Morning and Evening Dhikr

The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) informed that whoever recites the last two verses of Surat al-Baqarah at night, Allah will protect him from evil and harm. It is also said that they are sufficient for him in place of qiyām al-layl (supererogatory prayer at night). They are also said to suffice him in place of all regular dhikrs. Others say that they are the least sufficient amount of Qur'anic recitation in qiyām al-layl. Other opinions were also expressed. Perhaps all those views are correct and consistent with the Hadīth's wording.

Upon reaching the morning, i.e., the early part of the day, with the break of dawn, the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) used to say: (O Allah, by You we have reached the morning) enjoying Your protection, overwhelmed with Your Favor, preoccupied with remembering You, seeking help with Your name, encompassed by Your guidance, and proceeding with Your might and strength. (And by You we have reached the evening, by You we live, and by You we die), i.e., like the previous wording along with reciting it in the evening saying: O Allah, by You we have reached the evening. So, by Your name, the Bestower of Life, we live, and by Your name, the Bringer of Death, we die. (And to You is the Resurrection), the return to life after death, and the separation after assembly. We continue like this at all times and in all situations, and I will never stop or leave it. Upon reaching the evening, right after ‘Asr, he would say: (O Allah, by You we have reached the evening, and by You we have reached the morning, by You we live, and by You we die, and to You is the final destination), the return in this world, and the return in the Hereafter, as it is You Who give me life and it is You Who cause me to die.

The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) informs that seeking forgiveness has certain wordings, the greatest of which is to say: "Allāhumma anta rabbi la ilāha illa ant khalaqtani wa ana ‘abduk wa ana ‘ala ‘ahdika wa wa‘dika mastata‘t a‘ūdhu bika min sharri ma sana‘t abū’u laka bini‘matika ‘alayya wa abū’u bidhanbi faghfir li fa innahu la yaghfiru adh-dhunūba illa ant (O Allah, You are my Lord. You created me, and I am Your slave. I will remain faithful to Your covenant and promise as much as possible. I seek refuge with You from the evil of what I have done. I acknowledge Your favor upon me, and I admit my sin. So, forgive me. Indeed, none can forgive sins but You)." Here, the slave first acknowledges the oneness of Allah and that Allah is his Creator and God, with no partner. He states that he adheres to his covenant with Allah Almighty, to believe in Him and obey Him as much as he can because no matter what the slave offers of worship, he cannot carry out all of Allah's commands or show sufficient gratitude for the blessings He has bestowed upon him. The slave, then, seeks refuge with Allah and holds fast to Him, as He is the One with Whom refuge is sought against the evil he committed. He willingly admits and acknowledges the favor of Allah upon him, and again admits and acknowledges his sins and misdeeds. After imploring Allah, he supplicates his Lord to forgive him by concealing his sins and protecting him from dire consequences through His pardon, favor, and mercy, as none can forgive sins but Allah Almighty. Then, the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) stated that this supplication is from the morning and evening Adhkār (regular supplications), and whoever recites it with certainty while recalling its meanings and believing in them at the beginning of his day, from sunrise till the sun's decline, i.e., at daytime, and he dies, he will enter Paradise. And whoever recites it at night, from sunset till the break of dawn, and dies before the morning, he will enter Paradise.

'Abdullah ibn Khubayb (may Allah be pleased with him), the great Companion, reports that they went out one night when it was raining heavily and it was extremely dark, looking for the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) to lead them in prayer and they found him. The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said to him: "Say," i.e., recite, but he recited nothing. The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) repeated his words to him, so, ‘Abdullah said: What should I recite, O Messenger of Allah? Thereupon, the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: Recite Surat al-Ikhlās {Say: “He is Allah, the One”} and Al-Mu‘awwidhatān: Surat {Say, “I seek refuge with the Lord of the daybreak} and Surat {Say, “I seek refuge with the Lord of mankind} in the evening and morning three times and they will protect you from all evils and guard you against all harms.

The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) clarified that whoever says three times every morning, after the break of dawn, and every evening, before sunset: (In the name of Allah with Whose name) I seek help and protection against whatever is harmful that can cause no harm no matter how great it is along with mentioning His name, (in the earth) and the afflictions coming thereof (and the heaven) and the afflictions descending therefrom, (and He is the All-Hearing) of what we say (the All-Knowing) of our conditions. Whoever says it in the evening will not be overtaken by calamity until the morning comes, and whoever says it in the morning will not be overtaken by calamity until the evening comes. The Hadīth narrator, Abān ibn ‘Uthmān, was then afflicted with paralysis, i.e., loss of control over one half of the body, so the man who heard the Hadīth from him kept looking at Abān in wonder. Thereupon, Abān said to the man: Why are you looking at me?! By Allah, I did not tell a lie about 'Uthmān, nor did ‘Uthmān tell a lie about the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him). However, that day when I was afflicted by this, Allah did not decree for me to say it; I got angry, and I forgot to say the aforementioned words.

It was from the guidance of the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) to say these blessed supplications in the morning and evening. "The evening has reached and the dominion belongs to Allah"; that's the time of evening has entered and the dominion continues therein to be for Allah exclusively. "And praise be to Allah"; that is we realize that the dominion therein belongs to Allah and all praise is due to Allah alone. "There is no god but Allah"; that is divinity belongs exclusively to Him. "O Allah, I ask You for the good of this night"; that is the goodness of it, as well as the goodness that occurs in it, and the goodness that rests in it. "And I seek refuge with You from the evil of this night and the evil (therein)"; that is from the nights and what lies therein of evil concerning religion and worldly affairs. "O Allah, I seek refuge with You from laziness"; that is from sluggishness in obedience while having the ability. "Senility" means aging that leads to the loss and weakness of some abilities, which is reversal to the most decrepit old age, because the purpose of life, represented in knowledge and action, are missed in such a stage. "And woeful aging"; that is senility and feeble-mindedness, and it was narrated with a different pronunciation meaning vanity. The meaning intended by "woeful aging" is the loss of reason that aging results in, as well as confusion and disorder in judgment, and the incapability to perform acts of obedience and other such things that worsen the condition. "And the torment in the grave"; that is from its punishment or from whatever causes it. "In the morning, he used to say that as well"; that's what he said in the evening. However, he would replace "the evening" with "the morning" and "the night" with "the day" saying: "O Allah, I ask You for the good of this day."

The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) left the house of his wife Juwayriyah, Mother of the Believers, (may Allah be pleased with her) early in the morning after performing the Fajr prayer, while she was sitting in her place of prayer. He returned after the sun had passed its zenith, during the time of Duha, and she was still sitting in the same spot. He then said: Are you still in the state I left you in? She replied: Yes. The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: I said four words after I had left you, and I repeated them three times. If they were to be weighed in terms of reward against all that you have been saying during the time you have been sitting here, they would outweigh them. (Glory be to Allah) and may He be Exalted above all imperfections (and all praise is due to Him). For to Him belongs the beautiful praise for having guided to that (by the number of His creation) whom none can count but Allah, (by His own pleasure) as much as pleases Him with those of His slaves with whom Allah is pleased—something that cannot be encompassed, (by the weight of His Throne), which is the greatest and heaviest of the whole creation, (and by the ink of His words) and the words of Allah are countless and endless. This encompasses and includes the three aspects, as the ink of His words, exalted is He, is limitless in its extent, description, and number. However, the intent here is to emphasize the great abundance. First, a countable measure is mentioned—the number of His creations. Then, it progresses to something even greater, expressed as "His own pleasure." Next is the weight of the greatest creation, the Throne. The first relates to number and quantity, the second to description and quality, and the third to greatness and weight.