Ayatul Kursi: the greatest verse of the Qur'an
One verse — Surah al-Baqarah 2:255 — that the Prophet ﷺ singled out above all others. Here it is in full, word for word, with exactly when the sunnah says to recite it.
The verse, in Arabic
ٱللَّهُ لَآ إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ ٱلْحَىُّ ٱلْقَيُّومُ ۚ لَا تَأْخُذُهُۥ سِنَةٌۭ وَلَا نَوْمٌۭ ۚ لَّهُۥ مَا فِى ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِ وَمَا فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ ۗ مَن ذَا ٱلَّذِى يَشْفَعُ عِندَهُۥٓ إِلَّا بِإِذْنِهِۦ ۚ يَعْلَمُ مَا بَيْنَ أَيْدِيهِمْ وَمَا خَلْفَهُمْ ۖ وَلَا يُحِيطُونَ بِشَىْءٍۢ مِّنْ عِلْمِهِۦٓ إِلَّا بِمَا شَآءَ ۚ وَسِعَ كُرْسِيُّهُ ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضَ ۖ وَلَا يَـُٔودُهُۥ حِفْظُهُمَا ۚ وَهُوَ ٱلْعَلِىُّ ٱلْعَظِيمُ
Qur'an 2:255 · Uthmani script
Word-for-word English translation
“Allah - there is no deity except Him, the Ever-Living, the Sustainer of [all] 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 [presently] 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.”
Qur'an 2:255 · Saheeh International
When the sunnah says to recite it
1. When you go to bed
In Sahih al-Bukhari (2311), whoever recites Ayatul Kursi when going to bed is told: a guardian from Allah remains over you, and no devil approaches you until morning. It is the heart of the Muslim wind-down — we walk through the whole routine in the sunnah sleep guide.
2. After every obligatory prayer
The Prophet ﷺ said that whoever recites Ayatul Kursi after each prescribed prayer, nothing stands between them and Paradise except death (Sunan an-Nasa'i — graded sahih by al-Albani). Five prayers, five recitations — under a minute each.
Why this verse?
Ayatul Kursi is a complete portrait of who Allah is: ever-living, never tiring, never sleeping, sustaining everything, knowing everything — while we drift off precisely because we can, being watched over. Reciting it before sleep is theology becoming a lullaby.
Soft recitations with a fade-out timer, the full Qur'an, and a companion who quotes it word for word — that's Hush.
Download Hush free Read Surah al-Baqarah