Dua for What Is Best in Life and Death
Explanation
This is the dua in which a person asks for what is best concerning his own life and death. Dying whenever we wish is not in our hands; but we must take refuge in Allah and ask Him for both of these. For death comes from Him, and so does life.
Dua Text
اَللّٰهُمَّ أَحْيِنِي مَا كَانَتِ الْحَيَاةُ خَيْرًا لِي وَتَوَفَّنِي إِذَا كَانَتِ الْوَفَاةُ خَيْرًا لِي
Transliteration
Allahumma ahyini ma kanatil-hayatu khayran li wa tawaffani idha kanatil-wafatu khayran li.
Meaning
O Allah, keep me alive as long as living is good for me, and take my life when death is good for me.
What Is Asked in This Dua
To live as long as life is good, and to die when death is good; that is, one asks neither for life nor for death as such, but for whatever is good for us.
When and How to Recite
The source book gives no specific time; it can be recited when one thinks about one’s own death, during illness and at any time.
Virtue
The source book states that this dua is very thought-provoking: if living is good for us, we should ask to live, and if our death is good for us, we should ask for our death.
Frequently Asked Questions
How should one make dua about one's own death?
With the dua “Allahumma ahyini ma kanatil-hayatu khayran li…”, one asks for what is best in life and death.
Is it permissible to wish for death?
This dua does not ask for death but for what is good for us: to live if living is good, and to die if death is good.
What does this dua mean?
O Allah, keep me alive as long as living is good for me, and take my life when death is good for me.
Source
Büyük Dua Kitabı (Great Book of Duas), Duas Related to Death and Funerals.
The text on this page was prepared by Dua Kitaplığı based on the work cited above. The Arabic text has been transcribed from the original with its vowel marks, and the transliteration in Latin letters and the English meaning are given separately. No virtue or number that does not appear in the source is added to this page. How do we prepare our content?
Published: 24 September 2026 · Last updated: 9 October 2026
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