Dua for Anxiety and Depression: Quranic Remedies

Anxiety pulls you toward tomorrow with dread; depression pins you in yesterday with grief. They often arrive together, layering each other — the worry that things will not get better compounding the sadness that they have not. This combination is exhausting in a way that is hard to explain.

Islam does not dismiss this experience. The Quran and the prophetic tradition address anxiety and depression with both compassion and specific guidance. The tools our tradition provides are not just comfort — they work on the specific patterns that drive both conditions. This guide brings together the authentic duas, Quranic verses, and practical practices for someone who is facing both at once.

What Is the Islamic Dua for Anxiety and Depression?

The Prophet ﷺ left a supplication that addresses anxiety and depression simultaneously, recorded in Sahih Bukhari 6369. It opens: Allāhumma inni a'oothu bika minal-hammi wal-hazani — "O Allah, I seek refuge in You from worry (hamm) and grief (hazan)." The Arabic is precise: hamm is forward-facing worry about what might happen; hazan is backward-facing grief over what has. Together they capture the full emotional range of what we call anxiety and depression. One dua, both conditions.

The Primary Duas for Anxiety and Depression

The Comprehensive Dua from Sahih Bukhari

This is the most direct prophetic dua for someone carrying both anxiety and depression:

اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنَ الْهَمِّ وَالْحَزَنِ، وَالْعَجْزِ وَالْكَسَلِ، وَالْبُخْلِ وَالْجُبْنِ، وَضَلَعِ الدَّيْنِ وَغَلَبَةِ الرِّجَالِ

Allāhumma inni a'oothu bika minal-hammi wal-hazani, wal-'ajzi wal-kasali, wal-bukhli wal-jubni, wa dala'id-dayni wa ghalabatir-rijaal

"O Allah, I seek refuge in You from worry and grief, from helplessness and laziness, from miserliness and cowardice, and from the burden of debt and the oppression of people." — (Sahih Bukhari 6369)

This dua is remarkable in its scope. Anxiety appears as hamm (worry) and 'ajz (helplessness). Depression appears as hazan (grief) and kasal (listlessness, the inability to find motivation). The Prophet ﷺ taught this as a daily refuge.

The Dua of Prophet Yunus for Complete Overwhelm

When anxiety and depression reach a point of feeling trapped or completely lost, the dua of Prophet Yunus عليه السلام — made in the depths of darkness — is among the most powerful in the Quran:

لَّا إِلَهَ إِلَّا أَنتَ سُبْحَانَكَ إِنِّي كُنتُ مِنَ الظَّالِمِينَ

Lā ilāha illā anta, subhānaka, inni kuntu minal-dhālimeen

"There is no god worthy of worship except You. Glory be to You. Indeed, I have been of the wrongdoers." — (Surah Al-Anbiya, 21:87)

The Prophet ﷺ said that no Muslim makes this dua sincerely without Allah responding (Tirmidhi 3505). It requires no complex theology — just an acknowledgment of your situation and a turning back toward Allah.

The Dua for Emotional Surrender

When the weight of both anxiety and depression has left you exhausted, this hadith dua expresses total reliance on Allah:

اللَّهُمَّ رَحْمَتَكَ أَرْجُو فَلَا تَكِلْنِي إِلَى نَفْسِي طَرْفَةَ عَيْنٍ وَأَصْلِحْ لِي شَأْنِي كُلَّهُ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا أَنْتَ

Allāhumma rahmataka arjoo, falā takilni ilā nafsi tarfata 'aynin, wa aslih li sha'ni kullahu, lā ilāha illā anta

"O Allah, I hope for Your mercy. Do not leave me to myself even for the blink of an eye, and put right all my affairs for me. There is no god worthy of worship except You." — (Abu Dawud 5090)

This dua is for the moment when even making a decision feels impossible. It releases the burden of self-management entirely and places it in Allah's hands.

What the Quran Says About Anxiety and Depression

The Quran speaks directly to both emotional states with a clarity that is still striking after fourteen centuries.

For anxiety — the racing thoughts, the what-ifs, the bracing for bad news:

أَلَا بِذِكْرِ اللَّهِ تَطْمَئِنُّ الْقُلُوبُ

"Verily, in the remembrance of Allah do hearts find rest." — (Surah Ar-Ra'd, 13:28)

For depression — the heaviness, the sense that relief will never come:

فَإِنَّ مَعَ الْعُسْرِ يُسْرًا، إِنَّ مَعَ الْعُسْرِ يُسْرًا

"Verily, with hardship comes ease. Verily, with hardship comes ease." — (Surah Al-Inshirah, 94:5–6)

The repetition in 94:5–6 is deliberate in Arabic grammar. Scholars note that al-'usr (the hardship) uses the definite article — it is the same hardship. But yusr (ease) is indefinite each time, meaning two separate eases are promised for every one hardship. The equation is never equal to 1:1.

For the combination of both:

لَا يُكَلِّفُ اللَّهُ نَفْسًا إِلَّا وُسْعَهَا

"Allah does not burden a soul beyond what it can bear." — (Surah Al-Baqarah, 2:286)

This verse is not a dismissal of your pain. It is a statement about your capacity — and a reminder that the weight you are carrying exists within what you can endure, with Allah's help.

Do you feel your duas are unanswered?

Have you read the dua properly? Learn authentic duas, understand their meanings, and call upon Allah with greater confidence through DeenUp.

Take the Dua Quiz

A Practical Islamic Toolkit for Anxiety and Depression

The Islamic approach to emotional health is integrative — it uses multiple channels simultaneously, each addressing a different layer of the conditions.

For detailed guidance on reciting the morning and evening adhkar that include these duas, see the comprehensive guide to morning adhkar and the evening adhkar articles. The broader Islamic perspective on mental well-being is explored in the Islamic perspective on mental health.

Salah as Structured Relief

Salah — five times daily — provides something both anxiety and depression specifically lack: a reliable structure. Anxiety thrives in shapeless time; depression saps motivation for any structure you try to impose. Five prayers, spaced through the day, create an unavoidable rhythm.

The physical postures of salah are also not incidental. The prostration (sujood) position, with the forehead on the ground, has been studied in relation to cortisol regulation. The recitation of Al-Fatihah — which is a direct conversation between the believer and Allah in every prayer — externalizes worry and requests guidance from the one source that can actually provide it.

For more on the specific two-condition dynamic of anxiety and depression treated separately, see dua for anxiety and dua for depression.

When Both Anxiety and Depression Strike Together

The particular challenge of experiencing anxiety and depression simultaneously is that they seem to cancel out the usual remedies. When anxious, you might normally seek action — but depression makes action impossible. When depressed, you might benefit from rest — but anxiety makes rest feel dangerous.

The Islamic framework cuts through this by redirecting toward a single action that requires almost nothing from your depleted state: turning to Allah. The dua of distress, recorded across multiple collections, can be said in bed, in the dark, without standing or making wudu:

يَا حَيُّ يَا قَيُّومُ بِرَحْمَتِكَ أَسْتَغِيثُ

Yā Hayyu yā Qayyūm, birahmatika astaghīth

"O Ever-Living, O Sustainer of existence, by Your mercy I seek relief." — (Tirmidhi 3524, classified hasan)

This is the floor. Whatever else is unreachable, this is reachable. For a deeper exploration of the dua of distress and what the Islamic tradition says about acute emotional crisis, the linked article covers the full context.

Islam does not require you to present yourself healed before Allah will listen. The turn toward Him can happen from the lowest point — and that is precisely where many of the most powerful duas in the Sunnah were made.

For further reading on emotional health from an Islamic perspective, the work at DeenBack on emotional well-being in Islamic practice offers a complementary angle, as does the discussion of daily intention-setting as a spiritual discipline.

Common Questions

Should I seek professional help alongside dua? Yes, without hesitation. The Prophet ﷺ said to make use of treatment, for Allah has not made a disease without appointing a remedy for it (Abu Dawud 3855). Mental health care is part of that treatment. Dua and professional support work in parallel.

How long before I notice a difference from dhikr and dua? This varies. Some people find immediate relief from the acute distress of making dua. The deeper work — building emotional resilience through consistent practice — typically develops over weeks and months of regular salah, dhikr, and supplication. The Prophet described it as tuma'nīnah (tranquility) — a settling of the heart that comes with consistent remembrance.

What if I cannot feel anything when making dua? The numbness that sometimes comes with depression can make dua feel hollow or performative. The prophetic tradition is gentle here: the mouth can say the words while the heart is still finding its way back. Continue the words — the sincerity you are reaching for will follow.

Do you feel your duas are unanswered?

Have you read the dua properly? Learn authentic duas, understand their meanings, and call upon Allah with greater confidence through DeenUp.

Take the Dua Quiz