Request Du'a for Guidance at Al-Aqsa Mosque

Guidance is the one request almost everyone makes, including in every unit of prayer: "Guide us to the straight path" (Quran 1:6). It is also the request people find hardest to put into words, because the need is often vague. A decision you cannot make. A direction that has gone dim. A relative you worry about.

If you would like that request raised at Al-Aqsa Mosque, in your name or someone else's, this page explains the process. The du'a texts that ask for guidance are in our guide to everyday du'a. Come here to ask for the du'a to be made, and go there to learn what to say yourself.

What "guidance" can mean in a request

The word covers several different needs, and the intention reads better when it picks one.

Each has a different centre of gravity. The first is closest to istikhara, and the others are closer to a du'a for steadfastness.

Istikhara and this request are not the same

Istikhara is the prayer taught by the Prophet ﷺ for a decision between permissible options, prayed by the person who must decide (Bukhari 6382). The du'a includes the instruction that you name the matter in the du'a. Nobody can pray it on your behalf.

What this request offers is something else: a du'a made for you at Al-Aqsa, asking that Allah guide you, ease the path and give you a good outcome. It supports your istikhara. It does not replace it, and it does not tell you what to choose.

How to request it

1. Pick a package on the prayer page.

2. Pay via Stripe or PayPal.

3. Complete the names form with each name and intention.

4. The du'a is made by name at Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem.

5. A video comes to your email, usually within 48 to 72 hours.

Before work on the order begins, you can contact us to review a cancellation or a full refund. See the refund policy.

Wording that fits a guidance request

Specific is better than abstract. Examples:

For Khalid. He has two job offers and is unsure. Guidance to the choice that is best for his religion and his family.

For my daughter Maryam, who is drifting from prayer. Guidance and a soft heart.

For myself. Clarity about whether to move abroad, and contentment with what Allah decides.

For our family, at the start of a new year. Guidance, health and good company.

Notice that none of these tells Allah what the answer should be. The Prophet ﷺ taught the opposite: "...and decree for me the good wherever it may be, then make me content with it" (Bukhari 6382).

Texts worth knowing, and what we do not claim

The Prophet's request for guidance (Muslim 2721):

«اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَسْأَلُكَ الْهُدَى وَالتُّقَى وَالْعَفَافَ وَالْغِنَى»

Steadfastness of heart (Quran 3:8):

«رَبَّنَا لَا تُزِغْ قُلُوبَنَا بَعْدَ إِذْ هَدَيْتَنَا وَهَبْ لَنَا مِن لَّدُنكَ رَحْمَةً»

Asking another to make du'a. The Prophet ﷺ said that a Muslim's du'a for his brother in his absence is answered (Muslim 2733), and he told Umar to seek Uways al-Qarni's forgiveness (Muslim 2542).

We do not claim that a du'a will change someone's mind or produce a result. Guidance is a gift from Allah, as the Quran says: «إِنَّكَ لَا تَهْدِي مَنْ أَحْبَبْتَ وَلَٰكِنَّ اللَّهَ يَهْدِي مَن يَشَاءُ» (28:56). The du'a asks. Allah answers.

Asking for yourself too

A request for someone else's guidance should not leave the requester out. The Prophet ﷺ used to say: «اللَّهُمَّ آتِ نَفْسِي تَقْوَاهَا، وَزَكِّهَا أَنْتَ خَيْرُ مَنْ زَكَّاهَا، أَنْتَ وَلِيُّهَا وَمَوْلاَهَا» ("O Allah, grant my soul its piety and purify it, You are the best to purify it, You are its guardian and master", Muslim 2722).

A father asking for a wayward son, or a friend asking for another friend, is usually also asking, quietly, for the patience to keep being kind. Add that to the intention if it is true. The everyday du'a guide has more texts of this kind.

Questions