Ayat al-Kursi is verse 255 of Surah Al-Baqarah, and the Prophet ﷺ described it as the greatest verse in the Quran. Below you will find the full Arabic text, a clear transliteration, the English meaning, the recitation of Sheikh Mahmoud Khalil Al-Husary, the Tajweed rules that appear inside the verse, and a free line-by-line tool to help you memorise it.
اللَّهُ لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ الْحَيُّ الْقَيُّومُ ۚ لَا تَأْخُذُهُ سِنَةٌ وَلَا نَوْمٌ ۚ لَّهُ مَا فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَمَا فِي الْأَرْضِ ۗ مَن ذَا الَّذِي يَشْفَعُ عِندَهُ إِلَّا بِإِذْنِهِ ۚ يَعْلَمُ مَا بَيْنَ أَيْدِيهِمْ وَمَا خَلْفَهُمْ ۖ وَلَا يُحِيطُونَ بِشَيْءٍ مِّنْ عِلْمِهِ إِلَّا بِمَا شَاءَ ۚ وَسِعَ كُرْسِيُّهُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضَ ۖ وَلَا يَئُودُهُ حِفْظُهُمَا ۚ وَهُوَ الْعَلِيُّ الْعَظِيمُ
Surah Al-Baqarah 2:255
Allāhu lā ilāha illā huw, al-Ḥayyu al-Qayyūm. Lā ta’khudhuhū sinatun wa lā nawm. Lahū mā fis-samāwāti wa mā fil-arḍ. Man dhal-ladhī yashfa’u ‘indahū illā bi-idhnih. Ya’lamu mā bayna aydīhim wa mā khalfahum, wa lā yuḥīṭūna bi-shay’in min ‘ilmihī illā bimā shā’. Wasi’a kursiyyuhus-samāwāti wal-arḍ, wa lā ya’ūduhū ḥifẓuhumā, wa huwal-‘Aliyyul-‘Aẓīm.
Allah — there is no god but Him, the Ever-Living, the Sustainer of all existence. Neither drowsiness nor sleep overtakes Him. To Him belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth. Who is there that can intercede with Him except by His permission? He knows what lies before them and what lies behind them, and they encompass nothing of His knowledge except what He wills. His Kursi extends over the heavens and the earth, and their preservation does not tire Him. And He is the Most High, the Most Great.
Translation of the meaning, rendered for clarity. To compare with a published translation, see Quran.com 2:255.
Listen: Sheikh Mahmoud Khalil Al-Husary
What Is Ayat al-Kursi?
Ayat al-Kursi is verse 255 of Surah Al-Baqarah, the second chapter of the Quran (2:255). It takes its name from the word kursi, which appears within it, and the Prophet ﷺ described it as the greatest verse in the Quran.
Surah Al-Baqarah, the longest chapter of the Quran, has 286 verses, so Ayat al-Kursi comes in its final part — verse 255 of 286 — about thirty verses before the surah ends. It is a single verse of around fifty words, which makes it longer than most short surahs but still short enough for a beginner or a child to memorise with steady daily practice.
The name comes from the phrase wasi’a kursiyyuhu as-samāwāti wal-arḍ — “His Kursi extends over the heavens and the earth.” In English the verse is also widely known as the Throne Verse. That name is a convention rather than a translation: kursi is more often rendered “footstool”, and most commentators distinguish the Kursi from the ‘Arsh, which is the Throne itself and is greater still.
You will see the name written in several different ways in English: Ayat al-Kursi, Ayatul Kursi, Aayat al-Kursi, Ayat ul Kursi, or simply the Throne Verse. These are all transliterations of the same Arabic name for the same verse — there is no difference in meaning between them.
Quick answers
- Which verse is it? Verse 255 — the 255th of the 286 ayahs of Surah Al-Baqarah.
- Which surah? Surah Al-Baqarah, chapter 2 of the Quran.
- Is it in the Quran? Yes. It is a verse of the Quran, not a supplication or a narration.
- How long is it? Around fifty words — one long verse, recited in about a minute at a steady pace.
Ayat al-Kursi in English: Full Translation
No English rendering can carry everything the Arabic carries, which is why translators describe their work as a translation of the meaning rather than a translation of the Quran itself. The rendering below follows the wording of the verse closely, sentence by sentence.
Allah — there is no god but Him, the Ever-Living, the Sustainer of all existence. Neither drowsiness nor sleep overtakes Him. To Him belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth. Who is there that can intercede with Him except by His permission? He knows what lies before them and what lies behind them, and they encompass nothing of His knowledge except what He wills. His Kursi extends over the heavens and the earth, and their preservation does not tire Him. And He is the Most High, the Most Great. — Surah Al-Baqarah 2:255, translation of the meaning
Word-by-word meaning
Working through the verse word by word is the fastest way to move from reciting sounds to understanding what you are saying:
| Arabic | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| اللَّهُ | Allāhu | Allah |
| لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ | lā ilāha illā huw | there is no god but Him |
| الْحَيُّ | al-Ḥayy | the Ever-Living |
| الْقَيُّومُ | al-Qayyūm | the Sustainer of all existence |
| سِنَةٌ | sinah | drowsiness, light slumber |
| نَوْمٌ | nawm | sleep |
| يَشْفَعُ | yashfa’u | intercedes |
| بِإِذْنِهِ | bi-idhnih | by His permission |
| يُحِيطُونَ | yuḥīṭūna | they encompass, they grasp fully |
| كُرْسِيُّهُ | kursiyyuh | His Kursi (often rendered “footstool”; distinct from the ‘Arsh, the Throne) |
| وَلَا يَئُودُهُ | wa lā ya’ūduh | it does not burden or tire Him |
| الْعَلِيُّ الْعَظِيمُ | al-‘Aliyy al-‘Aẓīm | the Most High, the Most Great |
Ayat al-Kursi Transliteration (How to Pronounce It)
The transliteration below is broken at the natural pausing points of the verse. Press the play button beside any line to hear that part in the recitation of Sheikh Al-Husary, then repeat it aloud before moving on.
Worth knowing: transliteration is a temporary bridge, not a replacement for the Arabic. Letters such as ع, ح, ق and ط have no English equivalent, so any Latin spelling of them is an approximation. Use the transliteration to get started, and use the audio to correct it.
The Meaning of Ayat al-Kursi
Ayat al-Kursi is unusual among the long verses of the Quran: from beginning to end it speaks only about Allah. It contains no command, no prohibition and no legal ruling. It is a statement about who Allah is — His oneness, His life, His ownership, His knowledge and His power — and scholars have pointed to this content when explaining the standing it holds.
اللَّهُ لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ
The verse opens with pure tawhid: worship belongs to Allah alone, and nothing else has any share in it. Everything that follows is an explanation of why that is so.
الْحَيُّ الْقَيُّومُ
Two names that many scholars have singled out as central to the verse. Al-Ḥayy is the One whose life is perfect and never ends. Al-Qayyūm is the One who stands in need of nothing and by whom everything else is maintained.
لَا تَأْخُذُهُ سِنَةٌ وَلَا نَوْمٌ
Every deficiency is ruled out, and in ascending order: not even a moment of drowsiness, let alone sleep. Nothing in creation is ever unattended.
لَّهُ مَا فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَمَا فِي الْأَرْضِ
Absolute ownership. Not partial, not shared, not delegated — whatever exists in the heavens and the earth belongs to Him.
مَن ذَا الَّذِي يَشْفَعُ عِندَهُ إِلَّا بِإِذْنِهِ
A question that expects no answer. Intercession exists, but only with His permission — which closes the door on the idea that anyone can be approached as a route to Allah independently of Him.
يَعْلَمُ مَا بَيْنَ أَيْدِيهِمْ وَمَا خَلْفَهُمْ
His knowledge covers what is before creation and what is behind it. Commentators have explained the pair in more than one way — the future and the past, or what lies ahead of people and what they have left behind — and on every reading nothing is hidden from Him.
وَلَا يُحِيطُونَ بِشَيْءٍ مِّنْ عِلْمِهِ إِلَّا بِمَا شَاءَ
Creation knows only what it has been given to know. Whatever anyone understands of revelation, of the world, or of themselves is something Allah chose to disclose.
وَسِعَ كُرْسِيُّهُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضَ
The image that gives the verse its name. The heavens and the earth, vast as they are, are encompassed by the Kursi — and the Kursi itself is part of creation.
The Kursi is not the same as the ‘Arsh (the Throne). The explanation authentically reported from Ibn ‘Abbās is that the Kursi is the place of the Feet, while the extent of the ‘Arsh cannot be measured by anyone — the ‘Arsh being far greater. An explanation of the Kursi as “His knowledge” is also attributed to Ibn ‘Abbās, but through a chain that scholars considered weak.
وَلَا يَئُودُهُ حِفْظُهُمَا وَهُوَ الْعَلِيُّ الْعَظِيمُ
Holding all of that in existence costs Him nothing. The verse then closes on two names — the Most High and the Most Great — returning the reader to where it began.
Read as a whole, the verse moves outward in stages: from Allah alone, to His perfect life, to His ownership of everything, to His knowledge of everything, to the vastness of His dominion — and then back to Him. That structure is worth noticing while you memorise it, because it makes the order of the phrases much easier to hold.
Why Ayat al-Kursi Is Considered the Greatest Verse
The standing of Ayat al-Kursi rests on a small number of narrations, not on the long lists of guaranteed outcomes that circulate online. Those reports are set out below with how scholars graded them, followed by an equally important note on what is not established.
The greatest verse in the Quran
The Prophet ﷺ asked the companion Ubayy ibn Ka’b which verse of the Book of Allah he considered the greatest. Ubayy answered with Ayat al-Kursi, and the Prophet ﷺ affirmed his answer. This is reported in Sahih Muslim (no. 810).
Protection through the night
Sahih al-Bukhari (no. 2311) records the well-known account of Abu Hurairah and the thief who came to the charity of Ramadan. In that narration the Prophet ﷺ confirmed what the thief had told Abu Hurairah: whoever recites Ayat al-Kursi when going to bed will have a protector from Allah with him, and no devil will come near him until morning.
This is a different narration from the one about the last two verses of Surah Al-Baqarah. Of those two verses, the Prophet ﷺ said that whoever recites them at night, they will suffice him (Bukhari and Muslim). Scholars have explained “suffice” in more than one way — sufficing him from harm, or in place of standing in night prayer — so the two virtues should not be treated as the same promise.
After the obligatory prayers
Abu Umamah reported that the Prophet ﷺ said that whoever recites Ayat al-Kursi after every obligatory prayer, nothing stands between him and entering Paradise except death. An-Nasa’i recorded it in al-Sunan al-Kubra, and Ibn Hibban graded it authentic, as did al-Mundhiri and, among later scholars, al-Albani. Ibn al-Jawzi listed it among fabricated reports, but other hadith scholars rejected that judgment. It is therefore widely accepted, though not entirely free of criticism.
What Ayat al-Kursi Is Not
A great deal of what is written about Ayat al-Kursi online has no authentic basis. You will find claims that reciting it a fixed number of times produces a specific result, that it guarantees wealth, that it removes illness or magic within a set period, or that it protects a person from harm unconditionally.
None of that is established. Attaching specific counts to specific outcomes, in particular, is an addition to the religion rather than a part of it, and it changes an act of worship into a formula.
That is different from ruqyah. Reciting the Quran over oneself or someone who is unwell — including Ayat al-Kursi — is a permissible and long-established practice. Ruqyah is a turning to Allah for cure, not a guaranteed treatment with a fixed result or timescale, and it does not replace seeking medical care.
The established virtues are the ones listed above. Ayat al-Kursi is recited because it is the word of Allah and because the Prophet ﷺ taught it — not as a technique for obtaining results.
When to Recite Ayat al-Kursi
| When | Basis |
|---|---|
| Before sleeping | The most firmly established time — narration of Abu Hurairah in Sahih al-Bukhari (no. 2311) |
| After each obligatory prayer | Hadith of Abu Umamah, recorded by an-Nasa’i (al-Sunan al-Kubra); graded authentic by Ibn Hibban and al-Albani, though not free of criticism |
| Morning and evening | Narration of Ubayy ibn Ka’b (al-Hakim, Ibn Hibban and others) mentioning protection from the jinn from morning until evening and evening until morning. Al-Hakim and al-Albani graded it authentic; some scholars hold that the bedtime wording is the better-preserved one |
| On entering the home or travelling | A common practice rather than a specific instruction |
For families, the bedtime recitation is usually where it starts. Many parents read Ayat al-Kursi aloud with their children as part of the routine before sleep, and after a few weeks the child is repeating it from memory without ever having sat down to “study” it. Along with Surah Al-Fatihah, it is often the first passage children hold.
Reciting Ayat al-Kursi from memory does not require wudu or facing the qiblah, although being in a state of purity is better. Directly touching a physical Mushaf is a separate matter: the majority of scholars hold that a person must be in a state of wudu to touch it. Someone in a state of major ritual impurity (janabah) should not recite the Quran, even from memory, until they have performed ghusl, according to the majority; for women during menstruation there is a well-known difference of opinion. The verse can be recited quietly or aloud, from memory or from a Mushaf.
Tajweed Rules Inside Ayat al-Kursi
Most pages that publish this verse stop at the translation. Because Ayat al-Kursi is recited more often than almost any other passage, it is worth knowing exactly which Tajweed rules occur in it and where. The counts below follow the narration of Hafs ‘an ‘Asim by way of ash-Shāṭibiyyah. Use the key, then read the coloured text.
اللَّهُ لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ الْحَيُّ الْقَيُّومُ ۚ لَا تَأْخُذُهُ سِنَةٌ وَلَا نَوْمٌ ۚ لَّهُ مَا فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَمَا فِي الْأَرْضِ ۗ مَن ذَا الَّذِي يَشْفَعُ عِندَهُ إِلَّا بِإِذْنِهِ ۚ يَعْلَمُ مَا بَيْنَ أَيْدِيهِمْ وَمَا خَلْفَهُمْ ۖ وَلَا يُحِيطُونَ بِشَيْءٍ مِّنْ عِلْمِهِ إِلَّا بِمَا شَاءَ ۚ وَسِعَ كُرْسِيُّهُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضَ ۖ وَلَا يَئُودُهُ حِفْظُهُمَا ۚ وَهُوَ الْعَلِيُّ الْعَظِيمُ
Madd Munfasil — لَا إِلَٰهَ
The long ā at the end of lā is followed by a hamzah at the start of the next word, so the vowel is stretched beyond its natural length — four or five counts in Hafs by way of ash-Shāṭibiyyah. The same length applies where a pronoun’s linking vowel meets a hamzah, as in عِندَهُ إِلَّا and عِلْمِهِ إِلَّا (madd ṣilah kubrā, written with a small wāw or yā’ in the Mushaf). This is a point learners often rush.
Madd Wajib Muttasil — شَاءَ
Here the long vowel and the hamzah sit inside the same word, which makes the elongation obligatory (wājib). By way of ash-Shāṭibiyyah it is four or five counts, chosen consistently with your Munfasil: the Muttasil may equal the Munfasil but should never be shorter than it. If you stop on شَاءْ, it may be extended up to six counts.
Ikhfa — مَن ذَا · عِندَهُ
A silent nūn followed by dhāl in the first case and dāl in the second. The nūn is neither pronounced clearly nor merged: it is hidden, with a nasal sound held for about two counts.
Madd Asli — يُحِيطُونَ
This word contains two natural madd letters: the yā’ in حِي, preceded by a kasrah, and the wāw in طُو, preceded by a ḍammah. Each is extended for two counts — no more and no less. Learners often clip one or both of them.
Idgham — سِنَةٌ وَلَا · بِشَيْءٍ مِّنْ · نَوْمٌ لَّهُ
Tanwīn followed by wāw (سِنَةٌ وَلَا) or by mīm (بِشَيْءٍ مِّنْ) merges with ghunnah; tanwīn followed by lām (نَوْمٌ لَّهُ) merges without ghunnah.
How the Madinah Mushaf shows it: before an idgham the two strokes of the tanwīn are written one after the other rather than stacked, and a shaddah on the next letter marks a complete merger — as on the mīm of مِّنْ and the lām of لَّهُ. Before wāw and yā’ the merger is incomplete, so no shaddah is written: the wāw of وَلَا carries none, yet the ghunnah is still held.
Idgham only happens when the words are joined. The mark ۚ after نَوْمٌ permits a stop: if you stop there, read نَوْمْ with a sukūn and begin again with لَهُ — there is no merger across a stop. The other examples on this page have no stopping mark between their two words.
Ghunnah — مِّنْ in بِشَيْءٍ مِّنْ
When بِشَيْءٍ is joined to مِّنْ, the doubled mīm produced by the merger is held on the nose for two counts. If you want to drill this sound on its own, try our free interactive Ghunnah lesson.
Izhar — مِّنْ عِلْمِهِ · أَيْدِيهِمْ وَمَا
A silent nūn before ‘ayn, a throat letter, is pronounced clearly with no ghunnah: min ‘ilmihī. The silent mīm of aydīhim before wāw is also pronounced clearly with the lips closed (iẓhār shafawī) — take care not to hide or nasalise it.
Heavy Rā — الْأَرْضِ · كُرْسِيُّهُ
A silent rā preceded by a fatḥah or a ḍammah is pronounced heavy, with the back of the tongue raised. English speakers tend to flatten it into an English “r”, which changes the sound noticeably.
Madd ‘Arid — الْعَظِيمُ (when stopping)
Stopping at the end of the verse makes the final mīm silent, so the yā’ before it may be stretched for two, four or six counts. Whichever length you choose, keep it consistent each time you stop.
A common misconception: there is no Qalqalah in Ayat al-Kursi. The Qalqalah letters are ق ط ب ج د, and the rule applies only when one of them carries a sukūn — written, or produced by stopping. That does not happen anywhere in this verse, including at its stopping points. The dhāl in bi-idhnih is often mistaken for a dāl, but it is a different letter.
Memorise Ayat al-Kursi Line by Line (Free Tool)
Tap any line to hear it recited by Sheikh Al-Husary, and tap it again to stop. Repeat it aloud until it settles, then press Mark as practised before moving to the next. Use the text control to fade the words out gradually as you gain confidence. Your marks are saved in this browser where storage is available.
0 of 8 lines marked as practised
Line timings are approximate. If a line starts or ends slightly off, the full-verse player at the top of the page always plays the complete recitation.
There is no fixed timeline. The tool splits the verse into eight lines; learning one new line a day means about eight days of new material, two a day about four — always revising the earlier lines before adding the next. Many people need longer, and that is fine. Children usually learn it best by hearing it repeated often, so a steady daily listening routine matters more than speed.
When you are ready to go further, our free Quran memorisation app uses the same method across longer passages, with the same reciter throughout.
Getting the Recitation Right
Ayat al-Kursi contains a handful of points that learners commonly mispronounce. The elongation in lā ilāha illā huw is often cut short. The two natural madds in yuḥīṭūna are often clipped to a single count. The heavy rā in al-arḍ and kursiyyuh is often flattened into an English “r”. None of these are difficult once someone points them out — but they are hard to notice on your own.
That is the real limit of any page like this one. You can learn the text from a screen, you can learn the rules from a screen, but you cannot hear yourself from a screen. A teacher listening to you for ten minutes can catch things you might otherwise repeat for years.
Common Questions About Ayat al-Kursi
From One Verse to the Whole Quran
If you have worked through this page and can now recite Ayat al-Kursi from memory, you are holding the verse the Prophet ﷺ called the greatest in the Book of Allah. That is not a small thing.
A natural next step is the last two verses of the same surah, which are also recited at night — with their own virtue, reported in Bukhari and Muslim — and are just as approachable.
Ready to keep going?
The method you just used — short phrases, one reciter, daily repetition — is the same one our students follow through the whole Quran.
Memorize the Quran using the same methodMay Allah make the Quran the spring of your heart, and may He accept it from you.
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Continue with these guides from our Quran and Tajweed library
References & Sources
1. Surah Al-Baqarah 2:255 — Quran.com
2. Sahih Muslim (810) — the narration of Ubayy ibn Ka’b on the greatest verse in the Quran
3. Sahih al-Bukhari (2311) — the narration of Abu Hurairah on reciting Ayat al-Kursi before sleep
4. An-Nasa’i, al-Sunan al-Kubra; Ibn Hibban — the hadith of Abu Umamah on reciting Ayat al-Kursi after the obligatory prayers (graded authentic by Ibn Hibban and al-Albani) — see IslamWeb fatwa 345376
5. Al-Hakim, Ibn Hibban and others — the narration of Ubayy ibn Ka’b on reciting Ayat al-Kursi in the morning and evening
6. Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim — the narration of Abu Mas’ud on reciting the last two verses of Surah Al-Baqarah at night
7. Ibn ‘Abbās on the Kursi and the ‘Arsh — reported by al-Hakim (al-Mustadrak) and Ibn Khuzaymah (at-Tawhid)
8. Recitation — Sheikh Mahmoud Khalil Al-Husary, via EveryAyah.com
External Links
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