From the sources
What duas can I say for self-control when temptation hits?
Updated
In short
For the acute moment, the Prophet ﷺ taught seeking refuge: a'udhu billahi min ash-shaytan ir-rajim. For the long war, the tradition gives a rhythm of daily supplication: Sayyid al-Istighfar morning and evening, istighfar a hundred times a day, and the du'a of the turning hearts — 'O Turner of the hearts, turn our hearts to Your obedience.' Every du'a below is quoted verbatim with its source, reference, and translator.
Du’a is the believer’s native tool for a fight that happens mostly in private — which is exactly where this fight happens. What follows is a small, usable collection: du’as for the moment an urge hits, du’as for the daily rhythm that builds self-control, and the Qur’anic promise that the asking is heard. Every item is quoted verbatim from its source with its translator named.
What do I say in the moment of temptation?
The Prophet’s ﷺ instruction for the moment the whisper arrives is short enough to say with a pounding heart:
أَعُوذُ بِاللَّهِ مِنَ الشَّيْطَانِ الرَّجِيمِ
I take refuge with Allah from the accursed devil.
Say it, and physically move — stand, leave the room, make wudu. The words and the movement together interrupt the moment better than either alone.
And because the heart in that moment feels like it is being pulled by something stronger than you, the Prophet ﷺ named that feeling precisely — and gave the du’a for it:
Abdullah b. Amr b. al-'As reported that he heard Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) as saying: Verily, the hearts of all the sons of Adam are between the two fingers out of the fingers of the Compassionate Lord as one heart. He turns that to any (direction) He likes. Then Allahs Messenger (ﷺ) said: 0 Allah, the Turner of the hearts, turn our hearts to Thine obedience
O Turner of the hearts, turn our hearts to Your obedience. If you learn one du’a from this page, make it this one.
What should I say every day, before temptation comes?
Self-control is built in the quiet hours, not the desperate ones. The tradition’s daily rhythm of istighfar keeps the slate short and the heart soft. Its crown is Sayyid al-Istighfar — the master supplication of forgiveness, said morning and evening:
اللَّهُمَّ أَنْتَ رَبِّي لَا إِلَهَ إِلاَّ أَنْتَ، خَلَقْتَنِي وَأَنَا عَبْدُكَ، وَأَنَا عَلَى عَهْدِكَ وَوَعْدِكَ مَا اسْتَطَعْتُ، أَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنْ شَرِّ مَا صَنَعْتُ، أَبُوءُ لَكَ بِنِعْمَتِكَ عَلَيَّ، وَأَبُوءُ بِذَنْبِي فَاغْفِرْ لِي فَإِنَّهُ لاَ يَغْفِرُ الذُّنوبَ إِلاَّ أَنْتَ
O Allah, You are my Lord, none has the right to be worshipped except You, You created me and I am Your servant and I abide to Your covenant and promise as best I can, I take refuge in You from the evil of which I have committed. I acknowledge Your favour upon me and I acknowledge my sin, so forgive me, for verily none can forgive sin except You.
The Prophet ﷺ himself — sinless — modeled the volume of daily return:
أَسْتَغْفِرُ اللَّهَ وَأَتُوبُ إِلَيْهِ
I seek Allaah's forgiveness and I turn to Him in repentance. [one hundred times a day]
وَقَالَ صلى الله عليه وسلم: ((يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ تُوبُوا إِلَى اللَّهِ فَإِنِّي أَتُوبُ فِي الْيَوْمِ إِلَيْهِ مِائَةَ مَرَّةٍ))
He also said: 'O People, Repent! Verily I repent to Allah, a hundred times a day.
And he ﷺ described his own practice in words that should permanently retire the idea that needing frequent istighfar is a mark of failure:
وَقَالَ صلى الله عليه وسلم: ((إِنَّهُ لَيُغَانُ عَلَى قَلْبِي وَإِنِّي لأَسْتَغْفِرُ اللَّهَ فِي الْيَوْمِ مِائَةَ مَرَّةٍ))
He also said: 'verily my heart becomes preoccupied, and verily I seek Allah's forgiveness a hundred times a day.
Short du’as to carry through the day
After wudu — a du’a that asks for exactly the two things this struggle needs:
اللَّهُمَّ اجْعَلْنِي مِنَ التَّوَّابِينَ وَاجْعَلْنِي مِنَ الْمُتَطَهِّرِينَ
O Allah, make me of those who return to You often in repentance and make me of those who remain clean and pure.
The comprehensive five-word request the Prophet ﷺ taught new Muslims with the prayer itself:
اللَّهُمَّ اغْفِرِ لِي، وَارْحَمْنِي، وَاهْدِنِي، وَعَافِنِي وَارْزُقْنِي
O Allah, forgive me, have mercy upon me, guide me, give me health and grant me sustenance.
And a du’a of forgiveness by Allah’s own oneness, taught for the end of the prayer:
اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَسْأَلُكَ يَا أَللَّهُ بِأَنَّكَ الْوَاحِدُ الْأَحَدُ الصَّمَدُ الَّذِي لَمْ يَلِدْ وَلَمْ يولَدْ، وَلَمْ يَكنْ لَهُ كُفُواً أَحَدٌ، أَنْ تَغْفِرَ لِي ذُنُوبِي إِنَّكَ أَنْتَ الْغَفُورُ الرَّحِّيمُ
O Allah, I ask You O Allah, as You are The One, The Only, AS-Samad, The One who begets not, nor was He begotten and there is none like unto Him that You forgive me my sins for verily You are The Oft-Forgiving, Most-Merciful.
When is du’a most powerful?
The Prophet ﷺ pointed to sujud — the posture you are already in seventeen times a day:
وَقَالَ صلى الله عليه وسلم: ((أَقْرَبُ مَا يَكُونُ الْعَبْدُ مِنْ رَبِّهِ وَهُوَ سَاجِدٌ فَأَكثِرُوا الدُّعَاءَ))
He also said: 'The nearest a servant is to his Lord is when he is prostrating, so supplicate much therein.
Use it. The prostrations of your ordinary prayers are appointments for this exact conversation; the habit of asking there costs no extra time and builds the reflex of turning to Allah before the urge rather than only after the fall.
Does the asking actually reach anywhere?
The Qur’an answers the question directly, in the first person:
وَإِذَا سَأَلَكَ عِبَادِی عَنِّی فَإِنِّی قَرِیبٌۖ أُجِیبُ دَعۡوَةَ ٱلدَّاعِ إِذَا دَعَانِۖ فَلۡیَسۡتَجِیبُوا۟ لِی وَلۡیُؤۡمِنُوا۟ بِی لَعَلَّهُمۡ یَرۡشُدُونَ
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
I am near. I respond. No intermediary, no waiting room, no eloquence requirement. Between you and that answer there is nothing to arrange — only words to say, tonight, in whatever language your heart actually speaks.
One honest note in closing: du’a is not a vending machine, and the tradition never presents it as a substitute for means. Pair these words with closed pathways, a plan for the hard moments, and real accountability. Ask like it all depends on Allah; act like the asking has hands.
Common questions
- Is there one specific du'a for quitting pornography?
- No single narration addresses this habit by name — it is covered by the du'as for refuge from shaytan, forgiveness, and steadfastness of heart. Scholars encourage making du'a in your own words too; nothing about supplication requires a fixed formula.
- When is du'a most likely to be answered?
- The tradition names several privileged moments: in sujud (the Prophet ﷺ said the servant is nearest to his Lord while prostrating), the last third of the night, and between the adhan and iqamah. Build your asking into those moments.
- Do I need to say these in Arabic?
- The transmitted du'as carry special weight in their original wording, and learning them is worthwhile. But Allah answers every language — the verse says 'I respond to the call of the caller when he calls upon Me,' without condition on the tongue used. Ask in whatever words are truly yours.
- What if I've made these du'as for years and still struggle?
- Du'a is one instrument in the tradition's orchestra, not a substitute for the others — closing pathways, changing routines, seeking help. The Prophet ﷺ both prayed for outcomes and tied his camel. Keep asking, and pair the asking with means.