Dua is a supplication directed to God, and the opening chapter of the Qur'an, (al-Fatiha), serves as the archetypal Dua for Muslim devotions. It begins in praise of God, then progresses to express man's neediness of God before petitioning Him, and this becomes the standard pattern of supplication: praise and expressions of neediness are preludes to one's actual supplication. The Qur'anic text itself is a rich source of Dua in which Muslims find supplications, including those of earlier prophets from Adam to Jesus scattered throughout its verses. These will tend to refer to God with the Divine Name "Rabb", derived from a root word meaning Lord, but with connotations of loving, nurturing care. Collections of Rabbana Dua, or 'Oh our Lord!' Dua compiled from the Qur'anic text are typically taught to Muslim children at a young age.
The Hadith literature is another abundant source of Dua. The Hadith texts are distinct from the Qur'an and record the details of the life of the Prophet, including his devotions and supplications. Hadith literature runs into volumes with some collections containing thousands of individual Hadith, however later generations of Muslim scholars distilled smaller books on specific topics from the larger body of literature. Notable in this field is Imam al-Nawawi's Kitab al-adhkar which contains the Prophetic supplications made at various points during the day, from waking up, getting dressed, eating, till the end of the day, as well Dua associated with the five pillars, including the prayer, charity and the pilgrimage, and the main junctures in life.