tafsir of ayatul qursi-anwar awlaki

Best/Most powerful ayah in quran-Ayat al qursi

Ubayy bin Ka'b (radiAllahu anhu) reported: The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: "Abu Mundhir! Do you know which Ayah in Allah's Book is the greatest? I said: 'Allah and His messenger know best.' He (peace be upon him) again said: 'Do you know which Ayah in Allah's Book, according to you, is the greatest?' I (Abu Mundhir) replied: ‘It is 'Allah la ilaha illa Huwal-Hayyul-Qayyum'.[2:255]. Thereupon he (peace be upon him) patted me in the chest and said, ' Rejoice by your knowledge, O Abu Mundhir! (i.e, may this knowledge be a source of respect, honour and benefit to you)'." [Muslim]


Allahu la ilaha illa Huwa- powerful statement that there is no God but Allah(swt)
Al-Haiyul-Qaiyum- Allah's names the self subsisting/living. All life has to come from him.
La ta'khudhuhu sinatun wa la nawm- Allah(swt) never sleeps or everything would fall apart. Musa(as) spends his whole day in dawah and he's holding these two bottles for nights. A night or two passes and he collapses. The two bottles shatter and the angels tell musa that Allah(swt) never sleeps or this would happen to the world.
lahu man fis-samawati wa ma fil-'ard- everything in the heavens and earth belong to Allah(swt). If everything belongs to Allah(swt), therefore, nothing can happen without his permission. If everything belongs to Allah(swt) you should not worry about anything and only fear Allah(swt). Realize if all creation were to come and benefit or harm you, they wont benefit or harm you except what is destined for you. You must believe that what happened to you could not have been prevented.
Man dhal-ladhi yashfa'u 'indahu illa bi-idhnihi- Only things can happen with the permission of Allah(swt). Khalid bin Waleed(ra) tried hard to die as a martyr. He had scars on every inch of his body but he ended up dieing a natural death. This is what Allah(swt) willed.
Ya'lamu ma baina aidihim wa ma khalfahum- Time is linear. You cannot take a step back or two steps ahead. Allah(swt) is not binded by time, he knows the future, past, and present. Allah(swt) has shown some of his awliya visions of the future. Allah(swt) knows all and we know nothing but what Allah(swt) gives us. Musa(as) had to travel long distances for knowledge, we have it easily accessible to us.
wa la yuhituna bi shai'im-min 'ilmihi illa bima sha'a Wasi'a kursiyuhus-samawati wal ard-Kursi is translated as Allah(swt) footstool. Which includes the heavens and the earth. If you measure the distance in lightyears, this is ridiculously large. The lowest heaven is adorned with stars. In 21st century we still cannot get beyond the lowest heaven. The lowest heaven and the next highest heaven is like a ring in a shield and on and on. The seventh one compared to the throne of Allah is like a ring in a desert. We are nothing, you can't get away from Allah(swt). when you fear Allah(swt) run towards Allah(swt). Fear should drive you closer to Allah(swt).
wa la ya'uduhu hifdhuhuma
-even considering the size of the kursi, Allah has no problem managing it.
Wa Huwal 'Aliyul-Adheem
-Allah is greater than everything. He's the most high, most supreme. Nothing can compare to him.


Ayat al Kursi helps protect you from shaytan when you say it at night.