The authentic thing to say when you lose something is Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji'un, Allahumma'jurni fi musibati wa akhlif li khayran minha. The Prophet ﷺ taught it for any loss, small or large. There is also a popular dua that asks Allah to return a lost thing, but its chain is weak. Both are below, with their sources, so you know exactly what you are saying.
إِنَّا لِلَّهِ وَإِنَّا إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعُونَ، اللَّهُمَّ أْجُرْنِي فِي مُصِيبَتِي، وَأَخْلِفْ لِي خَيْرًا مِنْهَا
Innā lillāhi wa innā ilayhi rājiʿūn, Allāhumma ʾjurnī fī muṣībatī wa akhlif lī khayram-minhā
We belong to Allah and to Him we will return. O Allah, reward me in my loss and replace it for me with something better.
Sahih Muslim 918, from Umm Salamah
قَدَرُ اللَّهِ وَمَا شَاءَ فَعَلَ
Qadarullāhi wa mā shāʾa faʿal
Allah has decreed, and what He wills He does. (Said instead of "if only I had...".)
Sahih Muslim 2664, from Abu Hurayrah
اللَّهُمَّ رَادَّ الضَّالَّةِ، وَهَادِيَ الضَّلَالَةِ، تَهْدِي مِنَ الضَّلَالَةِ، ارْدُدْ عَلَيَّ ضَالَّتِي بِقُدْرَتِكَ وَسُلْطَانِكَ، فَإِنَّهَا مِنْ عَطَائِكَ وَفَضْلِكَ
Allāhumma rāddaḍ-ḍāllah, wa hādiyaḍ-ḍalālah, tahdī minaḍ-ḍalālah, urdud ʿalayya ḍāllatī bi-qudratika wa sulṭānik, fa-innahā min ʿaṭāʾika wa faḍlik
O Allah, the One who returns what is lost, the Guide out of going astray, You guide out of error: return my lost thing to me by Your power and authority, for it is from Your gift and Your favour.
At-Tabarani, al-Mu'jam al-Kabir, from Ibn Umar. Weak: al-Haythami (Majma az-Zawa'id) said one narrator is unknown to him. Fine to say as a dua, not as a proven sunnah.
Our teachers will check the Arabic and transliteration on this page before launch.
Guide
The authentic thing to say when you lose something is Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji'un, Allahumma'jurni fi musibati wa akhlif li khayran minha. The Prophet ﷺ taught it for any loss, small or large. There is also a popular dua that asks Allah to return a lost thing, but its chain is weak. Both are below, with their sources, so you know exactly what you are saying.
The Prophet ﷺ said that any Muslim who is struck by a musibah (a loss or misfortune) and says what Allah commanded, "We belong to Allah and to Him we will return", followed by this dua, will be given something better in its place.1 Umm Salamah said it when her husband died, and Allah gave her the Prophet ﷺ himself as a husband. A musibah is any harm or loss, so the words fit a lost wallet as much as a greater grief. The Quran praises those who say it: "Those are the ones upon whom are blessings from their Lord and mercy" (2:157, translation by Sahih International).
When something goes wrong, the Prophet ﷺ said: "Do not say, 'If only I had done such and such', but say: Allah has decreed, and what He wills He does, for 'if only' opens the door to the work of Shaytan."2 That is Dua 2. It stops the blaming loop and turns you back to Allah.
Dua 3 is the one most sites give as "the dua for lost things". At-Tabarani reports it from Ibn Umar, who said the Prophet ﷺ taught it. Al-Haythami checked its chain and said one narrator, Abd ar-Rahman ibn Ya'qub, is unknown to him, though the rest are trustworthy.3 So it is weak. Its meaning is sound and it is only praise of Allah and a request, so many scholars say you may use it as a dua, without believing it is a confirmed sunnah. Say Dua 1 first.
Another popular wording is Ya Jami'an-nasi li-yawmin la rayba fih, ijma' alayya dallati, "O Gatherer of mankind on a Day about which there is no doubt, bring my lost thing back to me". Its first part echoes Quran 3:9. Scholars such as Ibn Allan mention it as something the pious found helpful by experience, not as a hadith.4 You may ask Allah this way, but do not call it a sunnah. There is no authentic surah or number of repetitions for finding lost things.
The Prophet ﷺ described a man in the desert who lost his camel, with his food and water on it, and lay down to die. Then he woke and found it standing beside him. Allah, the Prophet ﷺ said, is more pleased with the repentance of His servant than that man was with his camel.6 Losing something shows how much we can love a thing. The hadith turns that feeling towards Allah.
The Prophet ﷺ was asked about lost property (luqatah). He said to note its container and how it is tied, and to announce it for a year, so that the owner can describe it and claim it.7
Pick it up only to return it. Announce it where it was found and where people will hear, for as long as you think the owner is still looking (Hanafi texts give a year for anything of value). If no owner comes, give it in charity on the owner's behalf; a finder who is poor may use it. If the owner appears later, he may accept the reward of the charity or ask for its value.
The rulings on this page are pending review by the scholars on our team.
Questions
Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji'un, Allahumma'jurni fi musibati wa akhlif li khayran minha (Sahih Muslim 918): We belong to Allah and to Him we return; O Allah, reward me in my loss and replace it with something better.
Its chain is weak. At-Tabarani reports it from Ibn Umar, and al-Haythami said one narrator is unknown. You may say it as a dua, but do not treat it as a proven sunnah.
Yes. The hadith covers any musibah, any loss or harm, and the scholars apply it to small losses as well as great ones.
No authentic hadith names a surah or a count for finding lost things. Make dua sincerely, search well, and trust Allah with the result.
Keep it safe and announce it so the owner can claim it. The Prophet ﷺ said to announce it for a year (Sahih al-Bukhari 2372). If no one comes, the Hanafi school says to give it in charity for the owner.
Not answered here? Ask our team.