Can Muslims pray for non-Muslims, living or dead?

A Christian mother in the hospital, a Hindu friend’s funeral, a Jewish colleague’s diagnosis, an atheist grandfather who has just died: Muslims live among people they love who do not share their faith, and they want to pray for them. Can Muslims pray for non-Muslims? Yes, for the living without any doubt, and for those who have died as well, on the stronger view. The Prophet ﷺ prayed for people who had rejected him, the prophets before him prayed for those who had wronged them, and Allah’s mercy, the Quran says, “embraces all things” (Quran 7:156).

Can Muslims pray for non-Muslims who are alive?

Yes. When al-Ṭufayl ibn ʿAmr of the tribe of Daws came to the Prophet ﷺ and said that his people had refused Islam and asked him to pray against them, the people present said, “Daws is finished.” The Prophet ﷺ prayed for them instead:

«اللَّهُمَّ اهْدِ دَوْسًا وَائْتِ بِهِمْ»

“O Allah, guide Daws, and bring them here.”

Sahih al-Bukhari 2937

On another occasion, asked to curse the polytheists, he said, “I was not sent to curse. I was sent as a mercy” (Sahih Muslim 2599). He also told his Companions of an earlier prophet whose own people beat him until he bled, and who wiped the blood from his face and said:

«اللَّهُمَّ اغْفِرْ لِقَوْمِي فَإِنَّهُمْ لاَ يَعْلَمُونَ»

“O Allah, forgive my people, for they do not know.”

Sahih al-Bukhari 3477

So a Muslim may ask Allah to heal a non-Muslim neighbor, guide a friend, bless a colleague’s family, protect a stranger, and forgive the people who hurt them. Friendship across faiths is itself part of the Sunnah (Can Muslims be friends with non-Muslims?).

What does the Quran say about praying for non-Muslims who have died?

The question turns on one verse of Sūrat al-Tawba:

“It is not for the Prophet and the believers to ask forgiveness for those who associate partners with Allah, even if they are close relatives, after it has become clear to them that they are the people of the blazing fire” (Quran 9:113).

Many classical scholars read this as forbidding any prayer of forgiveness for a non-Muslim who has died. That is a recognized opinion, and many Muslims were taught it. The stronger view rests on the wording and setting of the verse.

The verse forbids asking forgiveness “after it has become clear” that a person belongs to the fire. That clarity is knowledge of a soul’s final state, and only Allah has it. The Prophet ﷺ received it by revelation about particular people of his time; no Muslim today knows it about a mother, a neighbor, or a friend. Sūrat al-Tawba was also revealed about the polytheists of Arabia who were at war with the believers and broke their treaties, a setting the sūra describes at length.

The next verse explains that Abraham (peace be upon him) prayed for his father until this became clear to him, and closes with praise for his tender heart: “Abraham was tender-hearted and forbearing” (9:114). His prayer is preserved in the Quran in his own words:

قَالَ سَلَٰمٌ عَلَيۡكَۖ سَأَسۡتَغۡفِرُ لَكَ رَبِّيٓۖ إِنَّهُۥ كَانَ بِي حَفِيّٗا

“He said: Peace be upon you. I will ask my Lord to forgive you; He has always been kind to me.”

Quran 19:47

How did the prophets and the angels pray for others?

The Quran gives the words of Jesus (peace be upon him) on the Day of Judgment, speaking of those who went astray after him:

إِن تُعَذِّبۡهُمۡ فَإِنَّهُمۡ عِبَادُكَۖ وَإِن تَغۡفِرۡ لَهُمۡ فَإِنَّكَ أَنتَ ٱلۡعَزِيزُ ٱلۡحَكِيمُ

“If You punish them, they are Your servants; and if You forgive them, You are the Almighty, the Wise.”

Quran 5:118

Abu Dharr reported that the Prophet ﷺ stood in prayer through an entire night repeating this one verse until dawn (Sunan Ibn Majah 1350, graded hasan by al-Albani). And the angels, the Quran says, pray for everyone on earth:

وَٱلۡمَلَـٰٓئِكَةُ يُسَبِّحُونَ بِحَمۡدِ رَبِّهِمۡ وَيَسۡتَغۡفِرُونَ لِمَن فِي ٱلۡأَرۡضِ

“And the angels glorify their Lord with praise, and ask forgiveness for those on earth.”

Quran 42:5

The great theologians of the tradition held that Allah’s mercy reaches far beyond the borders of the Muslim community. Al-Ghazali (d. 1111), in Fayṣal al-Tafriqa, taught that people who never heard the message truly are excused, and the wider discussion is set out in Do non-Muslims go to hell? and Is hell eternal in Islam?

The sound position, then: a Muslim may ask Allah to have mercy on a non-Muslim who has died, to forgive them, to ease their way, and to comfort those who mourn them, and leave the final word to Allah, as Jesus did.

How can I pray for a non-Muslim who has died?

• In your own words: “O Allah, have mercy on her, forgive her, and be gentle with her. Comfort her children.”
• With her family: “May God give you strength,” “May she rest in peace,” or “May Allah have mercy on him.”
• At the funeral: the Prophet ﷺ stood up for the bier of a Jewish man and said, “Is it not a soul?” (Sahih al-Bukhari 1312). Attending to honor the dead is good character (Can Muslims attend a Christian funeral or wedding?).
• In the years after: remember them in your duʿāʾ, give charity in their name, and keep up their friendships and family ties.

A closing duʿāʾ

Abraham, the friend of Allah, prayed for those who followed him and for those who did not, in the same breath:

فَمَن تَبِعَنِي فَإِنَّهُۥ مِنِّيۖ وَمَنۡ عَصَانِي فَإِنَّكَ غَفُورٞ رَّحِيمٞ

“Whoever follows me is of me, and whoever disobeys me, You are Forgiving, Merciful.”

Quran 14:36

Pray for the people you love by name. The One who hears you loves them more than you do.