Morning and Evening Duas: 9 Authentic Adhkar With Arabic and Hadith
Morning and evening duas (adhkar) are daily remembrances the Prophet ﷺ recited at set times each day. This guide covers nine of them, with Arabic text, transliteration, meaning, and a cited source for each.
Morning and evening adhkar include Ayat al-Kursi, the three Quls, Sayyid al-Istighfar, “Subhanallahi wa bihamdihi” said 100 times, general istighfar, and a few shorter protective duas like Hasbiyallah. Morning adhkar are recited after Fajr until sunrise; evening adhkar after Asr until Maghrib. Each is covered below with Arabic, transliteration, meaning, and a cited source.
If any of this sounds familiar, you’re not alone. These come up constantly:
- Seeing long adhkar lists online and not knowing where the actual priority items are
- Not being sure of the correct timing window for morning versus evening
- Wanting to start with something short instead of a 15-minute routine on day one
- Confusing general dhikr with the specific morning/evening adhkar collection
On this page
- Why Morning and Evening Adhkar Matter
- When to Recite: Morning and Evening Windows
- 1. Ayat al-Kursi
- 2. The Three Quls
- 3. Sayyid al-Istighfar
- 4. Subhanallahi wa Bihamdihi (100x)
- 5. General Istighfar
- 6. A Short Dua of Gratitude
- 7. An Evening-Specific Opening Dua
- 8. Seeking Refuge in Allah’s Perfect Words
- 9. Hasbiyallah (Allah Is Sufficient)
- Quick Reference Table
- Morning vs. Evening Wording
- Where to Start If You’re New to This
- What If You Miss the Window
- Pairing With Salah You’re Already Praying
- Teaching This to Kids
- Common Mistakes to Avoid
- FAQ
Why Morning and Evening Adhkar Matter
Two specific windows of the day, the moment after Fajr and the stretch between Asr and Maghrib, are treated in Islamic teaching as natural checkpoints. Morning adhkar frame how the day begins, before the pull of work, messages, and errands takes over. Evening adhkar do the reverse, closing the day out with the same deliberate remembrance before fatigue and distraction make it easy to skip entirely, night after night, week after week, consistently.
What sets this collection apart from casual daily dhikr is consistency and documentation. Each item below is tied to a specific, narrated hadith, not a general instruction to “remember Allah often.” That specificity is part of why these particular phrases became the standard morning-and-evening set taught across scholarly compilations like Hisnul Muslim, used by Muslims worldwide regardless of language or region.
The underlying principle traces back to the Quran itself, not just the hadith collections built around it. The instruction to remember Allah specifically in the morning and evening isn’t just a hadith-era convention, it comes directly from the Quran.
“O you who have believed, remember Allah with much remembrance. And exalt Him morning and evening.”
Surah Al-Ahzab (33:41-42)“Verily, in the remembrance of Allah do hearts find rest” (Surah Ar-Ra’d, 13:28). Morning and evening adhkar are one structured, hadith-documented way of putting both verses into a daily habit rather than leaving remembrance to whenever it happens to come to mind.
When to Recite: Morning and Evening Windows
Morning adhkar are recited after Fajr prayer, ideally while still seated where you prayed, until sunrise. Evening adhkar are commonly recited after Asr prayer until Maghrib, though some scholars extend the acceptable window into the early part of the night. Neither window is rigid to the minute; the point is establishing a consistent habit at roughly the same two times each day, not watching the clock.
Ayat al-Kursi
اللَّهُ لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ الْحَيُّ الْقَيُّومُ
Transliteration (opening line): Allahu la ilaha illa huwa, al-Hayyul-Qayyum…
Meaning: “Allah, there is no deity except Him, the Ever-Living, the Sustainer of existence…” (Surah Al-Baqarah, 2:255, full verse)
This is the only item in the list drawn directly from the Quran’s text rather than a hadith-narrated dua composed by the Prophet ﷺ; the hadith below describes the specific reward for reciting it at this time, not the verse’s own wording.
Whoever recites it stays under Allah’s protection until the next recitation; part of the standard morning and evening adhkar collections. Sahih al-Bukhari 2311; the same narration also appears in Sahih al-Bukhari 5010 (Virtues of the Qur’an)The Three Quls
Recite Surah Al-Ikhlas, Surah Al-Falaq, and Surah An-Nas, commonly three times each in the morning and three times each in the evening. This grouping is drawn from established scholarly adhkar compilations (such as Hisnul Muslim) built on the individually authentic virtues of these three surahs, rather than one single hadith pinning the exact “three times, morning and evening” count; the surahs themselves and their protective virtue are independently well-documented. Al-Falaq and An-Nas together are often called the Mu’awwidhatayn, “the two that seek refuge,” because both open with a request for protection, from creation in one and from whispered evil in the other.
| Surah | What It Covers |
|---|---|
| Al-Ikhlas (112) | Allah’s oneness |
| Al-Falaq (113) | Seeking refuge from harm in creation |
| An-Nas (114) | Seeking refuge from whispered evil |
Sayyid al-Istighfar
اللَّهُمَّ أَنْتَ رَبِّي لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا أَنْتَ خَلَقْتَنِي وَأَنَا عَبْدُكَ
Transliteration (opening line): Allahumma anta Rabbi, la ilaha illa anta, khalaqtani wa ana ‘abduk…
Meaning: “O Allah, You are my Lord, there is no deity except You. You created me and I am Your servant…”
Called “the master of seeking forgiveness” because it combines acknowledging Allah’s lordship, one’s own servanthood, gratitude for blessings, and confession of sin in a single dua. Whoever recites it in the morning with certainty and dies that day, or recites it in the evening and dies that night, is promised Paradise.
Narrated by Shaddad ibn Aws (RA). Sahih al-Bukhari 6306Subhanallahi wa Bihamdihi (100x)
سُبْحَانَ اللَّهِ وَبِحَمْدِهِ
Transliteration: Subhanallahi wa bihamdihi
Meaning: “Glory be to Allah, and praise be to Him.”
Said once, this phrase carries a promise that a day’s worth of minor sins are forgiven, “even if they were like the foam of the sea.” A separate narration specifically ties saying it 100 times in both the morning and the evening to a promise that no one will be surpassed on the Day of Resurrection except someone who said the same or more. The Prophet ﷺ also paired it with a related phrase, calling the two together “light on the tongue, heavy on the scale, and beloved to the Most Merciful.”
Sahih al-Bukhari 6405 (forgiveness); Sahih Muslim 2692 (100x morning and evening); Sahih al-Bukhari 6406 (the paired phrase)General Istighfar
أَسْتَغْفِرُ اللَّهَ
Transliteration: Astaghfirullah
Meaning: “I seek Allah’s forgiveness.”
The Prophet ﷺ was reported to seek Allah’s forgiveness many times over the course of a day, and repeating this short phrase a number of times during morning and evening adhkar is a widely practiced part of the routine, alongside the more specific Sayyid al-Istighfar above. Unlike Sayyid al-Istighfar, which has one fixed, longer wording, general istighfar is just the single short phrase repeated, which makes it easy to fit in while walking, commuting, or waiting for something else to start.
The Prophet’s ﷺ frequent istighfar is described in Sahih al-Bukhari 6307A Short Dua of Gratitude
الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ
Transliteration: Alhamdulillah
Meaning: “All praise is for Allah.”
A short, simple close to the routine: acknowledging that reaching this morning, or reaching this evening safely, is itself something to be grateful for.
Reflects the general Sunnah practice of opening and closing the day with gratitude, consistent with the sleep/waking dua pairing in Sahih al-Bukhari 6324Quick Reference: All Nine at a Glance
| Dua | How Many Times | Key Promise |
|---|---|---|
| Ayat al-Kursi | Once | Protection until the next recitation |
| The Three Quls | 3x each | Protective virtue, per scholarly compilations |
| Sayyid al-Istighfar | Once | Paradise, if death comes before the next session |
| Subhanallahi wa bihamdihi | 100x | Sins forgiven; unsurpassed reward on Judgment Day |
| General Istighfar | Several times | Following the Prophet’s ﷺ own frequent practice |
| Alhamdulillah | Once (or more) | Gratitude for reaching this morning or evening safely |
| Evening-Specific Opening Dua | Once | Affirming Allah’s control over life, death, and the return |
| Allah’s Perfect Words | 3x (commonly) | General protection from harm |
| Hasbiyallah | 7x | Allah sufficing you in your concerns |
An Evening-Specific Opening Dua
اللَّهُمَّ بِكَ أَمْسَيْنَا وَبِكَ أَصْبَحْنَا وَبِكَ نَحْيَا وَبِكَ نَمُوتُ وَإِلَيْكَ الْمَصِيرُ
Transliteration: Allahumma bika amsayna, wa bika asbahna, wa bika nahya, wa bika namutu, wa ilaykal-masir
Meaning: “O Allah, by You we reach the evening, and by You we reach the morning, and by You we live, and by You we die, and to You is the final return.”
This is the evening-specific counterpart to the “Asbahna” opening some morning adhkar collections use; the wording shifts from evening (amsayna) to morning (asbahna) to match which session you’re in.
Abu Dawud 5068; also At-Tirmidhi 3391, classed sahih by al-AlbaniSeeking Refuge in Allah’s Perfect Words
أَعُوذُ بِكَلِمَاتِ اللَّهِ التَّامَّاتِ مِنْ شَرِّ مَا خَلَقَ
Transliteration: A’udhu bikalimatillahi at-tammati min sharri ma khalaq
Meaning: “I seek refuge in the perfect words of Allah from the evil of what He has created.”
A short, general-protection phrase, commonly recited three times as part of the fuller adhkar set.
Sahih Muslim 6880Hasbiyallah (Allah Is Sufficient for Me)
حَسْبِيَ اللَّهُ لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ عَلَيْهِ تَوَكَّلْتُ وَهُوَ رَبُّ الْعَرْشِ الْعَظِيمِ
Transliteration: Hasbiyallahu la ilaha illa huwa, ‘alayhi tawakkaltu, wa huwa Rabbul-‘Arshil-‘Azim
Meaning: “Allah is sufficient for me; there is no deity except Him. Upon Him I rely, and He is the Lord of the Mighty Throne.”
Recited seven times, tied to a hadith describing that Allah will suffice the reciter in whatever concerns them. Scholars differ slightly on whether this narration traces directly to the Prophet ﷺ or reflects the words of a companion, Abu ad-Darda; either way, the chain is considered sound.
Sunan Abi Dawud 5081Morning vs. Evening Wording
Item 7 above, “Allahumma bika amsayna…”, is one well-sourced example of an evening-specific opening line. Separately, some scholarly compilations also use a longer daily opening that shifts by session: “Asbahna wa asbahal-mulku lillah” (We have reached the morning, and the dominion belongs to Allah) for mornings, and “Amsayna wa amsal-mulku lillah” (We have reached the evening, and the dominion belongs to Allah) for evenings. These are two distinct phrases serving a similar purpose, not the same dua worded two ways; different collections favor one or the other, and using either is fine. The core items covered above, Ayat al-Kursi, the three Quls, Sayyid al-Istighfar, Subhanallahi wa bihamdihi, and istighfar, stay identical in both sessions regardless of which opening line you pair them with.
Where to Start If You’re New to This
Nine items can feel like a lot on day one. If you’re learning these for the first time, don’t worry about memorizing everything immediately; understanding one dua well and building consistency with it is a better start than rushing through all nine and forgetting most of them by the weekend. If you’re starting from nothing, begin with just Sayyid al-Istighfar in the morning, said once. It’s short, carries one of the clearest promises in these hadith, and takes under a minute once memorized. Add Subhanallahi wa bihamdihi next, then build toward the full set over a few weeks.
- Week 1: Sayyid al-Istighfar, morning only
- Week 2: Add Subhanallahi wa bihamdihi, working up toward 100 counts
- Week 3: Add the evening session, starting with the same two items
- Week 4 onward: Layer in Ayat al-Kursi, the three Quls, general istighfar, the evening-specific opening dua, Allah’s Perfect Words, and Hasbiyallah, one at a time
What If You Miss the Window
Several scholars, including Ibn al-Qayyim and Ibn Baz, held that missing the preferred morning or evening window doesn’t mean the adhkar can’t be said later in the day; the habit and the reward of consistency matter more than hitting the exact optimal minutes. If Fajr rushes into a busy morning, saying these later rather than skipping them entirely is the better option.
Pairing This With Salah You’re Already Praying
The practical advantage of this routine is that it attaches to prayers you’re already performing. You don’t need to carve out a separate block of time for it. Staying seated in your place of prayer for a few extra minutes after Fajr, before getting up to start the day, is often enough to fit the morning set in. The same applies after Asr: a few minutes before moving on to the next task covers the evening set without needing to schedule it separately. For a refresher on the prayer itself, see our guide on how to pray Salah correctly.
Teaching This to Kids
For children, start with just Subhanallahi wa bihamdihi and Alhamdulillah instead of the full nine-item set. Both are short enough to memorize in a single sitting and pair naturally with a simple explanation: one is for praising Allah, the other for thanking Him. Sayyid al-Istighfar can come later, once a child is old enough to understand what asking for forgiveness actually means, since reciting it by rote without any grasp of the meaning misses most of the point.
Morning and Evening Duas: Common Mistakes to Avoid
Hadith references are listed with collection names and numbers. Sunnah.com is provided as a convenient reference for locating and reading the full narrations. Where a practice (like the three Quls’ specific “3x morning and evening” count) reflects a scholarly compilation convention rather than one single pinpoint hadith, that distinction is stated directly rather than presented as a single unambiguous citation.
- Quran citations: read the full verse in context at Quran.com.
- The morning/evening grouping of these adhkar follows established compilations such as Hisnul Muslim (Fortress of the Muslim) by Sa’id ibn Ali ibn Wahf al-Qahtani, a widely used reference for daily supplications compiled specifically from authentic hadith sources.
- Hadith citations: collection and hadith number given beside each quotation; verify exact wording against Sunnah.com before teaching or publishing from it.
Last reviewed for references: September 2026.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the most important morning and evening dua?
Sayyid al-Istighfar (Sahih al-Bukhari 6306) is often highlighted first because of the specific Paradise-related promise attached to it and because it’s short enough to memorize in one sitting.
What time exactly should I recite morning adhkar?
After Fajr prayer, ideally before sunrise, though scholars differ slightly on how flexible this window is. The core requirement is consistency, not precision to the minute.
Do I have to say Subhanallahi wa bihamdihi exactly 100 times?
The specific hadith promise is tied to the 100-time count, but reciting it fewer times is still valuable dhikr. Building up to 100 is a reasonable goal rather than a starting requirement.
Are morning and evening adhkar obligatory?
No, they’re Sunnah, not obligatory. They carry substantial documented reward and were a consistent practice of the Prophet ﷺ, but missing them isn’t sinful.
Can I say these in English instead of Arabic?
Understanding the meaning matters, but the specific Arabic wording is what’s narrated in these hadith. Many people recite the Arabic while keeping the English meaning in mind.
How long does the full routine take?
Roughly 15-20 minutes once all nine items are memorized and said at an unhurried pace, though starting with just one or two items takes only a minute or two.
Can I do morning and evening adhkar at the same time if I’m too busy?
They’re meant for two separate windows tied to Fajr and Asr, so combining them defeats part of the purpose. If evening truly isn’t possible, prioritize what you can fit rather than skipping the whole set.
Is there a difference between “dhikr” and “adhkar”?
Dhikr is the general act of remembering Allah, in any form, at any time. Adhkar (the plural) here refers specifically to this fixed, timed collection tied to morning and evening.
Why is Ayat al-Kursi included alongside hadith-based duas?
It’s the only item in this list that comes directly from the Quran’s own text rather than a dua the Prophet ﷺ composed. The hadith describes the specific reward for reciting it during this window, not the verse itself, which stands on its own as Quran.
Should I recite these silently or out loud?
Either is acceptable. A quiet, unhurried recitation, whether silent or a soft whisper, tends to help with focus more than reciting out loud quickly just to finish.
Build your daily dua habit
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