The time for the supplications of morning is from dawn until the sunrise, and those of the evening are meant for the time between ‘Asr (late afternoon) until the sunset.
Abu Hurairah reported that the Prophet, peace be upon him, said, “If anyone said in the morning and evening: ‘subhana-Allah wa bihamdihi’ (Glory to Allah and all praise to Him), a hundred times, on the Day of Judgment none will come with anything better than that except the person who utters similar words or adds some to them.
Ibn Mas’ud reported, “When it was evening the Prophet, peace be upon him, would supplicate, “We have evening and the whole Kingdom of Allah also has evening and all praise is due to Allah. There is no god but Allah, the One Who has no partner with Him, His is the Sovereignty and all Praise is due to Him, and He has power over all things. O Allah, I ask You the good of this night and I seek refuge in You from the evil of this night and the evil that follows it. O Allah, I seek refuge in You from sloth and from the evil of vanity. O Allah, I seek refuge in You from the torment of Hell-Fire and from the torment of the grave.” And likewise when it was morning he would say, “It is morning for us and [also] for the whole Kingdom of Allah.” (Muslim)
Abdallah b. Habib reported that the Prophet, peace be upon him, said, “Speak.” I asked, “O Messenger of Allah, what should I say?” He replied, “Recite Surat al-Ikhlas, and the two last surahs (of the Qur’an), i.e. Surat al-Falaq and Surat an-Nas, in the morning and evening three times, and it will suffice you for everything.
“ Abu Hurairah reported that the Prophet, peace be upon him, used to teach his Companions, “When it is morning you should say, ‘O Allah, we have reached morning with Your help and evening with Your help, and with Your help we live and by Your command we die, and to You is our Resurrection.’ And when it is evening you should say, ‘O Allah, with Your help we have reached evening, and with Your help we will reach morning, with Your help we live and by Your command we die, and to You is our return’.” (Reported by Tirmizhi, who says it is a hasan sahih hadith)
Shaddad b. Aws reported that the Prophet, peace be upon him, said, “The best supplication for forgiveness is to say, ‘Allahumma anta Rabbi la ilaha illa anta, Khalaqtani wa ana ‘abduka, wa ana ‘ala ‘ahdika wa wa’dika mastata’tu. A’uzhu bika min sharri ma sana’tu, abu’u laka bini’matika ‘alayya wa abu’u laka bizhanbi faghfirli innahu la yaghfiru zhzhunuba illa anta (O Allah, You are my Lord, there is no god but You. You created me and I am Your servant, and I try my best to keep my covenant (faith) with You and to live in the hope of Your promise. I seek refuge in You from evil done by me. I acknowledge Your favors upon me and I acknowledge my sins. So forgive me for none forgives sins but You.”’) The Prophet, peace be upon him, added, “If somebody recites this during the day with firm faith in it, and dies on the same day before the evening, he will be one of the people of Paradise. And if somebody recites it at night with firm faith in it, and dies before the morning, he will be one of the people of Paradise.” (Bukhari)
Abu Hurairah reported that once Abu Bakr as-Siddiq asked the Prophet, peace be upon him, to tell him something to pray in the morning and in the evening. The Prophet, peace be upon him, said, “Say, O Allah; Creator of the heavens and the earth, Who knows the unseen and the seen, Lord and Possessor of everything! I testify that there is no god but You. I seek refuge in You from the evil within myself, from the evil of the devil, and from his inciting one to attribute partners to Allah.” Then he added, “Say this in the morning, in the evening, and when you go to bed.
‘Uthman b. ‘Affan reported that the Prophet, peace be upon him, said, ‘If any servant of Allah says daily in the morning and in the evening, ‘ In the name of Allah, by Whose name nothing in the earth or in the heaven can do any harm, and He is All-Hearing, All-Knowing!” three times, nothing will harm him.’ (Reported by Tirmizhi who regards it a hasan sahih (sound) hadith) Thawban reported that the Prophet, peace be upon him, said, “If anyone says in the morning and in the evening, ‘I am pleased with Allah as my Lord, with Islam as my religion, and with Muhammad as the Prophet,’ Allah will certainly please him.” (Tirmizhi, who says it is a sound (hasan sahih) hadith)
Anas b. Malik reported that the Prophet, peace be upon him, said, “If anyone says in the morning or in the evening, ‘O Allah! it is morning, I call to bear witness to You, and to the bearers of Your Throne, Your angels, and all Your creatures, that You are Allah other than Whom there is no god, and that Muhammad is Your servant and Messenger,’ Allah will emancipate one-fourth of him from Hell. If one says it twice, Allah will emancipate one-half of him from Hell. If one says it three times, Allah will emancipate three-fourths of him (from Hell). And if he says it four times, Allah will emancipate him (completely) from Hell. (Tirmizhi) Abdallah ibn Ghannam reported that the Prophet, peace be upon him, said, “If anyone says in the morning, ‘O Allah! Whatever favor has come to me, has come from You alone Who has no partner. To You all praise is due and all thanksgiving,’ he expresses his thanksgiving for the day. And if anyone says the same in the evening, he expresses his thanks for the night. (Abu Daw’ud)
Abdallah ibn ‘Umar said, “The Prophet, peace be upon him, always uttered these supplications in the evening and in the morning: ‘O Allah, I ask You for security in this world and in the Hereafter. O Allah! I ask You for forgiveness and security in my din and in my worldly affairs, in my family and in my property. O Allah! Cover up my faults, and keep me safe from the things I fear. O Allah! Guard me from the front and the behind, from the right and the left, and from above. And I seek in Your greatness the protection from unexpected harm from beneath.” (Abu Daw’ud and Al-Hakim) Waki’ said, “This means to be swallowed up by the earth.” ‘Abdur-Rahman b. Abu Bakrah said that he told his father, “O my father! I hear you supplicating every morning with the words: ‘O Allah! Grant me sound health. O Allah! Grant me sound hearing. O Allah! Grant me sound eyesight. There is no god but You.’ You repeat them three times in the morning and three times in the evening.’ He replied, ‘I heard the Prophet, peace be upon him, using these words as a supplication and I like to follow his practice’.” (Abu Daw’ud) Ibn ‘Abbas reported that the Prophet, peace be upon him, said, “If anyone said, ‘O Allah, I have risen with Your help, blessings, security, and protection, so complete Your blessings upon me, Your security for me, and your protection, in this world and in the Hereafter,’ three times in the morning and in the evening, Allah will certainly complete His favors upon him.” Anas reported that once the Prophet, peace be upon him, exclaimed, “Can’t anyone of you be like Abu Damdam?” The Companions asked, “Who is Abu Damdam, O Messenger of Allah?” He replied, “When he gets up in the morning he says, ‘O Allah, I offer my honor and life to You?’ So that he would not abuse those who abused him, nor would he wrong those who wronged him, or hit those who hit him.” Abu Darda reported that the Prophet, peace be upon him, said, “If anyone says daily in the morning and in the evening, ‘Allah suffices me, there is no god but He, in Him is my trust, and he is the Lord of the Throne, Supreme,’ seven times, Allah will suffice him for all the concerns of the life of this world and of the Hereafter.”
It is reported that Talq b. Habib said, “A man came to Abu Darda and said to him, ‘O Abu Darda, your house has burned.’ He said: ‘No, it cannot be burned. Allah will never allow this to happen because of the words that I heard from the Prophet, peace be upon him. Whoever says these words in the beginning of a day, the Prophet, peace be upon him, told us, will not be afflicted by a misfortune until the end of the day, and whoever says these words in the evening will not be afflicted until morning. These words are, “O Allah, You are my Lord, there is no god but You, I put my trust in You, You are the Lord of the Mighty Throne. Whatever Allah wills will happen and what He does not will cannot happen. There is no power or strength except with Allah, the Exalted, the Mighty. I know that Allah has power over all things, and Allah comprehends all things in knowledge. O Allah, I seek refuge with You from the evil of myself and from the evil of all creatures under Your control. Surely the straightway is my Sustainer’s way”.”’ In some versions of this hadith we further find that he said, “Come, let us go. So he went with them to his house. They found all the area surrounding the house burned but his house was not damaged.”
To be continued
