Questions about Surah Al-Mulk

Surah Al-Mulk (“The Sovereignty”) is about Allah’s absolute ownership and control of creation. It opens by declaring that all dominion is in His hand (67:1), explains that death and life were created to test who is best in deed (67:2), points to signs in the sky, the birds, the earth and water, describes the regret of the people of the Fire, and promises forgiveness to those who fear their Lord unseen (67:12). Read the section-by-section explanation.

Surah Al-Mulk has 30 verses, divided into two sections (rukūʿ): verses 1–14 and 15–30. The hadith itself describes it as “a surah of thirty verses”.

It is a Meccan surah, revealed in Makkah before the Hijrah. Ibn Kathīr opens his commentary on it with “and it is Meccan”.

Authentic narrations state that it interceded for a man until he was forgiven (Abu Dawud 1400, at-Tirmidhi 2891, Ibn Majah 3786 — ḥasan), that it pleads for its companion until it brings him into Paradise (aṭ-Ṭabarānī — al-Albānī, Ṣaḥīḥ al-Jāmiʿ 3644), and that it is “the protector” from the punishment of the grave (al-Albānī, Ṣaḥīḥ al-Jāmiʿ 3643). See every narration with its grading.

At night. Jābir reported that the Prophet ﷺ would not sleep until he had recited Surah as-Sajdah and Surah al-Mulk (at-Tirmidhi 2892 and 3404; authenticated by al-Albānī through supporting chains). Ibn Masʿūd said that whoever recites it every night is protected by it from the punishment of the grave (an-Nasāʾī, as-Sunan al-Kubrā — ḥasan). Reciting it before going to sleep follows the Prophet’s ﷺ own practice.

Yes — this is established. The Prophet ﷺ said: “Surah Tabārak is the protector from the punishment of the grave” (graded ṣaḥīḥ by al-Albānī, Ṣaḥīḥ al-Jāmiʿ 3643), and Ibn Masʿūd said the Companions called it al-Māniʿah, “the protector”. Scholars explain the promise as belonging to the one who makes it a regular recitation, believes in it and acts on what it teaches — not to a single reading.

The narrations speak of reciting it (and of being its “companion”), so the surest way to the virtue described is to recite it yourself — reading it from the page or a screen is recitation, and it does not need to be memorised. Listening attentively to the Quran is rewarded in its own right, and listening along with a reciter is an excellent way to learn it; the player on this site can repeat each verse three or five times for exactly that.

Tabārak (تَبَٰرَكَ), the surah’s first word, means that Allah is blessed and exalted, the source of all blessing (barakah). Pickthall translates 67:1 as: “Blessed is He in Whose hand is the Sovereignty, and, He is Able to do all things.” The surah is often called “Tabārak” after it, as in the hadith.

Surah Al-Mulk is the first surah of the 29th juz, which is why that juz is known as “Juz Tabārak”. In the standard Madinah mushaf it occupies pages 562–564.

67:2: “Who hath created life and death that He may try you which of you is best in conduct; and He is the Mighty, the Forgiving…” Ibn Kathīr notes the remark of Muḥammad ibn ʿAjlān that Allah said “best in deed”, not “most in deed”: the test is the quality of what we do.

No. That narration (at-Tirmidhi 2890) is graded weak by al-Albānī, Aḥmad Shākir and Dārussalām, and at-Tirmidhī called it gharīb. The protection from the punishment of the grave is established by other, authentic reports. See the weak narrations.

Tabārak (its first word, used in the hadith) and al-Māniʿah, “the protector” (from the narration of Ibn Masʿūd). The name al-Munjiyah, “the deliverer”, is also popular, but it comes from a weak narration.

One verse a day finishes it in a month. Set the player to “Verse ×5”, listen while reading, recite the verse from memory, then join it to yesterday’s. Follow the 30-day plan.

333 words, by the word-by-word segmentation used on this site (the Quranic Arabic Corpus). Other counting conventions — for example treating attached particles as separate words — give slightly different totals.