Quick answer: The dua the Prophet (SAW) taught for pain is to place your hand where it hurts, say Bismillah three times, then say seven times: A’udhu billahi wa qudratihi min sharri ma ajidu wa uhadhir (“I seek refuge in Allah and in His power from the harm of what I feel and what I fear”). This is reported in Sahih Muslim 2202 from Uthman ibn Abi al-As (RA). It works for pain anywhere in the body, so you use the same dua whether the pain is in your head, your stomach or your tooth.
Dua goes alongside medical care, not instead of it. If the pain is severe, sudden, or does not settle, see a doctor. Scholars treat seeking treatment as something Islam encourages, and some hold it is required when a treatment is known to work.
Every dua below is given with its Arabic, a transliteration, the meaning, and the hadith it comes from, so you can check it yourself.
Dua for Pain Anywhere in the Body
Uthman ibn Abi al-As (RA) complained to the Prophet (SAW) about pain he had been feeling in his body. The Prophet (SAW) told him:
Then say seven times:
Sahih Muslim 2202, narrated by Uthman ibn Abi al-As (RA). Grade: authentic (sahih).
Three things are worth noticing. The dua is tied to touching the spot that hurts, so it adapts to any pain. The count is specific: three times for Bismillah, seven times for the dua. And the words ask for protection from the harm of the pain, not for a guarantee that it will stop.
Dua for Someone Else Who is Ill
Two duas are reported for a person who is sick, and both are for saying over someone else or over yourself.
Asking for a cure that leaves no illness behind
Sahih Muslim 2191, narrated by Aishah (RA). Grade: authentic, agreed upon by al-Bukhari and Muslim.
The Prophet (SAW) would say this when visiting someone who was unwell, wiping with his right hand.
Say it seven times for a sick person
Sunan Abi Dawud 3106 and Jami’ at-Tirmidhi 2083, narrated by Ibn Abbas (RA). Graded authentic (sahih) by al-Albani.
The narration describes saying this seven times to a sick person whose appointed time has not yet come. Say it in their presence, or change yashfiyaka to yashfiyaha when the person is female.
Pain in a Specific Place: What the Sunnah Actually Says
People search for a separate dua for a headache, a separate one for toothache, another for period pain. The Sunnah does not work that way. There is no authenticated dua reserved for the tooth, the ear or the stomach. What the Prophet (SAW) taught is one practice that you point at whichever part hurts: hand on the spot, Bismillah three times, then the dua from Sahih Muslim 2202 seven times.
So the sections below do not give you six different duas. They explain how the same Sunnah practice applies to each kind of pain, and they clear up a few things that circulate online without a source.
Headache
Use the general practice: hand on your head, Bismillah three times, then the dua seven times.
A verse from Surah al-Waqi’ah is often shared online as a “dua for headache”:
This verse is not a supplication. It describes the drink of Paradise, and says that those who drink it get no headache from it and are not intoxicated by it. Reading it as a request for relief from a headache reverses what it means. Reciting the Quran for healing is an established practice, and al-Fatihah in particular is reported as a ruqyah (Sahih al-Bukhari 5736, Sahih Muslim 2201). But a verse describing Paradise is not the dua for this.
A headache that is sudden and severe, or that comes with a stiff neck, fever, confusion, weakness on one side or a change in vision, needs urgent medical attention.
Stomach, belly and gas pain
Place your hand on your abdomen and use the general practice. There is no separate authenticated dua for the stomach.
A long supplication beginning Ya Allahu, Ya Allahu, Ya Rabbal-Arbab circulates widely as a stomach dua. We could not trace it to any recognised hadith collection with a grading, so this page does not publish it. If a dua cannot be traced, it is better to use one that can.
Tooth pain
Hand on the jaw over the painful tooth, then the general practice. You can also say the Adhhib al-ba’s dua above for yourself.
Toothache usually has a physical cause that dua does not remove, such as decay, an exposed nerve or an abscess. Swelling in the face or gum, fever, or pain that keeps you awake means you need a dentist promptly.
Period pain
A woman on her period can make dua and say any of these supplications. Dua, dhikr and asking Allah are not affected by menstruation, and nothing here requires wudu.
Use the general practice with your hand where the cramping is. The Adhhib al-ba’s dua also applies, because it asks for healing without naming an illness.
Period pain that stops you functioning each month, or that has recently become much worse, is worth raising with a doctor rather than only managing at home.
Eye and ear pain
The same practice applies: hand near the eye or ear, Bismillah three times, then the dua seven times.
A supplication beginning Allahumma matti’ni bi sam’i wa basari is sometimes given here. It is a dua asking Allah to let a person benefit from their hearing and sight, not a dua for eye or ear pain, and we could not confirm its grading. It does not belong under this heading.
Eye pain with blurred vision, light sensitivity or redness, and ear pain with discharge, hearing loss or fever, both need to be seen rather than waited out.
Dua for Worry and Anxiety
The Prophet (SAW) used to say:
Allahumma inni a’udhu bika min al-hammi wal-hazan, wal-‘ajzi wal-kasal, wal-bukhli wal-jubn, wa ghalabat ar-rijal
“O Allah, I seek refuge in You from worry and grief, from incapacity and laziness, from miserliness and cowardice, and from being overpowered by men.”
Sunan an-Nasa’i 5449, narrated by Anas ibn Malik (RA). Graded authentic (sahih). A version in Sahih al-Bukhari 6369 also mentions the burden of debt.
Dua is not a treatment for a mental health condition. If worry is persistent, stops you sleeping or working, or you are having thoughts of harming yourself, speak to a doctor or a mental health service as well. The two are not in competition.
Does dua Replace Medical Treatment?
No. Scholars discuss whether seeking treatment is required or encouraged, but none of the four Sunni schools treats dua as a substitute for it.
As Dar al-Ifta sources summarise the schools: the Hanafi and Maliki schools hold that seeking treatment is permissible; the Shafi’i school holds it is recommended, and obligatory where the benefit is certain, such as dressing a wound; and among the Hanbalis, al-Qadi, Ibn Aqil and Ibn al-Jawzi held it is recommended. Ibn al-Qayyim’s point is the one to keep: helplessness is not reliance on Allah, and reliance on Allah should not make a person helpless.
The practical reading is straightforward. Take the medicine, keep the appointment, and make dua. This is educational information. For your own situation, ask a qualified scholar, and for your health, ask a doctor.
How Often to Recite
- The pain dua (Sahih Muslim 2202): Bismillah three times, then the dua seven times, with your hand on the painful spot.
- For a sick person (Abu Dawud 3106): seven times.
- Adhhib al-ba’s (Sahih Muslim 2191): no fixed number is given in the narration.
Where a narration gives a number, keep to it. Where it does not, repeat as often as you want. You can also make dua in your own language, at any time, in any state. There is no requirement of wudu, no fixed posture and no fixed hour for any of this.
When the Pain Does Not Go
Dua is answered, but not always by the pain stopping. Some illness continues, and Islam treats that as carrying its own weight rather than as a sign that the dua failed.
Nobody should tell a person in pain that their suffering is a reward they should want. The hadith is a consolation for someone already bearing something hard, not a reason to avoid treatment or to stay silent about it.
Common FAQs
What is the strongest dua for pain?
The one in Sahih Muslim 2202: place your hand where it hurts, say Bismillah three times, then A’udhu billahi wa qudratihi min sharri ma ajidu wa uhadhir seven times. It is reported from Uthman ibn Abi al-As (RA), who was told it by the Prophet (SAW), and it applies to pain anywhere in the body.
Is there a specific dua for headache or toothache?
No separate authenticated dua is reported for either. The Sunnah practice is the same dua with your hand on the part that hurts. Verses and duas circulated online as headache-specific, including Surah al-Waqi’ah 56:19, are not supplications for pain.
Can a woman recite these duas during her period?
Yes. Dua, dhikr and asking Allah are open to a woman on her period, and none of these supplications requires wudu.
What do I say for someone else who is ill?
As’alullaha al-‘Azim, Rabb al-‘Arsh al-‘Azim, an yashfiyaka, seven times (Sunan Abi Dawud 3106, graded sahih by al-Albani). Change yashfiyaka to yashfiyaha for a woman. You can also say Adhhib al-ba’s, Rabb an-nas from Sahih Muslim 2191.
Should I stop taking medicine and rely on dua?
No. No Sunni school treats dua as a replacement for treatment, and the Shafi’i position makes treatment obligatory where the benefit is certain. Take the treatment and make the dua.
How many times should I say the dua for pain?
Bismillah three times, then the dua seven times, as the narration specifies. Where a narration gives no number, there is no fixed count.
