A Collection of Sunnahs on Sleep
By Wendy Díaz
Maryland
Parenting is a full-time job with no breaks or vacation, albeit with immense benefits and opportunities for growth in the Hereafter. Parents know there is nothing like a good night’s sleep to replenish our weary minds and bodies with the energy we need to do it all over again the next day. However, moms and dads do not tend to get enough rest, often looking for ways to make the most out of every minute of their 24-hour cycle.
For the overworked and depleted parents out there, I have some good news! There are things we can do to maximize our time even while we are sleeping. If we implement the Sunnahs of sleep as advised by the Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, we can be productive even with our eyes closed!
As Muslims, we strive to live intentionally, staying connected to our Creator through our worship and actions. Thus, we must also sleep intentionally. In order to keep up with life’s demands, we are required to rest. Sleep is a way to reenergize mentally, physically, and spiritually. So, let’s discuss how much sleep we actually need.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, adults 18 and older should be getting seven or more hours of sleep per night. Anything less could be detrimental to our health. Children need even more – preschoolers should get anywhere from 10-13 hours including naps, 6-12-year-olds need 9-12, and the ideal for teens is about 8-10 hours. 1
For adults especially, it is easier said than done when we are juggling a ton of responsibilities like making sure our children are getting an adequate amount of sleep. Many of us have demanding work schedules, long commutes, complicated drop-off and pick-up times for the kids, and religious commitments on top of chores at home. When nighttime rolls around, we easily collapse into our beds but find it difficult to get restful sleep.
The Sunnah Related to Sleep
The Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, was a very busy person who was leading and teaching a new and ever-expanding community of believers, along with being a family man. He spent his days and nights in prayer and supplication, but he also took time to rest. He maintained some strict rituals before and during sleep that he recommended his followers to emulate.
The following is a compilation of what we know about the sleep habits of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him. If we implement these habits, too, we can get the most benefit for our bodies and souls.
Before sleep, he would:
1. Wash up/make wudu.
Al-Bara' bin 'Azib, may Allah be pleased with him, reported that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, directed me thus:
“Whenever you go to bed, perform wudu (ablution) as you do for Salat (prayer) then (before sleeping) recite: 'O Allah! I have submitted myself to You, I have turned myself to You, committed my affairs to You and sought Your refuge for protection out of desire for You and fear of You (expecting Your reward and fearing Your punishment). There is no refuge and no place of safety from You but with You. I believe in the Book You have revealed and in the Prophet You have sent.’ He added: ‘If anyone recites these words and dies during the night, he will die on the true Deen, and if he remains alive until the morning, he will obtain good. And make this supplication your last words (before sleeping).’”
(Sahih Bukhari and Muslim, Riyad as-Salihin, 814)
Ibn Umar reported that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said:
“Purify these bodies of yours, that Allah may purify you. No servant retires for the night in a state of purity but that an angel resides with him in his bed. Every time he turns about for an hour, the angel says: ‘O Allah, forgive your servant, as he has retired in a state of purity.’”
(Al-Mu’jam al-Kabir, Al-Tabarani, 13456)
2. Read Qur’an.
Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, said:
“No Muslim retires to his bed, reciting a chapter from the Book of Allah, but that Allah entrusts him to the care of an angel. Nothing will approach to harm him until he awakens, whenever he awakens.” (Sunan al-Tirmidhi, 3407)
Aisha reported:
“When the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, would lie down for sleep, he would blow into his hands, recite the two chapters of refuge, al-Falaq and al-Nas, and he would wipe his hands over his body.”
(Sahih Bukhari, 5960)
He also said:
“Whoever recites the last two verses of Surat al-Baqarah in the night, it is enough for him.”
(Sahih Bukhari, 4723 and Sahih Muslim, 807)
3. Make dua.
Abu Huraira reported that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said:
“Whoever says when he retires to his bed, ‘There is no God but Allah alone without any partners, to Him belong the dominion and praise and He is powerful over all things, there is no movement or might but in Allah, glory be to Allah and all praise is due to Allah, there is not God but Allah, and Allah is the greatest,’ then Allah will forgive his sins even if they were like the foam of the sea.”
(Sahih Ibn Hibban, 5568)
Abu Dharr reported that when the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, would go to sleep at night, he would say:
“In Your name we die and we live.”
(Sahih Bukhari, 6960)
4. End the day on a good note.
Jabir reported that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said:
“When a man retires to his bed, an angel and a devil rush to him. The angel says ‘End your day with good!’ The devil says ‘End your day with evil!’
If he remembers Allah and then falls sleep, the angel will spend the night to take care of him.”
(Al Sunan al-Kubra, An Nasai, 10624)
Abu Darda reported that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said:
“Whoever comes to his carpet intending to stand for prayer at night, yet his eyes are overcome with sleep until morning, his intention is recorded for him and his sleep is charity for him from his Lord Almighty.”
(Sunan al-Nasa’i, 1787)
During sleep, he would:
1. Lie on his right side.
Abu Salih reported that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, commanded us, when one intends to sleep, to lie on his right side and then say:
“O Allah, Lord of the heavens and Lord of the earth, Lord of the Great Throne, our Lord and the Lord of all things, the Splitter of the grain and seed, the Revealer of the Torah, the Gospel, and the Criterion (the Qur’an), I seek refuge in you from the evil of everything whose forelock you hold. O Allah, you are the First, there is nothing before you. You are the Last, there is nothing after you. You are the Manifest, there is nothing above you. You are the Hidden, there is nothing beyond you. Relinquish my debts and enrich me from poverty.”
(Muslim, 2713)
2. Rest his face on his hand as he supplicated.
Al-Bara’ reported that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, if he intended to sleep, he would put his right hand under his cheek and say:
“O Lord, protect me from Your punishment on the day You resurrect Your servants.”
(Musnad Aḥmad, 18631)
If he woke up abruptly, he would:
1. Seek refuge in Allah.
Abdullah ibn Amr reported that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said:
“If one of you is frightened by a dream during sleep, let him say: I seek refuge in the perfect words of Allah from His anger, His punishment, and the evil of His servants, from the insinuations of devils and their presence. Verily, they will never harm him.”
(Sunan al-Tirmidhi, 3528)
2. Change position.
Jabir reported that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said:
“If one of you sees a dream he dislikes, let him blow on his left side three times and seek refuge in Allah from Satan three times. Let him turn to the other side on which he was sleeping.”
(Sahih Muslim, 2262)
3. Offer a voluntary prayer.
Ubadah ibn al-Samit reported that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said:
“Whoever wakes up in the night and says, ‘There is no God but Allah, alone without any partner. To Him belong the dominion and all praise, and He has power over all things. All praise is due to Allah, glory be to Allah, there is no God but Allah, Allah is the greatest, and there is no movement or might but by Allah,’ then he says, ‘O Allah, forgive me,’ or he supplicates to be answered, then if he performs ablution and prays, his prayer will be accepted.”
(Sahih Bukhari, 1154)
4. Encourage family.
Abu Saeed Al-Khudri reported that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said:
“When a man awakens during the night and he wakes his wife and they pray together two bowings, then they will both be recorded among the men and women who remember Allah often.”
(Sunan Abu Dawud, 1451)
Upon waking up, he would:
1. Praise Allah.
Abu Dharr reported that when the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, woke up, he would say:
“All praise is due to Allah who has given us life after our death and unto Him is the Resurrection.”
(Sahih Bukhari, 6960)
2. Pray for wellbeing.
Abu Bakrah reported that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said:
“O Allah, grant me wellness in my body. O Allah, grant me wellness in my hearing. O Allah, grant me wellness in my seeing. There is no God but You.”
(Sunan Abi Dawud, 5090)
3. Take advantage of the early morning.
Sakhr ibn al-Ghamidi reported that he Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said:
“Allah, bless my nation in their early morning.”
(Sunan al-Tirmidhi, 1212)
What Allah Says about Sleep
Sleep is so important that Allah mentions it as a sign for the believers in the Qur’an. He says:
“Do they not see that We made the night for them to rest in and the day bright? Surely in this are signs for those who believe.”
(Surah An-Naml, 27:86)
In a similar verse, He says:
“And one of His signs is your sleep by night and by day ˹for rest˺ as well as your seeking His bounty ˹in both˺. Surely in this are signs for people who listen.”
(Surah Ar-Rum, 30:23)
Sleep is a bounty from Allah and we should embrace it as such. Just as we get ready for prayer by making wudu and dua, so should we prepare for sleep. Allah indicates in the Qur’an that our souls return to Him during our sleep (Surah Az-Zumar 39:42 and Surah Al-An’am, 6:60). When the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, would wake up, he would first praise Allah “who has given us life after He caused us to die” (Sahih Bukhari, 6960). We should also prepare accordingly for our souls to meet Allah, especially through ritual purification – wudu – and reciting Qur’an and the appropriate duas for sleep. If we remember Allah before sleeping and when we rise, we will finally get the restfulness we seek, for
“Verily in the remembrance of Allah do hearts find rest!”
(Surah Ar-Ra’d, 13:28)
Endnotes
1 https://www.cdc.gov/sleep/features/getting-enough-sleep.html
(Wendy Díaz is a Puerto Rican Muslim writer, award-winning poet, translator, and mother of six, ages ranging from infant to teen. She is the co-founder of Hablamos Islam, a non-profit organization that produces educational resources about Islam in Spanish - hablamosislam.org. She has written, illustrated, and published over a dozen children’s books and currently lives with her family in Maryland. Follow Wendy Díaz on social media @authorwendydiaz and @hablamosislam.)
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