"Rabbi awzi'nī an ashkura ni'mataka…" is the dua Prophet Sulaiman (AS) made after being given wealth, power and knowledge beyond almost anyone else, asking not to keep the gifts, but to be made someone worthy of them. It's a dua for turning any blessing, large or small, into lasting gratitude rather than a passing feeling.
Why This Dua Matters
There's a type of gratitude that stays on the surface. It arrives when things go well, and it leaves when they don't, responsive to circumstances rather than rooted in the heart. Most of us know this surface version, but silently hope for something deeper.
Sulaymān (AS) was given more than perhaps any person who has ever lived: wealth, power, knowledge, dominion over wind and jinn and the language of birds. And his response was a dua that asked not to keep those gifts, but to be made someone worthy of them.
Sulaymān (AS) understood that even the capacity to be grateful is a gift that has to be asked for. This dua doesn't just say thank you: it asks to be made someone for whom gratitude is a living quality, not a feeling that arrives only when conditions are right.
The Dua in Arabic, Transliteration & Translation
Arabic
رَبِّ أَوْزِعْنِي أَنْ أَشْكُرَ نِعْمَتَكَ الَّتِي أَنْعَمْتَ عَلَيَّ وَعَلَىٰ وَالِدَيَّ وَأَنْ أَعْمَلَ صَالِحًا تَرْضَاهُ
Transliteration
Rabbi awzi'nī an ashkura ni'mataka allatī an'amta 'alayya wa 'alā wālidayya wa an a'mala ṣāliḥan tarḍāh.
“My Lord, inspire me to be grateful for Your favour which You have bestowed upon me and upon my parents, and to do righteousness of which You approve.”
How to Make This Dua Part of Your Week
When gratitude is harder to find than you think it should be
The ordinary weeks don't generate their own gratitude the way the sacred ones do. This dua asks Allah (SWT) to inspire the gratitude you can't manufacture by effort alone.
When you want to extend the gratitude beyond yourself
Sulaymān (AS) asked for gratitude for the favour given to him and to his parents. Say it this week for yourself and for everyone who shaped the giving person you are today.
When your giving this Friday is gratitude made into a deed
Sulaymān (AS) didn't ask to feel grateful and stop there: he asked for the gratitude to become action. Your giving this Friday is that deed.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does "Rabbi awzi'ni an ashkura ni'mataka" mean?
It means "My Lord, inspire me to be grateful for Your favour," a request not just to feel gratitude, but to be given the capacity for it, since even that capacity is seen as a gift.
Who first made this dua?
Prophet Sulaiman (AS), as recorded in the Quran (27:19), after Allah gave him extraordinary wealth, power and knowledge.
How is this different from the fuller Eid gratitude dua?
"This Jumuah, After Eid" uses the fuller version of this same verse, which adds a request to be admitted among Allah's righteous servants, and is framed around gratitude after Eid. This page uses the shorter, more general form.
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