Two rakats, a sincere return and the dua that saved Yunus from three darknesses. Learn each step with Arabic, meaning and a source you can check.
فَٱسْتَجَبْنَا لَهُۥ وَنَجَّيْنَٰهُ مِنَ ٱلْغَمِّ ۚ وَكَذَٰلِكَ نُۨجِى ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ
Many people search for Salatul Najat after a sin, a loss or a frightening night. Their wish is right: to be saved. No authentic hadith gives a prayer by this exact name, though, and the recipes that circulate (fixed surahs, fixed counts, special dates) cannot be traced to the Prophet ﷺ.
The Sunnah gives you something firmer. When something distressed the Prophet ﷺ, he turned to prayer (Abu Dawud 1319). He taught that whoever sins, then purifies himself, prays and asks forgiveness, Allah forgives him (Abu Dawud 1521). He taught a man in need to pray two rakats and then ask (Ibn Majah 1385). That is the prayer of rescue, and it is what this page teaches.
Two rakats of repentance. Allah forgives the one who purifies himself, prays and asks.
Regret it, stop it, resolve not to return. If it wronged someone, return their right.
Read through once, then press Pray with me. The screen dims, stays awake and walks you through each step on your prayer mat.
Purify yourself slowly and fully. The hadith of repentance begins here: the servant who sins, then purifies himself well.
For Salat al-Tawbah, start with these three. Each one has its Arabic, transliteration, meaning and source.
اللَّهُمَّ أَنْتَ رَبِّي لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا أَنْتَ، خَلَقْتَنِي وَأَنَا عَبْدُكَ، وَأَنَا عَلَى عَهْدِكَ وَوَعْدِكَ مَا اسْتَطَعْتُ، أَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنْ شَرِّ مَا صَنَعْتُ، أَبُوءُ لَكَ بِنِعْمَتِكَ عَلَيَّ، وَأَبُوءُ لَكَ بِذَنْبِي فَاغْفِرْ لِي، فَإِنَّهُ لَا يَغْفِرُ الذُّنُوبَ إِلَّا أَنْتَ
Allāhumma anta Rabbī lā ilāha illā anta, khalaqtanī wa ana ʿabduk, wa ana ʿalā ʿahdika wa waʿdika mastaṭaʿt, aʿūdhu bika min sharri mā ṣanaʿt, abū'u laka bi-niʿmatika ʿalayya, wa abū'u laka bi-dhanbī faghfir lī, fa-innahū lā yaghfirudh-dhunūba illā ant
O Allah, You are my Lord; there is no god but You. You created me and I am Your servant, and I keep Your covenant and promise as best I can. I seek refuge in You from the evil I have done. I acknowledge Your favour upon me and I acknowledge my sin, so forgive me, for none forgives sins but You.
وَٱلَّذِينَ إِذَا فَعَلُوا۟ فَٰحِشَةً أَوْ ظَلَمُوٓا۟ أَنفُسَهُمْ ذَكَرُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ فَٱسْتَغْفَرُوا۟ لِذُنُوبِهِمْ وَمَن يَغْفِرُ ٱلذُّنُوبَ إِلَّا ٱللَّهُ وَلَمْ يُصِرُّوا۟ عَلَىٰ مَا فَعَلُوا۟ وَهُمْ يَعْلَمُونَ
wa-alladhīna idhā faʿalū fāḥishatan aw ẓalamū anfusahum dhakarū l-laha fa-is'taghfarū lidhunūbihim waman yaghfiru l-dhunūba illā l-lahu walam yuṣirrū ʿalā mā faʿalū wahum yaʿlamūna
And those who, when they commit an immorality or wrong themselves [by transgression], remember Allah and seek forgiveness for their sins - and who can forgive sins except Allah? - and [who] do not persist in what they have done while they know.
لَّآ إِلَٰهَ إِلَّآ أَنتَ سُبْحَٰنَكَ إِنِّى كُنتُ مِنَ ٱلظَّٰلِمِينَ
Lā ilāha illā anta, subḥānaka, innī kuntu mina-ẓ-ẓālimīn
There is no god but You. Glory be to You. Indeed, I have been of the wrongdoers.
لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا اللهُ الْعَظِيمُ الْحَلِيمُ، لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا اللهُ رَبُّ الْعَرْشِ الْعَظِيمِ، لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا اللهُ رَبُّ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَرَبُّ الْأَرْضِ وَرَبُّ الْعَرْشِ الْكَرِيمِ
Lā ilāha illallāhul-ʿAẓīmul-Ḥalīm, lā ilāha illallāhu Rabbul-ʿArshil-ʿAẓīm, lā ilāha illallāhu Rabbus-samāwāti wa Rabbul-arḍi wa Rabbul-ʿArshil-Karīm
There is no god but Allah, the Mighty, the Forbearing. There is no god but Allah, Lord of the Mighty Throne. There is no god but Allah, Lord of the heavens, Lord of the earth and Lord of the Noble Throne.
يَا حَيُّ يَا قَيُّومُ بِرَحْمَتِكَ أَسْتَغِيثُ
Yā Ḥayyu yā Qayyūm, bi-raḥmatika astaghīth
O Ever-Living, O Sustainer of all, by Your mercy I call for help.
The Prophet ﷺ said that in the last third of every night, Allah asks: “Who is calling on Me, that I may answer him? Who is asking for forgiveness, that I may forgive him?” (Bukhari 1145). Enter tonight's Maghrib and Fajr times from your local timetable.
Last third begins at01:40
That leaves 200 minutes before Fajr. Wake a little before it, make wudu and pray your two rakats. This is a simple calculation from the times you enter, not a fatwa on your local timetable.
۞ قُلْ يَٰعِبَادِىَ ٱلَّذِينَ أَسْرَفُوا۟ عَلَىٰٓ أَنفُسِهِمْ لَا تَقْنَطُوا۟ مِن رَّحْمَةِ ٱللَّهِ ۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ يَغْفِرُ ٱلذُّنُوبَ جَمِيعًا ۚ إِنَّهُۥ هُوَ ٱلْغَفُورُ ٱلرَّحِيمُ
Say, "O My servants who have transgressed against themselves [by sinning], do not despair of the mercy of Allah. Indeed, Allah forgives all sins. Indeed, it is He who is the Forgiving, the Merciful."Quran 39:53
فَإِنَّ مَعَ ٱلْعُسْرِ يُسْرًا ﴿5﴾ إِنَّ مَعَ ٱلْعُسْرِ يُسْرًۭا ﴿6﴾
(5) For indeed, with hardship [will be] ease. (6) Indeed, with hardship [will be] ease.Quran 94:5-6
وَإِذَا سَأَلَكَ عِبَادِى عَنِّى فَإِنِّى قَرِيبٌ ۖ أُجِيبُ دَعْوَةَ ٱلدَّاعِ إِذَا دَعَانِ ۖ فَلْيَسْتَجِيبُوا۟ لِى وَلْيُؤْمِنُوا۟ بِى لَعَلَّهُمْ يَرْشُدُونَ
And when My servants ask you, [O Muhammad], concerning Me - indeed I am near. I respond to the invocation of the supplicant when he calls upon Me. So let them respond to Me [by obedience] and believe in Me that they may be [rightly] guided.Quran 2:186
وَٱسْتَعِينُوا۟ بِٱلصَّبْرِ وَٱلصَّلَوٰةِ ۚ وَإِنَّهَا لَكَبِيرَةٌ إِلَّا عَلَى ٱلْخَٰشِعِينَ
And seek help through patience and prayer, and indeed, it is difficult except for the humbly submissive [to Allah]Quran 2:45
يَٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ هَلْ أَدُلُّكُمْ عَلَىٰ تِجَٰرَةٍۢ تُنجِيكُم مِّنْ عَذَابٍ أَلِيمٍۢ ﴿10﴾ تُؤْمِنُونَ بِٱللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِۦ وَتُجَٰهِدُونَ فِى سَبِيلِ ٱللَّهِ بِأَمْوَٰلِكُمْ وَأَنفُسِكُمْ ۚ ذَٰلِكُمْ خَيْرٌۭ لَّكُمْ إِن كُنتُمْ تَعْلَمُونَ ﴿11﴾
(10) O you who have believed, shall I guide you to a transaction that will save you from a painful punishment? (11) [It is that] you believe in Allah and His Messenger and strive in the cause of Allah with your wealth and your lives. That is best for you, if you should know.Quran 61:10-11
وَذَا ٱلنُّونِ إِذ ذَّهَبَ مُغَٰضِبًۭا فَظَنَّ أَن لَّن نَّقْدِرَ عَلَيْهِ فَنَادَىٰ فِى ٱلظُّلُمَٰتِ أَن لَّآ إِلَٰهَ إِلَّآ أَنتَ سُبْحَٰنَكَ إِنِّى كُنتُ مِنَ ٱلظَّٰلِمِينَ
And [mention] the man of the fish, when he went off in anger and thought that We would not decree [anything] upon him. And he called out within the darknesses, "There is no deity except You; exalted are You. Indeed, I have been of the wrongdoers."Quran 21:87
Tap a card to turn it over.
"It must be specific surahs, a fixed number of times."
Turn over ↻Al-Fatihah plus any recitation completes each rakat. Fixed recipes have no reliable chain to the Prophet ﷺ.
"It only works on a special night or date."
Turn over ↻The last third of every night is a time of answer, every night of the year.
"My sin is too big for prayer to help."
Turn over ↻Quran 39:53 was revealed for exactly this heart. Despair is the trap, not the sin.
"I must say the intention out loud in Arabic."
Turn over ↻Knowing what you are about to pray, and why, is the niyyah.
"Once I pray it, I can go back to the sin."
Turn over ↻Regret, stopping and a firm resolve are the heart of tawbah. The prayer opens the door; you walk through it.
"I can only ask in Arabic."
Turn over ↻Allah hears every language. Inside the prayer, keep to Quranic and prophetic Arabic duas.
Apps and videos cannot hear you. A live teacher sees your posture, hears every word and corrects it kindly before a mistake becomes a habit.
Salatul Najat means "the prayer of rescue" or "the prayer of salvation". People pray it when they want to be saved from a sin, from a hardship or from the Fire. No authentic hadith gives a prayer by this exact name, so this page teaches the forms the Prophet ﷺ did teach for that purpose: two rakats of repentance (Salat al-Tawbah) and two rakats of need (Salat al-Hajah), followed by the rescue duas from the Quran and Sunnah.
Pray two rakats, like any voluntary (nafl) prayer. This is what the authentic narrations about the prayer of repentance and the prayer of need describe. You may pray more pairs of two if you wish.
Any surahs you know. Al-Fatihah is required in every rakat, and after it you may recite any surah or verses. Lists that require particular surahs a fixed number of times have no reliable source, so do not let them stop you from praying.
The intention is in the heart: you intend two voluntary rakats for Allah, for repentance or for your need. You do not need to say a fixed sentence aloud.
Any time outside the three disliked times (from after Fajr until the sun has risen, when the sun is at its highest just before Dhuhr, and from after Asr until sunset). The last third of the night is especially blessed, because the Prophet ﷺ said Allah asks then, "Who is calling on Me, that I may answer him? Who is asking for forgiveness, that I may forgive him?"
Praying two voluntary rakats, then repenting and asking Allah for a way out, is firmly Sunnah. What has no basis is giving the prayer a fixed recipe of surahs, counts and dates and treating that recipe as if the Prophet ﷺ taught it. Pray the Sunnah form on this page and you are on safe ground.
The dua of Yunus: "La ilaha illa anta, subhanaka, inni kuntu minaz-zalimin." Allah said after it, "So We answered him and saved him from distress, and thus do We save the believers" (Quran 21:88). The Prophet ﷺ said no Muslim calls on Allah with it for anything except that Allah answers him (Tirmidhi 3505).
Yes, at any time they are able to pray. During menstruation a woman does not pray, but she can still make every dua and dhikr on this page, including the dua of Yunus and seeking forgiveness.
Yes. Voluntary prayer can be prayed as often as you like outside the disliked times. Many people make two rakats of repentance part of their night routine.
Yes, after the salam you may ask Allah in any language. Inside the prayer, scholars prefer that you keep to Arabic duas from the Quran and Sunnah, which is why this page gives each one with transliteration and meaning.
Allah says: "Say, O My servants who have transgressed against themselves, do not despair of the mercy of Allah. Indeed Allah forgives all sins" (Quran 39:53). Sincere repentance is accepted until the soul reaches the throat or the sun rises from the west. Despair, not the size of the sin, is what holds people back.
Yes. A teacher listens to your Arabic, corrects each letter and explains the meaning, so the words you say in sujood are the words you mean. Your first lesson with us is free.
At Virtual Quran Center a teacher teaches Salatul Najat live, one to one on video. They walk you through the two rakats, the dua in sujood and the rescue duas, listen to your Arabic and correct it kindly. Lessons are in English, and many teachers also speak Urdu or Arabic. Your first lesson is free.
Yes. Our students learn it as a short course: the Sunnah steps of the prayer, the five rescue duas with meaning, and practice until they can pray it on their own. It sits in the student portal next to our Namaz lessons, and your teacher goes through it with you live.
Yes. Tell us when you book and we match you with a teacher who explains in Urdu (or Arabic, Punjabi or Bengali where available), while the duas themselves are learned in Arabic.
If you already pray, one or two lessons are usually enough to learn the steps, and a few more to say the rescue duas fluently and understand them. If you are new to prayer, your teacher starts with the daily Namaz and adds Salatul Najat after that.
Yes. Children who already pray can learn the two rakats and the dua of Yunus with a patient teacher. Parents can sit in on the lesson.
Salatul Najat (the prayer of rescue) is two rakats of repentance or need followed by the rescue duas. Salatul Tasbeeh is a four-rakat prayer in which the tasbih is said 300 times, taught by the Prophet ﷺ for the forgiveness of all kinds of sins. See our step-by-step guide to Salatul Tasbeeh.
Prefer a teacher to walk you through it? Learn Namaz online, read the duas from the Quran, or learn Salatul Tasbeeh, the prayer of 300 tasbih.
A teacher hears every letter of your dua and helps you understand it. The first lesson is free.
No commitment required. One free trial lesson per learner, with no payment details required.
Two to five live classes a week with a real teacher. No registration fee, no contract, free trial first.
