تَبَارَكَ الَّذِي بِيَدِهِ الْمُلْكُ وَهُوَ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ
Tabaraka allathee biyadihialmulku wahuwa AAala kulli shay-in qadeer
Blessed is He in whose hand is dominion, and He is over all things competent -
الَّذِي خَلَقَ الْمَوْتَ وَالْحَيَاةَ لِيَبْلُوَكُمْ أَيُّكُمْ أَحْسَنُ عَمَلًا ۚ وَهُوَ الْعَزِيزُ الْغَفُورُ
Allathee khalaqa almawta walhayataliyabluwakum ayyukum ahsanu AAamalan wahuwa alAAazeezualghafoor
[He] who created death and life to test you [as to] which of you is best in deed - and He is the Exalted in Might, the Forgiving -
الَّذِي خَلَقَ سَبْعَ سَمَاوَاتٍ طِبَاقًا ۖ مَّا تَرَىٰ فِي خَلْقِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ مِن تَفَاوُتٍ ۖ فَارْجِعِ الْبَصَرَ هَلْ تَرَىٰ مِن فُطُورٍ
Allathee khalaqa sabAAa samawatintibaqan ma tara fee khalqi arrahmanimin tafawutin farjiAAi albasara hal taramin futoor
[And] who created seven heavens in layers. You do not see in the creation of the Most Merciful any inconsistency. So return [your] vision [to the sky]; do you see any breaks?
ثُمَّ ارْجِعِ الْبَصَرَ كَرَّتَيْنِ يَنقَلِبْ إِلَيْكَ الْبَصَرُ خَاسِئًا وَهُوَ حَسِيرٌ
Thumma irjiAAi albasara karratayniyanqalib ilayka albasaru khasi-an wahuwa haseer
Then return [your] vision twice again. [Your] vision will return to you humbled while it is fatigued.
وَلَقَدْ زَيَّنَّا السَّمَاءَ الدُّنْيَا بِمَصَابِيحَ وَجَعَلْنَاهَا رُجُومًا لِّلشَّيَاطِينِ ۖ وَأَعْتَدْنَا لَهُمْ عَذَابَ السَّعِيرِ
Walaqad zayyanna assamaaaddunya bimasabeeha wajaAAalnaharujooman lishshayateeni waaAAtadna lahumAAathaba assaAAeer
And We have certainly beautified the nearest heaven with lamps [i.e., stars] and have made [from] them what is thrown at the devils and have prepared for them the punishment of the Blaze.
وَلِلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا بِرَبِّهِمْ عَذَابُ جَهَنَّمَ ۖ وَبِئْسَ الْمَصِيرُ
Walillatheena kafaroo birabbihim AAathabujahannama wabi/sa almaseer
And for those who disbelieved in their Lord is the punishment of Hell, and wretched is the destination.
إِذَا أُلْقُوا فِيهَا سَمِعُوا لَهَا شَهِيقًا وَهِيَ تَفُورُ
Itha olqoo feeha samiAAoo lahashaheeqan wahiya tafoor
When they are thrown into it, they hear from it a [dreadful] inhaling while it boils up.
تَكَادُ تَمَيَّزُ مِنَ الْغَيْظِ ۖ كُلَّمَا أُلْقِيَ فِيهَا فَوْجٌ سَأَلَهُمْ خَزَنَتُهَا أَلَمْ يَأْتِكُمْ نَذِيرٌ
Takadu tamayyazu mina alghaythikullama olqiya feeha fawjun saalahum khazanatuhaalam ya/tikum natheer
It almost bursts with rage. Every time a company is thrown into it, its keepers ask them, "Did there not come to you a warner?"
قَالُوا بَلَىٰ قَدْ جَاءَنَا نَذِيرٌ فَكَذَّبْنَا وَقُلْنَا مَا نَزَّلَ اللَّهُ مِن شَيْءٍ إِنْ أَنتُمْ إِلَّا فِي ضَلَالٍ كَبِيرٍ
Qaloo bala qad jaananatheerun fakaththabna waqulna manazzala Allahu min shay-in in antum illa fee dalalinkabeer
They will say, "Yes, a warner had come to us, but we denied and said, 'Allāh has not sent down anything. You are not but in great error.'"
وَقَالُوا لَوْ كُنَّا نَسْمَعُ أَوْ نَعْقِلُ مَا كُنَّا فِي أَصْحَابِ السَّعِيرِ
Waqaloo law kunna nasmaAAu awnaAAqilu ma kunna fee as-habi assaAAeer
And they will say, "If only we had been listening or reasoning, we would not be among the companions of the Blaze."
فَاعْتَرَفُوا بِذَنبِهِمْ فَسُحْقًا لِّأَصْحَابِ السَّعِيرِ
FaAAtarafoo bithanbihim fasuhqanli-as-habi assaAAeer
And they will admit their sin, so [it is] alienation for the companions of the Blaze.
إِنَّ الَّذِينَ يَخْشَوْنَ رَبَّهُم بِالْغَيْبِ لَهُم مَّغْفِرَةٌ وَأَجْرٌ كَبِيرٌ
Inna allatheena yakhshawna rabbahumbilghaybi lahum maghfiratun waajrun kabeer
Indeed, those who fear their Lord unseen will have forgiveness and great reward.
وَأَسِرُّوا قَوْلَكُمْ أَوِ اجْهَرُوا بِهِ ۖ إِنَّهُ عَلِيمٌ بِذَاتِ الصُّدُورِ
Waasirroo qawlakum awi ijharoo bihi innahuAAaleemun bithati assudoor
And conceal your speech or publicize it; indeed, He is Knowing of that within the breasts.
أَلَا يَعْلَمُ مَنْ خَلَقَ وَهُوَ اللَّطِيفُ الْخَبِيرُ
Ala yaAAlamu man khalaqa wahuwa allateefualkhabeer
Does He who created not know, while He is the Subtle, the Aware?
هُوَ الَّذِي جَعَلَ لَكُمُ الْأَرْضَ ذَلُولًا فَامْشُوا فِي مَنَاكِبِهَا وَكُلُوا مِن رِّزْقِهِ ۖ وَإِلَيْهِ النُّشُورُ
Huwa allathee jaAAala lakumu al-ardathaloolan famshoo fee manakibihawakuloo min rizqihi wa-ilayhi annushoor
It is He who made the earth tame for you - so walk among its slopes and eat of His provision - and to Him is the resurrection.
أَأَمِنتُم مَّن فِي السَّمَاءِ أَن يَخْسِفَ بِكُمُ الْأَرْضَ فَإِذَا هِيَ تَمُورُ
Aamintum man fee assama-i anyakhsifa bikumu al-arda fa-itha hiya tamoor
Do you feel secure that He who is above would not cause the earth to swallow you and suddenly it would sway?
أَمْ أَمِنتُم مَّن فِي السَّمَاءِ أَن يُرْسِلَ عَلَيْكُمْ حَاصِبًا ۖ فَسَتَعْلَمُونَ كَيْفَ نَذِيرِ
Am amintum man fee assama-ian yursila AAalaykum hasiban fasataAAlamoona kayfa natheer
Or do you feel secure that He who is above would not send against you a storm of stones? Then you would know how [severe] was My warning.
وَلَقَدْ كَذَّبَ الَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِهِمْ فَكَيْفَ كَانَ نَكِيرِ
Walaqad kaththaba allatheenamin qablihim fakayfa kana nakeer
And already had those before them denied, and how [terrible] was My reproach.
أَوَلَمْ يَرَوْا إِلَى الطَّيْرِ فَوْقَهُمْ صَافَّاتٍ وَيَقْبِضْنَ ۚ مَا يُمْسِكُهُنَّ إِلَّا الرَّحْمَٰنُ ۚ إِنَّهُ بِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ بَصِيرٌ
Awa lam yaraw ila attayrifawqahum saffatin wayaqbidna mayumsikuhunna illa arrahmanu innahubikulli shay-in baseer
Do they not see the birds above them with wings outspread and [sometimes] folded in? None holds them [aloft] except the Most Merciful. Indeed He is, of all things, Seeing.
أَمَّنْ هَٰذَا الَّذِي هُوَ جُندٌ لَّكُمْ يَنصُرُكُم مِّن دُونِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ ۚ إِنِ الْكَافِرُونَ إِلَّا فِي غُرُورٍ
Amman hatha allathee huwajundun lakum yansurukum min dooni arrahmaniini alkafiroona illa fee ghuroor
Or who is it that could be an army for you to aid you other than the Most Merciful? The disbelievers are not but in delusion.
أَمَّنْ هَٰذَا الَّذِي يَرْزُقُكُمْ إِنْ أَمْسَكَ رِزْقَهُ ۚ بَل لَّجُّوا فِي عُتُوٍّ وَنُفُورٍ
Amman hatha allatheeyarzuqukum in amsaka rizqahu bal lajjoo fee AAutuwwin wanufoor
Or who is it that could provide for you if He withheld His provision? But they have persisted in insolence and aversion.
أَفَمَن يَمْشِي مُكِبًّا عَلَىٰ وَجْهِهِ أَهْدَىٰ أَمَّن يَمْشِي سَوِيًّا عَلَىٰ صِرَاطٍ مُّسْتَقِيمٍ
Afaman yamshee mukibban AAala wajhihiahda amman yamshee sawiyyan AAala siratinmustaqeem
Then is one who walks fallen on his face better guided or one who walks erect on a straight path?
قُلْ هُوَ الَّذِي أَنشَأَكُمْ وَجَعَلَ لَكُمُ السَّمْعَ وَالْأَبْصَارَ وَالْأَفْئِدَةَ ۖ قَلِيلًا مَّا تَشْكُرُونَ
Qul huwa allathee anshaakum wajaAAalalakumu assamAAa wal-absara wal-af-idataqaleelan ma tashkuroon
Say, "It is He who has produced you and made for you hearing and vision and hearts [i.e., intellect]; little are you grateful."
قُلْ هُوَ الَّذِي ذَرَأَكُمْ فِي الْأَرْضِ وَإِلَيْهِ تُحْشَرُونَ
Qul huwa allathee tharaakumfee al-ardi wa-ilayhi tuhsharoon
Say, "It is He who has multiplied you throughout the earth, and to Him you will be gathered."
وَيَقُولُونَ مَتَىٰ هَٰذَا الْوَعْدُ إِن كُنتُمْ صَادِقِينَ
Wayaqooloona mata hathaalwaAAdu in kuntum sadiqeen
And they say, "When is this promise, if you should be truthful?"
قُلْ إِنَّمَا الْعِلْمُ عِندَ اللَّهِ وَإِنَّمَا أَنَا نَذِيرٌ مُّبِينٌ
Qul innama alAAilmu AAinda Allahiwa-innama ana natheerun mubeen
Say, "The knowledge is only with Allāh, and I am only a clear warner."
فَلَمَّا رَأَوْهُ زُلْفَةً سِيئَتْ وُجُوهُ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا وَقِيلَ هَٰذَا الَّذِي كُنتُم بِهِ تَدَّعُونَ
Falamma raawhu zulfatan see-atwujoohu allatheena kafaroo waqeela hatha allatheekuntum bihi taddaAAoon
But when they see it approaching, the faces of those who disbelieve will be distressed, and it will be said, "This is that for which you used to call."
قُلْ أَرَأَيْتُمْ إِنْ أَهْلَكَنِيَ اللَّهُ وَمَن مَّعِيَ أَوْ رَحِمَنَا فَمَن يُجِيرُ الْكَافِرِينَ مِنْ عَذَابٍ أَلِيمٍ
Qul araaytum in ahlakaniya Allahuwaman maAAiya aw rahimana faman yujeeru alkafireenamin AAathabin aleem
Say, [O Muḥammad], "Have you considered: whether Allāh should cause my death and those with me or have mercy upon us, who can protect the disbelievers from a painful punishment?"
قُلْ هُوَ الرَّحْمَٰنُ آمَنَّا بِهِ وَعَلَيْهِ تَوَكَّلْنَا ۖ فَسَتَعْلَمُونَ مَنْ هُوَ فِي ضَلَالٍ مُّبِينٍ
Qul huwa arrahmanu amannabihi waAAalayhi tawakkalna fasataAAlamoona man huwa fee dalalinmubeen
Say, "He is the Most Merciful; we have believed in Him, and upon Him we have relied. And you will [come to] know who it is that is in clear error."
قُلْ أَرَأَيْتُمْ إِنْ أَصْبَحَ مَاؤُكُمْ غَوْرًا فَمَن يَأْتِيكُم بِمَاءٍ مَّعِينٍ
Qul araaytum in asbaha maokumghawran faman ya/teekum bima-in maAAeen
Say, "Have you considered: if your water was to become sunken [into the earth], then who could bring you flowing water?"
✨ Benefits and Virtues of Surah Al-Mulk
The authentic narration
Grade: Hasan
"Indeed there is a Surah in the Qur'an of thirty Ayat, which intercedes for a man until he is forgiven. It is [Surah] Tabarak Alladhi Biyadihil-Mulk." — Jami' at-Tirmidhi 2891 · Grade: Hasan (Darussalam)
The Arabic:
إِنَّ سُورَةً مِنَ الْقُرْآنِ ثَلاَثُونَ آيَةً شَفَعَتْ لِرَجُلٍ حَتَّى غُفِرَ لَهُ
This is the strongest and most frequently authenticated virtue of the surah, and it is the basis for the widespread practice of reciting it nightly. Notice what it actually says: the surah intercedes for the person until they are forgiven. It does not promise that recitation alone, without repentance or action, substitutes for anything else.
Protection from the punishment of the grave — and the name the Companions used
This is stated on almost every page about Surah Al-Mulk, usually without a source. It is a separate narration from the intercession hadith above, with its own chain — the two are frequently merged into one sentence, which is an error. But it is well founded.
Grade: Hasan
Ibn Mas'ud said: "Whoever recites Tabāraka'lladhī bi-yadihi'l-mulk every night, Allah will protect him thereby from the punishment of the grave." And he added: "In the time of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ we used to call it al-Māniʿah — the preventer." — Narrated by an-Nasa'i in as-Sunan al-Kubrā and ʿAmal al-Yawm wa'l-Layla; graded hasan by al-Albani in Sahih at-Targhib wa't-Tarhib
That last detail is the part worth knowing. The Companions had a nickname for this surah — al-Māniʿah, the one that prevents or shields. It tells you how the earliest community actually related to it, and no competing page mentions it.
Two narrations, two different virtues. Keep them distinct:
Tirmidhi 2891 (hasan) — it intercedes until the person is forgiven.
The Nasa'i narration above (hasan) — it protects from the punishment of the grave, and was called al-Māniʿah.
🔍 Build note: this narration is reported from Ibn Mas'ud. Confirm with your scholar how to present it — some routes raise it to the Prophet ﷺ, others treat it as the statement of a Companion.
What the surah itself gives you
Beyond any narration, Al-Mulk repays reading because of what it contains: a sustained argument that the universe is ordered, that this order points to a single Sovereign, and that death is not an accident but part of a designed test — "He who created death and life to test which of you is best in deeds" (67:2).
📖 Themes and Key Lessons
Theme 01
1. Sovereignty belongs to Allah alone (verses 1–4). The surah opens by placing all dominion in one Hand, then immediately turns to the created order: "You will not see any imperfection in the creation of the Most Compassionate. Look again: do you see any flaws?" (67:3).
Theme 02
2. Life and death as a test (verse 2). One of the most quoted verses in the Qur'an on the purpose of existence — and note its wording. The test is aḥsanu ʿamalā, best in deeds, not most in deeds.
Theme 03
3. The regret of those who did not think (verses 6–11). The people of the Fire are asked what brought them there, and their answer is striking: "If only we had listened or reasoned, we would not be among the residents of the Blaze" (67:10). The failure named is a failure of listening and reasoning.
Theme 04
4. Security is not owed to you (verses 15–21). The surah asks how confident you are that the earth will not swallow you, that the sky will not send a storm — a direct challenge to the assumption that stability is guaranteed.
Theme 05
5. Water as the closing argument (verse 30). The surah ends with a question no technology has answered: "Who would bring you flowing water?" if it were to sink into the earth.
Classical Tafsir Insights
Classical commentators note that Al-Mulk builds its case through a sequence of invitations to look — at the heavens, at the birds holding themselves aloft, at the earth beneath. The repeated imperative is unẓur and a-lam yaraw: look, have they not seen.
The surah's rhetorical method is to move from the observable to the inevitable. If the order you can see is designed, then the Designer has authority; if He has authority, then the accountability He describes is real. That is why the people of the Fire in verse 10 name reasoning as what they lacked — the surah has spent its length asking them to reason.
This summary should be checked against a named tafsir (Ibn Kathir, al-Sa'di or al-Tabari) and attributed before publishing.
