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Ayatul Kursi: Arabic, Transliteration, Meaning and Benefits
Ayatul Kursi (Al-Baqarah 2:255)
ٱللَّهُ لَآ إِلَـٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ ٱلْحَىُّ ٱلْقَيُّومُ ۚ لَا تَأْخُذُهُۥ سِنَةٌ وَلَا نَوْمٌ ۚ لَّهُۥ مَا فِى ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَمَا فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ ۗ مَن ذَا ٱلَّذِى يَشْفَعُ عِندَهُۥٓ إِلَّا بِإِذْنِهِۦ ۚ يَعْلَمُ مَا بَيْنَ أَيْدِيهِمْ وَمَا خَلْفَهُمْ ۖ وَلَا يُحِيطُونَ بِشَىْءٍ مِّنْ عِلْمِهِۦٓ إِلَّا بِمَا شَآءَ ۚ وَسِعَ كُرْسِيُّهُ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضَ ۖ وَلَا يَـُٔودُهُۥ حِفْظُهُمَا ۚ وَهُوَ ٱلْعَلِىُّ ٱلْعَظِيمُ
al-lahu lā ilāha illā huwa l-ḥayu l-qayūmu lā takhudhuhu sinatun walā nawmun lahu mā fī l-samāwāti wamā fī l-arḍi man dhā alladhī yashfaʿu ʿindahu illā bi-idh'nihi yaʿlamu mā bayna aydīhim wamā khalfahum walā yuḥīṭūna bishayin min ʿil'mihi illā bimā shāa wasiʿa kur'siyyuhu l-samāwāti wal-arḍa walā yaūduhu ḥif'ẓuhumā wahuwa l-ʿaliyu l-ʿaẓīmu
Allāh - there is no deity except Him, the Ever-Living, the Self-Sustaining. 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 Kursī extends over the heavens and the earth, and their preservation tires Him not. And He is the Most High, the Most Great.
Quran 2:255 Saheeh International
Key takeaways
- Ayatul Kursi is verse 255 of Surah Al-Baqarah (2:255), named after the word Kursi in it.
- The Prophet ﷺ confirmed it as the greatest verse in the Quran, in a hadith in Sahih Muslim.
- Reciting it when you go to bed brings a guard from Allah through the night, according to Sahih al-Bukhari.
- Ibn Kathir divides it into ten sentences, which makes it easier to learn a few lines at a time.
- A full recitation takes about 52 seconds at Mishari al-Afasy's pace.
Ayatul Kursi is verse 255 of Surah Al-Baqarah (2:255), the verse the Prophet ﷺ confirmed as the greatest in the Quran. The full verse is at the top of this page in Arabic, transliteration and English, and below it is broken into its ten short lines.
It takes under a minute to recite. After the meaning come the benefits reported in authentic hadith, plus a few popular ones we couldn’t verify.
What is Ayatul Kursi?
Ayatul Kursi, the Verse of the Throne, is the 255th verse of Surah Al-Baqarah. It takes its name from the word Kursi in the middle of the verse: “His Kursī extends over the heavens and the earth.”
It is one verse of 50 words. At Mishari al-Afasy’s pace on Quran.com, a full recitation takes about 52 seconds.
Ayatul Kursi in English, line by line
The verse falls into ten short sentences. Ibn Kathir, in his tafsir of this verse, counts “ten complete Arabic sentences” and explains each one. Here they are in his order, with the Arabic, a transliteration and the matching part of the Saheeh International translation.
Arabic and word-by-word transliteration: Quran.com 2:255. Meaning: Saheeh International.
The transliteration is Quran.com’s word-by-word version, so it shows each word as it sounds in the flow of the verse. That’s why the first word reads al-lahu and not Allahu.
Use it to follow along while you learn the sounds from a reciter. Latin letters can’t show every Arabic sound, such as the difference between the ḥ in l-ḥayu and a plain h. Listening to a reciter fills that gap, and a teacher can correct what you can’t hear yourself.
What does Ayatul Kursi mean?
Ayatul Kursi is a description of Allah: His oneness, His life, His ownership of everything, His knowledge and His power. Each of its ten sentences is about Him.
Ibn Kathir’s tafsir explains several lines in detail:
- Line 2, al-Ḥayyul-Qayyum. He is the Ever-Living who never dies, and He sustains everything. All creation depends on Him, and He depends on nothing.
- Line 3, drowsiness and sleep. Ibn Kathir notes that the verse first rules out drowsiness, then sleep, “which is stronger than slumber.” No lapse of awareness ever touches Allah.
- Line 8, the Kursi. Ibn Kathir reports Ibn Abbas explaining the Kursi as “the footstool”. In another report, Ibn Abbas says the seven heavens and earths, laid side by side, would be like a ring in a desert next to it.
- Line 9, preservation. Guarding the heavens and the earth does not burden or tire Him. Ibn Kathir calls it “an easy matter for Him.”
It’s worth reading the lines again with those notes in mind. Many people recite this verse for protection, and almost all of it describes the One who protects.
What are the benefits of Ayatul Kursi?
Two benefits come from hadith in Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim. First, the Prophet ﷺ confirmed that Ayatul Kursi is the greatest verse in the Book of Allah:
Second, reciting it when you go to bed brings a guard from Allah for the night. The words came from a devil who was caught stealing charity, and the Prophet ﷺ confirmed they were true:
Popular benefits we left out
Every hadith on this site is graded hasan or higher on sunnah.com. Some benefits you’ll see elsewhere don’t meet that bar, or we couldn’t check them:
- Reciting it after every obligatory prayer. This narration is recorded in an-Nasa’i’s as-Sunan al-Kubra. Sunnah.com doesn’t carry that collection, so we couldn’t check its grade the way we check every other hadith here. Ask a teacher you trust about it.
- Healing, wealth, “attracting abundance” or relieving anxiety. We found no graded hadith that promises these for Ayatul Kursi, even though several websites list them as its benefits.
The two authentic benefits are reason enough to learn it, and at one verse it fits into a single week.
When should you recite Ayatul Kursi?
The clearest authentic time is at bedtime, from the hadith above. Many Muslims also recite it after each of the five daily prayers.
For the bedtime routine, Ayatul Kursi is one part of a set. The Prophet ﷺ recited the Quls himself before sleep, and he said the last two verses of Al-Baqarah suffice whoever recites them at night. See what to recite before sleep for the full set, with how long each part takes.
How to learn Ayatul Kursi by heart
Learn it by its ten sentences, two or three at a time, over four or five days. Here’s a simple plan:
| Day | New lines | Then |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1–3 | Recite lines 1–3 from memory before bed |
| 2 | 4–5 | Recite lines 1–5 |
| 3 | 6–7 | Recite lines 1–7 |
| 4 | 8–10 | Recite the whole verse |
| 5 | None | Recite the whole verse twice without looking |
Each day, listen to the full verse a few times while you read the lines for that day. Then look away and say them. Check yourself against the text and fix any word you missed.
Because it’s a single verse, Quran Loop repeats it as a whole. It can’t loop part of a verse. Learn the lines from the list above, and use the repeated listening to hear how they connect.
For the method behind this plan, see how to memorize the Quran. And if you’re choosing what to learn after Ayatul Kursi, which surahs to memorize first suggests an order.
Frequently asked questions
What is Ayatul Kursi?
Ayatul Kursi, the Verse of the Throne, is verse 255 of Surah Al-Baqarah, the second surah of the Quran. It is named after the word Kursi in the verse, and it describes Allah's oneness, life, knowledge and power. Ayat al-Kursi is the same name in standard transliteration.
What is the full verse of Ayatul Kursi?
It is verse 255 of Surah Al-Baqarah: a single verse, not a surah. It opens "Allāh - there is no deity except Him, the Ever-Living, the Self-Sustaining" and ends "And He is the Most High, the Most Great." The full Arabic, transliteration and English are at the top of this page.
Why is Ayatul Kursi the greatest verse?
The Prophet ﷺ asked Ubayy ibn Ka'b which verse of the Book of Allah was the greatest. Ubayy answered with the opening of Ayatul Kursi, and the Prophet ﷺ struck his chest and said, "May knowledge be pleasant for you" (Sahih Muslim 810).
When should I recite Ayatul Kursi?
The clearest authentic time is when you go to bed. Sahih al-Bukhari 5010 reports that whoever recites it then has a guard from Allah all night, and no devil comes near until morning. Many Muslims also recite it after the daily prayers.
How long does it take to memorize Ayatul Kursi?
It is one verse of about 50 words, and a full recitation takes under a minute. Learning two or three of its ten sentences a day, and reviewing the earlier ones each time, covers the whole verse in four or five days.
How do I recite Ayatul Kursi correctly?
Follow the Arabic and transliteration at the top of this page while you listen to a reciter, one line at a time, then say each line back. Transliteration only approximates Arabic sounds, so recite it to a qualified teacher at least once to correct your pronunciation and tajweed.