Hisn al-Muslim: the Fortress of the Muslim duas, by the moments of your day

Hisn al-Muslim, usually translated as Fortress of the Muslim, is a pocket book of supplications drawn from the Quran and the hadith collections. Sa'id ibn Ali ibn Wahf al-Qahtani compiled it, and it first appeared in 1988. It is arranged by occasion, not by topic in the abstract: waking up, going to sleep, eating, leaving the house, travelling, distress. The book has 132 chapters, and a pocket edition runs to about 110 pages. That size is the reason it became the book many Muslims carry every day.

The free Cubbbix Hisn al-Muslim Dua Browser gives a selection of 24 of those duas in the browser, across 11 everyday categories. Each card shows the Arabic text, a transliteration for readers still learning the script, a plain English translation, and the source as cited in the book. A tap counter sits on every card, and a progress bar counts how many of the 24 you have covered today. The page is a selection, not the whole book, and it says so on the page: for all 132 chapters, get a printed copy.

Figure 1: The book is arranged by the moments of a day, so the page is too.

The book in brief

Al-Qahtani gathered only duas with a source in the Quran or the Sunnah, and he printed the source beside each one. That habit is what built the book's reputation: a reader can check any dua instead of taking it on trust. The first chapter is on waking up, with the dua from Sahih al-Bukhari 6312. Later chapters run through the whole day and into hardship, travel, rain, illness, debt and visiting graves. Translations now exist in dozens of languages, and the Darussalam edition lists 267 prayers and supplications across its chapters.

A browser cannot replace that book, and this page does not try. It picks the duas people reach for most often, and it keeps the book's own discipline: every card names its source. If a reference looks wrong to you, check it against the printed book. A dua page earns trust by showing its sources, not by hiding them.

Figure 2: Waking, Sahih al-Bukhari 6312. Travel, Sahih Muslim 1342. Leaving home, Sunan Abi Dawud 5095.

Six duas to start with

Start with the moments you already live through. On waking: Alhamdu lillahil-ladhi ahyana ba'da ma amatana wa ilayhin-nushur (Sahih al-Bukhari 6312). Before sleep: Bismika Allahumma amutu wa ahya (Sahih al-Bukhari 6324). On leaving home: Bismillahi tawakkaltu alallah wa la hawla wa la quwwata illa billah (Sunan Abi Dawud 5095). Before eating: Bismillah, with the make-up wording if you forget at the start (Sunan Abi Dawud 3767). On setting out: the travel dua from Quran 43:13-14 and Sahih Muslim 1342. For your parents: Rabbi irhamhuma kama rabbayani saghira (Quran 17:24).

Learn one a week, tied to the action it belongs to. Say the waking dua every morning for a week before adding the next. Attaching the words to a physical habit, opening your eyes, putting on shoes, sitting at the table, makes the dua automatic within days. The counter on the page helps with the counted items: the after-prayer card needs three taps for the three Astaghfirullahs before it counts as done.

Figure 3: Tie each dua to the action it belongs to, and the habit forms itself.

Questions people ask