Almost everything else in this library is a response to something that has already gone wrong. This is the one that comes first — the daily protection a Muslim is supposed to have in place before anything happens.
It takes about ten minutes. It costs nothing. And it is the thing we most often find missing when someone writes to us in distress.
When to say them
- Morning — between Fajr and sunrise
- Evening — between Asr and Maghrib
If you miss the window, say them when you remember. Saying them late is enormously better than not saying them.
Start small and keep it
The full list in the classical compilations is long. Most people who attempt all of it stop within a fortnight.
So do this instead: take the first four below, say them every single day for a month, and only then add more. Permanence is the objective, not volume.
The core four
1. Ayat al-Kursi — once, morning and evening.
"Whoever says it when he rises in the morning will be protected from the jinn until evening, and whoever says it in the evening will be protected until morning." — narrated in an-Nasa'i's Amal al-Yawm wal-Laylah
The verse and its narrations are covered in full here.
2. Surah Al-Ikhlas, Al-Falaq and An-Nas — three times each.
"Say Al-Ikhlas and the two Mu'awwidhatayn three times when you reach evening and when you reach morning, and they will suffice you against everything." — Sunan Abi Dawud 5082
Cup your hands, recite into them, blow lightly, wipe over your head, face and body.
3. The dua of refuge in Allah's perfect words — three times.
بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الَّذِي لَا يَضُرُّ مَعَ اسْمِهِ شَيْءٌ فِي الْأَرْضِ وَلَا فِي السَّمَاءِ وَهُوَ السَّمِيعُ الْعَلِيمُ
Bismillahi-lladhi la yadurru ma'a-smihi shay'un fi-l-ardi wa la fi-s-sama'i, wa huwa-s-Sami'u-l-'Alim.
"In the name of Allah, with whose name nothing on earth or in heaven can cause harm, and He is the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing."
"Whoever says it three times in the morning and three times in the evening, nothing will harm him." — Sunan Abi Dawud 5088
4. Sayyid al-Istighfar — once.
The master supplication for seeking forgiveness.
"Whoever says it during the day with firm conviction and dies that day before evening, he will be among the people of Paradise; and whoever says it at night with firm conviction and dies before morning, he will be among the people of Paradise." — Sahih al-Bukhari 6306
اللَّهُمَّ أَنْتَ رَبِّي لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا أَنْتَ، خَلَقْتَنِي وَأَنَا عَبْدُكَ
Allahumma anta Rabbi la ilaha illa anta, khalaqtani wa ana 'abduka, wa ana 'ala 'ahdika wa wa'dika ma-stata't. A'udhu bika min sharri ma sana't. Abu'u laka bi ni'matika 'alayya, wa abu'u bi dhanbi, faghfir li, fa innahu la yaghfiru-dh-dhunuba illa ant.
"O Allah, You are my Lord, there is no deity but You. You created me and I am Your servant, and I keep Your covenant and promise as much as I am able. I seek refuge in You from the evil of what I have done. I acknowledge Your favour upon me and I acknowledge my sin, so forgive me, for none forgives sins but You."
Once those four are permanent, add these
5. La ilaha illa-llahu wahdahu la sharika lah — ten or a hundred times.
لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ وَحْدَهُ لَا شَرِيكَ لَهُ، لَهُ الْمُلْكُ وَلَهُ الْحَمْدُ، وَهُوَ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ
"Whoever says it a hundred times in a day has the reward of freeing ten slaves, a hundred good deeds are written for him, a hundred sins are erased, and he is protected from the shaytan that day until evening." — Sahih al-Bukhari 3293
6. Subhanallahi wa bihamdih — a hundred times.
"Whoever says it a hundred times in a day, his sins are wiped away even if they were like the foam of the sea." — Sahih al-Bukhari 6405
7. The dua for wellbeing — morning and evening.
اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَسْأَلُكَ الْعَافِيَةَ فِي الدُّنْيَا وَالْآخِرَةِ
Allahumma inni as'aluka-l-'afiyata fi-d-dunya wa-l-akhirah.
"O Allah, I ask You for wellbeing in this world and the next."
'Afiyah — wellbeing, safety, soundness — is one of the most comprehensive things a person can ask for, and the Prophet (peace be upon him) taught that few things are better to request.
How to actually keep it
- Attach it to something fixed. Immediately after Fajr, and immediately after Asr. Not "sometime in the morning".
- Keep a printed copy where you pray, rather than reaching for a phone that will distract you.
- Say them aloud, quietly. It holds attention far better than reading silently.
- Do not restart if you miss a day. Continue from today.
- Teach the children the short ones. The three Quls are within reach of a young child.
Why this comes before everything else
People write to us after months of difficulty, and when we ask what daily protection they have in place, the answer is very often none.
This is the foundation that ruqyah, Surah Al-Baqarah in the home, and everything else is built on top of. Establish it first. Then, if something still needs addressing, write and tell us what is happening — privately, with a Request ID, so the reply is yours to open.
Sources
- Sahih al-Bukhari 3293, 6306, 6405
- Sahih Muslim 2691, 2709, 2723
- Sunan Abi Dawud 5082, 5088
- an-Nasa'i, Amal al-Yawm wal-Laylah — Ayat al-Kursi morning and evening