VIRTUES OF SELECTED SUWAR
(SUURAHS or CHAPTERS)
OF THE GLORIOUS QUR'AAN

1. Suurah 1 - Al Fatiha, or The Opening Chapter
2. Suurah 2 - Baqara, or The Heifer
3. Suurah 3 - Al-i-Imraan, or The Family of Imraan
4. Suurah 4 - An-Nisa, or The Women
5. Suurah 6 - An-Naam, or Cattle
6. Suurah 11 - Huud (The Prophet)
7. Suurah 12 - Yusuf, or Joseph
8. Suurah 17 - Banii Isra-iil, or The Children of Israel
9. Suurah 18 - Kahf, or The Cave
10. Suurah 20 - Taa Haa (Mystic Letters T.H.)
11. Suurah 23 - Mu'uminuun, or The Believers
12. Suurah 32 - Sajda, or Adoration
13. Suurah 36 - Yaa Siin
14. Suurah 41 - Haa-Miim, or Haa-Miim Sajda, or Fussilat
15. Suurah 44 - Dukhan, or Smoke, or Mist
16. Suurah 48 - Fat-h, or Victory
17. Suurah 50 - Qaf
18. Suurah 53 - Najm, or The Star
19. Suurah 55 - Rahmaan, or God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful
20. Suurah 26 - Waqia'a, or The Inevitable Event
21. Suurah 57 - Hadid, or Iron
22. Suurah 59 - Hashr, or The Gathering
23. Suurah 61 - Saff, or Battle Array
24. Suurah 62 - Jumu'a, or The Assembly (Friday) Prayer
25. Suurah 67 - Mulk, or Dominion
26. Suurah 86 - Taariq, or The Night Visitant
27. Suwar 87 - A'la, or The Most High, and 88 - Gashiya, or The Overwhelming Event
28. Suurah 97 - Qadr, or The Night of Power (or Honour)
29. Suurah 99 - Zilzaal, or The Convulsion
30. Suurah 100 - 'Adiyaat, or Those that run
31. Suurah 102 - Takathur, or Piling up
32. Suurah 110 - Nasr, or Help
33. Suurah 112 - Ikhlaas, or Purity of Faith
34. Suurah 113 - Falaaq, or The Dawn and 114 -Naas, or Mankind
35. Suurah 112, 113 and 114 - Ikhlaas, Falaaq and Naas.

This suurah was revealed in Makkah and contains seven verses.

It has been described by the Holy Prophet (S.A.W. ) as, among other things, "Umm Al-Qur'aan -The Mother of the Qur'aan", "The Seven Oft-Repeated Verses" and "The Glorious Qur'aan."

It must be recited in every rakaat of the salaat.

Among the sayings of the Messenger of Allaah is that:

"In the Fatiha of the Qur'aan is a cure for all maladies (illnesses)"

This Suurah was revealed in Madinah and is the longest in the Noble Qur'aan (286 verses)

The Messenger of Allaah (S.A.W.) said:

"Do not turn your houses into graves. Verily, Shaytan does not enter the house where Suura Baqarah is recited."

This Suurah contains Ayaat ul Kursi (The Verse of the Throne - 255) which has been described as "the greatest Ayaah in the Book of Allaah."

Of this Ayaah the Noble Prophet (S.A.W. ) said:

" .... This Ayaah has a tongue and two lips with which she praises the King (Allaah) next to the leg of the throne."

In order to prevent Shaitaan from even coming near one's home, one should recite the last two verses of the Suurah: Aamanar till the end of the Suurah.

This Suurah was revealed in Madinah and comprises 200 verses.

In connection with this Suurah the Noble Prophet of Allaah (S.A.W. ) said:

"Read the Qur'aan, because it will intercede on behalf of the people on the Day of Resurrection.

Read the two lights, Al Baqara and Al-Imraan because they will come in the shape of two clouds, two shades or two lines of birds on the Day of Resurrection, and will argue on behalf of their people on that Day."

This Suurah was revealed in Madinah and comprises 176 verses.

Abdullah bin Mas'ud said:

'There are five ayaats in Suura An-Nisa that I would prefer to the life of the world and all that is in it:

1. "If ye (but) eschew the most heinous of the things which ye are forbidden to do, We shall expel out of you all the evil in you, and admit you to a Gate of great honour." (V. 31)


2. "Allaah is never unjust in the least degree; if there is any good (done), He doublet it, and giveth from His own Presence a great reward." (V. 40)


3. "God forgives not that partners should be set up with Him: but He firgiveth everything else, to whom He pleaseth; to set up partners with God is to devise a sin most heinous indeed." (V. 48)


4. "We sent not an Apostle, but to be obeyed, in accordance with the Will of God. If they had only, when they were unjust to themselves, come unto thee and asked God's Forgiveness, and the Apostle had asked God's Forgiveness for them, they would have found God indeed Oft-returning, Most Merciful." (V64)


5. "If anyone does evil or wrongs his own soul, But afterwards seeks God's Forgiveness, he will find God Oft-forgiving, Most Merciful." (V. 110)

This Suurah was revealed in Makkah and comprises 165 verses.

Ibn 'Abbass said:

"This Suurah was revealed in Makkah at night, accompanied by 70,000 angels, raising their voices in glorification of Allaah."

This Suurah was revealed in Makkah and contains 123 verses.

The Noble Prophet (S.A.W.) said:

"Recite Suurah Huud on Fridays."

This surah was revealed in Makkah and contains 110 verses.

The Holy Prophet (S.A.W.) said:

"Teach your relatives the revelation of Suura Yuusuf, for any Muslim who recites it or teaches it to his family and slaves, Allaah shall ease for him the agony of death, or give him the strength that will prevent him from envying a fellow Muslim."

This Suurah was revealed in Makkah and contains 111 verses.

Hazrat Aisha (R.A.) said:

"The Messenger of Allaah used to fast until we would say he does not want to break his fast, then he would not fast until we would say, he does not want to fast, and he used to recite Suurah Israa-iil and Az-Zumar every night."

This Suurah was revealed in Makkah and contains 111 verses.

The Prophet (S.A.W.) said:

"Whosoever recites Suurah Al-Kahf on Friday, it will illuminate him with light from one Friday to the next."

This Suurah was revealed in Makkah and contains 135 verses.

The Holy Prophet (S.A.W.) said:

"A thousand years before creating the heavens and the earth Allaah recited Taa-Haa and Ya-Siin and when the angels heard the recitation they said:

'Happy are the people to whom this comes down, happy are the minds which carry this, and happy are the tongues which utter this.'"

This Suurah was revealed in Makkah and consists of 118 verses.

It is reported that Ibn Mas'ud recited verses 115 to 118 in the ear of an afflicted person and the man was cured.

This Suurah was revealed in Makkah and contains 30 verses.

Abu Hurairah said:

"The Prophet used to recite in Fajr on Fridays:

'Alif, Lam, Mim

This is the revelation of the Book in which there is no doubt,-

From the Lord of the Worlds'"

This Suurah was revealed in Makkah and contains 83 verses.

The Messenger of Allaah (S.A.W.) said:

"Whoever recites Yaa Siin in the night seeking the Face of Allaah, will be forgiven."

It should be recited when a person is in the throes of death or has passed away.

This Suurah was revealed in Makkah and consists of 54 verses.

The Holy Prophet said:

"Everything has its fruits and benefits, and the fruit of the Qur'aan is Haa-Miim (another name for Suura Al Fussilat). Chapters beginning with 'Haa-Miim' are beautiful, fresh, fragrant, splendid meadows. Whoever desires to walk around in meadows of Paradise should recite these suuras.

This Suurah was revealed in Makkah and consists of 59 verses. The Holy Prophet said:

"Whoever recites Suura Ad-Dukhaan every night, seventy thousand angels will ask forgiveness for him."

This Suurah was revealed in Madinah and comprises 29 verses.

The Holy Prophet (S.A.W.) recited this Suurah on the day of the conquest of Makkah. He recited it in a very pleasant and vibrating tone while entering the city, riding his she-camel.

This Suurah was revealed in Madinah and contains 29 verses.

The Holy Prophet (S. A. W.) used to recite it every Friday while delivering the khutbah.

This Suurah was revealed in Makkah and contains 62 verses.

It is the first Suurah in which a prostration was revealed.

This Suurah was revealed in Makkah and contains 78 verses.

Once the Holy Prophet (S.A.W.) recited this Suurah while leading some of his companions in salaat. On completion of the prayer he turned to them and addressed them in words to the effect that when he recited the ayah "Then which of the favours of your Lord will ye deny" he did not hear any response from them, but when he had recited the same suurah while leading a company of jinns in prayer they responded by saying: "None of Your Favours do we deny, our Lord! All Praise is due to You."

This Suurah was revealed in Makkah and contains 96 verses. The Noble prophet (S.A.W.) said:

"Whoever recites Al-Waaqi-‘a at night would never encounter poverty."

This Suurah was revealed in Madina and contains 30 verses.

The Prophet (S.A.W.) used to recite Suurahs of glorification (Al-Hadid, As Saf, Al-Jumu'a and Al-Tagaabuun) before retiring and said there is a verse in them which is better than one thousand verses.

This Suurah was revealed in Madina and contains 24 verses.

The Prophet (S.A.W.) said:

"Whoever wakes up in the morning and says 'I seek refuge with Allaah against Satan' and then recites three verses from the last part of Al-Hashr will be assigned 70,000 angels to pray for him until the evening and should he die that day, he would die a martyr."

This Suurah was revealed in Madina and contains 14 verses.

Abdullah bin Salam is reported to have said:

"We asked: 'Who among us should go to the Messenger of Allaah and ask him about the dearest actions in Allaah.' None among us volunteered. The Messenger sent a man to us and that man gathered us and recited this Suura, As Saff, in its entirety."

This Suurah was revealed in Madina and consists of 11 verses.

The Holy Prophet (S.A.W.) used to recite Al Jumu'a and Al Munafiqin during the Friday prayer.

This Suurah was revealed in Makkah and contains 30 verses.

The Messenger of Allaah (S.A.W.) said:

"There is a chapter in the Qur'aan which contains Thirty Ayaat that will intercede on behalf of its reciters until he is forgiven. (It is): 'Blessed be He in Whose Hand is the Dominion.'"

This Suurah was revealed in Makkah and contains 17 verses.

Jabir said:

"Mu'adh led the evening prayer and he recited Al Baqara and An-Nisaa.So the Prophet said:

'Are you putting the people to trial, O Mu"adh? Was it not sufficient for you to recite As-Sama' wat-Tariq and Ash-Shamsu wa Duhaha?"

These Suwar were revealed in Makkah and contains 19 and 26 verses, respectively.

The Messenger of Allaah used to recite Suurat Al-A'la and Al-Gashiyat on the Eid and Friday prayers. On Fridays he recited Suurah Al Gashiyah along with Suurat Al-Jumu'a.

This Suurah was revealed in Makah and contains 5 verses.

The Holy Prophet (S.A.W.) said:

"Whoever stands in prayer during the Night of Al-Qadr* with faith and expecting reward (from Allaah), he will be forgiven for his previous sins."

This Suurah was revealed in Madinah and contains 8 verses.

The Holy Prophet (S.A.W.) said:

"Whoever recited Suura Zilzaal would get the reward for reciting half the Qur'aan. Whoever recited Suura Al Kaafiruun would get a reward as if reading a quarter of the Qur'aan. Whoever recited Suura AL Ikhlaas would get a reward as if reading one third of the Qur'aan."

This Suurah was revealed in Makkah and contains 11 verses.

The Holy Prophet (S.A.W.) said:

"Whoever recited 'Adiyaat his reward equals one half of the Qur'aan"

This Suurah was revealed in Makkah and contains 8 verses.

The Holy Prophet (S.A.W.) said:

"Whoever recited one thousand verses in one night would meet Allaah with a smile on his face." Someone said: 'O Apostle! Who can recite one thousand verses?' The Apostle then recited Suurah Al- Takathur and then said: 'By Him in Whose Hands my soul is, it is equal to one thousand verses.'"

This Suurah was revealed in Madinah and contains 3 verses.

It was the last of the Suwar to be revealed as a whole and is equal to reciting one fourth of the Qur'aan.

This Suurah was revealed in Makkah and contains 4 verses.

Abu Sa'id said that a man heard another repeatedly reciting:

'Say, He is Allaah, One'. The next morning the man went to the Prophet (S.A.W.) and told him of the incident, adding that it appeared as if the man was belittling it. The Prophet replied: 'By He in Whose hand is my soul, verily it is equivalent to a third of the Qur'aan.'"

These two Suwar were revealed in Makkah and comprises 5 and 6 verses respectively.

Abu Sa'id said that the Messenger of Allaah used to seek protection against the evil eyes of the jinnns and mankind. However, when these two Suuras were revealed he used them for protection instead.

The Holy Prophets method of offering supplication before going to bed at nights

Hadrat Aishah (R.A.) reported that before the Holy Prophet (S.A.W. ) went to

bed every night, he would offer supplication in the following manner:

1. place his open palms together, then blow into them,
   
2. recite the following suwar: Ikhlaas, Falaaq and Naas,
   
3. then wipe as far as he could reach of his body with his palms, first his head, then his face, then the front part of his body.
   
4. he would repeat the process as at (iii) above two more times, making a total of three times.

~End~