Before you learn, before you speak, before something difficult
Rabbi zidnī ʿilmā — "my Lord, increase me in knowledge" — is from the Qur'an itself. Alongside it is the du'ā Mūsā عليه السلام made before speaking to Pharaoh, and one for when a task looks impossible.
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Rabbi zidnī ʿilmā
My Lord, increase me in knowledge. Allah told His Prophet ﷺ to ask for this, and it is the only thing in the Qur'an he is told to ask for more of.
Before opening a book, a lesson or the muṣḥaf. · Qur'an 20:114
Loading 20:25–28 from Quran.com…
Rabbi-shraḥ lī ṣadrī wa yassir lī amrī waḥlul ʿuqdatan min lisānī yafqahū qawlī
My Lord, open up my chest for me, make my task easy for me, and untie the knot in my tongue so they understand what I say. Mūsā عليه السلام asked this before facing Pharaoh.
Before an exam, an interview, a hard conversation. · Qur'an 20:25–28
اللّٰهُمَّ لَا سَهْلَ إِلَّا مَا جَعَلْتَهُ سَهْلًا، وَأَنْتَ تَجْعَلُ الْحَزْنَ إِذَا شِئْتَ سَهْلًا
Allāhumma lā sahla illā mā jaʿaltahu sahlā, wa Anta tajʿalul-ḥazna idhā shi'ta sahlā
O Allah, nothing is easy except what You make easy, and You make the hard ground level whenever You wish.
Before a task you are dreading. · Ṣaḥīḥ Ibn Ḥibbān 2427
Say them before you sit down to study, before an exam, and before anything you are dreading. Nothing is easy except what Allah makes easy.
Every du'ā above can be heard aloud. Where the words are Qur'an, the Arabic comes from the Quran.com API and is shown exactly as served, with a link into the muṣḥaf.