Ayatul Kursi in English: meaning and reported virtues

Ayatul Kursi in Arabic and English

Ayatul Kursi, "the verse of the Kursi", is one verse: verse 255 of Surah Al-Baqarah, the second and longest surah of the Quran. The name comes from the word kursi in its seventh phrase. To copy and paste the Arabic text, use the button under it.

What does Ayatul Kursi mean?

The whole verse is about Allah alone. He is living and never sleeps, and everything belongs to Him. No one intercedes with Him except by His permission. His knowledge takes in everything, while no one grasps any of His knowledge except what He wills, and preserving the heavens and the earth never tires Him. Here it is in its nine phrases, with an easy transliteration to read along.

1. 1

   ٱللَّهُ لَآ إِلَـٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ ٱلْحَىُّ ٱلْقَيُّومُ

   Allahu la ilaha illa huwa, al-hayyul-qayyum

   Allah! There is no deity except Him, the Alive, the Self-Sustaining.

   Al-hayy is the Living. Al-qayyum comes from the root q-w-m, to stand; this translation gives it as the Self-Sustaining.

2. 2

   لَا تَأْخُذُهُۥ سِنَةٌ وَلَا نَوْمٌ

   La ta'khudhuhu sinatun wa la nawm

   Neither slumber nor sleep overtakes Him.

   Sinah is drowsiness, the doze before sleep; nawm is sleep itself.

3. 3

   لَّهُۥ مَا فِى ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَمَا فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ

   Lahu ma fis-samawati wa ma fil-ard

   To Him belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is in the earth.

   Word for word: to Him, what is in the heavens and what is in the earth.

4. 4

   مَن ذَا ٱلَّذِى يَشْفَعُ عِندَهُۥٓ إِلَّا بِإِذْنِهِۦ

   Man dhal-ladhi yashfa'u 'indahu illa bi-idhnih

   Who is he that intercedes with Him except by His leave?

   Shafa'a is intercession: speaking up for someone. Idhn is permission.

5. 5

   يَعْلَمُ مَا بَيْنَ أَيْدِيهِمْ وَمَا خَلْفَهُمْ

   Ya'lamu ma bayna aydihim wa ma khalfahum

   He knows that which is in front of them and that which is behind them,

   Word for word: what is between their hands and what is behind them.

6. 6

   وَلَا يُحِيطُونَ بِشَىْءٍ مِّنْ عِلْمِهِۦٓ إِلَّا بِمَا شَآءَ

   Wa la yuhituna bi-shay'im min 'ilmihi illa bima sha'

   while they encompass nothing of His knowledge except what He will.

   'Ilm is knowledge; bima sha' is "by what He wills".

7. 7

   وَسِعَ كُرْسِيُّهُ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضَ

   Wasi'a kursiyyuhus-samawati wal-ard

   His Kursi extends over the heavens and the earth,

   Kursi gives the verse its name. Literally the word means a chair or seat, and this translation keeps the word Kursi. What the Kursi is belongs to tafsir (Quran commentary), which a separate page will set out with its sources.

8. 8

   وَلَا يَـُٔودُهُۥ حِفْظُهُمَا

   Wa la ya'uduhu hifzuhuma

   and He is never weary of preserving them.

   Hifz is guarding and keeping. The same root gives hafiz, the guardian in the bedtime narration below.

9. 9

   وَهُوَ ٱلْعَلِىُّ ٱلْعَظِيمُ

   Wa huwal-'aliyyul-'azim

   He is the Sublime, the Tremendous.

   Al-'aliyy is the Most High; al-'azim, the Tremendous or Supreme.

How do you recite Ayatul Kursi?

Take it one phrase at a time, as in the list above. The nine phrases are cut where the Arabic text carries a small pause mark (the marks themselves are left out of the list), so the breaks fall in natural places. Once you can say a phrase without looking, add the next.

Listen and repeat. A recording by a fluent human reciter is coming. We do not use a synthetic voice for the Quran.

What are the benefits of Ayatul Kursi?

Three reports about Ayatul Kursi are graded sahih or hasan. It is the greatest verse in the Book of Allah, reciting it at bedtime brings a guardian from Allah until morning, and a report about reciting it in the house says no devil will come near. Others are graded differently or weak, and some popular claims have no reliable basis. Here is each claim with its source and grade.

Why is Ayatul Kursi called the greatest verse?

Because the Prophet confirmed it when one of his companions named it. He asked Ubayy ibn Ka'b, may Allah be pleased with him, which verse of the Book of Allah that he knew was the greatest, calling him by his kunya (a name of the form "father of"), Abu al-Mundhir. Ubayy said that Allah and His Messenger know best. Asked a second time, he answered with the opening words of this verse: Allahu la ilaha illa huwa al-hayyul-qayyum. The Prophet struck him on the chest and said, "By Allah, may knowledge be a joy to you, Abu al-Mundhir."

1AuthenticSahih Muslim 810

A separate report calls it the chief of the verses of the Quran. That one is graded differently, mostly weak, so the verse's standing rests on the narration in Sahih Muslim.

5Graded differently ›Jami' at-Tirmidhi 2878

Where does reciting Ayatul Kursi before sleep come from?

From a story told by Abu Huraira, may Allah be pleased with him, in Sahih al-Bukhari 2311, graded sahih. The Prophet put him in charge of guarding the zakat (obligatory charity) of Ramadan. Someone came and began scooping up handfuls of the food, so Abu Huraira caught him and said he would take him to the Prophet. The man pleaded that he was in need and had a family to support, and Abu Huraira let him go. In the morning the Prophet asked what his captive had done, and said the man had lied and would come back.

He came back, pleaded the same way, promised not to return, and was let go again; the Prophet said the same. On the third night Abu Huraira caught him again and said he would take him to the Prophet: this was the last of three times he had promised not to return and then come back.

The man offered to teach him words by which Allah would benefit him. When you go to bed, he said, recite Ayat al-Kursi from its start to the end of the verse. A guardian from Allah will then stay with you, and no devil will come near you until morning. Abu Huraira told the Prophet, who said the man had told him the truth, though he was a liar. Did he know whom he had been speaking to for three nights? Abu Huraira did not. "That was a devil," the Prophet said.

2AuthenticSahih al-Bukhari 2311

Al-Bukhari records this story with the start of its chain left out, a form called mu'allaq; it is graded sahih. A separate report speaks of reciting it in the morning and evening with the opening of Surah Ghafir (Ghafir 40:1 to 3). That one is graded weak.

6WeakJami' at-Tirmidhi 2879

Is the hadith about reciting Ayatul Kursi after every prayer authentic?

It is graded differently. Abu Umama, may Allah be pleased with him, reported that the Prophet said whoever recites Ayatul Kursi after every prescribed prayer (salah), nothing keeps him from entering Paradise except death. Most gradings call it sahih. One early scholar listed it among fabricated reports, which a later scholar rejected, and one modern scholar said its authenticity is open to question.

3Graded differently ›Special Virtues of the Quran's Chapters and Verses 13originally in an-Nasa'i, al-Sunan al-Kubra 9848

So the after-prayer report is widely accepted but not agreed on. For a recitation graded sahih without dispute, see the bedtime narration in Sahih al-Bukhari 2311.

Can reciting Ayatul Kursi protect a house?

One report speaks of a house, and it is graded hasan or sahih. Abu Ayyub al-Ansari, may Allah be pleased with him, kept dates in a small storeroom. A ghoul kept coming to take from them. Twice he caught it and let it go when it swore not to return. The third time it told him: recite Ayat al-Kursi in your house, and no devil or anything else will come near you. The Prophet said it had told the truth, though it was a liar.

4AuthenticJami' at-Tirmidhi 2880

In both stories the words about protection come from the one who was caught, and the Prophet confirmed them. A line often shared online, that reciting it three times protects you, then your family, then your neighbourhood, has no reliable basis: its only grading on record calls it false (source 7). None of these narrations mentions hanging the verse in a car or a home, or wearing it. The two authentic reports about protection both speak of reciting it: in the house (Jami' at-Tirmidhi 2880, graded hasan or sahih) and when you go to bed (Sahih al-Bukhari 2311, graded sahih).