Benefits and Virtues of Surah 44 Ad-Dukhan

44. Ad-Dukhan

44.1 Narrated Abu Hurairah (رضي الله عنه)

That the Messenger of Allah (صلى الله عليه وعلى آله وسلم) said: “Whoever recites Ha Mim Ad-Dukhan during Friday night, he shall be forgiven.”

 Jami` at-Tirmidhi Vol. 5, Book 42, Hadith 2889

44.2 Narrated Abu Hurairah (رضي الله عنه)

That the Messenger of Allah (صلى الله عليه وعلى آله وسلم) said: “Whoever recites Ha Mim Ad-Dukhan during the night, in the morning seventy thousand angels seek forgiveness for him.”

Jami` at-Tirmidhi Vol. 5, Book 42, Hadith 2888

44.3 Mu’awiyah bin Abdullah bin Ja’far (رضي الله عنه) narrated

That Abdullah bin ‘Utbah bin Mas’ud (رضي الله عنه) told him that: The Messenger of Allah (صلى الله عليه وعلى آله وسلم) recited ‘Ha- Mim Ad-Dukhan’ in Maghrib.

Sunan an-Nasa’i 988

44.4 Al-Hafiz al-Mundhiri (رحمه الله) reports

Whoever recites Surah Ad-Dukhaan on Friday night or day time, Allah builds for him a house in paradise.

(At-Targheeb wat-Tarheeb 449)

44.5 Al-Hafiz al-Mundhiri reports (رحمه الله)

Whosoever recites Surah Ad-Dukhaan all of it, and the beginning of Ha Meem Ghafir [Surah Al Ghafir] to (till) the verse

فإلينا يرجعون

‘And to him is the return’ (40:77)

and Ayatul Kursi. [When he recites these surahs] in the evening he is protected till he rises in the morning and whoever recites them in the morning he is protected until evening.

(At-Targheeb wat-Tarheeb 390)

44.6 Hadhrat Abu Rafi (رضي الله عنه) narrates

“Whoever will recite Surah Dukhan on the Eve of Friday, by morning he is forgiven and he will be wed to a Huri (damsel of paradise) with wide lovely eyes.”

(Sunan al-Darimi)

44.7 Narrated Anas bin Malik (رضي الله عنه)

That the Messenger of Allah (صلى الله عليه وعلى آله وسلم) said: “There is no believer except that he has two doors: A door through which his deeds ascend, and a door through which his sustenance descends. So when he dies they weep for him. That is the meaning of the saying of Allah, the Mighty and Sublime:

 ﴾ فما بكت عليهم السماء والأرض وما كانوا منظرين ﴿

And the heavens and the earth wept not for them, nor were they given respite (44:29).”

Jami` at-Tirmidhi Vol. 5, Book 44, Hadith 3255

44.8 `Ikrimah, the freed slave of Ibn `Abbas (رضی الله عنهم), narrated that:

Ibn `Abbas said: “We were with the Messenger of Allah (صلى الله عليه وعلى آله وسلم) when `Ali bin Abi Talib (رضي الله عنه) came to him, and he said: ‘May my father and mother be ransomed for you! This Qur’an has suddenly left my heart, and I do not find myself capable of it.’ So the Messenger of Allah (صلى الله عليه وعلى آله وسلم) said to him: ‘O Abul-Hasan! Should I not teach you words that Allah shall benefit you with, and benefit whomever you teach, and they will make whatever you have learned in your chest firm?’ He said: ‘Of course, O Messenger of Allah (صلى الله عليه وعلى آله وسلم), so teach me.’ He (صلى الله عليه وعلى آله وسلم) said: ‘When it is the night of (before) Friday, then if you are able to stand in the last third of the night, then verily it is a witnessed hour, and supplication is answered in it. And my brother Ya`qub (عليه السلام) did say to his sons:

 ﴾ سوف استغفر لكم ربي ﴿

I shall seek forgiveness for you from my Lord. (12:98)

He said: “Until the night of Friday comes.” So if you are not able, then stand in the middle of it, and if you are not able then stand in the first of it. And pray four Rak`ah. Recite Fatihatul-Kitab (the Opening of the Book) and Surat Ya-Sin in the first Rak`ah, and Fatihatul-Kitab and Ha-Mim Ad-Dukhan in the second Rak`ah, and Fatihatul-Kitab and Alif Lam Mim Tanzil As-Sajdah in the third Rak`ah, and Fatihatul-Kitab and Tabarak Al-Mufassal in the fourth Rak`ah. So when you have finished with the Tashahud, then praise Allah and mention Allah’s greatness in an excellent manner, and send Salat upon me – and be excellent in it – and upon the rest of the Prophets. And seek forgiveness for the believing men and the believing women, and for your brothers who have preceded you in faith. Then say in the end of that:

O Abul-Hasan! So do this three Fridays, or five, or seven, you will be answered – by the will of Allah – by the One Who sent me with the Truth, it has not failed a believer once’.” `Abdullah bin `Abbas said: “So, by Allah, `Ali did not wait but five or seven until [`Ali] came to the Messenger of Allah (صلى الله عليه وعلى آله وسلم) in a gathering similar to that and said: ‘O Messenger of Allah (صلى الله عليه وعلى آله وسلم), indeed I was [a man] in the time that passed, who used to not take except four Ayat or about that much, so when I would recite them to myself they would suddenly depart from me, and today I learn forty Ayat or about that much, and when I recite them to myself, then it is as if the Book of Allah is before my eyes. I used to hear a Hadith and when I would repeat it, it would suddenly depart from me, and today I hear Ahadith, and when I report them, I do not err in a single letter.’ So the Messenger of Allah (صلى الله عليه وعلى آله وسلم) said at that point: ‘A believer, by the Lord of the Ka`bah, O Abul-Hasan.’”

Jami` at-Tirmidhi 3570

44.9 Narrated Masruq (رضي الله عنه)

One day I went to Ibn Mas`ud who said, “When Quraish delayed in embracing Islam, the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وعلى آله وسلم) invoked Allah to curse them, so they were afflicted with a (famine) year because of which many of them died and they ate the carcasses and Abu Sufyan came to the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وعلى آله وسلم) and said, ‘O Muhammad! You came to order people to keep good relation with kith and kin and your nation is being destroyed, so invoke Allah!  So the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وعلى آله وسلم) recited the Holy verses of Surat-Ad-Dukhan:

 ﴾ فارتقب يوم تأتي السماء بدخان مبين ﴿

‘Then watch you For the day that The sky will Bring forth a kind Of smoke Plainly visible.’ (44.10)

When the famine was taken off, the people renegade once again as nonbelievers. The statement of Allah, (in Surah Ad- Dukhan) refers to that:

 ﴾ يوم نبطش البطشة الكبرى إنا منتقمون ﴿

‘On the day when We shall seize You with a mighty grasp.’ (44.16)

And that was what happened on the day of the battle of Badr.” Asbath added on the authority of Mansur, “Allah’s Messenger (صلى الله عليه وعلى آله وسلم) prayed for them and it rained heavily for seven days. So the people complained of the excessive rain. The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وعلى آله وسلم) said, ‘O Allah! (Let it rain) around us and not on us.’ So the clouds dispersed over his head and it rained over the surroundings.”

Sahih al-Bukhari 1020

44.10 Masruq (رضي الله عنه) reported

That there came to Abdullah a person and said I have left behind in the mosque a man who explains the Qur’an according to his personal discretion and he explained this verse:” So wait for the day when the Heaven brings a clear smoke.” He says that a smoke would come to the people on the Day of Resurrection and it will withhold breath and they would be inflicted with cold. ‘Abdullah said: He who has knowledge should say something and he who has no knowledge should simply say: Allah is best aware. This reflects the understanding of a person that he should say about that which he does not know that it is Allah who knows best. The fact is that when the Quraish disobeyed Allah’s Apostle (صلى الله عليه وعلى آله وسلم) he supplicated Allah that they should be afflicted with famine and starvation as was done in case of Yusuf. And they were so much hard pressed that a person would ace the sky and he would see between him and the sky something like smoke and they were so much hard pressed that they began to cat the bones, and a person came to Allah’s Apostle (صلى الله عليه وعلى آله وسلم) and said: Allah’s Messenger. seek forgiveness for the tribe of Mudar for (its people) have been undone. The Messenger (صلى الله عليه وعلى آله وسلم) said: For Mudar? You are overbold, but he supplicated Allah for them. It was upon this that this verse was revealed:”

 ﴾ إنا كاشفو العذاب قليلا إنكم عائدون ﴿

We shall remove the chastisement a little, but they will surely return to evil” (44:15).

lie (the narrator) said: There was a downpoor of rain upon them. When there was some relief for them they returned to the same position as they had been before, and Allah, the Exalted and Glorious, revealed:

فارتقب يوم تأتي السماء بدخان مبين  ﴿

﴾ يغشى الناس هذا عذاب أليم

“So wait for the day when the heaven brings a clear smoke enveloping people. (44:10-11)

 ﴾ يوم نبطش البطشة الكبرى إنا منتقمون ﴿

This is a grievous torment on the day when We seize them with the most violent seizing; surely, We shall exact retribution.” (44:16)

And this (seizing) implied (Battle) of Badr.

Sahih Muslim 2798 b

44.11 Masruq (رضي الله عنه) reported

We were sitting in the company of Abdullah and he was lying on the bed that a person came and said: Abd Abd al-Rabmin, a story-teller at the gates of Kinda says that the verse (of the Qur’an) which deals with the” smoke” implies that which is about to come and it would hold the breath of the infidels and would inflict the believers with cold. Thereupon Abdullah got up and said in anger. O people, fear Allah and say only that which one knows amongst you and do not say which he does not know and he should simply say: Allah has the best knowledge for He has the best knowledge amongst all of you. It does not behove him to say that which he does not know. Allah has the best knowledge of it. Verily Allah, the Exalted and Glorious, said to His Prophet (صلى الله عليه وعلى آله وسلم) to state:” I do not ask from you any remuneration and I am not the one to put you in trouble,” and when Allah’s Messenger (صلى الله عليه وعلى آله وسلم) saw people turning back (from religion) he said: O Allah, afflict them with seven famines as was done in the case of Yusuf, so they were afflicted with famine by which they were forced to eat everything until they were obliged to eat the hides and the dead bodies because of hunger, and every one of them looked towards the sky and he found a smoke. And Abu Sufyan came and he said: Muhammad, you have come to command us to obey Allah and cement the ties of blood-relation whereas your people are undone; supplicate Allah for them. Thereupon Allah, the Exalted and Glorious, said:

فارتقب يوم تأتي السماء بدخان مبين ﴿

﴾ يغشى الناس هذا عذاب أليم

“Wait for the day when there would be clear smoke from the sky which would envelop people and that would be grievous torment”  (44:10-11)

up to the words:

 ﴾ إنكم عائدون ﴿

“you are going to return to (evil).”  (44:15)

(if this verse implied the torment of the next life) could the chastisement of the next (life) be averted (as the Qur’an states):

 ﴾ يوم نبطش البطشة الكبرى إنا منتقمون ﴿

On the day when We seize (them) with the most violent seizing; surely We shall exact retribution” (44:16)?

The seizing (in the hadith) implies that of the Day of Badr. And so far as the sign of smoke, seizing, inevitability and signs of Rome are concerned, they have become things of the past now.

Sahih Muslim 2798 a

44.12 Narrated Masruq (رضي الله عنه)

“A man came to ‘Abdullah and said: ‘A story teller has said that a smoke will appear from the earth, taking the hearing of disbelievers and manifesting as a cold for the believers.'” He became angry, and since he was reclining, he sat up then said: ‘When one of you is asked about something he knows, then let him speak accordingly’ – Mansur (one of the narrators) narrated it as: “Then let him inform of it” – “And when asked about what he does not know, then let him say: “Allah knows best.” For indeed, it is part of a man’s knowledge, that when he is asked about something he does not know, he says: “Allah knows best.” For verily Allah, Most High said to His Prophet: Say:

 ﴾ قل ما أسألكم عليه من أجر وما أنا من المتكلفين  ﴿

“No wage do I ask of you for this, nor am I one of the pretenders (38:86).”

When the Messenger of Allah (صلى الله عليه وعلى آله وسلم) saw that the Quraish were behaving stubbornly with him, he said: “O Allah! Assist me against them with seven (years of famine) like the seven of Yusuf.” So He punished them with drought making everything barren, until they ate skins and carcasses” – one of them said: “bones.” He said: ‘And it appeared that smoke was coming out of the earth. So Abu Sufyan came to him and said: “Verily your people are being destroyed, so supplicate to Allah for them.” He said: “So this is about His saying:

فارتقب يوم تأتي السماء بدخان مبين ﴿

﴾ يغشى الناس هذا عذاب أليم

‘The Day when the sky will bring forth a visible smoke, covering the people, this is a painful torment (44:10-11).'”

Mansur narrated it as:

 ﴾ ربنا اكشف عنا العذاب إنا مؤمنون ﴿

“So this is about His saying: Our Lord! Remove the torment from us, really we shall become believers (44:12).”

– “So shall the punishment be removed from them in the Hereafter? Al-Batshah (humiliated defeat in Badr), Al-Lizam (disbeliever captives from Badr), the smoke,” – one of them said: “The moon” the other said: “The Romans have all passed.”

Jami` at-Tirmidhi Vol. 5, Book 44, Hadith 3254

44.13 Imam Ibn Darees narrated from Hasan Al-Basri (رحمهم الله) that the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وعلى آله وسلم) said,

“Whoever reads Surah Ad-Dukhan at nights, Allah will forgive his previous sins.”

(Dur Al-Manthur 5/1095)

44.14 It is narrated that the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وعلى آله وسلم) said:

“One who recites Surah ad-Dukhan on Friday in the day and at night, Allah will have a mansion built for him in Paradise.”

(Majma’ al-Bayan, vol. 9)

44.15 Imam Muhammad Baqir (عليه السلام) said,

“Whoever recites Surah Ad-Dukhan in his obligatory and recommended prayers, Allah would raise him on the Day of Judgment among those who would be in safety and peace and under the Throne of Allah, his accounting would be easy and his scroll of deeds would be given in his right hand.”

(Sawabul Aamal p157)

44.16 Allama Alam Faqri (رحمه الله‎) writes

(i) For success in a competition or sport, read the verses

حم

Ha, Meem.

والكتاب المبين

By the clear Book,

إنا أنزلناه في ليلة مباركة إنا كنا منذرين

Indeed, We sent it down during a blessed night. Indeed, We were to warn [mankind].

فيها يفرق كل أمر حكيم

On that night is made distinct every precise matter –

أمرا من عندنا إنا كنا مرسلين

[Every] matter [proceeding] from Us. Indeed, We were to send [a messenger]

رحمة من ربك إنه هو السميع العليم

As mercy from your Lord. Indeed, He is the Hearing, the Knowing.

رب السماوات والأرض وما بينهما إن كنتم موقنين

Lord of the heavens and the earth and that between them, if you would be certain.

لا إله إلا هو يحيي ويميت ربكم ورب آبائكم الأولين

There is no deity except Him; He gives life and causes death. [He is] your Lord and the Lord of your first forefathers.

بل هم في شكّ يلعبون

But they are in doubt, amusing themselves. (44:1-9)

of Surah Ad-Dukhan 111 times daily after Maghrib in seclusion for seven days and pray to Allah for success. On the seventh day, write these verses on a paper and keep it with you during the competition while making Dua to Allah and by His Grace, you will succeed.

(ii) For effective safety against tyranny, recite the verses

وأن لا تعلوا على الله إني آتيكم بسلطان مبين

And [saying], “Be not haughty with Allah . Indeed, I have come to you with clear authority.

وإني عذت بربي وربكم أن ترجمون

And indeed, I have sought refuge in my Lord and your Lord, lest you stone me.

وإن لم تؤمنوا لي فاعتزلون

But if you do not believe me, then leave me alone.” (44:19-21)

of Surah Ad-Dukhan 111 times after Fajr, 121 times after Maghrib and 131 times after Isha in seclusion and pray to Allah for safety against the evil opposers. This should be done daily for 27 days.

(iii) To know the outcome of an event (Istikhara), fast on Thursday and remain in seclusion (Aetikaf) but pray in congregation. In between the prayers recite

عالم الغيب والشهادة هو الرحمن الرحيم

Knower of the unseen and the witnessed. He is the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful. (59:22)

frequently. After breaking the fast and taking food following the Maghrib, lie-down for sometime while facing towards the North. After Isha, recite the verses

إن يوم الفصل ميقاتهم أجمعين

Indeed, the Day of Judgement is the appointed time for them all –

يوم لا يغني مولى عن مولى شيئا ولا هم ينصرون

The Day when no relation will avail a relation at all, nor will they be helped –

إلا من رحم الله إنه هو العزيز الرحيم

Except those [believers] on whom Allah has mercy. Indeed, He is the Exalted in Might, the Merciful. (44:40-42)

of Surah Ad-Dukhan 313 times. Then recite the Ism of Allah:

يا نور يا نور

O Illuminator! O Illuminator!

100 times and sleep. Try to remember what yo see in the dream. Whatever you wish to know, will be revealed to you by the Grace of Allah.

(iv) For success in exam or debate, the person should first prepare well and recite the verses

إن المتقين في مقام أمين

Indeed, the righteous will be in a secure place;

في جنات وعيون

Within gardens and springs,

يلبسون من سندس وإستبرق متقابلين

Wearing [garments of] fine silk and brocade, facing each other.

كذلك وزوجناهم بحور عين

Thus. And We will marry them to fair women with large, [beautiful] eyes.

يدعون فيها بكل فاكهة آمنين

They will call therein for every [kind of] fruit – safe and secure.

لا يذوقون فيها الموت إلا الموتة الأولى ووقاهم عذاب الجحيم

They will not taste death therein except the first death, and He will have protected them from the punishment of Hellfire

فضلا من ربك ذلك هو الفوز العظيم

As bounty from your Lord. That is what is the great attainment.

فإنما يسرناه بلسانك لعلهم يتذكرون

And indeed, We have eased the Qur’an in your tongue that they might be reminded.

فارتقب إنهم مرتقبون

So watch, [O Muhammad (ﷺ)]; indeed, they are watching [for your end]. (44:51-59)

of Surah Ad-Dukhan after Fajr 111 times daily for 11 days before the exam and pray to Allah and By His permission, he will succeed.

(Aamal-e-Qurani p297-301)