Reports on al-Muawwidhatayn

Abu al-Ala' Yazid bin Abdullah bin al-Shikhkhir narrates: A man related this: We were with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) on a journey, and the people were riding the mounts by turns, as the mounts were few. The time came for the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) to dismount and for me to dismount, so the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) came to me, struck my shoulder with his hand and said: "Recite: Say: I seek refuge with the Lord of the daybreak [al-Falaq: 1]." So I recited: I seek refuge with the Lord of the daybreak. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) recited this whole surah, and I too recited it, following him. Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Recite: Say: I seek refuge with the Lord of mankind [al-Nas: 1]." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) recited this surah, and I too recited it with him. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "When you pray, recite these two (surahs)."
Ahmad recorded it, and its narrators are the narrators of the Sahih.

Sayyiduna Uqbah bin Amir (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: I met the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and he said: "O Uqbah bin Amir! Shall I not teach you surahs the like of which have not been revealed in the Torah, nor in the Psalms (Zabur), nor in the Gospel (Injil), nor in the Qur'an? No night comes but that I recite them in it (these surahs are): Surah al-Ikhlas, Surah al-Falaq and Surah al-Nas." (Allamah al-Haythami says:) I say: the hadith of Sayyiduna Uqbah (may Allah be pleased with him) is narrated in the "Sahih" and other books in a shorter form than this.
Ahmad recorded it, and its narrators are thiqat (trustworthy).

Sayyiduna Abu Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Verses have been revealed to me the like of which (verses) have not been revealed to me; they are the Mu'awwidhatayn (the two surahs of seeking refuge)."
Al-Tabarani recorded it in al-Mu'jam al-Awsat, and its narrators are thiqat (trustworthy).

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah al-Aslami (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: We were with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) on an Umrah (journey), until, when we reached Batn Waqim, a thick fog (or cloud) came upon us and we lost our way. We did not realise it until we came out upon a mountain pass. When the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) saw this, he (peace and blessings be upon him) turned towards a sand dune and made his she-camel kneel there. Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) stood up (for prayer), and those whom Allah willed also stood up (in prayer) with him. He (peace and blessings be upon him) continued praying until dawn broke. Then the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) took hold of the rein of his she-camel and began to walk, and Abdullah al-Aslami (may Allah be pleased with him) was alongside him; (at that time) there was no one else with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) besides him. Then the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) placed his (blessed) hand on his chest and said: "Recite!" I said: "What shall I recite?" He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Say: He is Allah, the One," and "Say: I seek refuge with the Lord of the daybreak, from the evil of what He has created," until I finished it (the whole surah). Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Recite!" I said: "What shall I recite?" He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Say: I seek refuge with the Lord of mankind," until I finished it (the whole surah) as well. Then the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Seek refuge in this way, for the servants have never sought refuge with anything like these (surahs)."
(Al-Bazzar (may Allah have mercy on him) recorded it, and all its narrators are narrators of Sahih al-Bukhari and Muslim.)

Sayyiduna Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Satan places his rein upon the heart of the son of Adam. If the person remembers Allah Almighty, he draws back; and if the person forgets (to remember Allah), Satan swallows his heart. That is the whisperer who withdraws."
Abu Ya'la recorded it; its chain contains a narrator, Adi bin Abi Umarah, who is da'if (weak).

Zirr narrates: I said to Sayyiduna Ubayy (may Allah be pleased with him): "Your brother erases these two surahs from the Qur'an." At this point the narrator Sufyan was asked: "Did he mean Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him)?" Sufyan did not deny it. Sayyiduna Ubayy (may Allah be pleased with him) answered Zirr: I asked the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "It was said to me (that I should recite them), so I recited them." (Sayyiduna Ubayy (may Allah be pleased with him) said:) So we too recite just as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) recited.
(Allamah al-Haythami says:) I say:
This narration is in the "Sahih," but it does not mention that those two were erased from the mushaf.
Ahmad and al-Tabarani recorded it, and the narrators of Ahmad are the narrators of the Sahih.

Abd al-Rahman bin Yazid al-Nakha'i narrates: Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) used to erase the "Mu'awwidhatayn" from his copy of the Qur'an and would say: "These two are not part of the Book of Allah."
Abdullah bin Ahmad and al-Tabarani recorded it; the narrators of Abdullah are the narrators of the Sahih, and the narrators of al-Tabarani are thiqat (trustworthy).

It is reported about Sayyiduna Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) that he used to erase the Mu'awwidhatayn from the mushaf and would say: "The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) only commanded that refuge be sought with these two." The narrator says: Sayyiduna Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) did not recite these two surahs.
Al-Bazzar and al-Tabarani recorded it, and the narrators of both are thiqat (trustworthy). Al-Bazzar says: Not a single one of the Companions supported Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) in this, and it is authentically reported from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he (peace and blessings be upon him) recited these two surahs in prayer, and these two surahs have been retained in the mushaf.

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was asked about these two surahs, and he said: "I was told to recite them, so recite them just as I have recited them."
Al-Tabarani recorded it in al-Mu'jam al-Kabir and al-Mu'jam al-Awsat; its chain contains a narrator, Isma'il bin Muslim al-Makki, who is da'if (weak).