The 365 · Sunnah · Day 55 · Quran
Reciting Sūrat al-Mulk Every Night Before Sleep
The hadith
سُورَةٌ مِنَ الْقُرْآنِ ثَلَاثُونَ آيَةً شَفَعَتْ لِصَاحِبِهَا حَتَّى غُفِرَ لَهُ، تَبَارَكَ الَّذِي بِيَدِهِ الْمُلْكُ
The Prophet ﷺ said: 'There is a surah in the Quran with thirty verses that intercedes for its companion until he is forgiven: Tabārak alladhī bi-yadihi al-mulk (Sūrat al-Mulk).' (Sunan at-Tirmidhī 2891, Abū Dāwūd 1400, Ibn Mājah 3786, classed ḥasan by al-Tirmidhī, narrated by Abū Hurayrah.) Cross-ref the further hadith: 'Sūrat al-Mulk is the protector (al-māniʿah) from the punishment of the grave.' (al-Ḥākim Mustadrak 2075, classed ṣaḥīḥ by al-Albānī.) Practiced every night.
Svenska: Profeten ﷺ sade: 'Det finns en sura i Koranen med trettio verser som medlar för sin följare tills han förlåts: Tabarak alladhi bi-yadihi al-mulk.' Cross-ref: 'Surat al-Mulk är beskyddaren från gravens straff.'
The story
Ibn ʿAbbās, the cousin of the Prophet ﷺ and the master of tafsir, was once with one of his companions when they pitched a tent on a grave without realizing it. They heard recitation through the night. In the morning, they came to the Prophet ﷺ and described what they heard. He said: 'It is the māniʿah, it is the protector that saves him from the punishment of the grave.' (al-Tirmidhī 2890, classed ḥasan; cross-ref Mustadrak 2075 and other narrations on al-Mulk's protective function.)
Why it's here
Sūrat al-Mulk (chapter 67, 30 verses) has unique sunnah-status: the Prophet ﷺ named it as an interceder until forgiveness, and as the māniʿah (the protector) from the punishment of the grave. The classical scholars considered nightly recitation of al-Mulk one of the easiest sunnahs to install with the highest reward. The 30 verses take about 5-7 minutes. The reward is intercession until forgiveness. The cost-benefit is unmatched.
Try it today
1. Memorize Sūrat al-Mulk. 30 verses, achievable in a few weeks of daily review. 2. Recite it every night before sleep. The full surah takes 5-7 minutes. 3. Pair with the bedtime adhkār (āyat al-kursī, last two verses of al-Baqarah, the Muʿawwidhāt). 4. If you cannot memorize, recite from the muṣḥaf or app. The reward is for the recitation; memorization is the optimization.
In your day
The 5-7 minutes of al-Mulk before sleep is one of the most efficient sunnahs in the religion's economy. Replace 5 minutes of pre-sleep scrolling with the surah. The named reward is intercession until forgiveness; the named protection is from the punishment of the grave. The cost is structurally trivial.
A reflection to carry
Sūrat al-Mulk before sleep: the surah of the grave. The Prophet ﷺ: 'There is a surah in the Quran of thirty verses that intercedes for a man until he is forgiven; it is Sūrat al-Mulk.' (Tirmidhī 2891, hasan.)
Read the longer reflection
The Prophet ﷺ would not sleep until he had recited Sūrat al-Mulk (Tirmidhī 3404, hasan). The structural promise: the surah intercedes for the believer; protects from the punishment of the grave. The 30-verse recitation takes about 5-7 minutes. Cure: integrate Sūrat al-Mulk as fixed pre-sleep recitation; pair with as-Sajdah (Q 32) which the Prophet ﷺ also recited before sleep, plus the Muʿawwidhāt and the closing pre-sleep adhkār-package. The structural pre-sleep recitation-package is one of the most operationally weighted in the Sunnah.
Sources: Tirmidhi, Abu Dawud, Ibn Majah. The Qur'an and its translation are verified; the scholarship is retold faithfully in our own words and credited to its sources, never reproduced verbatim.
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