Invocation for traveling

اللَّهُ أَكبَرُ، اللَّهُ أَكبَرُ، اللَّهُ أَكبَرُ، ﴿سُبحَانَ الَّذِي سَخَّرَ لَنَا هَذَا وَمَا كُنَّا لَهُ مُقرِنِينَ * وَإِنَّا إِلَى رَبِّنَا لَمُنقَلِبُونَ﴾ ((اللَّهُمَّ إِنّا نَسأَلُكَ فِي سَفَرِنَا هَذَا البِرَّ وَالتَّقوَى، وَمِنَ العَمَلِ مَا تَرضَى، اللَّهُمَّ هَوِّن عَلَينَا سَفَرَنَا هَذَا وَاطوِ عَنَّا بُعدَهُ، اللَّهُمَّ أَنتَ الصَّاحِبُ فِي السَّفَرِ، وَالخَليفَةُ فِي الأَهلِ، اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَعُوذُ بِكَ مِن وَعثَاءِ السَّفَرِ، وَكَآبَةِ المَنظَرِ، وَسُوءِ المُنقَلَبِ فِي المَالِ وَالأَهلِ))، وإذا رَجَعَ قَالَهُنَّ وَزَادَ فِيهِنَّ: ((آيِبُونَ، تائِبُونَ، عَابِدُونَ، لِرَبِّنَا حَامِدُونَ)).

Approximate Arabic reading aid

Allāhu akbaru, allāhu akbaru, allāhu akbaru, subḥāna alladhī sakhkhara lanā hādhā wamā kunnā lahu muqrinīna * wa'innā ilā rabbinā lamunqalibūna allāhumma inna nas'aluka fī safarinā hādhā albirra wat-taqwā, wamina al'amali mā tarḍā, allāhumma hawwin 'alaynā safaranā hādhā waṭwi 'annā bu'dahu, allāhumma anta aṣ-ṣāḥibu fī as-safari, wal-khalīfatu fī al'ahli, allāhumma innī a'ūdhu bika min wa'thā'i as-safari, wa ka'ābati almanẓari, wasū'i almunqalabi fī almāli wal-'ahli, wa idhā raja'a qālahunna wazāda fīhinna: āyibūna, ta'ibūna, 'ābidūna, lirabbinā ḥāmidūna.

English meaning

Allah is the greatest, Allah is the greatest, Allah is the greatest, How perfect He is, The One Who has placed this (transport) at our service, and we ourselves would not have been capable of that, and to our Lord is our final destiny. O Allah, we ask You for birr and taqwa in this journey of ours, and we ask You for deeds which please You. O Allah, facilitate our journey and let us cover it’s distance quickly. O Allah, You are The Companion on the journey and The Successor over the family, O Allah, I take refuge with You from the difficulties of travel, from having a change of hearts and being in a bad predicament, and I take refuge in You from an ill fated outcome with wealth and family.)(birr and taqwa: two comprehensive terms which individually, refer to all good actions and obedience i.e. performing the commanded actions and avoiding the prohibited actions. When combined together, birr refers to doing those actions which have been commanded and taqwa refers to avoiding those actions which have been prohibited.)(A successor: one who succeeds another due to the latter’s absence or death. This is the correct meaning of the word khaleefah; thus, it is incorrect to believe that Adam is the khaleefah (vicegerent, as is commonly translated) of Allah on earth because Allah is never absent, and will never die. This supplication proves the correct understanding of this term and shows that Allah succeeds us and guards whom we leave behind when we die or are absent.)(upon returning the same supplication is recited with the following addition: (We return, repent, worship and praise our Lord.)

Explanation (Tafseer)

This travel prayer magnifies Allah, recognizes transport as His gift, and remembers the final return to Him. It asks for righteousness, mindfulness of Allah, pleasing deeds, ease, and shortened distance; entrusts both journey and family to Him; seeks refuge from travel’s hardships and a bad return; and, on returning, adds repentance, worship, and praise.

When to use

Invocation for traveling

Reference & source

Hisn al-Muslim 207

Open source