Hisnul Muslim, the most popular book after the Qur’an

Sheikh Sa’id bin Ali bin Wahf Al-Qahtani is the author of the well-known du`aa and invocations book, Fortress of the Muslim.

Qahtani was born in 1951. He graduated from the Faculty of Fundamentals of Religion at Imam Mouhamad bin Saud University and received a master’s degree in Religious studies, followed by a Phd. Sheikh Al Qahtani passed October 1, 2018 at the age of 67.

His book, otherwise known as “Hisnul Muslim” in Arabic is the go-to book for supplications (Duaa) from the Quran and Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ.

The title Hisnul Muslim literally translates to “Fortress of the Muslim”, symbolizing the function and purpose of supplication – especially if implemented on a continuous and daily basis – as the stronghold of a Muslim’s protection from evil/harm in this life and the Hereafter, and the foundations to provide the spiritual strength and motivation throughout one’s life and in every situation.

The book included supplications for almost every situation and circumstance a Muslim will find in their life. The book was distributed to millions around the world free of charge and was also translated into a multitude of different languages. It was the Sheikh’s request that the book was widely and easily available for all Muslims, and he undoubtedly saw this take place in his lifetime.

“I ask Allah the Glorious, the Mighty, by His beautiful Names and by His Sublime Attributes to accept this as having being done sincerely for His sake alone. I ask Him to bring me its benefits during my lifetime and after my death. May those who read it, those who print it, or have had any role in distributing it, benefit from it also. Surely He, the Glorified is Capable of all things. May the peace and blessings of Allah be upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and Companions and whoever follows them in piety until the Day of Judgement”. Sa’id Ibn Ali Ibn Wahaf Al Qahtani.

Hisnul Muslim is arguably the most popular Islamic book after the Noble Qur’an and it has been translated in over 40 languages and has been republished by numerous different publishers across the globe. Because of its simple and compact nature, it’s the favorite “go-to” option to give out as free gifts to others.

Some of his other books are ‘Fortress of the Muslim, Invocations from the Quran and Sunnah’, ‘Farewell of the Prophet to his nation’, ‘Impact of Usury on the society’, ‘Asking for Rain’, ‘Belief of Ahlus-Sunnah wal-Jamah’, ‘Evil of the Tongue’, ‘Mercy to the Universe’, ‘Qiyamul-Layl’, and many others.

The book has been available in mobile phone applications by various developers across Android/iOS platforms. A quick search of “Hisnul Muslim” at the Android Play Store revealed that this book – through various different apps and app publishers – has over twelve milliom downloads Allah Knows best the number of hard copies sold, distributed and read. In other words, if there ever was an Islamic book in our times which can be described as “viral” – Hisnul Muslim would be that book.

Imagine just how much reward Sheikh Said Al-Qahtani is getting for this one book. Every single time we recite these du’aa – the Sheikh gets a reward for it: even after his death. More so, some of these du’aa and adhkar are repeated so frequently it becomes seared into our subconscious through memorization.

It is inspiring to note regarding the simple nature of the book itself. It is not a super-complicated research thesis or complex academic discourse: it’s simply a compilation of du’aa from the books of hadith.

The striking point here is that there are already other books of this nature written by other scholars in the past, which also document the supplications and words of remembrance from the sunnah.

But somehow, Hisnul Muslim is the one that sticks and “goes viral” in our generation. If we do our tasks sincerely and do it well, sometimes the simplest things have the greatest impact on others.

The same holds true for anything in life – helping others, giving charity, positive words of encouragement, giving advice: sometimes two minutes of advice can be more impactful than two-hour lecture, if we put our hearts to it and we are sincere.

What legacy would you leave after your death?