What Are Some of the Virtues of Reciting Surat al-Mulk? – Shaykh Anas al-Musa

Answered by Shaykh Anas al-Musa

Question

Could you please tell me some of the virtues related to reciting Surat al-Mulk?

Answer

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful,

All praise is due to Allah, Lord of all worlds, and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger sent as a mercy to the worlds, our Master and Prophet, Muhammad, and his Family and Companions.

Quran

The Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) encouraged the recitation of the Quran and explained the great reward for those who recite it and act upon it. The Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) said:

“Whoever recites a letter from the Book of Allah, he will have a reward, and the reward will be multiplied by ten. I do not say that ‘Alif Lam Mim’ is a letter, but ‘Alif’ is a letter, ‘Lam’ is a letter, and ‘Mim’ is a letter.” [Tirmidhi]

He (Allah bless him and give him peace) also said:

“Whoever recites the Quran has indeed received prophethood inside his ribs, though revelation is not sent down to him. It does not befit the companion of the Quran to engage in arguments with those who do so, nor to be ignorant with those who are ignorant, while he has the words of Allah inside him.” [Hakim; Bayhaqi, Shu‘ab al-Iman]

The Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) said:

“No Muslim lies down in his place of rest, reciting a sura from the Book of Allah, except that Allah appoints an angel over him, and nothing that could harm him approaches him until he awakens at any time he awakens.” [Tirmidhi]

He (Allah bless him and give him peace) also said:

“Three will not be terrified by the Great Fright, nor will they be subjected to the Reckoning; they will be on a hill of musk until the Reckoning of the people is completed: a man who recited the Quran seeking the pleasure of Allah and led the people in prayer while they were pleased with him…” [Tabarani, Mu‘jam al-Kabir]

The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) also encouraged the recitation of certain verses and surahs for their specific virtues, such as Ayat al-Kursi, the last two verses of Surat al-Baqara, Surat al-Ikhlas, and Surat al-Kafirun, among others.

Surat al-Mulk

Among the suras he recommended is Surat al-Mulk, also known as Surat Tabarak. It is a great sura, and there are several hadiths about its virtues, including:

Abu Hurayra reported that the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) said:

“Indeed, there is a sura in the Quran containing thirty verses, which intercedes for a man until he is forgiven. It is: Tabarak Alladhi bi yadihi al-Mulk (Surat al-Mulk).” [Ahmad]

Jabir (Allah be pleased with him) reported:

“The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) would not sleep until he recited Alif Lam Mim Tanzil (Surat al-Sajda) and Tabarak Alladhi bi yadihi al-Mulk (Surat al-Mulk).” [Tirmidhi]

Ibn Abbas said: The Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) said:

“I wish it were in the heart of every believer.” He meant Surat al-Mulk. [Bayhaqi, Shu‘ab al-Iman]

Ibn ‘Abbas reported: Some of the companions of the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) set up a tent on a grave without realizing it was a grave. Suddenly, they heard a person inside reciting Surat Tabarak Alladhi bi yadihi al-Mulk (Surat al-Mulk) until he completed it. They went to the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) and said: “O Messenger of Allah, I set up my tent on a grave without realizing it was a grave, and then I heard a person reciting Surat al-Mulk until he completed it.” The Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) said:

“It is the defender; it is the protector which safeguards from the punishment of the grave.” [Tirmidhi]

Abdullah Ibn Mas‘ud reported: “Whoever recites ‘Tabarak Alladhi bi yadihi al-Mulk (Surat al-Mulk)’ every night, Allah will protect him from the torment of the grave. During the time of the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace), we used to call it ‘al-Mani‘a’ (the defender). In the Book of Allah, it is a sura which, if recited every night, will bring about much good and ward off evil.” [Nasa’i]

Explicit Transmission

The preference between suras and verses requires explicit transmission; independent reasoning is not appropriate in this regard. Additionally, the suras with fewer reported virtues are less numerous than those without reported virtues.

Since the basis for preferring one sura over another is the transmission from the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace), it is forbidden to lie by fabricating virtues for suras that have not been authenticated by the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace). This is similar to what some ascetics did, such as Abu ‘Isma, the compiler, who said: “I saw people turning away from the Quran and occupying themselves with the jurisprudence of Abu Hanifa and the magazi of Ibn Ishaq, so I fabricated this hadith (on the virtues of the Quran, sura by sura) as an act of piety.” [Tayyar, al-Muharrar fi ‘Ulum al-Quran]

Summary

Finally, based on the previously mentioned hadiths, it is recommended to recite Surat al-Mulk every night before sleeping, as the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) used to do. Whoever recites it consistently will be interceded for in the grave or on the Day of Resurrection. It is the defender, the protector from the punishment of the grave.

May Allah help you and me, dear questioner, to recite the Quran and to maintain the recitation of Surah Tabarak every day. Ameen.

May Allah bless the Prophet Muhammad and give him peace, and his Family and Companions.

And Allah knows best.

Shaykh Anas al-Musa, born in Hama, Syria, in 1974, is an erudite scholar of notable repute. He graduated from the Engineering Institute in Damascus, where he specialized in General Construction, and Al-Azhar University, Faculty of Usul al-Din, where he specialized in Hadith.

He studied under prominent scholars in Damascus, including Shaykh Abdul Rahman al-Shaghouri and Shaykh Adib al-Kallas, among others. Shaykh Anas has memorized the Quran and is proficient in the ten Mutawatir recitations, having studied under Shaykh Bakri al-Tarabishi and Shaykh Mowfaq ‘Ayun. He also graduated from the Iraqi Hadith School.

He has taught numerous Islamic subjects at Shari‘a institutes in Syria and Turkey. Shaykh Anas has served as an Imam and preacher for over 15 years and is a teacher of the Quran in its various readings and narrations.

Currently, he works as a teacher at SeekersGuidance and is responsible for academic guidance there. He has completed his Master’s degree in Hadith and is now pursuing his Ph.D. in the same field. Shaykh Anas al-Musa is married and resides in Istanbul.