Hadiths which speak of the virtues of Soorat Qaaf and Soorat al-Jumu‘ah

Praise be to Allah.

With regard to Soorat al-Jumu‘ah, we have noted previously in the answer that there is no sound report which speaks of its virtue, except that the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) used to recite it in the first rak‘ah of Jumu‘ah prayer, and in the second rak‘ah he would recite Soorat al-Munaafiqoon.

With regard to Soorat Qaaf, a number of hadiths have been narrated concerning it, including the following:

1- The report narrated by Muslim (891) from ‘Ubaydullah ibn ‘Abdillah, according to which ‘Umar ibn al-Khattaab asked Abu Waaqid al-Laythi: What did the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) used to recite in [the prayer of Eid] al-Adha and al-Fitr? He said: He used to recite in them {Qaf. Wa’l-Qur’an il-majeed} [Soorat Qaf] and {Iqtarabat is-saa‘atu wa’nshaqqa al-qamar} [Soorat al-Qamar].

2- Muslim also narrated (873) that Umm Hishaam bint Haarithah ibn an-Nu‘maan said: I only memorized Qaaf from the mouth of the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), when he recited it in his khutbah every Friday. She said: And our oven and the oven of the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) were the same.

An-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

The reason for choosing Qaaf was because it contains mention of the resurrection, death, stern exhortation and firm deterrents. This indicates that it is recommended to recite Qaaf or part of it in every khutbah. End quote.

Ibn Katheer (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) would recite this soorah in large gatherings, such as Eid and Jumu‘ah, because it includes mention of the beginning of creation, the resurrection, the standing and the reckoning, paradise and hell, reward and punishment, encouragement and deterrent. End quote from Tafseer Ibn Katheer (7/367).

3- Imam Ahmad (16982) narrated from Waathilah ibn al-Asqa‘ that the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “I have been given instead of the Tawraat the seven [long soorahs], and I have been given instead of the Zaboor the soorahs that contain more than a hundred verses, and I have been given instead of the Injeel the seven oft-repeated verses, and I have been favoured with al-mufassal.” Classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in as-Saheehah (1480).

Soorat Qaaf is the beginning of al-Mufassal, as was stated by Ibn Katheer (may Allah have mercy on him) in his Tafseer (7/392).

4- Muslim (458) narrated that Jaabir ibn Samurah said: The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) used to recite in Fajr {Qaf. Wa’l-Qur’an il-majeed} [Soorat Qaf], and the rest of his prayers were short.

According to another report narrated by him: He used to recite in Fajr {Qaf. Wa’l-Qur’an il-majeed} [Soorat Qaf] and similar soorahs.

5- Az-Zayla‘i (may Allah have mercy on him) said in Takhreej Ahaadeeth al-Kashshaaf (3/361) that ath-Tha‘labi narrated from Ubayy ibn Ka‘b, from the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) that he said: “Whoever recites Soorat Qaaf, Allah will make easy for him the throes of death.”

But this is one of the fabricated hadiths that were narrated from Ubayy ibn Ka‘b (may Allah be pleased with him) regarding the virtues of soorahs, and the scholars are unanimously agreed that it is a false hadith that is entirely fabricated.

Ibn al-Jawzi (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

Abu Ishaaq ath-Tha‘labi narrated similar hadiths in his Tafseer, and he mentioned for each soorah a virtue, and Abu’l-Hasan al-Waahidi followed him in that. End quote.

See: al-Mawdoo‘aat by Ibn al-Jawzi (1/240).

And Allah knows best.