Allahummaghfir lil Muslimina wal Muslimat: Meaning, Hadith Reward & When to Recite

Allahummaghfir lil Muslimina wal Muslimat is a comprehensive Sunnah dua that asks Allah to forgive every Muslim man and woman, every believing man and woman, both those who are alive and those who have passed away. The Prophet ﷺ promised that whoever recites it earns a recorded good deed for every Muslim he or she asks forgiveness for. Its foundation runs deeper than a single hadith. Allah Himself commanded this prayer in Surah Muhammad, ayah 19, and three earlier Prophets are recorded in the Qur’an making essentially the same dua for their communities.

Allahummaghfir lil Muslimina wal Muslimat: Arabic, Transliteration & Meaning

The full dua names four overlapping groups of believers in one sweep: Muslim men, Muslim women, believing men, believing women, and within each of these, those who are still alive and those who have died. Both Muslim and Mu’min appear deliberately. Muslim points to outward submission to Islam, while Mu’min points to the inner conviction of faith. By naming both, the dua covers every shade of belief in the ummah without leaving any believer outside its scope.

In Arabic

The dua is recited in Arabic as follows. With diacritics for accurate pronunciation:

اللَّهُمَّ اغْفِرْ لِلْمُسْلِمِينَ وَالْمُسْلِمَاتِ ، وَالْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَالْمُؤْمِنَاتِ ، الأَحْيَاءِ مِنْهُمْ وَالأَمْوَاتِ

And without diacritics, as it commonly appears in modern Arabic texts:

اللهم اغفر للمسلمين والمسلمات والمؤمنين والمؤمنات الأحياء منهم والأموات

Transliteration

Allahummaghfir Lil Muslimina wal Muslimat, wal Mu’minina wal Mu’minat, Al Ahya’i Minhum wal Amwat

Some readers also search for it as “Allahummaghfirli muslimina wal muslimat” or “Allahummaghfir lil mu’minina wal mu’minat.” These are spelling variants of the same supplication and refer to the same Sunnah dua.

English Meaning

“O Allah, forgive all Muslim men and Muslim women, the believing men and the believing women, those who are alive among them and those who have died.”

The Qur’anic Foundation: Why Allah Commanded This Dua

Allah did not leave seeking forgiveness for fellow believers as an optional good deed. He commanded it directly. In Surah Muhammad, ayah 19, Allah addresses His Messenger ﷺ:

فَاعْلَمْ أَنَّهُ لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ وَاسْتَغْفِرْ لِذَنْبِكَ وَلِلْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَالْمُؤْمِنَاتِ

“So know, [O Muhammad], that there is no deity except Allah, and ask forgiveness for your sin and for the believing men and the believing women.” (Surah Muhammad, ayah 19)

This single ayah is the strongest anchor for the entire practice. If the Prophet ﷺ, the most beloved to Allah and the most forgiven, was instructed to seek forgiveness for the believing men and women, that places this dua among the highest acts of worship for every Muslim who came after him.

Three earlier Prophets are also recorded in the Qur’an making essentially the same prayer, which shows the continuity of this dua across revelation:

• Surah Nuh, ayah 28, Prophet Nuh’s dua: “My Lord, forgive me and my parents and whoever enters my house a believer, and the believing men and the believing women, and do not increase the wrongdoers except in destruction.”
• Surah Ibrahim, ayah 41, Prophet Ibrahim’s dua at the foot of the Ka’bah: “Our Lord, forgive me and my parents and the believers the Day the account is established.”
• Surah al-Hashr, ayah 10, the dua of later generations of believers for the earlier ones: “Our Lord, forgive us and our brothers who preceded us in faith, and put not in our hearts any resentment toward those who have believed.”

Three Prophets and the believing community after them all asked for collective forgiveness in nearly identical wording. Allahummaghfir lil Muslimina wal Muslimat extends that same tradition into the Prophetic Sunnah.

The Hadith and Its Authenticity

The most well-known hadith on this dua is reported in Musnad al-Shamiyin (hadith 2118) by the hadith scholar Imam al-Tabarani, with a parallel narration in his Mu’jam al-Kabir (volume 19, hadith 909). The chain runs back to the Companion Ubadah ibn al-Samit (RA), who heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ say:

“Whoever seeks forgiveness for the believing men and the believing women, Allah will record for him a good deed by each man and woman.”

Ubadah ibn al-Samit (RA), Musnad al-Shamiyin 2118, At-Tabarani

Two of the most respected hadith authorities have graded this narration favourably. Imam al-Haythami, in his Majma’ al-Zawa’id (volume 10, page 210), called the chain Jayyid (very good). Shaykh Muhammad Nasir al-Din al-Albani, in his Sahih al-Jami’, graded it Hasan (good). Both gradings place the hadith within the range that scholars accept for practice and for use in supplication.

A minority of muhaddithun have noted minor weakness in some links of the chain, but the consensus among scholars who reviewed it is that the hadith is suitable for both practice and quoting. Even those who treat the chain cautiously accept that the Qur’anic command in Surah Muhammad, ayah 19, makes the underlying practice undeniably Sunnah. In other words, the dua stands either way: through the Qur’an directly, or through the hadith that confirms a specific reward attached to it.

The Reward Explained: A Good Deed for Every Muslim Man and Woman

The Prophet’s ﷺ promise is mathematical: one recorded good deed for each Muslim man and each Muslim woman included in the dua. The wording of the dua is itself the multiplier. By saying “lil-muslimina wal-muslimat, wal-mu’minina wal-mu’minat, al-ahya’i minhum wal-amwat,” the dua names every Muslim and every Mu’min across history, regardless of language, race, or generation.

Pew Research estimated the global Muslim population at roughly 1.9 billion in 2022, and projected it to reach about 2.2 billion by 2030. Add to that the deceased Muslims from every generation since the time of Prophet Adam (AS), and the number expands well beyond any conservative estimate. In the strict reading of this hadith, a single sincere recitation places a recorded good deed against the reciter’s name for each one of them.

There is a second mechanism that amplifies the effect. In Sahih Muslim, hadith 2733, the Prophet ﷺ taught that whenever a Muslim makes dua for another Muslim in his absence, an angel says, “Ameen, and may you have the same.” When that dua names billions of fellow believers in absence, the corresponding angelic response is impossible to enumerate, but it is recorded with Allah in full.

This is why classical scholars treated Allahummaghfir lil Muslimina wal Muslimat as one of the easiest paths to a vast volume of recorded good deeds. The mouth moves once. The reward writes itself many times.

When and How to Recite Allahummaghfir lil Muslimina wal Muslimat

The hadith from Musnad al-Shamiyin does not prescribe a specific time or count. That openness is itself a Sunnah signal: this dua belongs in every gathering with Allah, not in one slot of the day. Common moments that scholars have encouraged are:

• After each of the five daily prayers, as part of the post-salah adhkar, after the standard tasbihat.
• During the Friday khutbah, where many khateebs include it in their closing dua for the ummah.
• In the depths of the night during qiyam, when the doors of acceptance are wide open and istighfar is especially encouraged.
• At the conclusion of one’s personal duas, after asking Allah for one’s own needs, so the dua for the ummah is not forgotten.
• When visiting a graveyard or remembering deceased Muslim relatives. The dua’s own wording includes “al-amwat” (the deceased), so it is especially apt in this setting. This overlaps in spirit with the wider category of dua for the deceased in the Sunnah.

A second narration attributed to Abu al-Darda (RA), recorded in al-Tabarani’s Mu’jam al-Awsat, mentions a specific count: whoever seeks forgiveness for the believing men and women twenty-five times daily (in another version, twenty-seven times) will have his own duas answered and will be among those by whom Allah grants provision to the people of the earth. Some hadith scholars consider the chain of this longer narration weak, so the specific count is not a binding sunnah. Treat it as encouragement, not an obligation, and recite the dua as often as your heart can hold the meaning.

Is This Dua Valid for Non-Muslims?

The wording of the dua answers this question on its own. It names “al-muslimina wal-muslimat, al-mu’minina wal-mu’minat,” meaning Muslim men and women, believing men and women. People who lived and died upon disbelief sit outside this scope by the dua’s own definition.

The deeper ruling comes from Surah at-Tawbah, ayat 113-114, where Allah explicitly prohibits the Prophet ﷺ and the believers from seeking forgiveness for those who died upon shirk (associating partners with Allah), even if they were close relatives. The ayah was revealed after the death of the Prophet’s ﷺ uncle Abu Talib, who had defended him for years but died refusing to embrace Islam. The Prophet ﷺ had wished to seek forgiveness for him, and the verse closed that door clearly. Istighfar belongs to those who lived and died on iman.

For non-Muslims who are still alive, the appropriate dua is different. A Muslim may, and should, ask Allah for their guidance, since guidance is in Allah’s hands and a living person can still accept Islam. The wording then becomes “Allahumma ihdihi” (O Allah, guide him) or similar phrasing, not “Allahummaghfir lahu” (O Allah, forgive him). Asking for forgiveness for a living disbeliever, in the view of most classical scholars, requires that the forgiveness be conditional on his coming to faith.

Allahummaghfir lil Muslimina wal Muslimat is therefore a dua scoped tightly and intentionally to the believing community. Its boundaries are not narrow-mindedness; they reflect the Qur’an’s own ruling on whom istighfar serves.

Allahummaghfir lil Muslimina vs Allahummaghfirli Waliwalidayya: What’s the Difference?

Both supplications seek forgiveness, but they target different audiences and rest on different sources. Knowing when to use each one is part of mastering the Prophetic vocabulary of dua.

Allahummaghfirli Waliwalidayya (رَبِّ اغْفِرْ لِي وَلِوَالِدَيَّ) is the dua of Prophet Ibrahim recorded in Surah Ibrahim, ayah 41: “Our Lord, forgive me and my parents and the believers the Day the account is established.” Its primary focus is the reciter and his or her own parents. Children are encouraged to recite it daily, especially for parents who have passed away, since it sits among the deeds that continue to benefit the deceased.

Allahummaghfir lil Muslimina wal Muslimat is wider. It targets the entire ummah, every Muslim and every Mu’min, anywhere on earth, living or deceased. Its Sunnah anchor is the hadith of Ubadah ibn al-Samit in Musnad al-Shamiyin, with the Qur’anic backing of Surah Muhammad, ayah 19.

In practice, many Muslims combine both: “Allahummaghfirli waliwalidayya wa lil-muslimina wal-muslimat” covers self, parents, and the entire ummah in one breath. The Qur’an itself models this combination in Ibrahim’s dua, where “me, my parents, and the believers” are named together.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is there a Qur’anic ayah that commands seeking forgiveness for believing men and women?

Yes. Surah Muhammad, ayah 19, commands the Prophet ﷺ directly with the words “wa staghfir li-dhanbika wa lil-mu’minina wal-mu’minat,” which translate as “and ask forgiveness for your sin and for the believing men and the believing women.” This makes the practice a divinely instructed act, not just a recommended supererogatory dua. Three other ayahs reinforce it: Surah Nuh 71:28, Surah Ibrahim 14:41, and Surah al-Hashr 59:10. The Qur’anic foundation is the reason scholars consider this dua a confirmed Sunnah, regardless of how strictly one judges the hadith chain.

Can I make this dua for non-Muslims?

No. The dua’s wording names only “muslimina wal-muslimat, wal-mu’minina wal-mu’minat,” which excludes those who lived and died on disbelief. Surah at-Tawbah, ayat 113-114, explicitly prohibits seeking forgiveness for those who died upon shirk, even if they were close relatives. For non-Muslims who are still alive, ask Allah for their guidance instead (“Allahumma ihdihi”); guidance remains possible as long as a person is alive and able to accept Islam.

What’s the difference between “Muslim” and “Mu’min” in this dua?

“Muslim” refers to one who has submitted outwardly to Islam, taken the shahadah, and follows its laws. “Mu’min” refers to one who has also internalized faith with conviction in the heart. The Qur’an itself draws this distinction in Surah al-Hujurat, ayah 14, where the Bedouins are corrected for claiming iman when only Islam had entered their hearts. The dua names both categories deliberately, so that no believer is left out, whether his Islam is publicly known, his iman is hidden, or he stands somewhere on the spectrum between the two.

How many times a day should I recite Allahummaghfir lil Muslimina wal Muslimat?

The primary hadith in Musnad al-Shamiyin 2118 does not set a fixed number. A second narration attributed to Abu al-Darda (RA) in al-Tabarani’s Mu’jam al-Awsat mentions twenty-five times daily (and in another version, twenty-seven) with a special virtue: acceptance of one’s duas and being counted among those through whom Allah grants provision to the earth’s people. Some hadith scholars consider that longer narration’s chain weak, so the count is encouragement rather than a binding sunnah. Recite as often as your heart engages with its meaning.

Is the hadith about this dua authentic?

Yes, according to the majority position. Imam al-Haythami, in Majma’ al-Zawa’id (10/210), graded the hadith Jayyid (very good). Shaykh al-Albani, in Sahih al-Jami’, graded it Hasan (good). A minority of muhaddithun have noted minor weakness in some links of the chain, but the consensus among scholars who studied it is that the hadith is suitable for practice and for quoting in supplication. Independent of the hadith’s chain, the Qur’anic command in Surah Muhammad, ayah 19, anchors the practice directly.

Can I recite this dua for someone who has passed away?

Yes, the dua includes the deceased explicitly. Its closing phrase “al-ahya’i minhum wal-amwat” means “those who are alive among them and those who have died.” This makes it one of the few daily supplications that, by its own wording, includes deceased Muslims in its scope. Reciting it after the burial of a Muslim, when visiting a graveyard, or simply when remembering deceased Muslim relatives is well-established practice and falls under the wider Sunnah of dua for the deceased.