A baseless hadith about the virtues of some soorahs of the Qur’an

Firstly:

The topic of the virtues of the Holy Qur’an is one of the topics concerning which the fabricators most fabricated their hadiths and attributed them to the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him). Many of them sought reward with Allah for that, thinking – due to extreme ignorance – that they were simply encouraging people to read the Book of Allah, may He be exalted, whereas in fact they were doing something that the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) warned against when he said: “Whoever tells a lie about me deliberately, let him take his place in Hell.” Narrated by al-Bukhaari (1291) and Muslim (933).

One of the examples of that is the report narrated by al-Haakim in al-Madkhal (54) with his isnad going back to Abu ‘Ammaar al-Marwazi, according to which it was said to Abu ‘Asmah Nooh ibn Abi Maryam: how come you narrate from ‘Ikrimah from Ibn ‘Abbaas reports concerning the virtues of the Qur’an, soorah by soorah, when the companions of ‘Ikrimah narrate no such reports? He said: I saw that the people were turning away from the Qur’an and were focusing on the fiqh of Abu Haneefah and the Maghazi [accounts of the Prophet’s military campaigns] of Ibn Ishaaq, so I fabricated this hadith, seeking reward with Allah thereby.

But the scholars are unanimously agreed that it is forbidden to narrate a fabricated hadith and attribute it to the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him). The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “Whoever narrates a hadith from me, knowing it to be false, is a liar [like the one who fabricated it].” Narrated by Muslim in the Introduction to his Saheeh.

An-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said in Sharh Muslim (1/71):

It is forbidden to narrate a fabricated hadith, for one who knows that it is fabricated or thinks that that is most likely to be the case. Whoever narrates a hadith, knowing or thinking it to be fabricated, without pointing out its condition and explaining that it is fabricated, is included in this warning and is counted as one of those who tell lies about the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him). End quote.

Secondly:

With regard to the hadith mentioned in the question, we could not find it in any of the books, whether they contain sound or fabricated reports, after searching thoroughly. It seems that there is no basis for this report at all. This is something that astounds a Muslim, that fabrication of hadiths is still going on in this day and age, and that the fabricated hadiths continue to increase in number. And Allah is the One Whose help we seek.

With regard to some of the soorahs mentioned in this hadith, there are no saheeh (sound) reports that speak of their virtues. They are Yaa-Seen, ad-Dukhaan, al-Waaqi‘ah and al-Kawthar.

See: Tadreeb ar-Raawi (2/372); as-Saheeh wa’s-Saqeem fi Fadaa’il al-Qur’an al-Kareem. See also the answer to question no. 6460.

With regard to al-Faatihah, there are many hadiths which speak of its virtue, none of which suggest that it protects against divine wrath.

With regard to Soorat al-Mulk, it was narrated from Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “There is a soorah in the Qur’an, thirty verses, which will intercede for the one who recites it until he is forgiven: ‘Blessed is He in whose hand is dominion…’ [al-Mulk].” Narrated by at-Tirmidhi (2891); he said: It is a hasan hadith. It was classed as saheeh by Ibn Taymiyah in Majmoo‘ al-Fataawa (22/277) and by Ibn Mulaqqin in al-Badr al-Muneer (3/561). Ibn Hajar said in at-Talkhees al-Habeer (1/382): al-Bukhaari regarded it as a ma‘lool (problematic) hadith, but there is a corroborating report with a saheeh isnad. It was classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh Abi Dawood.

See also the answer to question no. 26240.

With regard to Soorat al-Kaafiroon, what has been narrated soundly concerning its virtue is the report that was narrated from Nawfal (may Allah be pleased with him), according to which the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said of it: “it is a disavowal of shirk.” Classed as saheeh by Ibn Hajar in Taghleeq at-Ta‘leeq (4/408) and by al-Albaani in Saheeh Abi Dawood.

With regard to Soorat al-Ikhlaas, there is no report about its virtues which suggests that it protects against hypocrisy.

The Mi‘wadhatayn [al-Falaq and an-Naas] protect against the Shaytaan, the evil eye, destructive envy (hasad) and all other evils. It was narrated from ‘Uqbah ibn ‘Aamir (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “Seek refuge with them [the Mi‘wadhatayn], for you will not seek refuge with anything else like them.” Narrated by Abu Dawood (1563); classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh Abi Dawood.

Conclusion: this hadith is false and has no basis.

It was deemed false by Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen in the fourth volume of his Friday khutbahs, in a khutbah that was recorded under the title: Responsibilities of the imam and the one who is following him in prayer; some lies that are falsely attributed to Allah, may He be exalted, and His Messenger. It is published on his website (may Allah have mercy on him).

And Allah knows best.