Laylatul Qadr Dua: Arabic, Transliteration & Meaning

The Laylatul Qadr dua is Allahumma innaka ‘afuwwun tuhibbul-‘afwa, fa’fu ‘anni. It means “O Allah, You are Forgiving and love forgiveness, so forgive me”. The Prophet ﷺ taught it to ‘A’ishah when she asked what to say if she found the night.

The dua is at the top of this page in Arabic, transliteration and English. Below: the hadith it comes from, what each phrase means, the two questions people ask about its wording, and when to look for the night.

Where does the Laylatul Qadr dua come from?

It comes from a hadith of ‘A’ishah, recorded in Sunan Ibn Majah and Jami’ at-Tirmidhi:

What to say on Laylatul Qadr Sahih (Darussalam)

"O Messenger of Allah, what do you think I should say in my supplication, if I come upon Laylatul-Qadr?" He said: "Say: 'Allahumma innaka 'afuwwun tuhibbul-'afwa, fa'fu 'anni (O Allah, You are Forgiving and love forgiveness, so forgive me).'"

Ibn Kathir ends his tafsir of Surah Al-Qadr with this hadith. He writes that it’s recommended to supplicate often, especially in the last ten nights of Ramadan and in their odd nights. He adds that this dua is the one to say a lot.

What does the dua mean?

It asks Allah for pardon, by one of His names. Al-‘Afuww is the Pardoner, number 82 of the 99 names of Allah. Phrase by phrase, following the translation of Jami’ at-Tirmidhi on sunnah.com:

Arabic	Transliteration	Meaning
اللَّهُمَّ	Allahumma	O Allah
إِنَّكَ عَفُوٌّ	innaka ‘afuwwun	indeed You are Pardoning
تُحِبُّ الْعَفْوَ	tuhibbul-‘afwa	You love pardon
فَاعْفُ عَنِّي	fa’fu ‘anni	so pardon me

Ibn Majah’s translator uses “Forgiving” and “forgiveness” for the same words, which is the English at the top of this page.

Two questions about the wording

Both come up whenever the dua is shared, and the narrations answer them directly.

Is it fa’fu ‘anni or fa’fu ‘anna?

Both narrations on sunnah.com end with fa’fu ‘anni, “so pardon me”. So does the version Ibn Kathir quotes from Imam Ahmad. ‘Anna would mean “us”, and we haven’t found it in these narrations.

Is karim part of the dua?

The Arabic of Jami’ at-Tirmidhi 3513 on sunnah.com has karimun (Generous) after ‘afuwwun, and its English translator puts the word in brackets. Sunan Ibn Majah 3850 doesn’t have it, and neither does the version Ibn Kathir quotes. Both wordings are at the top of this page.

Why the night matters

The Quran says it outright:

لَيْلَةُ ٱلْقَدْرِ خَيْرٌ مِّنْ أَلْفِ شَهْرٍ

The Night of Decree is better than a thousand months.

Surah Al-Qadr 97:3 Saheeh International

Ibn Kathir explains that it’s the night the Quran was sent down, in Ramadan. He cites a hadith from the Two Sahihs about standing in prayer on it:

Standing in prayer on the night Sahih

Whoever established prayers on the night of Qadr out of sincere faith and hoping for a reward from Allah, then all his previous sins will be forgiven; and whoever fasts in the month of Ramadan out of sincere faith, and hoping for a reward from Allah, then all his previous sins will be forgiven.

When is Laylatul Qadr?

It’s in the last ten nights of Ramadan, and the Prophet ﷺ said to look for it in the odd ones:

When to look for it Sahih

Search for the Night of Qadr in the odd nights of the last ten days of Ramadan.

Ibn Kathir lists the views on which night it is: the 21st, 23rd, 25th, 27th or 29th. Ubayy ibn Ka’b held that it was the 27th, and said its sign is that the sun rises the next morning without rays (Sahih Muslim 762). Ibn Kathir concludes that the night moves around the last ten from year to year, and calls this view “most likely”.

The dates depend on when Ramadan begins where you live, so count from your local start.

What to do in the last ten nights

The Prophet ﷺ put more into these nights than any others:

The last ten nights Sahih

With the start of the last ten days of Ramadan, the Prophet (ﷺ) used to tighten his waist belt (i.e. work hard) and used to pray all the night, and used to keep his family awake for the prayers.

The night could be any of the ten, so the dua is worth saying on every one of them. Most of what you recite in those prayers is Quran you already know. The more you know by heart, the longer you can stand.

How to learn the dua and Surah Al-Qadr

The dua comes from a hadith, so you learn it by saying it yourself. Say it aloud from the card at the top of this page, before and after each prayer, until you can say it without looking.

Surah Al-Qadr is the surah about the night, and it takes 36 seconds to recite at Mishari al-Afasy’s pace. It’s short enough to learn in one sitting and recite in your night prayers.

For more duas from the Quran itself, see the 40 Rabbana duas. If you want more short surahs for those nights, the 4 Quls and which surahs to memorize first are good places to start.

Frequently asked questions

What is the dua for Laylatul Qadr?

"Allahumma innaka 'afuwwun tuhibbul-'afwa, fa'fu 'anni": "O Allah, You are Forgiving and love forgiveness, so forgive me." 'A'ishah asked the Prophet ﷺ what to say if she came upon Laylatul Qadr, and he taught her this dua (Sunan Ibn Majah 3850, Jami' at-Tirmidhi 3513).

What does Allahumma innaka afuwwun mean?

It means "O Allah, indeed You are Pardoning", in the translation of Jami' at-Tirmidhi on sunnah.com. The full dua continues "You love pardon, so pardon me". Al-'Afuww, the Pardoner, is one of the names of Allah.

Is it fa'fu anni or fa'fu anna?

Both narrations of the hadith on sunnah.com end with fa'fu 'anni, "so pardon me", and so does the version Ibn Kathir quotes from Imam Ahmad. 'Anna would mean "us", and we haven't found it in these narrations.

Is karim part of the Laylatul Qadr dua?

The Arabic of Jami' at-Tirmidhi 3513 on sunnah.com includes karim (Generous) after 'afuwwun, and its English translator puts the word in brackets. The narration in Sunan Ibn Majah 3850, and the version Ibn Kathir quotes from Imam Ahmad, don't have it.

Which surah should be read on Laylatul Qadr?

We haven't found an authentic hadith that names a surah to recite on Laylatul Qadr. The hadith in Sahih al-Bukhari promises forgiveness to whoever stands in prayer on the night with faith, hoping for reward. Surah Al-Qadr is the surah about the night itself.

Laylatul Qadr Dua: Arabic, Transliteration and Meaning

The dua for Laylatul Qadr

Key takeaways