The 365 · Sunnah · Day 306 · Sleep
The Sleep Du'as (Allāhumma bismika amūtu wa aḥyā)
The hadith
كَانَ النَّبِيُّ ﷺ إِذَا أَوَى إِلَى فِرَاشِهِ قَالَ: «اللَّهُمَّ بِاسْمِكَ أَمُوتُ وَأَحْيَا». وَقَالَ ﷺ: «إِذَا قَامَ أَحَدُكُمْ مِنْ فِرَاشِهِ ثُمَّ رَجَعَ إِلَيْهِ فَلْيَنْفُضْهُ بِصَنِفَةِ إِزَارِهِ ثَلَاثَ مَرَّاتٍ، فَإِنَّهُ لَا يَدْرِي مَا خَلَفَهُ عَلَيْهِ، فَإِذَا اضْطَجَعَ فَلْيَقُلْ: بِاسْمِكَ رَبِّي وَضَعْتُ جَنْبِي، وَبِكَ أَرْفَعُهُ، فَإِنْ أَمْسَكْتَ نَفْسِي فَارْحَمْهَا، وَإِنْ أَرْسَلْتَهَا فَاحْفَظْهَا بِمَا تَحْفَظُ بِهِ عِبَادَكَ الصَّالِحِينَ».
When the Prophet ﷺ would go to bed, he would say: 'O Allah, in Your Name I die and I live.' (Bukhari 6312). And he said: 'When one of you rises from his bed, then returns to it, let him dust it off with the inner edge of his garment three times, for he does not know what may have come upon it after him; and when he lies down, let him say: In Your Name my Lord, I lay down my side, and by You I will raise it. If You take my soul, have mercy on it; if You release it, protect it with that by which You protect Your righteous servants.' (Bukhari 6320, Muslim 2714)
Svenska: När Profeten ﷺ skulle gå till sängs sade han: 'O Allah, i Ditt namn dör jag och lever jag.' (Bukhari 6312). Och han sade: 'När någon av er stiger upp från sin säng och sedan återvĩnder till den, låt honom skaka av den med kanten av sitt klädesplagg tre gånger, för han vet inte vad som kan ha kommit på den efter honom; och när han lägger sig, låt honom säga: I Ditt namn, min Herre, lägger jag min sida ner, och med Dig ska jag lyfta den. Om Du tar min själ, var barmhärtig mot den; om Du släpper den, skydda den med det med vilket Du skyddar Dina rättfärdiga tjänare.' (Bukhari 6320, Muslim 2714)
Bukhari 6312; Bukhari 6320; Muslim 2714
The story
The Prophet's ﷺ household members consistently described the same scene at night: he would lie on his right side, hand under his cheek, lips moving with these words. ʿĀ'ishah would memorize them silently and teach the women of Madīnah by morning. The Sunnah was so common in the household that even the children knew the rhythm before they could explain it.
Why it's here
Sleep is named in the Qur'an as a death (39:42). To lay down without naming Allah is to fall into a small death uncovered. The Prophet ﷺ taught us to name His Name before lying down so the death (small or great) finds us already in His protection. The wording is intimate: 'in Your Name I die and I live', naming both possibilities at once.
Try it today
Before lying down, dust off the bed with the inner edge of your garment (or your hand) three times, saying bismillāh. Then lie on the right side and recite: 'Bismika rabbī waḍaʿtu janbī wa bika arfaʿuh; fa-in amsakta nafsī fa-rḥamhā, wa in arsaltahā fa-ḥfaẓhā bi-mā taḥfaẓu bihi ʿibādaka al-ṣāliḥīn.' Finish with: 'Allāhumma bismika amūtu wa aḥyā.'
In your day
The dust-off Sunnah feels archaic until you remember: insects, dust, allergens. The Prophet ﷺ named what dwellers of warm climates know: a bed left empty can host things. But the deeper Sunnah is the dhikr: you are placing the bed itself under Allah's Name before placing your body there.
A reflection to carry
To say 'in Your Name I die and I live' is to give Allah both endings in one sentence. There is no scenario the believer is not already inside His Names. Sleep is no exception.
Read the longer reflection
A believer's night is a small rehearsal for the great night. The bed is the lowering-place; the right side is the position of burial; the duʿāʾ is the last witness; the rising in the morning is the rising on the Day. The Prophet ﷺ knew this, and he refused to let any night pass uncovered. 'Bismika rabbī waḍaʿtu janbī' (In Your Name, my Lord, I lay down my side). Notice the construction: not 'I' lay down; Your Name does. The believer's last act is to outsource his lying-down to Allah's Name. If Allah keeps the soul (death in sleep), He is asked for mercy. If Allah releases it (waking), He is asked for protection. Both endings inside one breath. May our beds be stations of dhikr, and may the Sunnah keep watch over us when our consciousness cannot.
Sources: Sahih Bukhari, Sahih Muslim. 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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