Prayers for Studying

Prayers for Studying

For a Muslim, the best practice during study sessions and examinations is to prepare diligently while placing their trust in Allah – the Almighty. Although there are no specific prayers that are traditionally associated with studying and exams, Muslims can call upon Allah with a variety of supplications tailored to their circumstances, including those aimed at easing one’s affairs.

Additionally, there are numerous commonly recited prayers that many people find beneficial in this context, along with the ability to make personal supplications in any permissible manner. The realm of prayer is vast, and below, we present some of these supplications, noting that the following categorization is subjective and elective:

• Prayers Before Studying
  • “O Allah, I ask You for the understanding of the prophets and the memorization of the closest angels.”
  • “O Allah, make my tongue abundant in Your remembrance, my heart filled with Your fear, and my secrets inclined towards obedience to You; Verily, You are capable of everything, and You are sufficient for us as a guardian.”

• Prayers After Studying
  • “O Allah, benefit me with what You have taught me, teach me what is beneficial for me, and grant me knowledge that will serve me.”
  • “O Allah, I entrust to You what I have read, memorized, and learned. Bring it back to me when I need it; indeed, You are capable of all things.”
  • “O Allah, I entrust to You what I am learning; return it to me in my moment of need and do not let me forget it, O Lord of the worlds.”

• Prayers Before the Exam
  • “My Lord, admit me through a truthful entrance and bring me out through a truthful exit, and grant me from Yourself a supportive authority.”
  • “O Allah, open to me the doors of Your wisdom, show me mercy with Your mercy, guide me, and grant me success in what You love and are pleased with.”
  • “O Allah, I place my trust in You and submit my affairs to You; there is no refuge or escape from You except to You.”

• Prayers During the Examination
  • “My Lord, expand my chest for me, ease my affairs, and untie the knot from my tongue so they may understand my words.”
  • “O Allah, nothing is easy except what You have made easy, and You make sorrow easy whenever You wish.”
  • “O Allah, I ask You to ease this exam for me and to grant what is best in it; indeed, You are capable of everything.”

• Prayers When Forgetting an Answer
  • “O Allah, You who gathers people on the Day of no doubt, gather for me what I have lost.”
  • “O Allah, remind me of what I have forgotten, loosen my tongue with it, and strengthen my resolve with it, by Your power and strength, as there is no power or strength except with You, O Most Merciful of the merciful.”

• Prayers After Submitting the Exam
  • “All praise is due to Allah who has guided us to this, and we would not have been guided had Allah not guided us.”
  • “O Allah, accept this knowledge from me and make every letter and word I study sincere for Your noble face, and do not let me become arrogant due to my knowledge and abilities.”

Affirmative Prayers for Easing Affairs

A Muslim can engage in frequent prayer with general supplications pertaining to easing affairs before and after studying, as these are deemed beneficial by the grace of Allah. Some of these supplications include:

Quranic Supplications

Among the general Quranic prayers that one can invoke during and after studying are:

• “Our Lord, grant us in this world goodness and in the Hereafter goodness, and protect us from the torment of the Fire.”
• “Our Lord, do not impose blame upon us if we forget or make mistakes; our Lord, lay not upon us a burden like that which You laid upon those before us. Our Lord, and burden us not with that which we have no ability to bear, and pardon us and forgive us and have mercy upon us; You are our protector, so give us victory over the disbelieving people.”
• “Our Lord, provide us from Yourself mercy and prepare for us from our affair right guidance.”
• “Our Lord, accept from us; indeed, You are the Hearing, the Knowing.”
• “Our Lord, upon You we have relied, and to You we have turned in repentance, and to You is the final destination.”
• “There is no deity except You; Exalted are You. Indeed, I have been of the wrongdoers.”

Prophetic Supplications

Among the general supplications from the Sunnah that can be recited during and after studying are:

• “O Allah, I ask You for beneficial knowledge, good sustenance, and accepted deeds.”
• “O Ever-Living, O Sustainer, I seek help through Your mercy; rectify all of my affairs for me, and do not leave me to myself even for the blink of an eye.”
• “O Allah, I hope for Your mercy, so do not leave me to myself even for the blink of an eye, and rectify all of my affairs; there is no deity except You.”
• “O Allah, I seek refuge in You from worry and sadness, and from incapacity and laziness, and from cowardice and stinginess, and from burdens of debt and overpowering men.”
• “O Allah, rectify for me my religion, which is the safeguard of my affairs, and rectify for me my worldly life, which is where I seek my livelihood, and rectify for me my Hereafter, which is my return.”
• “O Allah, remover of worry, reliever of distress, responder to the call of the distressed, Merciful in this world and the Hereafter, You are the Most Merciful; have mercy on me with a mercy that will suffice me against the mercy of anyone other than You.”