Rabbana Amanna Faktubna Maash-Shahidin: Dua of Those Moved by the Quran (Quran 5:83) – Arabic, Hindi, Urdu & Meaning

Rabbana amanna faktubna maash-shahidin is a short dua from Surah Al-Ma’idah, verse 83. It means: ‘Our Lord, we have believed, so write us down among those who bear witness.’

It is the dua of people who heard the Quran, recognized the truth in it, and wept. Below you will find the Arabic, Roman English, Hindi and Urdu, the meaning of each word, who said it and why, how it differs from the similar dua in Quran 3:53, and the related Hadith about An-Najashi, the king of Abyssinia.

Quran Reference

• Surah: Al-Ma’idah (Chapter 5), verse 83
• Read online: Quran 5:83 on Quran.com
• Context: Quran 5:82 and 5:83, about the Christians who are nearest in love to the believers

What Does Rabbana Amanna Faktubna Maash-Shahidin Mean?

• Rabbana – our Lord
• Amanna – we have believed
• Fa-ktubna – so write us down
• Ma‘a – with, among
• Ash-shahidin – those who bear witness

The dua has two parts. First, they say they believed. Second, they ask Allah to write them down with the witnesses of the truth.

Who Says This Dua?

Quran 5:82 says that the nearest in love to the believers are those who say ‘We are Christians’. Tafsir Ibn Kathir explains that these are the Christians who follow the religion of the Messiah and the teachings of his Injil. Then Quran 5:83 says that when they hear what was revealed to the Messenger, their eyes overflow with tears because of the truth they recognize, and they say: ‘Our Lord, we have believed, so write us down with those who bear witness.’

Tafsir Ibn Kathir reports from Sa’id bin Jubayr and As-Suddi that these verses were revealed about a delegation that An-Najashi (the king of Abyssinia) sent to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). Tafsir Al-Jalalayn says that when the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) recited Surah Ya-Sin to the delegation, they cried and accepted Islam, saying: ‘How similar this is to what used to be revealed to Jesus!’

How Is This Different From the Dua in Quran 3:53?

• Quran 3:53 – ‘Rabbana amanna bima anzalta wattaba’nar-rasula faktubna ma’ash-shahidin.’ The dua of the disciples of Isa, who believed in what Allah sent down and followed the Messenger.
• Quran 5:83 – ‘Rabbana amanna faktubna ma’ash-shahidin.’ The shorter dua of people who heard the Quran and recognized the truth.

These two duas look alike because they end with the same words: “write us down among those who bear witness.” But the people who say them are different, and so are the words that come before that request.

In Quran 3:53, the speakers are the disciples of Prophet Isa (peace be upon him). When Isa felt that many of his people had turned to disbelief, he asked who would help him for the sake of Allah (Quran 3:52), and the disciples answered him. Then they made this dua. It has three parts: “we believe in what You sent down”, “we followed the Messenger”, and “write us down with the witnesses”. So they say clearly what they believed in and whom they followed.

In Quran 5:83, the speakers are people who hear the Quran being recited, recognize the truth in it, and have eyes full of tears. Tafsir Ibn Kathir reports that these verses were revealed about the delegation that An-Najashi sent to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). Their dua is shorter: “we believed, so write us down with the witnesses.” The dua itself does not repeat the words “what You sent down” and “we followed the Messenger”. Instead, the verse tells us around the dua that they heard what was revealed to the Messenger.

A simple way to remember: Quran 3:53 is the dua of followers who answered a prophet’s call for help, and Quran 5:83 is the dua of listeners whose hearts were moved when they heard the Quran. Both teach the same lesson: say that we believe, and ask Allah to count us with the witnesses of the truth.

Both end with the same request. For the first dua, see Rabbana Amanna Bima Anzalta.

What Does the Authentic Hadith Say?

This Hadith is not an explanation of verse 5:83 itself. It is about An-Najashi, who is connected to the verses in the tafsir.

In a Hadith agreed upon by Bukhari and Muslim, Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) told his Companions about the death of An-Najashi, the king of Abyssinia, on the day he died. He took them out to the prayer ground, lined them up in rows and prayed over him with four takbirs.

Reference: Hadith on the Negus, listed by Abu Amina Elias

For the details of this prayer, please ask a trusted scholar.

Benefits and Lessons

• Recognize the truth and let your heart respond. The people in the verse wept when they heard the Quran.
• Believe, then ask Allah to count you with the truthful. The dua begins with ‘we have believed’.
• Ask Allah for the company of the witnesses of the truth. The same request is made in Quran 3:53.
• Truth is recognized by sincere people. Quran 5:83 says they recognized it.

In Quran 5:83, the people’s eyes overflow with tears because of the truth they recognized. This reminds us that listening to the Quran is not only for the ears. When we listen, we can stop and ask ourselves: what is Allah telling me in these words? Notice that the verse describes what happened to them. It does not make crying a condition for anyone, and Allah knows the state of every heart.

The order of the dua is important. First comes faith: “we have believed.” Only then comes the request: “write us down.” We do not ask Allah to count us among the witnesses of the truth while leaving our faith aside. In the dua of the disciples (Quran 3:53), faith is also joined with action: they say they believed and that they followed the Messenger. So faith is not only words in the mouth. It is also following what Allah has sent.

“Ash-shahidin” means those who bear witness to the truth. Tafsir Mazhari, as quoted in a compilation of the Rabbana duas, explains it as the Ummah of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), who will give testimony about the conveying of his message. Ibn Abbas explained the same words in Quran 3:53 in a similar way, and Tafsir Ibn Kathir says this report has a good chain. So when we make this dua, we ask Allah to count us among the people who stand with the truth and testify to it. Notice also that the dua says “us” and not “me”, so we can make it for our family and friends too.

The verse praises how these people listened: they heard the Quran and they recognized the truth in it. This encourages us to listen to the Quran with an open and sincere heart. At the same time, we should not judge the sincerity of other people, because only Allah knows what is in the hearts.

When Can I Make This Dua?

Allah invites us to call upon Him (Quran 40:60), so you can make this dua at any time. We have not found a Hadith that gives it a special time.

Common Beliefs About This Dua: What Is Right and What Is Not Proven

People often add extra claims to this dua or mix it up with other duas. We checked each claim below against the Quran, the Hadith we could open and tafsir. “Not verified” means we could not find a reliable source. It does not by itself mean the claim is false.

• Claim: The dua is said by people who hear the Quran, recognize the truth and weep.
  Status: Authentic (Quran).
  Source and grading checked: Quran 5:83.
• Claim: The verses were revealed about the delegation that An-Najashi sent to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and Najashi and his courtiers wept and accepted Islam.
  Status: Supported by tafsir.
  Source and grading checked: Tafsir Ibn Kathir on 5:83, quoting Sa’id bin Jubayr and As-Suddi, and Tafsir Al-Jalalayn. These are tafsir statements and not Hadith. See MyIslam and surahquran.com.
• Claim: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) told his Companions about the death of An-Najashi and prayed over him.
  Status: Authentic.
  Source and grading checked: Reported by Abu Hurairah in Sahih Al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim (agreed upon), as listed on Abu Amina Elias. It is a related Hadith and not an explanation of verse 5:83. We did not open the exact numbers on Sunnah.com.
• Claim: This is the dua of the disciples of Isa, the same as Quran 3:53.
  Status: Not correct.
  Source and grading checked: Quran 3:53 is the dua of the disciples of Isa and has more words. Quran 5:83 is said by people who hear the Quran and weep. The two share the ending “faktubna ma‘ash-shahidin”. See our post on Rabbana Amanna Bima Anzalta.
• Claim: “Ash-shahidin” means the Ummah of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him).
  Status: Supported by tafsir.
  Source and grading checked: Tafsir Mazhari, as quoted in a compilation of the Rabbana duas, explains it as those who will give testimony about the conveying of the Prophet’s message. We did not check the original source.
• Claim: Reciting this dua a set number of times, or at a set time, brings a special reward.
  Status: Not verified.
  Source and grading checked: We searched for counts and wazifas for this dua, and the pages we opened for it gave none. We found no Hadith that sets a number, a time or a reward for it.

How we checked: we read the Quran text, tafsir pages and Hadith commentary pages, and compared the top pages that talk about this dua. We could not page through every search result or search the Dorar.net grading database, so “not verified” is not a guarantee that no Hadith exists. For rulings, please ask a trusted scholar.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does Rabbana amanna faktubna maash-shahidin mean?

It means: Our Lord, we have believed, so write us down among those who bear witness. The people who say it first state their faith and then ask Allah to count them among the witnesses of the truth.

Where is Rabbana amanna faktubna maash-shahidin in the Quran?

It is in Surah Al-Ma’idah (Chapter 5), verse 83.

Who says this dua in the Quran?

Quran 5:83 says that when these people hear what was revealed to the Messenger, their eyes overflow with tears because of the truth they recognize, and they say this dua. Tafsir Ibn Kathir reports from Sa’id bin Jubayr and As-Suddi that these verses were revealed about a delegation that An-Najashi, the king of Abyssinia, sent to the Prophet.

Who was An-Najashi?

An-Najashi (the Negus) was the Christian king of Abyssinia (Ethiopia). In a Hadith agreed upon by Bukhari and Muslim, Abu Hurairah reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) told the Companions of his death on the day he died, lined them up at the prayer ground and prayed over him with four takbirs.

What does ash-shahidin mean in this dua?

It means those who bear witness to the truth. Tafsir Mazhari, as quoted in a compilation of the Rabbana duas, explains it as the Ummah of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), who will give testimony about the conveying of his message.

Is this the same as the dua in Quran 3:53?

No. Quran 3:53 is the longer dua of the disciples of Isa (Rabbana amanna bima anzalta wattaba’nar-rasula faktubna ma’ash-shahidin). Quran 5:83 is a shorter dua said by people who hear the Quran and recognize the truth. They share the last words.

Is there a fixed reward, number or special time for this dua?

We searched the Hadith sources we could open and found no Hadith that sets a number, a special time or a special reward for reciting only this dua. See the section on common beliefs above. You can make it at any time (Quran 40:60).

Are the Hindi and Urdu lines the Quran?

No. The Arabic is the word of Allah. The Roman English, Hindi and Urdu lines are only to help you read and understand. Please learn the correct pronunciation from a qualified teacher.

More Duas of the Quran

• Rabbana Amanna Bima Anzalta (Quran 3:53)
• Rabbana Akhrijna Min Hadhihil Qaryatiz Zalimi Ahluha (Quran 4:75)

References

• Quran 5:82–83 and 40:60, with tafsir of Ibn Kathir and Al-Jalalayn – myislam.org and surahquran.com
• Hadith on the Negus (Bukhari and Muslim) – abuaminaelias.com
• Tafsir Mazhari on “ash-shahidin” – islamawareness.net

Conclusion

This short dua is the response of people whose hearts were moved by the Quran. They believed, and they asked Allah to write them with the witnesses of the truth.

May Allah count us among those who believe and bear witness to the truth. Ameen.