Dua is the part of Islam a child can start today, in their own words, in any language, without needing to be anywhere special. These six lessons teach what dua actually is, when Allah has told us the door is widest open, the short dhikr the Prophet ﷺ repeated all day, how to say sorry, and how making dua for someone else comes straight back to you.
Lesson 1 · What dua is · ages 5-7
Dua is worship itself
Dua is not a last resort when everything else fails. The Prophet ﷺ said dua is worship — asking Allah is itself an act of obedience.
1The hadith
The Prophet ﷺ said: supplication is worship — the asking itself is part of worshipping Allah.
2Allah invites it
Allah says: call upon Me and I will respond to you — the invitation comes from Him first.
3He is close
Allah says He is near, responding to the one who calls on Him.
4Any language, any place
Dua does not have to be in Arabic and does not need a masjid. In bed, on the bus, in your own words.
5Ask for small things too
The Prophet ﷺ taught his companions to ask Allah for everything, right down to the strap of a sandal.
Wa izaa sa alaka 'ibaadee 'annnee fa innee qareebun ujeebu da'wataddaa'i izaa da'aani falyastajeeboo lee walyu minoo beela 'allahum yarshudoon
“And when My servants ask you, [O Muhammad], concerning Me - indeed I am near. I respond to the invocation of the supplicant when he calls upon Me. So let them respond to Me [by obedience] and believe in Me that they may be [rightly] guided.”
“Supplication is worship.”
Sunan Abi Dawud 1479
Do this before next time
Make one dua today in your own language for something small you actually want.
Lesson 2 · When the door is widest · ages 8-11
The best times to ask
Dua is answered at any time, but Allah and His Messenger ﷺ told us about moments when it is especially accepted.
1The last third of the night
The Prophet ﷺ told us our Lord descends in the last third of every night and says: who is calling upon Me, so that I may answer him?
2In sujood
The Prophet ﷺ said the servant is nearest to his Lord while in prostration, so make plenty of dua there.
3Between adhan and iqamah
The Prophet ﷺ said dua is not turned away between the adhan and the iqamah.
4When a fasting person opens the fast
The Prophet ﷺ named three whose supplication is not rejected: the fasting person when he breaks his fast, the just leader, and the oppressed person.
5Do not rush Allah
Sometimes the answer is later, sometimes it is something better. Allah is not a vending machine.
“Our Lord descends every night to the lowest heaven when the last third of the night is left, and He says: Who calls upon Me so that I may answer him?”
Sahih al-Bukhari 1145
“The servant is nearest to his Lord when he is prostrating, so make supplication in this state.”
Sahih Muslim 482
“There are three whose supplication is not rejected: the fasting person when he breaks his fast, the just leader, and the supplication of the oppressed person.”
Jami' at-Tirmidhi 3598
Do this before next time
Make one dua in sujood in every salah for a week — the same dua, every time.
Lesson 3 · The tasbih · ages 8-11
Dhikr after salah
After every prayer there is a short dhikr the Prophet ﷺ taught: thirty-three each of tasbih, hamd and takbir.
1The count
The Prophet ﷺ taught saying SubhanAllah thirty-three times, al-hamdu lillah thirty-three times and Allahu akbar thirty-three times after each prayer, with la ilaha illa Allah… completing a hundred.
2Whoever does it
In that narration, the one who says these after every prayer has his sins forgiven even if they were like the foam of the sea.
3Two light words
The Prophet ﷺ said two phrases are light on the tongue and heavy on the scales: SubhanAllahi wa bihamdih, SubhanAllahil-'Azim.
4It fills the gaps of the day
Walking to school, waiting in a queue, lying in bed — dhikr costs nothing and needs no equipment.
5Hearts settle with it
Allah says it is in the remembrance of Allah that hearts find rest.
“O you who have believed, remember Allah with much remembrance”
“Whoever, after every prayer, says SubhanAllah thirty-three times, al-hamdu lillah thirty-three times and Allahu akbar thirty-three times, and completes the hundred with 'La ilaha illa Allah, wahdahu la sharika lah...' his sins will be forgiven, even if they were as much as the foam of the sea.”
Sahih Muslim 597
“Two words are light on the tongue, weigh heavily in the balance, and are loved by the Most Gracious: SubhanAllahi wa bihamdihi, SubhanAllahil-'Azim.”
Glory be to Allah and praise Him; glory be to Allah the Most Great.
Sahih al-Bukhari 6682
Do this before next time
Do the full 33 / 33 / 33 dhikr after one prayer every day this week without a phone in your hand.
Lesson 4 · Istighfar & tawbah · ages 8-11
Saying sorry to Allah
Everybody does wrong. What makes a Muslim is turning back quickly — and Allah loves being asked for forgiveness.
1The Prophet ﷺ did it daily
He said: by Allah, I seek Allah's forgiveness and turn to Him in repentance more than seventy times a day — and he had no sins.
2Nobody is beyond it
Allah tells His servants who wronged themselves never to despair of His mercy, because He forgives all sins.
3What tawbah means
Stop the wrong, feel sorry for it, ask Allah, and intend not to return to it — and if it harmed a person, put it right with them too.
4Allah is happy about it
The Prophet ﷺ described Allah's pleasure at a servant's repentance as greater than the joy of a man who lost his camel with all his food and water in the desert and then found it standing in front of him.
5The easiest words
Astaghfirullah — I ask Allah for forgiveness. Say it when you slip, straight away.
“Say, "O My servants who have transgressed against themselves [by sinning], do not despair of the mercy of Allah. Indeed, Allah forgives all sins. Indeed, it is He who is the Forgiving, the Merciful."”
Wa anis taghfiroo Rabbakum summa toobooo ilaihi yumatti'kum mataa'an hasanan ilaaa ajalim musammanw wa yu'ti kulla zee fadlin fadlahoo wa in tawallaw fa inneee akhaafu 'alaikum 'azaaba Yawmin Kabeer
“And [saying], "Seek forgiveness of your Lord and repent to Him, [and] He will let you enjoy a good provision for a specified term and give every doer of favor his favor. But if you turn away, then indeed, I fear for you the punishment of a great Day.”
“By Allah, I seek Allah's forgiveness and turn to Him in repentance more than seventy times a day.”
Sahih al-Bukhari 6307
“Allah is more pleased with the repentance of a servant as he turns towards Him for repentance than this that one amongst you is upon the camel in a waterless desert and there is upon that camel his provision of food and drink also and it is lost by him.”
Sahih Muslim 2747
Memorise this
أَسْتَغْفِرُ اللَّهَ
Astaghfirullah
I ask Allah for forgiveness.
Sahih al-Bukhari 6307
Do this before next time
Say Astaghfirullah ten times before sleep, and put right one thing you did wrong to someone today.
Lesson 5 · It comes back to you · ages 8-11
Dua for other people
When you make dua for someone who is not with you, an angel says: and the same for you.
1The hadith
The Prophet ﷺ said that when a Muslim makes dua for his absent brother, an appointed angel says: ameen, and the same for you.
2So it is never wasted
Even if you never find out what happened to them, the dua returned to you as well.
3Start with your parents
Allah teaches the dua: my Lord, have mercy on them as they brought me up.
4Then everyone else
Teachers, friends, a sick classmate, Muslims suffering far away, and people who were unkind to you.
5Do not pray against people in anger
The Prophet ﷺ warned against a person praying against himself, his children or his wealth in a moment of anger.
Allahu laaa ilaaha illaa Huwal Haiyul Qaiyoom; laa taakhuzuhoo sinatunw wa laa nawm; lahoo maa fissamaawaati wa maa fil ard; man zal lazee yashfa'u indahooo illaa bi-iznih; ya'lamu maa baina aydeehim wa mww khalfahum wa laa yuheetoona bishai'im min 'ilmihee illaa bimaa shaaa'; wasi'a Kursiyyuhus samaawaati wal arda wa laa ya'ooduho hifzuhumaa; wa Huwal Aliyyul 'Azeem
“Allah - there is no deity except Him, the Ever-Living, the Sustainer of [all] existence. Neither drowsiness overtakes Him nor sleep. To Him belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth. Who is it that can intercede with Him except by His permission? He knows what is [presently] before them and what will be after them, and they encompass not a thing of His knowledge except for what He wills. His Kursi extends over the heavens and the earth, and their preservation tires Him not. And He is the Most High, the Most Great.”
“When you go to bed, recite Ayat al-Kursi... a guardian will be appointed to guard you from Allah until the morning.”
Sahih al-Bukhari 2311
Do this before next time
Learn al-Falaq and an-Nas by heart if you have not yet, and say them every night before sleep.
Every ayah on this page comes from the Tanzil Uthmani text of the Qur'an with the Sahih International translation, and every hadith carries its collection and number so you can check it yourself. Back to the learning path
