Ayatul Kursi: Arabic Text, Meaning and Virtues (Quran 2:255)

Short answer: Ayatul Kursi is verse 255 of Surah Al-Baqarah (Quran 2:255). It describes Allah’s oneness, life, knowledge and power. The Prophet ﷺ called it the greatest verse of the Quran (Sahih Muslim), and reciting it before sleep brings Allah’s protection until morning (Sahih al-Bukhari 2311).

The text of Ayatul Kursi

Here is the verse in the Arabic of the Madinah mushaf, followed by a translation. You can also open it in the Noor Mushaf to read it on the page and listen to its recitation.

Transliteration

Allāhu lā ilāha illā huwal-ḥayyul-qayyūm. Lā ta’khudhuhū sinatuw-wa lā nawm. Lahū mā fis-samāwāti wa mā fil-arḍ. Man dhal-ladhī yashfa‘u ‘indahū illā bi-idhnih. Ya‘lamu mā bayna aydīhim wa mā khalfahum, wa lā yuḥīṭūna bi-shay’im-min ‘ilmihī illā bimā shā’. Wasi‘a kursiyyuhus-samāwāti wal-arḍ, wa lā ya’ūduhū ḥifẓuhumā, wa huwal-‘aliyyul-‘aẓīm.

Transliteration helps you follow along, but it cannot carry every Arabic sound. To learn to read the original, see Noor Muallim.

What the verse is about

Ayatul Kursi is a verse about who Allah is. In a few lines it describes His oneness, His life and self-sufficiency, His ownership of everything in the heavens and the earth, and the completeness of His knowledge:

• “Allah — there is no deity except Him” — the foundation of tawhid, the oneness of Allah.
• “the Ever-Living, the Self-Sustaining” (al-Ḥayy, al-Qayyūm) — He lives without beginning or end, and everything else depends on Him.
• “Neither drowsiness overtakes Him nor sleep” — His care for creation never pauses.
• “Who is it that can intercede with Him except by His permission?” — no one speaks on behalf of another before Allah unless He allows it.
• “He knows what is before them and what will be after them” — His knowledge is complete; ours is only what He wills to give.
• “His Kursī extends over the heavens and the earth” — the verse takes its name from this phrase.
• “and He is the Most High, the Most Great” — the verse closes with two of His names.

Its virtues in authentic hadith

Two narrations in the most authentic hadith collections speak directly about this verse.

Ubayy ibn Ka‘b said: Allah’s Messenger ﷺ said: “O Abu’l-Mundhir, do you know which verse of the Book of Allah is the greatest?” … I said: “Allah, there is no god but He, the Living, the Eternal.” He struck me on my chest and said: “May knowledge be pleasant for you, O Abu’l-Mundhir.”

Abu Hurayrah was told: “Whenever you go to bed, recite Ayat al-Kursi from beginning to end. Allah will appoint a guard for you who will stay with you, and no devil will come near you until morning.” The Prophet ﷺ said: “He told you the truth, although he is a liar.”

In the second narration the advice came from a thief who turned out to be a devil — and the Prophet ﷺ confirmed that this particular advice was true. The same story is also narrated in Bukhari 3275 and Bukhari 5010.

When Muslims recite it

• Before sleep — following the narration of Abu Hurayrah above.
• In the morning and evening remembrance (adhkar) — many Muslims include it in their daily adhkar.
• To learn tawhid — because it summarises the attributes of Allah, it is often among the first verses taught to children.