It has been told in Hadith that Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) has said that if every night Surat ul-Mulk is recited, then the reciter shall be protected from the tortures of the grave.
The Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, ‘There is a surah in the Qur’an which is only thirty verses. It defended whoever recited it until it puts him into paradise’ [1]
Abu Huraira reported that the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, “The Qur’an contains a surah of thirty ayats which will intercede for a man until he is forgiven. It is: ‘Blessed be He Who has the Kingdom in His Hand!’ ”[2]
Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, ‘Surah al Mulk is the protector from the torment of the grave’[3]
Jabir said it was the custom of Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) not to go to sleep until he had read Tabarakalladhi Biyadihil Mulk and Alif Laam Meem Tanzeel.[4]
Anas reported Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) as saying, “There is a Surah which will plead for its reciter till it causes him to enter paradise.”[5]
Abdullah Ibn ‘Abbas reported that the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, ‘It is my desire/love that Surahtul Mulk should be in the heart of every Muslim’[6]
Ibn Abbas said that one of the companions of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), set up his tent over a grave without realising that it was a grave and it contained a man who was reciting the Surah Tabarakalladhi Biyadihil Mulk up to the end. He went and told the Prophet Muhammad who said, ‘It is The Defender; it is The Protector which safeguards from Allah Ta’ala’s Punishment’[7]
Khalid bin Madam said about surat Al Mulk and ‘As Sajda that these two surahs will fight for their reciter in the grave and will say, ‘O Allah! If we belong to Your book, accept our intercession in his favour. In case we do not, get us obliterated. These surahs will spread their wings like birds and will save the person from the torment of the grave.’[8]
It was narrated that Abd Allah ibn Mas'ud said: Whoever reads Tabarakalladhi Biyadihil Mulk [i.e. Surah al-Mulk] every night, Allah will protect him from the torment of the grave. At the time of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) , we used to call it al-mani’ah (that which protects). In the Book of Allah it is a surah which, whoever recites it every night has done very well.[9]
Ibn Umar said that once the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) recited verse 2 (the One Who created death and life so that He may test you as to which of you is better in deeds) and when he reached the words "better in deeds", he stopped and explained that 'better in deeds' is the person who abstains most from the things Allah has forbidden and is always ready to obey Him." [10]
References:
- 1. Fath al Qadir 5/257, Sahihul Jamiea 1/680, Tabrani in Al-Awsat & Ibn Mardawaith
- 2. Abu Dawud, Ahmad, at-Tirmidhi, Riyad as-Salihin by Imam an-Nawawi Ch.183 #1016
- 3. Sahihul Jamiea 1/680, Hakim 2/498 & Nasai
- 4. Ahmad, Tirmidhi and Darami
- 5. At-Tabrani
- 6. Hakim, al-Hisnul Haseen by the cassical scholar Muhammad al-Jazri
- 7. At-Tirmidhi
- 8. Mishkat al-Misbah
- 9. An-Nasa’i
- 10. Qurtubi