Adhkar (singular: dhikr) are the short remembrances of Allah that the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said at fixed points of the day. The morning and evening sets are the best known of them, and they have a quality most acts of worship do not: they cost almost nothing in time, they need no preparation, and they can be said while walking to the bus stop or standing at the kitchen sink.
This page gives the widely practised set, each with the Arabic, a transliteration for anyone still learning to read the script, the meaning in ordinary English, and the collection the narration comes from. Read the meaning first. A dua you understand is a different thing from a dua you merely pronounce.
When are the morning and evening adhkar said?
The morning window runs from after the Fajr prayer until sunrise, and the evening window from after Asr until sunset. Scholars have differed slightly on the outer edges of both, and some extend the evening until after Isha. The practical guidance for a family is simple: attach them to a prayer you already pray. Say the morning set on the prayer mat after Fajr before you fold it away, and the evening set after Asr. If the window passes and you have not said them, say them anyway — the time is preferred, not a condition of validity.
Do I have to say all of them?
No, and it is worth saying that plainly, because the length of a printed adhkar book puts people off before they start. The narrations are separate recommendations, not a single required liturgy. A person who says Ayat al-Kursi and the three short surahs of protection every morning and evening is practising the Sunnah completely. Adding more is good; treating the full list as a hurdle you must clear or fail is not how these were taught.
Our own suggestion for families starting out: take the first two entries below for a month. Add one more when those are automatic. Within a year you will have the whole set without a single difficult day.
The morning and evening adhkar
Where a number of repetitions is given, it comes from the narration itself.
Ayat al-Kursi · Once, morning and evening
اللَّهُ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا هُوَ الْحَيُّ الْقَيُّومُ
Allahu la ilaha illa huwal-Hayyul-Qayyum…
Allah — there is no god but He, the Ever-Living, the Sustainer of all. (Recite the full verse.)
Source: Quran 2:255
Al-Ikhlas, Al-Falaq, An-Nas · Three times each
قُلْ هُوَ اللَّهُ أَحَدٌ … قُلْ أَعُوذُ بِرَبِّ الْفَلَقِ … قُلْ أَعُوذُ بِرَبِّ النَّاسِ
Qul huwa Allahu ahad… Qul a'udhu bi-Rabbil-falaq… Qul a'udhu bi-Rabbin-nas
The three short surahs of protection, recited together.
Source: Quran 112, 113, 114 · Abu Dawud, Tirmidhi
Sayyid al-Istighfar — the finest way to seek forgiveness · Once, morning and evening
اللَّهُمَّ أَنْتَ رَبِّي لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا أَنْتَ خَلَقْتَنِي وَأَنَا عَبْدُكَ
Allahumma anta Rabbi la ilaha illa anta, khalaqtani wa ana 'abduk…
O Allah, You are my Lord. There is no god but You. You created me and I am Your servant.
Source: Sahih al-Bukhari
Entering the morning / the evening · Once
أَصْبَحْنَا وَأَصْبَحَ الْمُلْكُ لِلَّهِ وَالْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ
Asbahna wa asbahal-mulku lillah, wal-hamdu lillah
We have entered the morning and the dominion belongs to Allah, and all praise is for Allah. (In the evening: Amsayna wa amsal-mulku lillah.)
Source: Sahih Muslim
Protection from harm · Three times
بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الَّذِي لَا يَضُرُّ مَعَ اسْمِهِ شَيْءٌ فِي الْأَرْضِ وَلَا فِي السَّمَاءِ وَهُوَ السَّمِيعُ الْعَلِيمُ
Bismillahil-ladhi la yadurru ma'asmihi shay'un fil-ardi wa la fis-sama', wa huwas-Sami'ul-'Alim
In the name of Allah, with whose name nothing on earth or in heaven can cause harm — and He is the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing.
Source: Abu Dawud, Tirmidhi
Contentment with Allah, Islam and His Messenger · Three times
رَضِيتُ بِاللَّهِ رَبًّا وَبِالْإِسْلَامِ دِينًا وَبِمُحَمَّدٍ نَبِيًّا
Radhitu billahi Rabban, wa bil-Islami dinan, wa bi-Muhammadin nabiyya
I am content with Allah as my Lord, with Islam as my religion, and with Muhammad as my Prophet.
Source: Abu Dawud, Tirmidhi
Glorifying Allah · One hundred times
سُبْحَانَ اللَّهِ وَبِحَمْدِهِ
Subhanallahi wa bihamdih
Glory be to Allah, and praise be to Him.
Source: Sahih al-Bukhari, Sahih Muslim
Asking for well-being · Once
اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَسْأَلُكَ الْعَافِيَةَ فِي الدُّنْيَا وَالْآخِرَةِ
Allahumma inni as'alukal-'afiyata fid-dunya wal-akhirah
O Allah, I ask You for well-being in this world and the next.
Source: Abu Dawud, Ibn Majah
Seeking Allah's help · Once
يَا حَيُّ يَا قَيُّومُ بِرَحْمَتِكَ أَسْتَغِيثُ
Ya Hayyu ya Qayyumu bi-rahmatika astaghith
O Ever-Living, O Sustainer, by Your mercy I seek help.
Source: Tirmidhi
Evening protection · Three times in the evening
أَعُوذُ بِكَلِمَاتِ اللَّهِ التَّامَّاتِ مِنْ شَرِّ مَا خَلَقَ
A'udhu bikalimatillahit-tammati min sharri ma khalaq
I seek refuge in the perfect words of Allah from the evil of what He has created.
Source: Sahih Muslim
About the sources on this page
Every dua below is given with the collection it comes from — Sahih al-Bukhari, Sahih Muslim, Abu Dawud, Tirmidhi, Ibn Majah — or, where it is from the Quran, with its exact surah and verse. We cite collections rather than hadith numbers on purpose: numbering differs between printings, and a wrong number helps nobody. If you want to trace a narration to its exact place, ask your teacher or an imam you trust, and check it in a printed collection you have to hand. This page is a learning aid for families, not a substitute for a scholar.
How to teach these to children
Children do not learn adhkar from being told to learn adhkar. They learn them from hearing a parent say them out loud, in the same place, at the same time, every day. That is the entire method, and it works with remarkable reliability.
Three things make it go faster. Say it aloud rather than silently, so there is something to copy. Give the meaning in English once, in words a child that age would use themselves. And do not test them — a child who is quizzed on a dua learns that dua is an exam, which is precisely the association you do not want. They will join in when they are ready, usually much sooner than you expect.
If your child is also learning to read the Arabic script, the adhkar are excellent early practice, because the vocabulary repeats and they already know what the words mean. That is the same principle our Noorani Qaida classes are built on — recognition first, then fluency.
What time should I say the morning adhkar?
After the Fajr prayer, ideally before sunrise. If you miss that window, say them when you remember — the preferred time is a recommendation, not a condition for them to count.
What time are the evening adhkar said?
After the Asr prayer until sunset. Some scholars extend the window until after Isha, so saying them later in the evening is still within a recognised position.
Do I have to say all of the adhkar every day?
No. These are separate recommended remembrances, not one required liturgy. Ayat al-Kursi and the three surahs of protection, said morning and evening, is already a complete and sound practice.
Can I say the adhkar in English instead of Arabic?
You can and should understand them in English, and there is reward in remembering Allah in any language. But the specific narrated wordings are in Arabic, so the usual practice is to say the Arabic and know the meaning.
What is the difference between adhkar and dua?
Dua is asking Allah for something. Dhikr is remembrance of Allah — praising Him, glorifying Him, affirming His oneness. Most of the morning and evening set is dhikr, and some entries are both.
At what age can a child start the adhkar?
As soon as they can repeat a short phrase, which for most children is around three or four. Start with one dua, said aloud by the parent at the same moment each day.
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