Dua for Parents
Where this dua comes from
This line closes a short passage in Surah al-Isra (17:23-24) instructing kindness to parents — not raising one's voice to them, not saying so much as "uff" in irritation, and speaking to them with a generous word. The dua itself is the passage's final instruction: to ask Allah for mercy on them in direct proportion to the mercy they showed in raising a small, dependent child. Because the verse specifically frames the mercy asked for as a return on what was given in childhood, many scholars note it applies most naturally while parents are alive, though it is also widely recited for deceased parents as an ongoing act of good on their behalf — a practice supported by other hadith describing dua for one's parents as among the good deeds that continue to reach a person after death.
When to recite
Any time, particularly after prayer or when thinking of one's parents.