Ayatul Kursi is the greatest verse in the Quran. Every Muslim should learn and memorize it, as it has so many virtues and benefits in our daily life as Muslims and, most importantly, in the hereafter.
In this article, we will tackle the authentic virtues attributed to Ayatul Kursi, so that you can feel how important it is. In addition, we will discuss some benefits and unauthentic virtues associated with this great verse of the Quran. Then, you will find some tips about how to learn and memorize it.
Table of Contents
What Is Ayatul Kursi?
Ayatul Kursi is verse number 255 of Al-Baqarah chapter.
But what is the meaning of “Kursi”?
The word “Kursi” mentioned in this verse has 2 meanings:
1- The General Meaning:
It refers here to Allah’s knowledge as an absolute attribute of Allah. This is evidenced by this part of the verse:
“He ˹fully˺ knows what is ahead of them and what is behind them, but no one can grasp any of His knowledge—except what He wills “to reveal”
“يَعْلَمُ مَا بَيْنَ أَيْدِيهِمْ وَمَا خَلْفَهُمْ ۖ وَلَا يُحِيطُونَ بِشَىْءٍۢ مِّنْ عِلْمِهِۦٓ إِلَّا بِمَا شَآءَ”
This part clearly states that Allah knows everything, whatever is ahead of His creatures (i.e. their future) and whatever is behind them (their past). He knows what His creatures have done in this world and what awits them in the hereafter.
Then, Allah confirms that even the things humans know are just part of his overwhelming knowledge, which He allows them to grasp. So even their knowledge is neither comprehensive nor unlimited.
2- The Literal Meaning:
The word “الكرسي” (Kursi) in Arabic is literally “a throne” or “part of a throne”. Thus, it refers to Allah’s majesty, ruling, and dominance. This is evidenced by this part of the verse:
“His Seat1 encompasses the heavens and the earth”
“وَسِعَ كُرْسِيُّهُ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضَ”
This part of the verse clarifies that Allah is the One and Only King and His Kingdom is the heavens and the earth. Everything apart from Allah is the Creation of Allah and hence is a Servant to Allah. Everything in the universe is under the dominance of Allah, the Creator.
Why Is Ayatul Kursi The Greatest Verse In The Quran?
Ayatul Kursi is the greatest verse in the Quran.
In the Hadith, Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said:
“O Abu’ al-Mundhir, do you know the verse from the Book of Allah which is the greatest? I said: Allah and His Messenger (ﷺ) know best. He again said: Abu’l-Mundhir, do you know the verse from the Book of Allah which is the greatest? I said: “Allah, there is no god but He, the Ever- Living, the All-Sustaining”. Thereupon he touched me on my chest and said: May knowledge be pleasant for you, O Abu’l-Mundhir!”
“يَا أَبَا الْمُنْذِرِ أَتَدْرِي أَىُّ آيَةٍ مِنْ كِتَابِ اللَّهِ مَعَكَ أَعْظَمُ ” . قَالَ قُلْتُ اللَّهُ وَرَسُولُهُ أَعْلَمُ . قَالَ ” يَا أَبَا الْمُنْذِرِ أَتَدْرِي أَىُّ آيَةٍ مِنْ كِتَابِ اللَّهِ مَعَكَ أَعْظَمُ ” . قَالَ قُلْتُ اللَّهُ لاَ إِلَهَ إِلاَّ هُوَ الْحَىُّ الْقَيُّومُ . قَالَ فَضَرَبَ فِي صَدْرِي وَقَالَ ” وَاللَّهِ لِيَهْنِكَ الْعِلْمُ أَبَا الْمُنْذِرِ”.
Ayatul Kursi has so many merits that no other verse in the Quran has. To name but a few:
First: It Gives 7 Main Absolute Attributes Of Allah:
1- Divinity (in Arabic: الألوهية):
Ayatul Kursi starts with the word “Allah” (in Arabic: الله) as the main topic. It emphasizes that Allah is the true God: the Creator. If anybody believes that the Creator of all Creation is anything or anyone except Allah, he is NOT a Muslim. This is actually the foundation of Islam as a whole.
2- Monotheism (in Arabic: الوحدانية):
The verse makes it crystal clear that Allah is only One. This is the basis of Islam. If anybody believes that Allah is more than one, he is NOT a Muslim.
To emphasize this vital point, Ayatul Kursi starts with:
“Allah! There is no god ˹worthy of worship˺ except Him”
“ٱللَّهُ لَآ إِلَـٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ”
3-
“The Ever-Living, All-Sustaining”
“الحي القيوم”
These 2 attributes demolish the 19th-century concept of “Gott ist tot” (“God is dead”) as well as the concept of Deism and all similar methodologies. How? Let’s see.
On one hand, the concept of “Gott ist tot”, first produced by the German philosopher, Friedrich Nietzsche, indicates that God is dead and thus every human being is the god of himself/herself. That is, morality is no longer objective, and the sole purpose of humans in life is to enjoy themselves.
Ayatul Kursi, on the other hand, declares, once and for all, that Allah, the Creator of the heavens and the earth, is “Ever-Living”. He has never died and will never die. He has always been there and He will always be there.
In addition, Deism is the belief that there is a creator who has created this universe from scratch, but he then forgot all about it. He is no longer interested in his creation.
However, Ayatul Kursi emphasizes here by this one word (In Arabic: القيوم), that Allah is All-Sustaining. Allah is the Maintainer; He takes care of every single thing in His Creation and ensures its continued existence. He holds all of His creation and never forgets about it.
4- Immense Ownership Of The Universe:
This is clear in the following part:
“To Him belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth.”
“لَّهُۥ مَا فِى ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَمَا فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ”
5- Absolute Knowledge:
Unlike His Creation, Allah knows EVERYTHING.
“He ˹fully˺ knows what is ahead of them and what is behind them, but no one can grasp any of His knowledge—except what He wills ˹to reveal˺”
“يَعْلَمُ مَا بَيْنَ أَيْدِيهِمْ وَمَا خَلْفَهُمْ ۖ وَلَا يُحِيطُونَ بِشَىْءٍۢ مِّنْ عِلْمِهِۦٓ إِلَّا بِمَا شَآءَ”
6- Absolute Free Will:
The following part of the verse indicates that NO-ONE, neither an angel nor a prophet can ever intercede for any other person in front of Allah, Almighty, except with Allah’s permission:
“Who could possibly intercede with Him without His permission?”
“مَن ذَا ٱلَّذِى يَشْفَعُ عِندَهُۥٓ إِلَّا بِإِذْنِهِ”
7- Absolute Power:
This is evident in:
“His Seat1 encompasses the heavens and the earth”
“وَسِعَ كُرْسِيُّهُ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضَ”
Second: Transcendence Of Allah From All Forms Of Imperfection Or Deficiency:
Ayatul Kursi clearly states that Allah does never sleep nor get tired. Sleep and fatigue are attributes of Allah’s Creation, but are never attributes of Allah. Even slightest “drowsiness” does not befall Him. Allah never sleeps because He is the ONLY source of ever-lasting sustainability for His Creation. Even though His Creation is so huge and magnificent, neither creating nor maintaining it has ever made Him tired and will never make Him tired. These meanings are obvious in the following parts:
1- “Neither drowsiness nor sleep overtakes Him”
“لَا تَأْخُذُهُۥ سِنَةٌۭ وَلَا نَوْمٌۭ ۚ”
2- “and the preservation of both (the heavens and the earth) does not tire Him”
“وَلَا يَـُٔودُهُۥ حِفْظُهُمَا”
Benefits Of Learning And Reciting Ayatul Kursi
Memorizing and reciting Ayatul Kursi are very important for every single Muslim. Here are some of its virtues and benefits:
1- Reciting Ayatul Kursi Immediately After Mandatory Prayer Guarantees Jannah (Paradise):
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
“Whoever reads Ayatul Kursi at the end of (after) each mandatory prayer, nothing prevents him from entering paradise except death.”
“مَنْ قَرَأَ آيَةَ اَلْكُرْسِيِّ دُبُرَ كُلِّ صَلَاةٍ مَكْتُوبَةٍ لَمْ يَمْنَعْهُ مِنْ دُخُولِ اَلْجَنَّةِ إِلَّا اَلْمَوْتُ.”
(Sunan an-Nasāʾī al-Kubrā, no. 9848)
This Hadith means that whoever recites Ayatul Kursi after every mandatory prayer, he/she just needs to die to enter Jannah.
2- Protection From Evil:
Ayatul Kursi is believed to offer protection from negative forces, Jinn, and the effect of envy and the evil eye. It is recited in Roqya (the practice of treating illnesses through Quranic verses) as well, along with other parts of the Quran, to protect Muslims from all unseen evil sources.
3- Reciting It Before Sleep Keeps Satan And Jinn Away From Muslims Until Dawn:
“Abu Hurayrah (RA) reported:
Allah’s Messenger ﷺ ordered me to guard the Zakat revenue of Ramaḍān. Then somebody came to me and started stealing from the provisions. I caught him and said, “I will take you to Allah’s Messenger!” Then Abu Hurayrah described the whole incident and said: That person said (to me), “Please don’t take me to Allah’s Messenger and I will tell you a few words by which Allah will benefit you. When you go to your bed, recite Āyat al-Kursī, for then there will be (with you) a guardian from Allah who will protect you all night long, and Satan will not be able to come near you till dawn.” When the Prophet ﷺ heard about the incident he said (to me), “He (who came to you at night) told you the truth although he is a liar; it was a devil.”
عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ ـ رضى الله عنه ـ قَالَ وَكَّلَنِي رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم بِحِفْظِ زَكَاةِ رَمَضَانَ فَأَتَانِي آتٍ فَجَعَلَ يَحْثُو مِنَ الطَّعَامِ فَأَخَذْتُهُ فَقُلْتُ لأَرْفَعَنَّكَ إِلَى رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم فَقَصَّ الْحَدِيثَ فَقَالَ إِذَا أَوَيْتَ إِلَى فِرَاشِكَ فَاقْرَأْ آيَةَ الْكُرْسِيِّ لَنْ يَزَالَ مَعَكَ مِنَ اللَّهِ حَافِظٌ وَلاَ يَقْرَبُكَ شَيْطَانٌ حَتَّى تُصْبِحَ. وَقَالَ النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم “ صَدَقَكَ وَهْوَ كَذُوبٌ ذَاكَ شَيْطَانٌ ”.
This Hadith clarifies that one of the disbelieving Jinn has told Abu Hurayrah, that reciting Ayatul Kursi before going to bed protects a Muslim from Jinn all night long till dawn.
Unauthentic Narrations About Ayat Al Kusi:
Not everything attributed to this great verse is authentic. Some merits are not true and are derived from unauthentic, weak narrations of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). These include:
1- Ayatul Kursi Has 17 Names Of Allah:
This is incorrect as the pronouns “He” and “His” in the verse are not considered separate attributes of Allah. There are only 5 attributes of Allah mentioned in the verse: “The Ever-Living”, “All-Sustaining”, “All-Knowing” (not literally, but it is clear from the context), “The most-High” and “The Greatest”.
2- Ayatul Kursi Consists Of 50 Words, And Each One Of Them Has 50 Blessings:
This is unauthentic and cannot be traced back to Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), as explained by Shaikh Al-Albany – May Allah have mercy upon him.
3- Supernatural Events Came With Ayatul Kursi:
When Ayat Al Kusi was revealed, all idols were down, all worldly kings were down, and all demons fled until they came to Iblis (Satan) who asked them to investigate what happened. Then they told him Ayatul Kursi was revealed.
There is NO authentic hadith for this narration, and the story cannot be traced back to the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him).
4- It Was Revealed At Night:
Nothing supports this claim from the authentic narration of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him).
How Can You Learn And Memorize Ayatul Kursi:
Learning and memorizing Ayatul Kursi should be easy. First, you must learn its Tafseer, its meaning, and why it was revealed. At Riwaq Al Quran, you can find many quality courses that make it easy for you to fully understand Ayatul Kursi.
After you finish learning Ayatul Kursi, memorizing it can take a little time. You can join this excellent memorization course to get to know an easy way to memorize any chapter or verse of the Quran and what steps to follow to accomplish this task.
At Riwaq Al Quran, you can always choose your Quran teacher from our highly qualified mentors. Do not forget our Tajweed classes that make you better at reciting the Quran.
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Conclusion:
Bearing the core message of Islam, Ayatul Kursi is highly glorified by Allah. He starts it with His own name “الله” (Allah) and ends it with two of His Most Beautiful Names: العلي (The Most High) and العظيم (the Greatest). That’s why whoever holds to Ayatul Kursi will be raised and honored. It also provides whoever learns and recites it with protection from all kinds of unseen evils and Jinn. May Allah bless and protect every Muslim who is always keen to recite Ayatul Kursi.
