Question:
Can you please tell me a dua to read to try and have a baby boy? If there is one can you tell me when and how many times to read this? Can you tell me the dua in english and the meaning of the dua?
Answer:
All praise are due to Allah.
Jazakumallahu khairan for your question. You have done the correct thing by turning to Allah ta’ala alone to answer your prayers. However, you should not be too insistent in asking only for a boy, since both male and female children are blessings from Allah, and are from His Decree.
Allah criticizes the pagan Arabs in the Qur’an for the dislike of having daughters, He Almighty says: “When one of them is given the good news of a baby girl, his face turns dark and he is enraged.”
There is a general dua for having righteous children:
“Rabanaa hablanaa min azwaajinaa wa dhuriaatina quraata ‘ayun, wa ja’alna lil mutaqeena imaamaa.”
“Our Lord! Grant us from our spouses and progeny what shall cool our eyes, and make us leaders for the righteous.”
Some of the righteous asked for a pious male child that would serve the deen of Allah, such as Zakariyya, and Hinna the mother of Maryam. If this is your intention then there is no harm in asking for a male child, while accepting and praising Allah for a female. Do you not see Allah’s wisdom in granting Hinna a baby girl?
Make your dua’ at times of acceptance, such as in the last third of the night, in sajdah, or between the adhan and iqaama, during rain, or just before tasleem in prayer. Remember to make sure your and your husband’s rizq is halal, for impure earnings will be a barrier between you and acceptance of your dua.
Finally, pray to Allah to guide your children, for whether male or female, what really counts is where they end up in the Afterlife. A parent’s greatest concern should be that their children do good deeds and that they learn from you, as they will be a Sadaqa jariyya for you after you have left this world.
May Allah guide you to all that is good.
And Allah knows best.