The 365 · Sunnah · Day 314 · Sleep
Sūrat al-Sajdah and Sūrat al-Mulk before Sleep
The hadith
«كَانَ النَّبِيُّ ﷺ لَا يَنَامُ حَتَّى يَقْرَأَ الم تَنْزِيلُ وَتَبَارَكَ الَّذِي بِيَدِهِ الْمُلْكُ».
The Prophet ﷺ would not sleep until he had recited Alif Lām Mīm Tanzīl (Sūrat al-Sajdah, 32) and Tabārak alladhī bi-yadihi al-mulk (Sūrat al-Mulk, 67). (Tirmidhi 2892, Aḥmad 14647)
Svenska: Profeten ﷺ skulle inte sova förrän han hade reciterat Alif Lām Mīm Tanzīl (Sūrat al-Sajdah, 32) och Tabārak alladhī bi-yadihi al-mulk (Sūrat al-Mulk, 67). (Tirmidhi 2892, Aḥmad 14647)
Tirmidhi 2892; Ahmad 14647; al-Sajdah 32; al-Mulk 67
The story
Jābir narrated that the Prophet ﷺ never slept without these two sūrahs. ʿĀ'ishah confirmed it; ʿAbdullāh ibn Masʿūd practiced it. Al-Sajdah contains the verse: 'their sides forsake their beds, calling on their Lord in fear and hope' (32:16), describing the very people Allah loves: those who would rather pray than sleep.
Why it's here
Two sūrahs the Prophet ﷺ would not abandon at night. Al-Sajdah (32) is the sūrah of remembrance, ending with the people whose 'sides forsake their beds' to call upon their Lord. Al-Mulk (67) is the preventer of the grave's punishment. Together they are the believer's nightly armor.
Try it today
Each night before sleep, recite both: Sūrat al-Sajdah (32) and Sūrat al-Mulk (67). Total: about 12-15 minutes. If time is short, prioritize al-Mulk; if Friday night especially, prioritize both. Memorize over time.
In your day
The Friday night especially deserves both sūrahs. The Prophet ﷺ kept this Sunnah without break; the Companions did the same. We can build the habit: phone aside, muṣḥaf in hand, fifteen minutes of recitation, then bed. The night becomes structurally different.
A reflection to carry
When a Sunnah is described as one the Prophet ﷺ never abandoned, that is a stronger signal than most. He chose these two for his last waking minutes every day.
Read the longer reflection
The Prophet ﷺ had thousands of demands on his time. The fact that he made room for these two sūrahs every single night tells us their weight in his sight. Al-Sajdah's central image is the believer who lifts his side off the bed (tatajafā junūbuhum ʿan al-maḍājiʿ), choosing the prayer rug over the pillow. Al-Mulk's central function is intercession against punishment in the grave. Together, the believer goes to bed with the verse of those who left bed and the sūrah that defends the grave. The pairing is exquisite. The Prophet's ﷺ example invites us to the same pairing. Even if we cannot pray the night prayers as the Companions did, we can recite the two sūrahs that point us toward them. May Allah preserve us through their barakah, and may we never sleep a night without them.
Sources: Tirmidhi, Ahmad. 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.
A verse, a healing, and a Sunnah, every morning.
Subscribe, free