Mosque Duas #2 — Doors of Mercy

Among the most profound invocations ever uttered is the du‘a for when entering mosques:

اللَّهُمَّ افْتَحْ لِي أَبْوَابَ رَحْمَتِكَ
“O Allah, open for me the doors of Your mercy.” (Sahih Muslim)

Doors as Symbols of Access

A door is not just an opening; it is a means through which a person gains access to what lies within a space. As he steps into the house of Allah, he is not merely entering a structure of stone — he is entering a place of abundant and overflowing mercy.

Moreover, the use of the plural — “doors” rather than “door” — further conveys the vastness and diversity of Allah’s mercy — that His mercy takes different forms.

What Is Rahmah (Mercy)?

The Prophet ﷺ said, “Allah created one hundred mercies. He sent down one mercy to the world, by which creation shows compassion to one another — so much so that a mother lifts her hoof away from her young out of fear of harming it — and He kept ninety-nine mercies with Himself [for the Day of Judgement].” (Sahih Muslim)

Mercy manifests differently:

• compassion

• generosity

• gentleness

• kindness

• help

• protection

• forgiveness

All forms of compassion witnessed in this world emanate from that single portion of mercy. The remaining ninety-nine still remain… yet to be experienced!

So when the Prophet ﷺ instructed us to pray, “O Allah, open for me the doors of Your mercy,” he was not calling us to ordinary kindness, but to an ocean without shore — a mercy beyond imagination, vast as the One from whom it flows. He is teaching us to access for all of our affairs His “compassion, generosity, gentleness, kindness, help, protection, forgiveness” — or in one word: rahmah (mercy).