Morning Remembrances

Morning Dhikr

Morning and evening dhikr are among the most essential supplications that every Muslim should diligently observe. These acts of remembrance create a connection between the servant and their Lord. Through them, Allah is in one’s company, providing protection and guidance. They bring comfort to the soul, tranquility to the heart, and relief to the mind. Allah, the Exalted, says: “Indeed, those who have believed and whose hearts are assured by the remembrance of Allah. Unquestionably, by the remembrance of Allah hearts are assured.” Below are the supplications that should be recited each morning:

• Ayat al-Kursi: (“Allah! There is no deity except Him, the Ever-Living, the Sustainer of existence. Neither drowsiness overtakes Him nor sleep. To Him belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth. Who is it that can intercede with Him except by His permission? He knows what is before them and what will be after them, and they encompass not a thing of His knowledge except for what He wills. His Kursi extends over the heavens and the earth, and their preservation tires Him not. And He is the Most High, the Most Great.”)
• (“We have risen upon the Fitrah of Islam, upon the word of sincerity, upon the religion of our Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), and upon the Millah of our father Ibrahim, a believer in One God, and he was not of the polytheists.”)
• (“We have entered the morning, and all sovereignty belongs to Allah, the Lord of the worlds. O Allah, I ask You for the good of this day: its opening, its victory, its light, its blessings, and its guidance. And I seek refuge in You from the evil contained in it and from the evil that follows it.”)
• (“O Allah! I bear witness to You and I bear witness to the bearers of Your Throne, Your angels, and all of Your creation that You are Allah, there is no deity except You, and that Muhammad is Your servant and messenger.”)
• (“O Allah! We have entered the morning relying upon You, and we have entered the evening relying upon You. We live and die by You, and to You is the ultimate return. And when it is evening, let one say: ‘O Allah! We have entered the evening relying upon You…'”)
• (“O Allah! I ask You for forgiveness and wellness in this life and the Hereafter, and I ask You for forgiveness and wellness in my religion, my worldly affairs, my family, and my wealth. O Allah! Cover my shortcomings, grant me safety in my fears, and protect me from what is before me, from what is behind me, on my right, on my left, and from above me. And I seek refuge with You from being taken by surprise from beneath me.”)
• (“O Allah! Knower of the unseen and the witnessed, Creator of the heavens and the earth, Lord of all that exists, I bear witness that there is no deity except You. I seek refuge in You from the evil of my soul and the evil of the devil and his polytheism. Say this when you rise, when you fall asleep, and when you settle into your bed.”)
• (“There is no deity except Allah, alone with no partner. To Him belongs the sovereignty and to Him is all praise, and He is over all things competent.”)
• (“Say: He is Allah, the One, and invoke Al-Mu’awwidhatayn (the two protectors) when you wake up and when you go to sleep, three times each for sufficiency.):
  • Surah Al-Ikhlas: (“Say, ‘He is Allah, One. Allah, the Eternal Refuge. He neither begets nor is born, nor is there to Him any equivalent.'”)
  • Surah Al-Falaq: (“Say, ‘I seek refuge in the Lord of dawn from the evil of that which He created and from the evil of the blowers in knots and from the evil of an envier when he envies.'”)
  • Surah An-Nas: (“Say, ‘I seek refuge in the Lord of mankind, the Sovereign of mankind. The God of mankind from the evil of the retreating whisperer – who whispers in the breasts of mankind – of jinn and among mankind.'”)
• (“We have entered the evening, and sovereignty belongs to Allah. Praise be to Allah, there is no deity but Allah, alone with no partner. To Him belongs the sovereignty and to Him is all praise, and He is over all things competent. My Lord! I ask You for the good of this night and the good of what follows it. And I seek refuge in You from the evil of this night and the evil of what follows it. My Lord! I seek refuge with You from laziness and the troubles of old age. My Lord! I seek refuge in You from the punishment of Hell and the punishment of the grave. And when you wake, say this too: ‘We have entered the morning and sovereignty belongs to Allah.'”)
• Sayyid al-Istighfar: (“O Allah! You are my Lord. There is no deity except You, You created me and I am Your servant. I am upon Your covenant and promise as much as I am able. I seek refuge in You from the evil of what I have done, and I acknowledge Your blessings upon me, and I acknowledge my sins, so forgive me, for none forgives sins except You.”)
• (“O Allah! Grant me health in my body. O Allah! Grant me health in my hearing. O Allah! Grant me health in my sight. There is no deity except You. O Allah! I seek refuge in You from disbelief and poverty. O Allah! I seek refuge in You from the punishment of the grave. There is no deity except You.”) (Repeat three times)
• (“In the name of Allah, with Whose name nothing is harmed in the earth or in the heaven, and He is the Hearing, the Knowing.”) (Repeat three times)
• (“Glory be to Allah and praise Him, in numbers equivalent to His creation, and as much as pleases His soul, and equals the weight of His Throne, and as much ink as He has written.”) (This should be said three times)
• (“I seek forgiveness from Allah, the Almighty, there is no deity except Him, the Living, the Sustainer, and I turn to Him in repentance.”)
• (“O Allah! Whatever grace I have in the morning or anyone among Your creation is from You alone, You have no partner. To You belongs the praise and the gratitude. He who says this when he enters the morning has fulfilled the gratitude of his day, and likewise the one who says it when he enters the evening has fulfilled the gratitude for his night.”)
• (“O Ever-Living, O Sustainer, in Your mercy, I seek help. Set right for me all of my affairs and do not leave me to myself for the blink of an eye.”)
• (“O Allah! I ask You for beneficial knowledge, and good provision, and accepted work.”)
• (“O Allah! I seek refuge in You from worry and sorrow, from incapacity and laziness, from stinginess and cowardice, from the burden of debt and from the dominance of men.”)
• (“Glory be to Allah and praise Him a hundred times.”)
• (“Whoever sends blessings upon me ten times in the morning and ten times in the evening will be granted my intercession on the Day of Resurrection.”)
• (“Sufficient for me is Allah. There is no deity except Him. Upon Him I place my trust, and He is the Lord of the Mighty Throne.”)

The Virtue of Morning Dhikr

The morning dhikr holds immense value and great rewards. Here are some of its virtues:

• Abdullah Ibn Khabeeb reported: “We went out on a night of heavy rain and darkness seeking the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) to pray with us. We found him and he said: ‘Say.’ I didn’t say anything. He said, ‘Say,’ again, and I remained silent. Then he said, ‘Say.’ I asked, ‘O Messenger of Allah! What should I say?’ He said: ‘Say: Allah is One and invoke the Mu’awwidhatayn three times when you wake up and when you go to sleep; they will suffice you in all matters.'”
• The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: “Whoever says in the morning and in the evening: ‘Glory be to Allah and praise Him’ one hundred times will not be surpassed on the Day of Resurrection, except by someone who has said similar or more.”
• Regarding the virtue of the Master of Indulgence, the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “Whoever says it during the day, with certainty, and dies on that day before night, enters Paradise; and whoever says it at night, with certainty, and dies before dawn, enters Paradise.”
• The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “There is no servant who says every morning and evening: ‘In the name of Allah with Whose name nothing is harmed in the earth or in the heaven, and He is the Hearing, the Knowing’ three times, but that nothing will harm him.”
• The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “There is no servant who says three times when he enters or leaves: ‘I am pleased with Allah as my Lord, with Islam as my religion, and with Muhammad as my Prophet,’ but it is guaranteed for him that Allah will please him on the Day of Resurrection.”
• The Prophet (peace be upon him) further stated: “Whoever is pleased with Allah as his Lord, with Islam as his religion, and with Muhammad as his Prophet is guaranteed Paradise.”
• He also said: “Whoever says in the morning or evening: ‘O Allah! I testify to You, and I testify to the bearers of Your Throne, Your angels, and all Your creation that You are Allah, there is no deity except You, and that Muhammad is Your servant and messenger,’ Allah will free a quarter of him from the Fire, and whoever says it two times will be freed halfway, and three times he will be freed three-quarters, and if he says it four times, he will be entirely freed from the Fire.”
• The Prophet (peace be upon him) mentioned: “Whoever says in the morning: ‘O Allah! Whatever grace has come to me this morning is from You alone. You have no partner; to You belongs all praise and gratitude’ has fulfilled the gratitude of his day. Whoever says the same at night has fulfilled the gratitude for his night.”
• Juwairiyah bint al-Harith reported: “The Prophet (peace be upon him) left me early in the morning while I was in my mosque. When he returned after the sun had risen, he found me sitting. He said: ‘Are you still in the state I left you?’ I replied: Yes. He said: ‘I said after you four statements three times each. If they were weighed against what you have said since this morning, they would outweigh them: ‘Glory be to Allah and praise Him, in numbers equivalent to His creation, and as much as pleases His soul, and equals the weight of His Throne, and as much ink as He has written.”
• Abdurrahman Ibn Abu Bakrah said to his father: “O my father, I hear you supplicating every morning and evening: ‘O Allah! Grant me health in my body. O Allah! Grant me health in my hearing. O Allah! Grant me health in my sight…’ He said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) supplicating with these words, so I love to emulate his Sunnah.”
• Allah, the Exalted, says: “So remember Me; I will remember you. And be grateful to Me and do not deny Me.”
• Behold, I inform you of the best of your deeds, the purist with your Lord, and the loftiest in rank for you: better than gold and silver, and better than meeting your enemy and striking their necks and having them strike your necks. They said: Of course, O Messenger of Allah. He said: The remembrance of Allah.”
• In a sacred hadith, which the Prophet (peace be upon him) relayed from his Lord, Allah, the Almighty, said: “I am as My servant thinks of Me, and I am with him when he remembers Me. If he remembers Me in himself, I remember him in Myself; and if he remembers Me in a gathering, I remember him in a gathering better than theirs. If he draws near to Me an arm’s length, I draw near to him a cubit. And if he draws near to Me a cubit, I draw near to him an arm’s length. And if he comes to Me walking, I go to him at speed.”

Ways to Assist with Dhikr

Allah, the Exalted, has ordered remembering Him often and has not set a limit for it. Through dhikr, a Muslim becomes closer to Allah, and their rank in Paradise is elevated. Allah states: “Indeed, the Muslim men and women, the believing men and women, the devout men and women, the truthful men and women, the patient men and women, the humble men and women, the charitable men and women, the fasting men and women, the protectors of their chastity, and the remembering men and women have prepared for them forgiveness and a great reward.” Before discussing the methods that facilitate the remembrance of Allah, it is essential to highlight the reasons that lead to neglecting and forgetting it: distraction and preoccupation with the worldly life, relying solely on booklets without memorizing the dhikr, committing sins, and being unaware of the virtues of dhikr and the times for morning and evening remembrance, which extend to after Fajr for the morning and after sunset for the evening. The following are some methods that can help increase the remembrance of Allah and address the aforementioned setbacks:

• Contemplate the meanings of these dhikr and understand their virtues, as this deeply impacts the individual and encourages them to maintain their remembrance.
• Try to memorize the morning and evening dhikr, so you can recite them while driving, at work, or on your way to study or work.
• Set a specific time for dhikr and avoid procrastination; keep your focus on the dhikr during that time without becoming distracted.
• Steer clear of sins and prohibitions to ensure that the heart remains clean and free from veils that distract from the remembrance of Allah.
• Be keen on doing good deeds with righteous companions who encourage worship and remind you of the dhikr of Allah.
• Consistently remind your spouse, children, and family members about the significance of these dhikr to strengthen their commitment and increase their remembrance.