will be protected by them until evening. Whoever recites them in the evening will be protected by them until morning.”
Although ‘Abd al-Rahmān al-Mulaykī has been criticized for his memory, this hadith has corroborating reports concerning the recitation of Āyat al-Kursī, and it may be acceptable despite its singularity.
The seventh means of protection is saying one hundred times:
“There is no god but Allah alone, with no partner. His is the dominion, and His is all praise, and He has power over all things.”
In the two Sahīh collections, Sumayy, the freedman of Abū Bakr, narrates from Abū Sālih, from Abū Hurayrah, that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
“Whoever says one hundred times in a day, ‘There is no god but Allah alone, with no partner. His is the dominion, and His is all praise, and He has power over all things,’ will have a reward equivalent to freeing ten slaves. One hundred good deeds will be recorded for him, and one hundred sins will be erased from him. These words will protect him from Satan throughout that day until evening. No one will bring anything better than what he has brought except someone who does more than that.”
This is a means of protection of immense benefit and tremendous value, yet simple and easy for anyone for whom Allah makes it easy.
The eighth means of protection, among the most effective against Satan, is frequent remembrance of Allah, Mighty and Majestic.
Al-Tirmidhī narrates from al-Hārith al-Ash‘arī that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
“Allah commanded John, son of Zechariah, to observe five commandments and to instruct the Children of Israel to observe them. He nearly delayed doing so, and Jesus said, ‘Allah has given you five commandments to observe and to instruct the Children of Israel to observe. Either you instruct them, or I shall.’
John replied, ‘I fear that if you precede me in this, I may be swallowed up by the earth or punished.’ So he gathered the people in the sanctuary in Jerusalem until it was full, and they sat upon its parapets. He said, ‘Allah has given me five commandments to observe, and I instruct you to observe them:
The first is that you worship Allah and associate nothing with Him. Whoever associates partners with Allah is like a man who purchased a slave with gold or silver from his own wealth and said, “This is my house, and this is my work. Work and give me the proceeds.” Yet the slave worked and handed the proceeds to someone other than his master. Which of you would be content for his slave to behave like that?
Allah has commanded you to pray. When you pray, do not turn away, for Allah directs His Face toward the face of His servant during prayer as long as the servant does not turn away.
He has commanded you to fast. The likeness of this is that of a man among a group