The 365 · Sunnah · Day 75 · Sleep
Reciting the Prophetic Duʿāʾ When Waking During the Night
The hadith
مَنْ تَعَارَّ مِنَ اللَّيْلِ فَقَالَ: لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ وَحْدَهُ لَا شَرِيكَ لَهُ، لَهُ الْمُلْكُ وَلَهُ الْحَمْدُ، وَهُوَ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ، الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ، وَسُبْحَانَ اللَّهِ، وَلَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ، وَاللَّهُ أَكْبَرُ، وَلَا حَوْلَ وَلَا قُوَّةَ إِلَّا بِاللَّهِ، ثُمَّ قَالَ: اللَّهُمَّ اغْفِرْ لِي، أَوْ دَعَا، اسْتُجِيبَ لَهُ، فَإِنْ تَوَضَّأَ وَصَلَّىٰ قُبِلَتْ صَلَاتُهُ
The Prophet ﷺ said: 'Whoever wakes during the night and says: lā ilāha illa Allāhu waḥdahu lā sharīka lah, lahu al-mulku wa-lahu al-ḥamd, wa-huwa ʿalā kulli shayʾin qadīr, al-ḥamdu lillāh, wa-subḥān Allāh, wa-lā ilāha illa Allāh, wa-Allāhu akbar, wa-lā ḥawla wa-lā quwwata illā billāh, then says, Allāhumma ighfir lī (O Allah, forgive me) or makes any duʿāʾ, it will be answered. And if he performs wuḍūʾ and prays, his prayer will be accepted.' (Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 1154, narrated by ʿUbādah ibn aṣ-Ṣāmit.)
Svenska: Profeten ﷺ sade: 'Den som vaknar under natten och säger denna du'a och sedan ber om förlåtelse eller gör någon du'a, kommer den att besvaras. Och om han gör wudu och ber, kommer hans bön att accepteras.'
The story
ʿUbādah ibn aṣ-Ṣāmit ra. preserved this hadith. The classical scholars considered the tahajjud-after-night-wake as one of the highest-leverage spiritual practices: the body was already going to wake; the wuḍūʾ takes 3 minutes; the prayer takes 10 minutes; the named acceptance is operational. ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb told his sons to wake him during the night: 'If you find me sleeping during the latter third of the night, throw water on my face, for that is when the Lord descends to the lowest heaven.'
Why it's here
The Prophet ﷺ established a structural protocol for the night-wake-up moments. Most Muslims wake briefly during the night and either fall back asleep or pick up the phone. The Prophetic discipline names these moments as opportunities: a single recitation of the named formula opens a duʿāʾ-acceptance window; standing for tahajjud opens a prayer-acceptance window. The hadith's promise (it will be answered, the prayer will be accepted) is structurally severe in its disproportion.
Try it today
1. Memorize the formula: 'lā ilāha illa Allāhu waḥdahu...' (about 30 seconds to recite). 2. When waking during the night, recite the formula immediately. 3. Make any duʿāʾ for what you most need. The hadith promises acceptance. 4. If awake enough, perform wuḍūʾ and pray two rakʿahs of tahajjud (Day 43). The hadith promises acceptance of the prayer. 5. Return to sleep with the bismika duʿāʾ (Day 73).
In your day
Most modern Muslims who wake at night reach for the phone. The Prophetic discipline reaches for the named formula. Replace the phone-reach with the dhikr-reach. The named outcome (duʿāʾ-acceptance) is structurally severe in its operational rarity: most duʿāʾs in normal contexts are not named as acceptance-guaranteed. This one is.
A reflection to carry
The night-wake-up duʿāʾ: when waking during the night to use the bathroom or otherwise, the Prophet ﷺ would say: 'Lā ilāha illā Allāh waḥdahu lā sharīka lah, lahu al-mulk wa-lahu al-ḥamd, wa-huwa ʿalā kulli shayʾin qadīr. Subḥān Allāh, wa-l-ḥamdu lillāh, wa-lā ilāha illā Allāh, wa-Allāhu akbar, wa-lā ḥawla wa-lā quwwata illā bi-llāh. Allāhumma ighfir lī.' (Bukhārī 1154.)
Read the longer reflection
The Prophet ﷺ promised: whoever recites this and then makes duʿāʾ, his duʿāʾ is answered; if he stands and prays, his prayer is accepted. The structural night-wake-up window is structurally significant: the believer's duʿāʾ at this moment is in the named-acceptance state. Cure: memorize the duʿāʾ; recite when waking during the night; if you can stay awake for prayer, do so. The classical scholars: this is one of the operationally easiest paths to structural duʿāʾ-acceptance, since the wake-up itself often happens for the believer.
Sources: Sahih Bukhari. 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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