What does Al-Ma'thurat mean?

Al-Ma'thurat means roughly 'the transmitted [remembrances]' or 'the authentically narrated ones' — a name that reflects its structure: Quran verses and hadith gathered together, rather than newly composed prayers.

Who compiled Al-Ma'thurat?

Hasan al-Banna (1906-1949), an Egyptian teacher and religious scholar who founded the Muslim Brotherhood, compiled Al-Ma'thurat as a personal collection of morning and evening dhikr drawn from the Quran and hadith.

Is Al-Ma'thurat the same as Hisn al-Muslim?

No, though they overlap heavily in content and purpose. Hisn al-Muslim was compiled by Sa'id ibn Ali ibn Wahf al-Qahtani, a different, more recent scholar. Both are collections of authentic morning/evening adhkar drawn from the Quran and hadith — they're two different compilers organizing largely the same primary sources, not competing or contradictory texts.

Is every part of Al-Ma'thurat authentic hadith?

The Quran passages are, by nature, always authentic. For the hadith portions, as with any compiled collection, it's worth knowing the individual source and grading of each hadith rather than assuming uniform authenticity across the whole booklet — the same practice recommended for any dhikr collection, including Hisn al-Muslim.

Do I need to memorize all of Al-Ma'thurat to use it?

No. It's designed to be read from, not necessarily memorized in full. Many people start by reading a few sections consistently and let memorization happen naturally over time, rather than treating it as an all-or-nothing task.

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Athkar 6 min read

What is Al-Ma'thurat and how to use it

You've probably seen "Al-Ma'thurat" mentioned as a booklet of morning and evening dhikr, often sold or shared as a small pocket-sized text alongside Hisn al-Muslim. The two get confused with each other often, so here's a clear, sourced answer to what Al-Ma'thurat actually is, where it came from, and how to actually use it.

What the name means

"Al-Ma'thurat" (المأثورات) comes from the Arabic root athara, meaning to transmit or narrate. The name translates roughly to "the transmitted [remembrances]" or "the authentically narrated ones" — a name that describes its structure directly: it's a gathering of Quran verses and hadith text, not newly written prayers composed by its compiler.

Who compiled it

Al-Ma'thurat was compiled by Hasan al-Banna (1906–1949), an Egyptian teacher and religious scholar. Al-Banna studied hadith and fiqh under several scholars, including his own father, and later became known as the founder of the Muslim Brotherhood — a fact worth knowing for context, though it's separate from the content of the booklet itself, which draws directly from the Quran and hadith rather than reflecting any particular organizational teaching.

Al-Banna organized Al-Ma'thurat as a personal wird (a regular, repeated litany) of morning and evening remembrances, meant to be read consistently rather than treated as a one-time text.

What it actually contains

Al-Ma'thurat is structured around two daily sections — a morning portion and an evening portion — each containing a sequence of Quran verses (commonly including Ayat al-Kursi and the Three Quls) alongside hadith-based supplications for protection, gratitude, and reliance on Allah. It follows the same basic format as other morning/evening dhikr collections: recite in the stated order, once through, at the appropriate time of day.

How it differs from Hisn al-Muslim

This is the most common point of confusion. Hisn al-Muslim ("Fortress of the Muslim") is a separate, more widely circulated collection compiled by Sa'id ibn Ali ibn Wahf al-Qahtani, a Saudi scholar, organized by daily occasion (waking, leaving the house, eating, sleeping, and more) rather than strictly morning/evening.

Both books draw from largely the same pool of authentic Quran verses and hadith — they aren't competing or contradictory, just two different compilers organizing similar source material with a different structure and scope. If you've used Hisn al-Muslim before, Al-Ma'thurat will feel familiar in content, just narrower in focus (morning and evening specifically) and shaped by al-Banna's particular selection and order.

A note on verifying individual hadith

The Quran portions of Al-Ma'thurat are, by their nature, always authentic — they're the literal text of the Quran. For the hadith portions, the same practice that applies to any compiled dhikr booklet applies here too: it's worth knowing the specific source and grading of individual supplications rather than assuming uniform authenticity just because they appear in a well-known collection. Reputable print editions of Al-Ma'thurat typically include footnoted sources for this reason.

How to start using it

You don't need to memorize the whole booklet to begin. A practical approach:

Start by reading, not reciting from memory. Read the morning section after Fajr and the evening section after Asr, following along with the text.
Let memorization happen naturally. Repetition over weeks tends to fix the shorter sections in memory without deliberate effort.
Treat it as one option among several. If Hisn al-Muslim or another dhikr collection is already part of your routine, there's no requirement to switch — Al-Ma'thurat is simply one well-established way to structure the same core practice.

Building the habit around it

The two set times — after Fajr and after Asr — are also two of the moments most likely to get interrupted by a phone notification before the reading even starts. Pray auto-blocks distractions at Salah and Adhkar time, calculated on your device, so those windows have a real chance to happen the way they're meant to.