122 / Another of the Remembrances Before Sleep

Among the great remembrances that a Muslim is encouraged to observe every night upon retiring to bed is the recitation of Āyat al-Kursī (the Throne Verse), the greatest verse in the Noble Quran. The sunnah attests to the virtue of doing so and states that whoever recites it upon retiring to bed will have a guardian from Allah watching over him, and no devil will approach him until morning.

Al-Bukhārī narrated in his Sahīh from Abū Hurayra—may Allah be pleased with him—who said: “The Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—entrusted me with guarding the Ramadan zakat. Someone came and began scooping up handfuls of the food. I seized him and said, ‘By Allah, I will certainly take you to the Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him.’ He said, ‘I am in need, I have dependants, and I am suffering severe hardship.’ So I released him. When morning came, the Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—said, ‘Abū Hurayra, what did your captive do last night?’ I replied, ‘O Messenger of Allah, he complained of severe hardship and of having dependants, so I took pity on him and let him go.’ He said, ‘Be assured that he lied to you, and he will return.’ I knew that he would return because the Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—had said, ‘He will return.’ So I lay in wait for him. He came and again began scooping up handfuls of the food—and Abū Hurayra related the hadith until he said—‘I seized him—that is, on the third occasion—and said, “I will certainly take you to the Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him. This is the last of three occasions: each time you claim that you will not return, yet you do.” He said, “Let me teach you some words by which Allah will benefit you.” I asked, “What are they?” He said, “When you retire to bed, recite Āyat al-Kursī: ‘Allah—there is no deity except Him, the Ever-Living, the All-Sustaining’ 1, continuing to the end of the verse. A guardian from Allah will then remain over you, and no devil will approach you until morning.” So I let him go. When morning came, the Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—asked me, “What did your captive do last night?” I replied, “O Messenger of Allah! He claimed that he would teach me some words by which Allah would benefit me,”