Surah Yaseen (36) — Ayah 1

It is sufficient for the virtues of every surah of the Noble Qur’an that, except for Allah Almighty, the entire universe combined cannot produce a surah like any one of its surahs. Some surahs have a specific virtue that has come from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), as the virtues of Surah Al-Fatihah have been mentioned previously. Many narrations are famous regarding the virtues of Surah Ya-Sin; the narration about reciting it near a dying person is so well-known that Iqbal, commenting on the current Muslims’ relationship with the Qur’an, said:

With its verses, you have no concern except this,
That with its Surah Ya-Sin, your death may come easily.

“That is, you have no other purpose with its verses except that with its Surah Ya-Sin, your death may occur with ease.”

However, there is no narration specifically about the virtue of this surah that is Sahih; some narrations are fabricated, and some are weak. Here, a few narrations mentioned in Tafsir Ibn Kathir and their weakness are explained:

(1) It is narrated from Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: [ إِنَّ لِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَلْبًا وَ قَلْبُ الْقُرْآنِ يٰسٓ مَنْ قَرَأَ يٰسٓ كَتَبَ اللّٰهُ لَهُ بِقِرَاءَتِهَا قِرَاءَةَ الْقُرْآنِ عَشْرَ مَرَّاتٍ ] [ ترمذي، فضائل القرآن، باب ما جاء في فضل یٰس : ۲۸۸۷ ] “Everything has a heart, and the heart of the Qur’an is Surah Ya-Sin. Whoever recites Surah Ya-Sin, Allah Almighty writes for him, with its recitation, the reward of reciting the Qur’an ten times.” Imam Tirmidhi narrated this hadith and said: “This hadith is Hasan Gharib. We do not know it except from the narration of Humaid bin Abdur Rahman, and (one of its narrators) Harun Abu Muhammad is a Majhool (unknown) shaykh.” Ibn Abi Hatim narrated from his father, who said: [ حَدِيْثٌ بَاطِلٌ لَا أَصْلَ لَهُ ] [ العلل : 56/2 ] “This is a false hadith; it has no basis.” The hadith scholar Al-Albani declared it fabricated. (See Da‘if Sunan Tirmidhi)

(2) Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) reports that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: [ مَنْ قَرَأَ يٰسٓ فِيْ لَيْلَةٍ أَصْبَحَ مَغْفُوْرًا لَّهُ ] [ مسند أبي یعلٰی : ۶۲۲۴ ] “Whoever recites Surah Ya-Sin at night, he will wake up in the morning forgiven.” Ibn Kathir called its chain good, but the researcher of Musnad Abu Ya‘la declared it weak due to one of its narrators, Hisham bin Ziyad, being weak, and Hafiz Ibn Hajar said about this narrator in Taqrib: {’’ مَتْرُوْكٌ ‘‘} that the hadith scholars have abandoned him.

(3) It is narrated from Jundub bin Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: [ مَنْ قَرَأَ يٰسٓ فِيْ لَيْلَةٍ ابْتِغَاءَ وَجْهِ اللّٰهِ غُفِرَ لَهُ ] [ ابن حبان : ۲۵۷۴ ] “Whoever recites Surah Ya-Sin at night seeking Allah’s pleasure, he will be forgiven.” The researcher of Tafsir Ibn Kathir, Dr. Hikmat bin Basheer, said its chain is weak because Hasan did not hear from Jundub (may Allah be pleased with him).

(4) It is narrated from Ma‘qil bin Yasar (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: [ يٰسٓ قَلْبُ الْقُرْآنِ لَا يَقْرَأُهَا رَجُلٌ يُرِيْدُ اللّٰهَ وَالدَّارَ الْآخِرَةَ إِلَّا غُفِرَ لَهُ وَاقْرَؤُوْهَا عَلٰی مَوْتَاكُمْ ] [ مسند أحمد :26/5، ح : ۲۰۳۰۰ ] “Surah Ya-Sin is the heart of the Qur’an. Whoever recites it seeking Allah and the Hereafter, he will be forgiven, and you should recite it over your dying.” The researcher of Tafsir Ibn Kathir, Dr. Hikmat bin Basheer, said its chain {’’عَنْ رَجُلٍ عَنْ أَبِيْهِ‘‘} is weak due to two narrators being unknown.

(5) Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) reports that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: [ لَوَدِدْتُّ أَنَّهَا فِيْ قَلْبِ كُلِّ إِنْسَانٍ مِنْ أُمَّتِيْ يَعْنِيْ يٰسٓ ] [ مسند بزار : ۲۳۰۵ ] “I wish that this, i.e., Surah Ya-Sin, be present in the heart of every person of my ummah.” Researcher Hikmat bin Basheer said: “Its chain is weak because one of its narrators, Ibrahim bin Hakam bin Aban, is weak.” Apart from the narrations mentioned in Tafsir Ibn Kathir, there is a famous narration that Ata bin Abi Rabah said: I have received the information that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: [ مَنْ قَرَأَ يٰسٓ فِيْ صَدْرِ النَّهَارِ قُضِيَتْ حَوَائِجُهُ ] [ سنن الدارمي : 549/2، ح : ۳۴۱۸ ] “Whoever recites Surah Ya-Sin at the beginning of the day, his needs are fulfilled.” The researcher of Darimi, Husain Salim Asad, said: “Its chain is weak and mursal.” That is, Ata bin Abi Rabah is a Tabi‘i; he neither heard from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) nor mentioned the source of his information. Moreover, in it, Ibrahim bin Hakam, the narrator, is weak. The condition of the narrations other than these is even worse.

(Ayah 1) { يٰسٓ:} These are disjointed letters (huruf muqatta‘at); for their explanation, see the first verse of Surah Al-Baqarah.