The 365 · Sunnah · Day 71 · Sleep
Reciting the Prophetic Bedtime Adhkār Before Sleep
The hadith
إِذَا أَوَيْتَ إِلَىٰ فِرَاشِكَ فَتَوَضَّأْ وُضُوءَكَ لِلصَّلَاةِ، ثُمَّ اضْطَجِعْ عَلَىٰ شِقِّكَ الْأَيْمَنِ...
The Prophet ﷺ said to al-Barāʾ ibn ʿĀzib: 'When you go to bed, perform wuḍūʾ as you would for prayer, then lie down on your right side and say: Allāhumma aslamtu nafsī ilayk, wa-wajjahtu wajhī ilayk, wa-fawwaḍtu amrī ilayk, wa-aljaʺtu ẓahrī ilayk, raghbatan wa-rahbatan ilayk, lā maljaʺ wa-lā manjā minka illā ilayk, āmantu bi-kitābika alladhī anzalt, wa-bi-nabiyyika alladhī arsalt. If you die that night, you will die upon fitra (the natural state of Islam), and let these be the last words you speak.' (Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 247, Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 2710.)
Svenska: Profeten ﷺ sade till al-Bara' ibn 'Azib: 'När du går till sängs, gör wudu som för bönen, lägg dig på din högra sida och recitera bedtime-du'a... Om du dör den natten dör du på fitra.'
The story
The Prophet ﷺ taught the al-Barāʾ duʿāʾ as the structural last-words of the day. The hadith's closing instruction is severe: 'Let these be the last words you speak.' ʿĀʼishah ra. described the Prophet's ﷺ bedtime practice in detail: every night, he recited al-Ikhlāṣ, al-Falaq, an-Nās into his palms, blew into them, and wiped over his face and what his hands could reach, three times. (Bukhārī 5017, Muslim 2192.) Imam an-Nawawī codified the package in his Adhkār.
Why it's here
The Prophet ﷺ established a comprehensive bedtime adhkār package: wuḍūʾ, lying on the right side, the al-Barāʾ duʿāʾ, āyat al-kursī, the last two verses of al-Baqarah, the three Muʿawwidhāt (Ikhlāṣ, Falaq, Nās) blown into the palms and wiped over the body, the duʿāʾ for protection from the punishment of the grave, and Sūrat al-Mulk (Day 55). The complete package takes about 10-15 minutes.
Try it today
1. Acquire Ḥiṣn al-Muslim or equivalent. 2. Begin with wuḍūʾ. 3. Recite āyat al-kursī, the last two verses of al-Baqarah, the three Muʿawwidhāt three times each (with the blowing-and-wiping), the al-Barāʾ duʿāʾ, and Sūrat al-Mulk (Day 55). 4. Lie on the right side as the closing position. 5. Make the al-Barāʾ duʿāʾ the absolute last thing spoken; do not speak after it.
In your day
Most modern Muslims close the day with screen-time, podcasts, or conversation. The Prophetic standard: 15 minutes of structured adhkār, ending with the al-Barāʾ duʿāʾ. The named protections (against the punishment of the grave specifically) are structurally severe.
A reflection to carry
The bedtime adhkār package: the structural pre-sleep protection. Includes āyat al-kursi, the last two verses of al-Baqarah, the Muʿawwidhāt three times with blowing-into-hands and wiping-over-body, the post-bedtime duʿāʾ (bismika), and the 33+33+34 dhikr.
Read the longer reflection
The complete pre-sleep package takes 10-15 minutes; it covers structural protection through the night, paradise-promised forgiveness if one dies during sleep, and the morning-strength promised to those who ask Allah at the night. Cure: install the package as fixed pre-sleep ritual; use printed sheet or app; do not abbreviate; the structural daily protection is the named promise. Modern pre-sleep entertainment is structurally counter-Sunnah; the discipline is to convert the pre-sleep window from screen-time to dhikr-time. The Companions did not sleep without the adhkār-package; modern Muslims often skip it.
Sources: Sahih Bukhari, Sahih Muslim, Riyad as-Salihin. The Qur'an and its translation are verified; the scholarship is retold faithfully in our own words and credited to its sources, never reproduced verbatim.
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