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Ayatul Kursi (آية الكرسي) means “the Verse of the Throne”. The name comes from the word kursi inside the verse. It sits in the third juz, in Surah Al-Baqarah, and most Muslim children learn it before they learn anything else of that length. This page gives you the text, the meaning in plain English, and the hadith that tell us when to recite it, without adding claims that are not in the sources.
Ayatul Kursi in Arabic, Transliteration and English Meaning
اللَّهُ لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ الْحَيُّ الْقَيُّومُ ۚ لَا تَأْخُذُهُ سِنَةٌ وَلَا نَوْمٌ ۚ لَهُ مَا فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَمَا فِي الْأَرْضِ ۗ مَنْ 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
Allahu la ilaha illa huwa, al-Hayyul-Qayyum. La ta’khudhuhu sinatun wa la nawm. Lahu ma fis-samawati wa ma fil-ard. Man dhal-ladhi yashfa’u ‘indahu illa bi-idhnih. Ya’lamu ma bayna aydihim wa ma khalfahum, wa la yuhituna bi shay’in min ‘ilmihi illa bima sha’. Wasi’a kursiyyuhus-samawati wal-ard, wa la ya’uduhu hifzuhuma, wa huwal-‘Aliyyul-‘Azim.
Meaning in simple words: Allah. There is no god but Him, the Ever-Living, the One who keeps everything standing. Neither drowsiness nor sleep takes hold of Him. Everything in the heavens and on the earth belongs to Him. Who can speak up for anyone in front of Him unless He allows it? He knows what lies ahead of people and what lies behind them, and nobody can grasp any part of His knowledge except what He wishes. His Kursi stretches over the heavens and the earth, and looking after them does not tire Him. He is the Most High, the Most Great.
Quran 2:255 · Read it with several translations on Quran.com
The English above is our own wording of the meaning, not a copy of any published translation. Every translation is only an approximation of the Arabic.
Ayatul Kursi Meaning Line by Line
The verse is easier to hold in your head when you take it in small pieces. Here is what each piece says.
| Arabic (transliteration) | What it tells us |
|---|---|
| Allahu la ilaha illa huwa | Allah alone deserves worship. The verse opens with tawhid. |
| al-Hayyul-Qayyum | He is alive in a way that never ends, and He is the one who runs and sustains every created thing. Nothing stands without Him. |
| La ta’khudhuhu sinatun wa la nawm | He does not doze or sleep. The world is never left unattended. |
| Lahu ma fis-samawati wa ma fil-ard | Everything that exists is His. We are guests in His property. |
| Man dhal-ladhi yashfa’u ‘indahu illa bi-idhnih | Intercession is not a right that anyone owns. It happens only if Allah gives permission. |
| Ya’lamu ma bayna aydihim wa ma khalfahum | His knowledge covers everything people know and everything hidden from them, past and future. |
| Wa la yuhituna bi shay’in min ‘ilmihi illa bima sha’ | Creation knows only what He lets it know. |
| Wasi’a kursiyyuhus-samawati wal-ard | His Kursi is vast beyond the heavens and the earth. Scholars have spoken about what the Kursi is, and the safe approach is to accept it as Allah described it without picturing it. |
| Wa la ya’uduhu hifzuhuma | Keeping the heavens and the earth in order is no burden to Him. |
| Wa huwal-‘Aliyyul-‘Azim | He is above everything and greater than everything. |
Why Is Ayatul Kursi the Greatest Verse in the Quran?
The Prophet ﷺ once asked Ubayy ibn Ka’b which verse in the Book of Allah was the greatest. Ubayy answered with Ayatul Kursi. The Prophet ﷺ struck his chest and said, in meaning, “May knowledge be easy for you, Abu al-Mundhir.” This is in Sahih Muslim 810.
Scholars usually explain the ranking by its content. Almost every line is about who Allah is: His oneness, His life, His knowledge, His power. A verse built entirely on the names and attributes of Allah naturally carries a lot of weight.
When to Recite Ayatul Kursi
After every obligatory prayer
An-Nasa’i recorded in as-Sunan al-Kubra that whoever recites Ayatul Kursi after each obligatory prayer has nothing standing between him and Paradise except death. Al-Albani graded this narration sahih, and it is the reason many Muslims make it part of the dhikr straight after salam.
Ayatul Kursi before sleep
This one is in Sahih al-Bukhari. Abu Hurayrah was guarding the zakat dates when a thief came, and on the third night the thief told him to recite Ayatul Kursi when he went to bed. He said that a guardian from Allah would stay with him and Shaytan would not come near until morning. The Prophet ﷺ then said, “He told you the truth, though he is a liar.” Read it in Sahih al-Bukhari 2311.
Other times
You can recite it whenever you like. It is part of the morning and evening routine for many people, and it is a good verse to memorise early because it is long enough to train your tongue and short enough to finish in a minute.
How to Memorise Ayatul Kursi
- Split it into the ten lines from the table above.
- Learn one line a day. Listen to a good reciter first, then repeat after them.
- Say the whole verse once every night before sleep. That habit alone fixes it in memory within a couple of weeks.
- Have a teacher check your pronunciation. Letters like ح, ق and ع are the usual trouble spots for non-Arabic speakers.
If you want to go beyond memorising and think about what the verse asks of you, our guide to tadabbur in Islam shows how to do that without guessing meanings.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Ayatul Kursi in the Quran?
It is verse 255 of Surah Al-Baqarah, the second surah of the Quran, in the third juz.
Can I recite Ayatul Kursi without wudu?
Yes. Reciting from memory does not require wudu. Most scholars say you need wudu to touch a printed mushaf, but you do not need it to recite the verse from memory.
Does Ayatul Kursi really protect you during sleep?
That is what the hadith in Sahih al-Bukhari 2311 says: a guardian from Allah stays with the one who recites it before sleeping. Protection is by Allah’s permission, so make the recitation with sincerity and trust in Him.
Is it the same as the last two verses of Surah Al-Baqarah?
No. Those are a different passage, verses 285 and 286, with their own meaning and virtue. Ayatul Kursi is only verse 255.
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