my sorrow and a release for my anxiety.
It takes a few days to learn. It is worth the few days. The first half is an act of surrender, naming exactly whose hands you are in. The second half is the request, and the request is for the Quran to do in your chest what anxiety has been doing.
When to say it: When the anxiety is heavy and you have a few quiet minutes. After Fajr or before sleep both work.
3. The dua of distress
Narrated in Bukhari and Muslim. The Prophet ﷺ said these words at times of distress.
Arabic
لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ الْعَظِيمُ الْحَلِيمُ، لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ رَبُّ الْعَرْشِ الْعَظِيمِ، لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ رَبُّ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَرَبُّ الْأَرْضِ وَرَبُّ الْعَرْشِ الْكَرِيمِ
Transliteration
La ilaha illallahul-‘Azimul-Halim. La ilaha illallahu Rabbul-‘Arshil-‘Azim. La ilaha illallahu Rabbus-samawati wa Rabbul-ardi wa Rabbul-‘Arshil-Karim.
Meaning
None has the right to be worshipped except Allah, the Mighty, the Forbearing. None has the right to be worshipped except Allah, Lord of the magnificent throne. None has the right to be worshipped except Allah, Lord of the heavens, Lord of the earth, and Lord of the noble throne.
There is no request in this one at all. It is pure remembrance of who Allah is, and that is the point. Anxiety shrinks the world down to the problem in front of you. This dua makes the world big again.
When to say it: In the moment, when something has just gone wrong.
4. The dua of Yunus
From the Quran, 21:87, said by Yunus (peace be upon him) from inside the whale. The Prophet ﷺ said that no Muslim calls on Allah with these words about anything except that Allah answers.
Arabic
لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا أَنْتَ سُبْحَانَكَ إِنِّي كُنْتُ مِنَ الظَّالِمِينَ
Transliteration
La ilaha illa anta, subhanaka, inni kuntu minaz-zalimin.
Meaning
None has the right to be worshipped except You. How perfect You are. I was among the wrongdoers.
Eleven words in Arabic. It fits in a breath. It is the one to say under your breath in a meeting, in traffic, in the two minutes before the thing you are dreading.
When to say it: Anywhere, as many times as you like.
5. The dua of hope in Allah’s mercy
In Abu Dawud, taught for the one in distress.
Arabic
اللَّهُمَّ رَحْمَتَكَ أَرْجُو فَلَا تَكِلْنِي إِلَى نَفْسِي طَرْفَةَ عَيْنٍ، وَأَصْلِحْ لِي شَأْنِي كُلَّهُ، لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا أَنْتَ
Transliteration
Allahumma rahmataka arju, fala takilni ila nafsi tarfata ‘ayn, wa aslih li sha’ni kullah, la ilaha illa ant.
Meaning
O Allah, it is Your mercy that I hope for, so do not leave me in charge of my affairs even for the blink of an eye, and rectify for me all of my affairs. None has the right to be worshipped except You.
“Do not leave me in charge of my affairs even for the blink of an eye.” Anyone who has lain awake at 2 a.m. trying to run every outcome in their head will understand why this line matters. It is a request to stop being the one holding everything.
When to say it: At night, when the mind will not stop.
How to use these
Pick one. Learn it this week. Say it at the same moment every day, after a prayer or before sleep, until it is automatic. Then add the next one. Five duas learned one at a time over five weeks will still be with you in five years. Five duas skimmed once will be gone by Friday.
If it helps to have them on paper, all five are in the Duas page of our Ramadan Planner 2027, and the shorter ones are in the 30 Everyday Duas for Kids set under “When I feel scared” and “When I feel angry.”
And the note from the top again, because it matters. If the anxiety has been there for weeks and is getting in the way of your life, make the dua and also make the appointment.
