Supplication for Virtuous Offspring: Quranic Supplications 13
During Ramadan 2023, Sheikh Faraz Rabbani gave a series of daily video talks on supplications in the Quran. This series of articles are drawn from those talks and the related eBook. This article is about asking for virtuous offspring. The video series can be viewed here.
رَبِّ هَبْ لِى مِن لَّدُنكَ ذُرِّيَّةًۭ طَيِّبَةً ۖ إِنَّكَ سَمِيعُ ٱلدُّعَآءِ
“My Lord, bestow me from You Yourself goodly offspring;Verily You are the Hearer of prayers.” [Quran, 3:38]
When we turn to Allah by saying: “O my Lord,” this should fill us with faithful marvel that the One who is the Creator and Sustainer at every moment of all that exists is also my Lord – the One who cares for me – “gift me from You Yourself goodly offspring.”
You may be single, wondering if you’ll ever get married, if you’ll ever have children. You may be married and concerned whether you will ever have children. Or you have children and you’re concerned about their worldly and religious good. Or you may be one who never got married, who doesn’t have children. Even then, you can make this supplication and get the reward of it in the next life. The believer is never at loss.
The Marvel of Life
What do we ask for when we seek? It’s a very natural, human impulse to have children. We see them as a gift from Allah. “O my Lord, gift me from You Yourself” – رَبِّ هَبْ لِي. It’s a marvel how two people come together. It’s a marvel how a child is born. It’s a marvel how from a helpless little child you will have an adult who is a believer, who is a person pursuing their good in life. It’s a tremendous gift from God.
“Wholesome good children,” – ذُرِّيَّةً طَيِّبَةً. But it’s not only your children, it’s offspring until the end of time. That’s the word: ذُرِّيَّةً. Because we don’t just seek the immediate good, we seek eternal good. “Indeed, You are the All-hearing of all supplications,” – إِنَّكَ سَمِيعُ الدُّعَاءِ. Because the answer to our calls to Allah are guaranteed. How the answers manifest, that is not up to us as servants of God.
What We Seek from Allah
You may get what you seek, or you may get better than what you seek, or harm may be prevented from you in this life to the extent of what you sought. Or the very least of the answer, and actually the best of the answer is that your supplication be stored as eternal reward in the Hereafter. Indeed you are the All-hearing of supplication.
Our dua, our supplication, is not only a calling upon Allah out of need, but it’s also a reminder to ourselves of what we need and a resolve to live the meanings of what we seek from Allah. May Allah grant us goodly offspring and make us live the good life towards the eternal good.
Praise be to Allah, Lord of all the worlds.
