The Secret of the Opening Shared by al-Mulk and al-Furqān

Occasion: Transcription of a Tahajjud khatira delivered on 14 March 2026Source: A transcription of a video khatira by Dr. Ahmed Abouseif — Watch the original video on YouTube

The Striking Opening

We read Sūrat al-Mulk, and we see that the Lord of Might, glory be to Him, the Exalted, opens it with a striking opening, which is: ﴿تَبَارَكَ الَّذِي بِيَدِهِ الْمُلْكُ وَهُوَ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ﴾ (“Blessed is He in whose hand is dominion, and He is over all things competent.”)

And we find this same opening in Sūrat al-Furqān: ﴿تَبَارَكَ الَّذِي نَزَّلَ الْفُرْقَانَ عَلَىٰ عَبْدِهِ لِيَكُونَ لِلْعَالَمِينَ نَذِيرًا﴾ (“Blessed is He who sent down the Criterion upon His servant that he may be to the worlds a warner.”)

Abandoning the Qur'an

And in Sūrat al-Furqān Allah, glory be to Him, the Exalted, said: ﴿وَكَذَٰلِكَ جَعَلْنَا لِكُلِّ نَبِيٍّ عَدُوًّا مِّنَ الْمُجْرِمِينَ وَكَفَىٰ بِرَبِّكَ هَادِيًا وَنَصِيرًا﴾ (“And thus have We made for every prophet an enemy from among the criminals; but sufficient is your Lord as a guide and a helper.”), and the Messenger ﷺ said: ﴿يَا رَبِّ إِنَّ قَوْمِي اتَّخَذُوا هَٰذَا الْقُرْآنَ مَهْجُورًا﴾ (“O my Lord, indeed my people have taken this Qur'an as something abandoned.”)

And in Arabic we say: a human being is the enemy of what he does not know. So if a human being is the enemy of what he does not know, and we have been ignorant of the Noble Qur'an, we have become, by neglecting it, enemies of this Book without realizing it and without intending it. So when we come before Allah, Blessed and Exalted, and stand and are asked about the rules of the Noble Qur'an, its etiquettes, its arrangements, and the rulings and legislation in it, we say: We do not know. Then it is said: So how were you? And what were you doing in the world? You were appointed employees under a great divine banner, the normal operating manual by which you run your lives was sent down to you, and you did not follow it, but ruined the world.

Verses He Recited

Then he recited: ﴿إِنَّ الَّذِينَ يَخْشَوْنَ رَبَّهُم بِالْغَيْبِ لَهُم مَّغْفِرَةٌ وَأَجْرٌ كَبِيرٌ * وَأَسِرُّوا قَوْلَكُمْ أَوِ اجْهَرُوا بِهِ إِنَّهُ عَلِيمٌ بِذَاتِ الصُّدُورِ * أَلَا يَعْلَمُ مَنْ خَلَقَ وَهُوَ اللَّطِيفُ الْخَبِيرُ * هُوَ الَّذِي جَعَلَ لَكُمُ الْأَرْضَ ذَلُولًا فَامْشُوا فِي مَنَاكِبِهَا﴾ (“Indeed, those who fear their Lord unseen will have forgiveness and a great reward. And conceal your speech or publicize it; indeed, He is Knowing of what is within the breasts. Does He who created not know, while He is the Subtle, the All-Aware? It is He who made the earth tame for you, so walk among its slopes.”)^[1].

And from al-Furqān: ﴿وَعِبَادُ الرَّحْمَٰنِ الَّذِينَ يَمْشُونَ عَلَى الْأَرْضِ هَوْنًا وَإِذَا خَاطَبَهُمُ الْجَاهِلُونَ قَالُوا سَلَامًا﴾ (“And the servants of the Most Merciful are those who walk upon the earth humbly, and when the ignorant address them, they say words of peace.”), and from Sūrat al-Mulk: ﴿قُلْ أَرَأَيْتُمْ إِنْ أَهْلَكَنِيَ اللَّهُ وَمَن مَّعِيَ أَوْ رَحِمَنَا…﴾ (“Say, ‘Have you considered: if Allah should destroy me and those with me, or have mercy upon us…’”).

The Culmination of the Descriptions

Then he mentioned His saying, the Exalted: ﴿وَالَّذِينَ يَقُولُونَ رَبَّنَا هَبْ لَنَا مِنْ أَزْوَاجِنَا وَذُرِّيَّاتِنَا قُرَّةَ أَعْيُنٍ وَاجْعَلْنَا لِلْمُتَّقِينَ إِمَامًا﴾ (“And those who say, ‘Our Lord, grant us from among our spouses and offspring comfort to our eyes and make us an example for the righteous.’”), then His saying: ﴿أُولَٰئِكَ يُجْزَوْنَ الْغُرْفَةَ بِمَا صَبَرُوا﴾ (“Those will be awarded the chamber for what they patiently endured.”)

And he asked: What did they endure patiently? And he said: When reward is ordered upon an act at the close of the descriptions, that indicates that this act is the intended one in itself, and the indication of its importance is certain. So what is the last act they did? ﴿الَّذِينَ يَقُولُونَ رَبَّنَا هَبْ لَنَا مِنْ أَزْوَاجِنَا وَذُرِّيَّاتِنَا قُرَّةَ أَعْيُنٍ﴾.

So that is the goal for which all these preceding descriptions were mentioned, as though they were an introduction to producing that model fit to lead his children, so that they in turn lead the whole world, so that generations then come forth, succeeding one another upon the same mindset that takes charge of leading the whole world with faith, character, patience, and so on.

From Sūrat al-Mulk

It is narrated concerning the virtue of Sūrat al-Mulk from the Prophet ﷺ that whoever reads it before sleeping, it saves him from the punishment of the grave.

And here we are employees in service, and the One who provides for us is the Lord of the worlds, glory be to Him, the Exalted.

Then he said: What benefit returns to the Lord of the worlds, glory be to Him, the Exalted, from that? And the verse says: ﴿مَّا يَفْعَلُ اللَّهُ بِعَذَابِكُمْ إِن شَكَرْتُمْ وَآمَنتُمْ﴾ (“What would Allah do with your punishment if you are grateful and believe?”)^[2].

May Allah bless you, may Allah the Exalted be pleased with you, and may Allah reward you with good.

--- ^[1]: Editor's documentation: The verses are from Sūrat al-Mulk (12–15). The phrase “bi-dhāt al-ṣudūr” was garbled in the transcript (written “būr”) and was retained according to the known form of the verse. ^[2]: Editor's documentation: The verse is from Sūrat al-Nisāʾ (147), and in the transcript it came without “in”; it was retained as in the muṣḥaf. The matter of the ḥadīth on the virtue of Sūrat al-Mulk is transmitted by meaning as the speaker said it and was not attributed in the transcript, and its sourcing should be reviewed before asserting its wording.