Surah Al-Waqi’ah is one of the surahs that turned the Prophet’s ﷺ hair grey; he recited it in the Fajr prayer and paired it with “Nun” in one rak’ah of the night prayer. It belongs to the Mufassal. As for the popular hadith “Whoever recites Al-Waqi’ah every night will never be afflicted by poverty”, it is weak: Ahmad, Abu Hatim, Ad-Daraqutni and Al-Bayhaqi agree on this.
Abu Bakr asked the Prophet ﷺ what had turned his hair grey; he replied: “Surah Hud, Al-Waqi’ah, Al-Mursalat, ’Amma yatasa’alun and Idha ash-shamsu kuwwirat.”
Authentic (sahih)At-Tirmidhi (3297) and Al-Hakim (Al-Mustadrak)
Jabir ibn Samurah reported that the Prophet ﷺ kept his prayer light and recited Al-Waqi’ah and similar surahs at Fajr.
Authentic (sahih)Abd ar-Razzaq (Al-Musannaf, 2720), Ahmad (5/104) and Ibn Khuzaymah (531)
Ibn Mas’ud reported that the Prophet ﷺ used to recite the similar surahs two per rak’ah, including Idha waqa’at and “Nun” in a single rak’ah.
Authentic (sahih)Al-Bukhari (775), Muslim (822) and Abu Dawud (1396)
It belongs to the Mufassal, given to the Prophet ﷺ as an extra gift by which he was favoured over the other prophets, according to the hadith of Wathilah ibn al-Asqa’: “… and I was favoured with the Mufassal.”
Arabic text, translation, reference and authenticity grade of each hadith.
سألت النبي ﷺ ما شيبك؟ قال: سورة هود، والواقعة، والمرسلات، وعم يتساءلون، وإذا الشمس كورت
Abu Bakr said: “I asked the Prophet ﷺ: What has turned your hair grey?” He said: “Surah Hud, Al-Waqi’ah, Al-Mursalat, ’Amma yatasa’alun and Idha ash-shamsu kuwwirat.”
كان رسول الله ﷺ يصلي الصلاة كنحو من صلاتكم التي تصلون اليوم، ولكنه كان يخفف، كانت صلاته أخف من صلاتكم، كان يقرأ في الفجر: الواقعة ونحوها من السور
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to pray much as you pray today, but he kept it light: his prayer was lighter than yours. In the Fajr prayer he would recite Al-Waqi’ah and similar surahs.
لكن النبي ﷺ كان يقرأ النظائر السورتين في ركعة، (الرحمن والنجم) في ركعة (اقتربت والحاقة) في ركعة، و (الطور والذاريات) في ركعة، و (إذا وقعت ونون) في ركعة، …
But the Prophet ﷺ used to recite the similar surahs (an-naza’ir), two surahs in a rak’ah: Ar-Rahman and An-Najm in one rak’ah, Iqtarabat (Al-Qamar) and Al-Haqqah in one rak’ah, At-Tur and Adh-Dhariyat in one rak’ah, Idha waqa’at (Al-Waqi’ah) and Nun (Al-Qalam) in one rak’ah…
من قرأ سورة الواقعة في كل ليلة لم تصبه فاقة أبدًا
“Whoever recites Surah Al-Waqi’ah every night will never be afflicted by poverty.”
Main purpose: To describe the state of the servants on the Day of Return.
Al-Waqi’ah is the fifty-sixth surah in the order of the Qur’an, revealed after Ta-Ha and before Ash-Shu’ara; it is purely Meccan. It has been known by this name since the Prophet’s ﷺ time, as shown by his reply to Abu Bakr, who said to him: “You have gone grey!” — “Hud, Al-Waqi’ah, Al-Mursalat, ’Amma yatasa’alun and Idha ash-shamsu kuwwirat have turned me grey.”
Tafsir of Surah Al-Waqi’ah Listen to Al-Waqi’ah by other reciters
The full Arabic text: introduction, virtues, themes, and a study of the chain and authenticity of each hadith.
