Question:
Assalamualaikum SS Dato’ Seri Mufti. Is it true that there is a sahih hadith stating that reciting ayat al-Kursi will ease the death of someone?
Answer:
Alhamdulillah, praise and thanks to Allah for the countless blessings He has blessed us all with. Blessings and salutations to the Prophet Muhammad PBUH, his wives, his family, companions and all those that follow his teachings to the day of judgement.
Regarding the hadith mentioned in the question, we did not find any hadith stating that there is such an advantage for someone who recite ayat al-Kursi. However, there are advantages for whoever that recite or consistent in reciting ayat al-Kursi as stated in the following hadith:
- From Abi Umamah RA, the Prophet PBUH said:
مَنْ قَرَأَ آيَةَ الْكُرْسِيِّ دُبُرَ كُلِّ صَلَاةٍ مَكْتُوبَةٍ لَمْ يَمْنَعْهُ مِنْ دُخُولِ الْجَنَّةِ، إِلَّا الْمَوْتُ
“Whoever recite the ayat al-Kursi every time after the obligatory prayer, then nothing can stop him from entering paradise except death.”
Sunan al-Thabarani in Mu’jam al-Kabir (7532) and Sunan al-Nasa’ie in Sunan al-Kubra (9848)
Commentary on the Status of the Hadith
Among the opinions of the scholars are as the following:
وَقَدْ رُوِيَ هَذَا الْحَدِيثُ مِنْ حَدِيثِ أبي أمامة، وَعَلِيِّ بْنِ أَبِي طَالِبٍ، وَعَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ عُمَرَ، وَالْمُغِيرَةِ بْنِ شُعْبَةَ، وَجَابِرِ بْنِ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ، وَأَنَسِ بْنِ مَالِكٍ، وَفِيهَا كُلِّهَا ضَعْفٌ، وَلَكِنْ إِذَا انْضَمَّ بَعْضُهَا إِلَى بَعْضٍ مَعَ تَبَايُنِ طُرُقِهَا وَاخْتِلَافِ مَخَارِجِهَا، دَلَّتْ عَلَى أَنَّ الْحَدِيثَ لَهُ أَصْلٌ وَلَيْسَ بِمَوْضُوعٍ
“Imam Ibn Qayyim al-Jauziyah said that the hadith is narrated by Abi Umamah, Ali bin Abi Thalib, Abdullah bin Umar, al-Mughirah bin Syu’bah, Jabir bin Abdillah and Anas bin Malik. All of which have some weaknesses. However, when all of it are assembled (all the stated narrations) though there are some differences, all of them are from a source. This proves that it comes from a source and not a fake hadith.” (See Zad al-Ma’ad, 294/1)
The Question
Why is ayat al-Kursi so important?
To answer this issue, we presented the answer given by Imam al-San’ani.
وَاخْتَصَّتْ آيَةُ الْكُرْسِيِّ بِذَلِكَ لِمَا اشْتَمَلَتْ عَلَيْهِ مِنْ أُصُولِ الْأَسْمَاءِ وَالصِّفَاتِ الْإِلَهِيَّةِ، وَبِالْوَحْدَانِيَّةِ، وَالْحَيَاةِ، وَالْقَيُّومِيَّةِ، وَالْعِلْمِ، وَالْمُلْكِ، وَالْقُدْرَةِ، وَالْإِرَادَةِ
“The great advantages of ayat al-Kursi is due to the compilation of the names and characteristics of Allah such as Wahdaniyyah (The Oneness), al-Hayah (The All Living), al-Qayyumiyyah (The Ever Eternal), al-‘Ilm (The All-Knowing), al-Mulk (The Authority), al-Qudrah (The All-Powerful) and al-Iradah (The Will).” (See Subul al-Salam, 297/1)
Closing
As a conclusion, reciting ayat al-Kursi have its own advantages as stated in the above hadith from Abi Umamah, which means it is sunnah for us to recite ayat al-Kursi every time we have performed the obligatory prayer. Lastly, may Allah SWT give us understanding and strength to practise the sunnah of the Prophet PBUH in our daily lives. Amin.
Wallahua’lam.