The Virtue of Morning and Evening Adhkaar (Supplications)
What are they?
These are a set of adhkār prescribed by the Messenger ﷺ which a Muslim should read on a daily basis in the morning and evening. They are alluded to in the following verses of the Qur’ān:
يٰٓأَيُّهَا الَّذِيْنَ آمَنُوا اذْكُرُوا اللهَ ذِكْرًا كَثِيْرًا. وَسَبِّحُوْهُ بُكْرَةً وَّأَصِيْلًا
“Believers, remember Allah often and glorify Him morning and evening.” (Surah Ahzaab:41-42)
Their significance
Due to the magnitude of the remembrance of Allah in the morning and the evening, Allah has made this an act of worship not just for humans, but also for animals and inanimate objects:
إِنَّا سَخَّرْنَا الْجِبَالَ مَعَهُ يُسَبِّحْنَ بِالْعَشِيِّ وَالْإِشْرَاقِ. وَالطَّيْرَ مَحْشُوْرَةً كُلٌّ لَّهُ أَوَّابٌ
“We made the mountains join him in tasbīh at sunset and sunrise; and the birds, too, in flocks. All were turning only unto Him.” (Surah Saad:18-19)
Their virtue
The adhkār of the morning and the evening protect one from being from ‘the heedless,’ as Allah says:
وَاذْكُرْ رَّبَّكَ فِيْ نَفْسِكَ تَضَرُّعًا وَخِيْفَةً وَدُوْنَ الْجَهْرِ مِنَ الْقَوْلِ بِالْغُدُوِّ وَالْآصَالِ وَلَا تَكُنْ مِّنَ الْغَافِلِيْنَ
“Remember your Lord within yourself, with humility and in fear, without raising your voice, in the mornings and in the evenings. And do not be one of the heedless.” (7:205)
These daily adhkār are also a protection from all types of evil, including envy, magic, the evil eye and the devils’ evil plotting.
Through them, we are in awe of the Greatness of Allah throughout the day. We seek His love. We draw closer to Him. We feel content and at ease. And through them, we gain the strength to carry out our daily tasks, because the one who starts and ends his day with the remembrance of Allah and places his trust in al-Hayy al-Qayyūm is sufficed by Him.