The 365 · Sunnah · Day 321 · Sleep
The Evening Adhkār Before Sleep
The hadith
عَلَّمَ النَّبِيُّ ﷺ أَصْحَابَهُ أَدْعِيَةً يُقَالُنّ فِي الصَّبَاحِ وَالْمَسَاءِ تَحْفَظُ صَاحِبَهَا مِنْ كُلِّ سُوءٍ. وَمِنْهَا: «أَمْسَيْنَا وَأَمْسَى الْمُلْكُ لِلَّهِ، وَالْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ...» وَ«بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الَّذِي لَا يَضُرُّ مَعَ اسْمِهِ شَيْءٌ فِي الْأَرْضِ وَلَا فِي السَّمَاءِ»، وَالْمُعَوِّذَتَيْنِ ثَلَاثًا، وَأَدْعِيَةً أُخْرَى.
The Prophet ﷺ taught his Companions duas to be said in the morning and evening, which preserve the one who says them from every evil. Among them: 'Amsaynā wa amsā al-mulku lillāh, wa al-ḥamdu lillāh...' ('We have entered the evening and the kingdom is for Allah, and all praise is for Allah...'); 'Bismi Allāhi alladhī lā yaḍurru maʿa ismihi shayʻun fī al-arḍ wa lā fī al-samāʳ' ('In the Name of Allah with whose Name nothing in the earth or sky can harm,' three times); the last two protective sūrahs three times; and other duas. (Muslim 2723; Tirmidhi 3388; Abū Dāwūd 5088)
Svenska: Profeten ﷺ lärde sina följeslagare adhkār att sägas på morgonen och kvällen, som bevarar den som säger dem från allt ont. (Muslim 2723; Tirmidhi 3388; Abū Dāwūd 5088)
Muslim 2723; Tirmidhi 3388; Abū Dāwūd 5088
The story
The Prophet ﷺ told a young Companion: 'Recite these adhkār every morning and evening; they will be sufficient for you against everything.' The Companion practiced them; the protection followed him through wars, illness, travel.
Why it's here
The believer's day is bracketed by adhkār al-ṣabāḥ (morning) and adhkār al-masāʾ (evening). The evening adhkār prepare the soul for sleep, the body for death's small rehearsal. The Prophet ﷺ never neglected them. They take 10-15 minutes; they bring protection of an entire night.
Try it today
After ʿAṣr or after Maghrib, sit for 10-15 minutes and recite the established adhkār al-masāʾ: Āyat al-Kursī, the last two verses of al-Baqarah, the three Quls (three times each), «بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الَّذِي لَا يَضُرُّ...» three times, «أَعُوذُ بِكَلِمَاتِ اللَّهِ التَّامَّاتِ» three times, and the rest. A printed booklet of adhkār is sufficient guide; Ḥiṣn al-Muslim is the standard collection.
In your day
Reserve a fixed time and place. Right after Maghrib, in a comfortable seat, with a booklet or app. Make these adhkār as non-negotiable as Isha. They are the soul's evening medicine.
A reflection to carry
Morning adhkār open the day; evening adhkār close it. Between them, the believer walks under the shadow of His Names.
Read the longer reflection
The Sunnah of adhkār al-masāʾ is among the most underused gifts in the believer's life. It takes 10-15 minutes; it deposits a full night of protection. The Prophet ﷺ was not vague: he named specific phrases, prescribed specific times, guaranteed specific protections. A young Companion came complaining of fear; the Prophet ﷺ prescribed an evening dhikr. A Companion came complaining of debt; the Prophet ﷺ prescribed a specific duʿāʾ. The medicines are particular. Make the adhkār al-masāʾ your evening structure as Maghrib is your evening prayer. May our nights be sealed by His Names, and may our sleep enter under the shade of the dhikrs we said.
Sources: Sahih Muslim, Abu Dawud, Tirmidhi. 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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