The 365 · Sunnah · Day 313 · Sleep
Sūrat al-Mulk Every Night
The hadith
«سُورَةٌ فِي الْقُرْآنِ ثَلَاثُونَ آيَةً شَفَعَتْ لِصَاحِبِهَا حَتَّى غُفِرَ لَهُ: تَبَارَكَ الَّذِي بِيَدِهِ الْمُلْكُ». وَعَنْ إِبْنِ عَبَّاسٍ: هِيَ الْمَانِعَةُ مِنْ عَذَابِ الْقَبْرِ.
The Prophet ﷺ said: 'There is a sūrah in the Qur'an of thirty verses that interceded for its companion until he was forgiven: tabārak alladhī bi-yadihi al-mulk.' (Abu Dawud 1400, Tirmidhi 2891). And Ibn ʿAbbās said: 'It is the preventer (al-māniʿah) from the punishment of the grave.' (al-Nasāʳī)
Svenska: Profeten ﷺ sade: 'Det finns en sūrah i Koranen på trettio verser som har medlat för sin foljeslagare tills han förläts: tabārak alladhī bi-yadihi al-mulk.' (Abu Dawud 1400, Tirmidhi 2891). Och Ibn ʿAbbās sade: 'Det är förhindraren (al-māniʿah) från gravens straff.' (al-Nasāʳī)
Abu Dawud 1400; Tirmidhi 2891; al-Mulk 67
The story
Ibn ʿAbbās narrated that a Companion pitched his tent over what he later learned was a grave. He heard al-Mulk being recited from inside until completion. He went to the Prophet ﷺ, who said: 'It is the preventer; it prevents the punishment of the grave.' (Tirmidhi 2890) The sūrah's protection extends even after death.
Why it's here
The Prophet ﷺ rarely promised forgiveness through the recitation of a single sūrah. Sūrat al-Mulk is one such gift. Thirty verses; the believer who makes them his nightly companion gains an intercessor against the punishment of the grave. The Companions used to call it al-māniʿah (the preventer) and al-munjiyah (the rescuer).
Try it today
Add Sūrat al-Mulk (67) to your nightly recitation. It takes 5-7 minutes. Recite from memory if you have memorized it; if not, read from a muṣḥaf. Make it as habitual as wudu before sleep. ʿAbdullāh ibn Masʿūd said: 'Whoever recites tabārak alladhī bi-yadihi al-mulk every night, Allah will prevent the punishment of the grave from him.'
In your day
We spend many minutes on the phone in bed. The Sunnah substitutes those minutes with a sūrah that the angels will recite as evidence on our behalf. The grave will not be a dark room if al-Mulk has been with us nightly.
A reflection to carry
Few sūrahs are tied to specific guarantees. Al-Mulk is one. Make it your night's companion, and it will be your grave's defender.
Read the longer reflection
The Sahaba called this sūrah by names that named its function: al-māniʿah (the preventer), al-munjiyah (the rescuer), al-wāqiyah (the protector). All three names point to the same gift: between death and resurrection, when the believer is alone in his grave, this sūrah stands at the door. The Prophet ﷺ did not promise this for many recitations. He promised it for this one. The dhikr is not generic; it is the specific verses of al-Mulk that intercede. Memorize them if you can. Recite from a muṣḥaf if you cannot yet. Make this Sunnah so regular that a night feels naked without it. May al-Mulk be our nightly companion in dunyā, our intercessor at the moment of accounting, and our preventer of every punishment in the grave.
Sources: Abu Dawud, Tirmidhi, Nasai. 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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