Dhikr & Du'a · The daily wird
Waking Up
أذكار الاستيقاظThe first words of the day
Say these as you wake, before the day begins. They are short. The point is to make your very first thought a turning toward the One who held your soul through the night and chose to return it.
Then flow straight into the morning adhkar once you are up. Waking, then morning: the day opens in remembrance.
- 1
Praise for being given life again
الحَمْـدُ لِلّهِ الّذي أَحْـيانا بَعْـدَ ما أَماتَـنا وَإليه النُّـشور
Alḥamdu lillāhil-ladhī 'aḥyānā ba`da mā 'amātanā wa 'ilayhin-nushūr.
Praise is to Allah Who gives us life after He has caused us to die and to Him is the return.
sahihMuslim 4/2083 - 2
If you wake in the night
لا إلهَ إلاّ اللّهُ وَحْـدَهُ لا شَـريكَ له، لهُ المُلـكُ ولهُ الحَمـد، وهوَ على كلّ شيءٍ قدير، سُـبْحانَ اللهِ، والحمْـدُ لله، ولا إلهَ إلاّ اللهُ واللهُ أكبَر، وَلا حَولَ وَلا قوّة إلاّ باللّهِ العليّ العظيم، رَبِّ اغْفرْ لي
Lā 'ilāha 'illallāhu waḥdahu la sharīka lahu, lahul-mulku wa lahul-ḥamdu, wa huwa 'alā kulli shay'in qadīr Subḥānallāhi, walḥamdu lillāhi, wa lā 'ilāha 'illallāhu, wallāhu 'akbar, wa lā ḥaula wa lā quwwata 'illā billāhil-`aliyyil-`aẓīm, rabbighfir lī.
There is none worthy of worship but Allah alone, Who has no partner, His is the dominion and to Him belongs all praise, and He is able to do all things. Glory is to Allah. Praise is to Allah. There is none worthy of worship but Allah. Allah is the Most Great. There is no might and no power except by Allah's leave, the Exalted, the Mighty. My Lord, forgive me.
sahihIbn Majah 2/335If you stir in the night and say this, then ask Allah for something, the Prophet ﷺ taught that your du'a is answered; and if you rise to pray, your prayer is accepted.
- 3
When your soul is returned to you
الحمدُ للهِ الذي عافاني في جَسَدي وَرَدّ عَليّ روحي وَأَذِنَ لي بِذِكْرِه
Al-ḥamdu lillāhil-ladhī `āfānī fī jasadī, wa radda `alayya rūḥī, wa 'adhina lī bidhikrihi.
Praise is to Allah Who gave strength to my body and returned my soul to me and permitted me to remember Him.
sahihAt-Tirmidhi 5/473 - 4
The last ten verses of Aal-Imran
1xإِنَّ فِى خَلْقِ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ وَٱخْتِلَـٰفِ ٱلَّيْلِ وَٱلنَّهَارِ لَـَٔايَـٰتٍ لِّأُو۟لِى ٱلْأَلْبَـٰبِ ٱلَّذِينَ يَذْكُرُونَ ٱللَّهَ قِيَـٰمًا وَقُعُودًا وَعَلَىٰ جُنُوبِهِمْ وَيَتَفَكَّرُونَ فِى خَلْقِ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ رَبَّنَا مَا خَلَقْتَ هَـٰذَا بَـٰطِلًا سُبْحَـٰنَكَ فَقِنَا عَذَابَ ٱلنَّارِ رَبَّنَآ إِنَّكَ مَن تُدْخِلِ ٱلنَّارَ فَقَدْ أَخْزَيْتَهُۥ ۖ وَمَا لِلظَّـٰلِمِينَ مِنْ أَنصَارٍ رَّبَّنَآ إِنَّنَا سَمِعْنَا مُنَادِيًا يُنَادِى لِلْإِيمَـٰنِ أَنْ ءَامِنُوا۟ بِرَبِّكُمْ فَـَٔامَنَّا ۚ رَبَّنَا فَٱغْفِرْ لَنَا ذُنُوبَنَا وَكَفِّرْ عَنَّا سَيِّـَٔاتِنَا وَتَوَفَّنَا مَعَ ٱلْأَبْرَارِ رَبَّنَا وَءَاتِنَا مَا وَعَدتَّنَا عَلَىٰ رُسُلِكَ وَلَا تُخْزِنَا يَوْمَ ٱلْقِيَـٰمَةِ ۗ إِنَّكَ لَا تُخْلِفُ ٱلْمِيعَادَ فَٱسْتَجَابَ لَهُمْ رَبُّهُمْ أَنِّى لَآ أُضِيعُ عَمَلَ عَـٰمِلٍ مِّنكُم مِّن ذَكَرٍ أَوْ أُنثَىٰ ۖ بَعْضُكُم مِّنۢ بَعْضٍ ۖ فَٱلَّذِينَ هَاجَرُوا۟ وَأُخْرِجُوا۟ مِن دِيَـٰرِهِمْ وَأُوذُوا۟ فِى سَبِيلِى وَقَـٰتَلُوا۟ وَقُتِلُوا۟ لَأُكَفِّرَنَّ عَنْهُمْ سَيِّـَٔاتِهِمْ وَلَأُدْخِلَنَّهُمْ جَنَّـٰتٍ تَجْرِى مِن تَحْتِهَا ٱلْأَنْهَـٰرُ ثَوَابًا مِّنْ عِندِ ٱللَّهِ ۗ وَٱللَّهُ عِندَهُۥ حُسْنُ ٱلثَّوَابِ لَا يَغُرَّنَّكَ تَقَلُّبُ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ فِى ٱلْبِلَـٰدِ مَتَـٰعٌ قَلِيلٌ ثُمَّ مَأْوَىٰهُمْ جَهَنَّمُ ۚ وَبِئْسَ ٱلْمِهَادُ لَـٰكِنِ ٱلَّذِينَ ٱتَّقَوْا۟ رَبَّهُمْ لَهُمْ جَنَّـٰتٌ تَجْرِى مِن تَحْتِهَا ٱلْأَنْهَـٰرُ خَـٰلِدِينَ فِيهَا نُزُلًا مِّنْ عِندِ ٱللَّهِ ۗ وَمَا عِندَ ٱللَّهِ خَيْرٌ لِّلْأَبْرَارِ وَإِنَّ مِنْ أَهْلِ ٱلْكِتَـٰبِ لَمَن يُؤْمِنُ بِٱللَّهِ وَمَآ أُنزِلَ إِلَيْكُمْ وَمَآ أُنزِلَ إِلَيْهِمْ خَـٰشِعِينَ لِلَّهِ لَا يَشْتَرُونَ بِـَٔايَـٰتِ ٱللَّهِ ثَمَنًا قَلِيلًا ۗ أُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ لَهُمْ أَجْرُهُمْ عِندَ رَبِّهِمْ ۗ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ سَرِيعُ ٱلْحِسَابِ يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ ٱصْبِرُوا۟ وَصَابِرُوا۟ وَرَابِطُوا۟ وَٱتَّقُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُفْلِحُونَ
Indeed, in the creation of the heavens and the earth and the alternation of the night and the day are signs for those of understanding - Who remember Allāh while standing or sitting or [lying] on their sides and give thought to the creation of the heavens and the earth, [saying], "Our Lord, You did not create this aimlessly; exalted are You [above such a thing]; then protect us from the punishment of the Fire. Our Lord, indeed whoever You admit to the Fire - You have disgraced him, and for the wrongdoers there are no helpers. Our Lord, indeed we have heard a caller [i.e., Prophet Muḥammad (ﷺ)] calling to faith, [saying], 'Believe in your Lord,' and we have believed. Our Lord, so forgive us our sins and remove from us our misdeeds and cause us to die among the righteous. Our Lord, and grant us what You promised us through Your messengers and do not disgrace us on the Day of Resurrection. Indeed, You do not fail in [Your] promise." And their Lord responded to them, "Never will I allow to be lost the work of [any] worker among you, whether male or female; you are of one another. So those who emigrated or were evicted from their homes or were harmed in My cause or fought or were killed - I will surely remove from them their misdeeds, and I will surely admit them to gardens beneath which rivers flow as reward from Allāh, and Allāh has with Him the best reward." Be not deceived by the [uninhibited] movement of the disbelievers throughout the land. [It is but] a small enjoyment; then their [final] refuge is Hell, and wretched is the resting place. But those who feared their Lord will have gardens beneath which rivers flow, abiding eternally therein, as accommodation from Allāh. And that which is with Allāh is best for the righteous. And indeed, among the People of the Scripture are those who believe in Allāh and what was revealed to you and what was revealed to them, [being] humbly submissive to Allāh. They do not exchange the verses of Allāh for a small price. Those will have their reward with their Lord. Indeed, Allāh is swift in account. O you who have believed, persevere and endure and remain stationed and fear Allāh that you may be successful.
Qur'anAal-Imran 3:190-200The Prophet ﷺ would recite these on waking. Recite from here to the end of the surah (3:190-200). Tap play to hear all ten.
Why we start here
You did nothing to earn the morning. Your heartbeat, your breath, the light, all of it was returned to you while you slept helpless. To wake with His name on your tongue is to start the day honest about who is holding it.
O Allah, You gave us back our souls this morning when You could have kept them. Make us grateful for the day, and make our first thought always of You.
Questions
- What is the first thing to say when you wake up?
- The Prophet ﷺ taught the words: Alhamdulillahil-ladhi ahyana ba'da ma amatana wa ilayhin-nushur, 'Praise is to Allah who gave us life after He caused us to die, and to Him is the return.' It is the first dhikr of waking.
- What did the Prophet ﷺ recite when he woke?
- Among the things he did was to recite the last ten verses of Surah Aal-Imran (3:190-200), the verses on the signs in the heavens and the earth. They are included here with audio.
- What if I wake in the middle of the night?
- There is a beautiful dhikr for that: declaring Allah's oneness and praising Him. The Prophet ﷺ said whoever says it and then asks Allah will be answered, and whoever then rises to pray, his prayer is accepted.
The Qur'anic adhkar (the last ten verses of Surah Aal-Imran, 3:190-200) are grounded via quran.ai: Arabic in Uthmani script (ar-uthmani-minimal) and the Saheeh International translation. The prophetic adhkar, their transliterations, references and gradings are transcribed verbatim from Hisn al-Muslim (Fortress of the Muslim) by Sa'eed al-Qahtani, via sunnah.com; al-Bukhari and Muslim taken as sahih, jayyid/reliable noted as hasan. Recitation audio: Qur'anic items by Mishary Rashid Alafasy (everyayah.com); prophetic adhkar from the official Hisn al-Muslim audio (hisnmuslim.com), aligned by dua number. Selection and ordering follow Hisn al-Muslim, with thanks to lifewithallah.com. Reflections are Buruja's own. FOR SCHOLAR REVIEW: confirm every Arabic text, reference, repetition count and grading before publication.
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