How to Recite Ayat al-Kursi With Tajweed (Phrase by Phrase)

Ayat al-Kursi (the Verse of the Throne, Al-Baqarah 2:255) is one of the verses Muslims recite most: after prayers, before sleep and for protection. The Prophet ﷺ called it the greatest verse in the Book of Allah (reported by Muslim). Because we read it so often, it is worth reading it correctly.

This guide goes through Ayat al-Kursi phrase by phrase and shows every tajweed rule you need, in the recitation of Hafs from ‘Asim.

Rules you will meet in Ayat al-Kursi

Phrase by phrase

1. اللَّهُ لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ

• اللَّهُ: you start on it, so the lam of Allah is heavy.
• لَا إِلَٰهَ: the alif of la is followed by a hamza in the next word. This is madd munfasil. In Hafs, hold it for 4 or 5 counts, and keep the same length every time.
• إِلَٰهَ: the small alif over the lam is a natural madd of 2 counts.
• إِلَّا: hold the shaddah on the lam. The lam is light here.

2. الْحَيُّ الْقَيُّومُ

• The alif of al is not pronounced because you connect from huwa: huwal-hayyu.
• ح and ق are moon letters, so the lam is heard: al-hayyu, al-qayyum.
• Make the ح deep from the middle of the throat, not a normal "h".
• Hold the shaddah on the ya in both words.
• If you stop on الْقَيُّومُ, you may lengthen the waw 2, 4 or 6 counts (madd ‘arid lis-sukun).

3. لَا تَأْخُذُهُ سِنَةٌ وَلَا نَوْمٌ

• تَأْخُذُهُ: the ha of the pronoun comes after a damma and before a consonant, so it is lengthened lightly to 2 counts: ta'khudhuhu sinah. Most Mushafs show a small waw after the ha.
• سِنَةٌ وَلَا: tanween before waw is idgham with ghunnah: sinatuw-wala.
• نَوْمٌ لَّهُ: tanween before lam is idgham without ghunnah: nawmul-lahu. The noon sound disappears completely.

4. لَّهُ مَا فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَمَا فِي الْأَرْضِ

• فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ: the ya of fi is not lengthened, because the next letter is doubled: fis-samawati. س is a sun letter, so the lam is silent.
• فِي الْأَرْضِ: the hamza is a moon letter, so the lam is heard: fil-ard.
• ض is a heavy letter. If you stop here, keep it full and clear.

5. مَن ذَا الَّذِي يَشْفَعُ عِندَهُ إِلَّا بِإِذْنِهِ

• مَن ذَا: noon sakinah before ذ is ikhfa: partly hide the noon with a ghunnah of 2 counts.
• الَّذِي: the lam is a sun letter, so the lam of al is silent and the next lam is doubled.
• عِندَهُ: ikhfa again, before د.
• عِندَهُ إِلَّا: the ha of the pronoun is followed by a hamza, so it is lengthened like a madd munfasil (4–5 counts): ‘indahuu illa.
• بِإِذْنِهِ يَعْلَمُ: the ha after a kasra, before a consonant, is lengthened 2 counts: bi-idhnihi ya‘lam.

6. يَعْلَمُ مَا بَيْنَ أَيْدِيهِمْ وَمَا خَلْفَهُمْ

• أَيْدِيهِمْ وَمَا and خَلْفَهُمْ وَلَا: meem sakinah before waw must be clear (izhar shafawi). Close the lips on the meem without nasal sound, then move to the waw. This is a common place for mistakes.
• خَلْفَهُمْ: kha is a heavy letter.

7. وَلَا يُحِيطُونَ بِشَيْءٍ مِّنْ عِلْمِهِ إِلَّا بِمَا شَاءَ

• يُحِيطُونَ: the ط is heavy, and the waw is a natural madd of 2 counts.
• بِشَيْءٍ مِّنْ: tanween before meem is idgham with ghunnah: bi-shay'im-min.
• مِّنْ عِلْمِهِ: noon sakinah before ع is izhar: say the noon clearly.
• عِلْمِهِ إِلَّا: the ha is followed by a hamza, so lengthen it 4–5 counts.
• شَاءَ: alif followed by a hamza in the same word is madd muttasil: hold it for 4–5 counts. Never shorten it to 2.

8. وَسِعَ كُرْسِيُّهُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضَ

• كُرْسِيُّهُ السَّمَاوَاتِ: here the ha is not lengthened, because it is followed by a doubled letter: kursiyyuhus-samawati.
• Sun letter in as-samawati, moon letter in al-ard.

9. وَلَا يَئُودُهُ حِفْظُهُمَا

• يَئُودُهُ: natural madd on the waw, then the ha is lengthened 2 counts before ح: ya'uduhu hifzuhuma.
• حِفْظُهُمَا: ح deep from the throat; ظ heavy.

10. وَهُوَ الْعَلِيُّ الْعَظِيمُ

• ع is a moon letter: wa huwal-‘aliyyul-‘azim.
• الْعَظِيمُ: the ظ is heavy. When you stop, lengthen the ya 2, 4 or 6 counts.

The most common mistakes

• Making لَا إِلَٰهَ and شَاءَ too short. They need 4–5 counts, not 2.
• A normal "h" instead of ح in al-hayyu, yuhituna and hifzuhuma.
• Nasal sound on the meem before waw in aydihim wa ma and khalfahum wa la. It should be clear.
• Saying the noon in nawmul-lahu. It disappears completely.
• Lengthening the ha in kursiyyuhus-samawati. It stays short.
• Light qaf, ta, za and dad. These four letters must stay heavy.

How to practise

1. Learn Ayat al-Kursi in 3 parts: up to الْأَرْضِ, up to شَاءَ, and to the end.
1. Read each part slowly with this guide, focusing on one or two rules at a time.
1. Listen to a well-known reciter reading slowly (murattal) and repeat after each phrase.
1. Record yourself and check the madd lengths first — they are the easiest mistakes to hear.

For the rules behind this guide, read about madd, ghunnah, idgham, ikhfa and the sun and moon letters. For more surah guides, see Surah Al-Fatiha and the three Quls, or learn with live correction in our online Tajweed course.