The 365 · Sunnah · Day 308 · Sleep
Ayat al-Kursī before Sleep
The hadith
عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ، عَنِ النَّبِيِّ ﷺ، فِي قِصَّةِ الشَّيْطَانِ الَّذِي كَانَ يَأْتِي الزَّكَاةَ، قَالَ: «إِذَا أَوَيْتَ إِلَى فِرَاشِكَ فَاقْرَأْ آيَةَ الْكُرْسِيِّ، لَنْ يَزَالَ عَلَيْكَ مِنَ اللَّهِ حَافِظٌ، وَلَا يَقْرَبَنَّكَ شَيْطَانٌ حَتَّى تُصْبِحَ». فَقَالَ النَّبِيُّ ﷺ: «صَدَقَكَ وَهُوَ كَذُوبٌ».
Abū Hurayrah narrated that the Prophet ﷺ, in the story of the satan who came to the zakāh stores, said: 'When you go to bed, recite Ayat al-Kursī, and a protector from Allah will not cease to watch over you, and no satan will come near you until morning.' The Prophet ﷺ said: 'He told you the truth, though he is a liar.' (Bukhari 2311)
Svenska: Abū Hurayrah berättade att Profeten ﷺ, i berättelsen om shayṭān som kom till zakāh-förråden, sade: 'När du går till sängs, recitera Ayat al-Kursī, och en beskyddare från Allah ska inte upphöra att vaka över dig, och ingen shayṭān ska komma nära dig till morgonen.' Profeten ﷺ sade: 'Han talade sant, även om han är en lögnare.' (Bukhari 2311)
Bukhari 2311; al-Baqarah 2:255
The story
Abū Hurayrah's encounter with the thief is one of the most striking narrations in Bukhari. The shayṭān, taking human form, came to steal dates from the zakāh storage. Abū Hurayrah caught him; the thief begged for release saying he was poor with family. Abū Hurayrah let him go three times. On the third, the thief revealed the secret: 'If you recite Ayat al-Kursī before sleep, Allah will appoint a guardian for you, and no shayṭān will come near you until morning.' When Abū Hurayrah told the Prophet ﷺ, the Prophet ﷺ smiled: 'He told you the truth, though he is a habitual liar; do you know who you were speaking to for three nights? That was shayṭān.'
Why it's here
Even shayṭān knows the power of this verse. The story is famous: Abū Hurayrah was guarding the zakāh storage when a thief came three nights in a row. Each time the thief begged to be released; the third time he revealed the secret: recite Ayat al-Kursī before sleep, and you will have an unbroken guard. The Prophet ﷺ confirmed it: he told you the truth, though he is a liar. The verse's power is not in the reciter's sincerity alone (though that helps); it is in the verse itself.
Try it today
Before sleep, recite Ayat al-Kursī (al-Baqarah 2:255) in full: 'Allāhu lā ilāha illā huwa al-ḥayyu al-qayyūm...' Continue to the end of the verse: '...wa huwa al-ʿaliyyu al-ʿaẓīm.' Then sleep.
In your day
An anxious sleeper, a child afraid of the dark, an adult in a strange hotel, all are reaching for safety. The Sunnah hands them the verse that, by even a confessing-liar's admission, brings unbroken protection. Teach your children Ayat al-Kursī before you teach them their alphabet.
A reflection to carry
The greatest verse of the Qur'an, recited once before sleep, dispatches a protector. The unseen world responds to this verse with a watch.
Read the longer reflection
Ayat al-Kursī contains every facet of Allah's sovereignty in one verse: His Oneness, His Life, His Sustenance, His Knowledge that encompasses everything, His Throne that contains the heavens and earth, His exaltedness. To recite it before sleep is to remind your soul who is watching even when you are not. The shayṭān himself, in human form, admitted to Abū Hurayrah that this verse foreclosed his access for the entire night. The Prophet ﷺ confirmed it. There is no excuse, then, to leave it out. The verse takes thirty seconds. The protection lasts twelve hours. The exchange is the most favorable in the believer's life. May Ayat al-Kursī be the last verse on our tongues every night, and may we never feel alone after we say it.
Sources: Sahih Bukhari. 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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