The Morning and Evening Supplications
What are the morning and evening supplications that the Muslim is supposed to recite? What is their meaning and must we know them by heart? These are all questions that Muslims or non-Muslims ask themselves and which we are going to answer in this article.
A protection against all ills, recommended by the Creator and His Messenger
Every Muslim whose faith is firm in his Lord, Creator of the Universe and of all things, recognizes the need to testify to the One he loves and prays to, his servitude and his acceptance of the Message He sent us. He or she seeks refuge with Him through the words learned in the Holy Quran or those mentioned by our prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him. Thus, the Muslim seeks to protect himself from all the evil that could reach him in the morning as in the evening, and he renews his testimony of faith out of love and pursuit of His Pleasure.
He does not take refuge in the denial of the evil that the world contains, but combats it by strengthening his heart through the repeated practice of the Remembrance of Allah (the evocation of Allah) and the supplications. He accepts what some think to be a feeling of weakness since he admits, through his heart and his tongue, that Allah is the Holder of the Supreme Force and Power, and he seeks them from Him.
That is why the Muslim humbles himself by remembering Allah morning and evening, in pursuit of His Pleasure, His Compassion and His Protection.
It is a recommendation from Allah Himself, azza wa jal :
25 And invoke the name of your Lord, morning and afternoon;
Surah 76, Verse 25
How and at what time to recite the morning and evening supplications ?
The believer can read from one of the books collecting the multiple supplications and evocations of Allah drawn from the Holy Quran and the Sunnah of our prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him. He can also, as is recommended, learn by heart the supplications he wishes to retain in order to be able to recite them from memory.
It is preferable to recite the morning supplications between the time of Fajr (Dawn) and the Shuruq (the rising of the sun). As for the evening supplications, it is preferable to recite them between the prayer of Al-'Asr (the afternoon prayer) and that of Al-Maghrib (the setting of the sun).
What are the morning supplications drawn from the Quran ?
The morning supplications include the 3 last surahs of the Holy Quran to be recited 3 times :
The Verse of the Throne (Ayat Al-Kursi, Surah Al-Baqarah Verse 255)
Surah An-Nas x3
What are the morning supplications drawn from the Sunnah ?
- To be recited 3 times:
« Here we are in the morning and the dominion belongs to Allah. Praise be to Allah, there is no deity [worthy of being worshipped] other than Allah, Alone, without associate. To Him the sovereignty, to Him the praise and He is capable of all things. Lord! I ask You for the good this day contains and the good that comes after. And I seek refuge with You against the evil this day contains and the evil that comes after. Lord! I seek refuge with You against laziness and the ills of old age. I seek refuge with You against the punishment of Hell and against the torments of the grave. »
أَصْبَحْنَا وَ أَصْبَحَ المُلْكُ للهِ وَ الحَمْدُ للهِ ، لاَ إلَهَ إلاَّ اللهُ وَحدَهُ لاَشَرِيكَ لَهُ، لَهُ المُلْكُ وَ لَهُ الحَمْدُ، وَ هُوَ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ، رَبِّ أَسْأَلُكَ خَيْرَ مَا فِي هَذَا اليَوْمِ وَ خَيْرَ مَا بَعْدَهُ، وَ أَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنْ شَرِّ هَذَا اليَوْمِ وَ شَرِّ مَا بَعْدَهُ، رَبِّ أَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنَ الكَسَلِ وَ سُوءِ الكِبَرِ، رَبِّ أَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنْ عَذَابٍ فِي النَّارِ وَ عَذَابٍ فِي القَبْرِ.
Asbahnâ wa asbaha-l-mulku li-llâhi wa-l-hamduli-llâh. Lâ ilâha illâ llâhu wahdahu lâ sharîka lah, lahu-l-mulku wa lahu-l-hamdu wa huwa ‘alâ kulli shayin Qadîr. Rabbi, asaluka khayra mâ fî hâdha-l-yawmi wa khayra mâ ba’dah. Wa a’ûdhu bika min sharri mâ fî hâdha-l-yawmi wa sharri mâ ba’dah. Rabbi a’ûdhu bika min al-kasali wa sûi-l-kibar. Rabbi a’ûdhu bika min ‘adhâbin fi-n-nâri wa ‘adhâbin fi-l-qabr.
Then one adds :
« Here we are in the morning, in conformity with the sound disposition that is Islam, with the word of monotheism, with the religion of our Prophet Muhammad and upon the way of our father Ibrahim who devoted exclusive worship to Allah, submitted to Him, and was not among the polytheists. »
أَصْبَحْنَا عَلَى فِطْرَةِ الإِسْلاَمِ، وَ عَلَى كَلِمَةِ الإِخْلاَصِ، وَ عَلَى دِينِ نَبِيِّنَا مُحَمَّدٍ وَ عَلَى مِلَّةِ أَبِينَا إِبْرَاهِيمَ حَنِيفاً مُسْلِماً وَ مَا كَانَ مِنَ المُشْرِكِينَ.
Asbahna ‘alâ fitrati-l-islâm, wa ‘alâ kalimati-l-ikhlâs, wa ‘alâ dîni nabiyyinâ Muhammad, wa ‘alâ millati abîna Ibrâhîma hanîfan muslimâ, wa mâ kâna min al-mushrikîn.
2. To be recited 3 times:
« O You the Living, the One who needs nothing and on whom all things depend, I implore succour from Your mercy. Improve my situation in every respect and do not leave me to my own devices for even the blink of an eye. »
يَا حَيُّ يَا قَيُّومُ بِرَحْمَتِكَ أَسْتَغِيثُ، أَصْلِحْ لِي شَأْنِي كُلَّهُ، وَ لاَ تَكِلْنِي إِلَى نَفْسِي طَرْفَةَ عَيْنٍ.
Yâ Hayyû yâ Qayyûmu bi-rahmatika astaghîth. Aslih lî shanî kullah, wa lâ takilnî ilâ nafsî tarfata ‘ayn.
3. To be recited 100 times:
« There is no deity [worthy of being worshipped] other than Allah, Alone, without associate. To Him the sovereignty, to Him the praise and He is capable of all things. »
لاَ إِلَهَ إِلاَّ اللهُ وَحْدَهُ لاَشَرِيكَ لَهُ، لَهُ المُلْكُ وَ لَهُ الحَمْدُ، وَ هُوَ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ.
Lâ ilâha illa-llâhu wahdahu lâ sharîka lah. Lahu-l-mulku wa lahu-l-hamdu, wa huwa ‘alâ kulli shayin Qadîr.
4. To be recited 3 times:
« Glory, purity and praise be to Allah, as many as the number of His creatures, as many times as it takes to please Him, in a number equal to the weight of His Throne and to the unlimited number of His words. » (3 times).
سُبْحَانَ اللهِ وَ بِحَمْدِهِ عَدَدَ خَلْقِهِ، وَرِضَا نَفْسِهِ، وَزِنَةَ عَرْشِهِ، وَ مِدَادَ كَلِمَاتِهِ. (ثَلاَثاً)
Subhâna-llâhi wa bi-hamdih, ‘adada khalqih, wa ridâ nafsih, wa zinata ‘arshih, wa midâda kalimâtih.
What are the evening supplications drawn from the Quran and the Sunnah ?
The same surahs (chapters) of the Holy Quran are to be recited at the time between Al-'Asr (afternoon prayer) and Al-Maghrib (sunset).
To them are added some of the morning supplications whose wording is changed in these terms :
« Here we are in the morning » changes and becomes « Here we are in the evening »
The following supplication, recited 100 times in the morning, will be recited 10 times and contains one element that changes:
« There is no deity [worthy of being worshipped] other than Allah, Alone, without associate. To Him the sovereignty, to Him the praise, He gives life and death and He is capable of all things. » (10 times).
لاَ إِلَهَ إِلاَّ اللهُ، وَحْدَهُ لاَشَرِيكَ لَهُ، لَهُ المُلْكُ وَ لَهُ الحَمْدُ، يُحْيِي وَ يُمِيتُ وَ هُوَ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ. (عَشَرَ مَرَّاتٍ).
Lâ ilâha illa-llâhu wahdahu lâ sharîka lah. Lahu-l-mulku wa lahu-l-hamd, yuhyî wa yumît, wa huwa ‘alâ kulli shayin Qadîr.
Conclusion
This list of supplications is not exhaustive. Each Muslim man and woman is invited to seek the knowledge that will be beneficial to him or her, and to learn as much as possible in order to fill his heart with certainty in Allah. Thus, he will strengthen his protection against the evil that the world contains in broad daylight but also in the night and its darkness, but above all, he will seek the blessings of Allah through a sincere request taught by our Beloved prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him.
The protection of his soul, his body, his family and his goods are as much to be sought as forgiveness and mercy.