The Prophet ﷺ recited Surah Qaf every Friday on the minbar when he addressed the people, as well as in the Fajr prayer and in the two Eid prayers with Al-Qamar, as narrated by Muslim, for it speaks of creation, resurrection, reckoning, Paradise and Hell. It is the first surah of the Mufassal, by which the Prophet ﷺ was favoured over the other prophets.
It opens the Mufassal, by which the Prophet ﷺ was favoured over the other prophets, according to the hadith of Wathilah ibn al-Asqa’: “… and I was favoured with the Mufassal.” Ibn Mas’ud said: “Everything has its essence, and the essence of the Qur’an is the Mufassal.”
Good (hasan)At-Tayalisi (1012), Ahmad (4/107) and Al-Bayhaqi Good (hasan)Ibn Abi Shaybah (10343), Ad-Darimi (3377) and Al-Bayhaqi (Shu’ab al-iman, 2487)
Umm Hisham bint Harithah said she learned Qaf only from the tongue of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, who recited it every Friday on the minbar when he preached. Scholars say he chose it for its mention of resurrection, death and stern admonitions; they agree that reciting it in the sermon is not obligatory.
Authentic (sahih)Muslim (873), Abu Dawud (1102) and An-Nasa’i
The Prophet ﷺ used to recite Qaf at Fajr; Qutbah ibn Malik heard him recite it up to “and the tall palm trees” and kept repeating that verse.
Authentic (sahih)Muslim (457), At-Tirmidhi (306) and Ibn Majah (816) Authentic (sahih)Muslim (458) and Ibn Khuzaymah (526)
The Prophet ﷺ recited Qaf and Iqtarabat as-Sa’ah in the prayers of Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha; Ash-Shafi’i and Malik held this to be a Sunnah.
Authentic (sahih)Muslim (891), Abu Dawud (1154) and At-Tirmidhi (534)
According to Ibn Kathir, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ recited this surah at great gatherings such as Eid and Friday, because it covers the beginning of creation, resurrection, reckoning, Paradise and Hell, reward and punishment.
Arabic text, translation, reference and authenticity grade of each hadith.
وما أخذت ﴿ق وَالْقُرْآنِ الْمَجِيدِ﴾ إلا عن لسان رسول الله ﷺ؛ يقرؤها كل يوم جمعة على المنبر إذا خطب الناس
“I only learned ‘Qaf. By the glorious Qur’an’ from the tongue of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ: he would recite it every Friday on the minbar when he addressed the people.”
صليت وصلى بنا رسول الله ﷺ فقرأ ﴿ق وَالْقُرْآنِ الْمَجِيدِ﴾ حتى قرأ ﴿وَالنَّخْلَ بَاسِقَاتٍ﴾ قال: فجعلت أرددها. … وفي رواية أخرى: سمع النبي ﷺ يقرأ في الفجر ﴿وَالنَّخْلَ بَاسِقَاتٍ لَهَا طَلْعٌ نَضِيدٌ﴾
“I prayed, and the Messenger of Allah ﷺ led us: he recited ‘Qaf. By the glorious Qur’an’ until he recited ‘and the tall palm trees’.” He said: “I began repeating it.” In another version, he heard the Prophet ﷺ recite at Fajr “and the tall palm trees with their arranged clusters”.
إن النبي ﷺ كان يقرأ في الفجر بـ ﴿ق وَالْقُرْآنِ الْمَجِيدِ﴾ وكان صلاته بعد تخفيفا
The Prophet ﷺ used to recite “Qaf. By the glorious Qur’an” in the Fajr prayer, and his prayer afterwards was lighter.
ما كان يقرأ به رسول الله ﷺ في الأضحى والفطر؟ فقال: كان يقرأ فيهما بـ ﴿ق وَالْقُرْآنِ الْمَجِيدِ﴾ و ﴿اقْتَرَبَتِ السَّاعَةُ وَانْشَقَّ الْقَمَرُ﴾
Umar ibn al-Khattab asked him: “What did the Messenger of Allah ﷺ recite at Eid al-Adha and Eid al-Fitr?” He said: “He used to recite in them ‘Qaf. By the glorious Qur’an’ and ‘The Hour has drawn near and the moon has split’.”
أعطيت مكان التوراة السبع الطوال، ومكان الزبور المئين، ومكان الإنجيل المثاني، وفضلت بالمفصل
“I was given the seven long ones in place of the Torah, the Mi’un in place of the Psalms, the Mathani in place of the Gospel, and I was favoured with the Mufassal.”
لكل شيء لباب، وإن لباب القرآن المفصل
“Everything has its essence, and the essence of the Qur’an is the Mufassal.”
Main purpose: To admonish the hearts through death and resurrection.
Qaf is the fiftieth surah in the order of the Qur’an, revealed after Al-Mursalat; purely Meccan, it has forty-five verses and is also called “Al-Basiqat” (the tall palm trees). It is the first surah of the Mufassal according to the correct view held by Ibn Hajar and Ibn Kathir, as indicated by the hadith of Aws ibn Hudhayfah on how the companions divided the Qur’an: “… and the portion of the Mufassal, from Qaf to the end.”
The full Arabic text: introduction, virtues, themes, and a study of the chain and authenticity of each hadith.
