Some people are sending messages about reciting certain Surahs seven times after Jumu’ah. They claim big rewards for it. Is this Sunnah?
Quran
Hadith
Islamic Text
بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيمِ
In the Name of Allah Most Merciful Most Kind
Short Answer
I have seen the message saying that our blessed Prophet ﷺ encouraged the recital of particular Surahs seven times after Jumu’ah. They cited the source as Abu al-As’ad al-Qushayri’s forty Hadith. That narration has been considered extremely weak by great Hadith Imams of Ahl al-Sunnah. Therefore, it is not permitted to attribute it to the blessed Prophet ﷺ.
Explanation
عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ قَالَ: قَالَ رَسُولُ اللهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: كَفَى بِالْمَرْءِ كَذِبًا أَنْ يُحَدِّثَ بِكُلِّ مَا سَمِعَ
Abu Hurairah narrated that the Prophet ﷺ said: It is enough of a lie for a person to narrate everything that he hears. (Sahih Muslim, Chapter 3, Prohibition Upon Narrating Everything One Hears).
The Hadith above is from Sahih Muslim. In it our blessed Prophet ﷺ encourages us to be cautious and verify. It is best to narrate Hadith from the best-known sources. The narration about reciting certain Surahs seven times after Jumu’ah is attributed to a relatively obscure source. Also, the message being spread was misquoting the narration. So, the people spreading it have been repeatedly reckless.
Love for our beloved Prophet ﷺ dictates that we must be cautious regarding Hadith of the Mesenger of Allah ﷺ. This attitude of hearing or receiving Hadith narrations and forwarding them without checking is contrary to the way of the Sahabah and the Imams of Ahl al-Sunnah. And it is certainly contrary to Ghayrah for the blessed Prophet ﷺ.
Imam Ibn Hajr
قال أبو عبد الرحمن السلمي : أنا أبو جعفر محمد بن أحمد بن سعيد الرازي ، ثنا أبو علي الحسين بن داود البلخي ثنا يزيد بن هارون ثنا حميد عن أنس قال قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم (من قرأ إذا سلم الإمام يوم الجمعة قبل أن يثني رجليه فاتحة الكتاب وقل هو الله أحد وقل أعوذ برب الفلق وقل أعوذ برب الناس سبعاً سبعاً ، غفر له ما تقدم من ذنبه وما تأخر وأعطى من الأجر بعدد كل من آمن بالله واليوم الآخر)
وهكذا رواه أبو الأسعد القشيري في الأربعين له عن أبي عبد الرحمن السلمي ، وفي إسناده ضعف شديد جداً ، فإن الحسين بن داود البلخي قال الحاكم انه كثير المناكير في رواياته وأنه حدث عن أقوام لا يحتمل سنه السماع منهم وقال الخطيب حدث الحسين بن داوود عن يزيد بن هارون بنسخة أكثرها موضوعة. (معرفة الخصال المكفرة للذنوب المقدمة والمؤخرة)
Abu Abd al-Rahman al-Sulami said: Abu Ja‘far Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Sa‘id al-Razi informed us, saying: Abu ‘Ali al-Husayn bin Dawud al-Balkhi narrated to us, saying: Yazid bin Harun narrated to us, saying: Humayd narrated from Anas, who said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: On Friday, whoever recites, after the Imam’s Salam, and before folding his legs, al-Fatihah, Qul Huwa Allahu Ahad, Qul A‘udhu bi-Rabb al-Falaq, and Qul A‘udhu bi-Rabb al-Nas seven times each, will have his past and future sins forgiven. And will be granted a reward equal to the number of all those who believe in Allah and the Last Day.
Abu al-As’ad al-Qushayri narrated it in his al-Arba’in like this. On the authority of Abu ‘Abd al-Rahman al-Sulami. However, its chain of transmission is extremely weak. Al-Hakim said regarding al-Husayn bin Dawud al-Balkhi, many of his narrations are Munkar (rejected). And he narrated from people from whom his age would not have permitted him to hear Hadith. Al-Khatib also noted that al-Husayn bin Dawud narrated a collection of narrations from Yazid bin Harun, the majority of which were fabricated. (Imam Abū al-Fadl Ahmad bin Ali Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani 852H, Marifatu al-Khisal al-Mukafirat lildhunub).
Imam Ibn Hajr mentioned the full narration regarding the recital of certain Surahs seven times after Jumu’ah from Abu al-As’ad al-Qushayri’s forty Hadith collection with the chain of narrators. He clarifies that two of the narrators are extremely problematic. Firstly, al-Husayn bin Dawud al-Balkhi narrates Munkar narrations. Secondly, Yazid bin Harun is linked to an abundance of fabrications.
Thus, Imam Ibn Hajr concludes the narration is extremely weak. Therefore, it is not permitted for a Muslim to present it as the words of our beloved Prophet ﷺ. Due to widespread ignorance of Hadith science, people are unable to differentiate between a weak narration and an extremely weak narration. The first is permitted but the second is rejected.
Other Imams
(أَبُو الاسعد الْقشيرِي فِي) كتاب (الاربعين عَن أنس) وَفِي اسناده ضعف شَدِيد. (التيسير بشرح الجامع الصغير)
Abu al-As’ad al-Qushayri in the book al-Arba’in narrating from Anas. Its chain of transmission contains severe weakness. (Imam Abd al-Ra’uf al-Munawi 1031H, al-Taysir bi-Sharh al-Jami’ al-Saghir).
هكذا رواه الأسعد القشيري عن السلمي، وإسناده ضعيف شديد جداً، وفي مصنف ابن أبي شيبة عن أسماء بنت أبي بكر الصديق رضي الله تعالى عنها: من قرأ بعد الجمعة فاتحة الكتاب وقل هو الله أحد وقل أعوذ برب الفلق وقل أعوذ برب الناس حفظ ما بينه وبين الجمعة الأخرى. (المقالات المسفرة عن دلائل المغفرة)
Al-As’ad al-Qushayri narrated it like this from al-Sulami. Its chain of transmission is extremely and severely weak. (We have) in the Musannaf of Ibn Abi Shaybah from Asma bint Abi Bakr al-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with her): Whoever recites al-Fatihah, Qul Huwa Allahu Ahad, Qul A’udhu bi-Rabb al-Falaq, and Qul A’udhu bi-Rabb al-Nas after the Friday prayer will be protected until the next Friday. (Imam Noorud-deen al-Samhudi 911H, al-Maqalat al-Musfira ‘an Dala’il al-Maghfirah).
Imams al-Munawi and al-Samhudi reiterated the position, that the narration asserting the recital of particular Surahs seven times after Jumu’ah is extremely weak. Imam al-Samhudi went on to say that reciting Surahs once after Jumu’ah is narrated. However, it is not from the blessed Prophet ﷺ. Rather it is a statement of Sayidah Asma bint Abi Bakr.
Reciting once is Sunnah
قَالَتْ أَسْمَاءُ بِنْتُ أَبِي بَكْرٍ: مَنْ قَرَأَ بَعْدَ الْجُمُعَةِ فَاتِحَةَ الْكِتَابِ، وقُلْ هُوَ اللَّهُ أَحَدٌ، وَقُلْ أَعُوذُ بِرَبِّ الْفَلَقِ، وَقُلْ أَعُوذُ بِرَبِّ النَّاسِ حَفِظَ مَا بَيْنَهُ وَبَيْنَ الْجُمُعَةِ
Asma bint Abi Bakr said: Whoever recites al-Fatihah, Qul Huwa Allahu Ahad, Qul A’udhu bi-Rabbil-Falaq, and Qul A’udhu bi-Rabbin-Nas after the Friday prayer, will be protected until the following Friday. (Musannaf Ibn Abi Shaybah, 29602).
عَنْ عُقْبَةَ بْنِ عَامِرٍ، قَالَ: أَمَرَنِي رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ أَنْ أَقْرَأَ بِالْمُعَوِّذَاتِ دُبُرَ كُلِّ صَلَاةٍ
Uqbah bin ‘Āmir said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ commanded me to recite the Mu‘awwidhat (the Surahs seeking refuge) after every prayer. (Abu Dawud 1523, Sahih).
The blessed Prophet ﷺ encouraged the recital of certain Surahs after Salah. However, there is no mention of seven times in the above authentic narration. Nor the specific rewards claimed in the messages being disseminated. Thus, reciting once is Sunnah and one should focus on following that.
Common misunderstanding
Relatively few scholars or teachers are cautious regarding Hadith authenticity. Even those who are considered to specialise in Hadith, focus on other matters and not authenticity. This problem was raised by Imam Ibn al-Jawzi about 900 years ago. However, as an Ummah we are always blessed to have a group of scholars who save us from misguidance.
This has certainly been the case in Hadith science. Many people narrated Hadith with no focus upon authenticity. But other scholars did scrutinise and check authenticity. A celebrated example of this is Imam al-Iraqi’s work on Ihya Ulum al-Deen. He highlighted dubious and fabricated narrations that had been mentioned by Imam al-Ghazali.
Conclusion
The narration encouraging the reciting of certain Surahs seven times after Jumu’ah is extremely week. Thus, it is not permitted to attribute it to our beloved Prophet ﷺ. Although Imams of Hadith permitted the dissemination of weak Hadith, extremely weak Hadith are not permitted.
The people sharing the post should also check the wording against the original. They have either mistranslated or become mixed up in some other way. Since it differs significantly with what Imam Ibn Hajr has mentioned.
Love and respect for the blessed Prophet ﷺ dictates that we must take care when attributing or negating matters regarding him. It is troublingly ironic to see that those people who speak most about loving the Mubarak Prophet ﷺ often take the least care regarding Hadith authenticity. This approach is in direct contradiction to the way of the Sahabah.
And Allah Most High Knows Best.
–Answered by Shaykh Noorud-deen Rashid (11.09.26)
