A lot of people have been asking what is the Dua for sleeping and why we need to recite the Dua. Whenever we go to sleep, we should be afraid that we may not open our eyes and stay asleep forever. Therefore, one should repent of his sins every day before going to sleep. To read dua for sleeping is very important if we want to protect ourselves from evil.
Manners of Sleeping
- Do ablution before sleeping: The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) always slept after doing ablution. He (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) says: “Whoever sleeps in a state of purity, an angel spends the night with him.”
- Sweep the Bed: When one of us goes to his bed, we should sweep our bed, for we do not know what has entered it behind us.
- Read the Dua for sleeping: He (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) taught us many prayers for sleep. We should understand the virtue of these prayers and read them daily.
Duas For Sleeping:
اَللّٰهُمَّ بِاسْمِكَ اَمُوْتُ وَ اَحْیٰی.
Transliteration: Allahumma Bismika Amootu Wa-Ahya
Translation: “O Allah! I die and live in your name.” – Sahih al-Bukhari 6324
As we know that only Allah is the master of life and death. He can withdraw the blessing of life from anyone, whenever He wants and He is able to do that. We should entrust every matter of our life and death to Allah. We should start our day in the name of Allah and end it in the name of Allah. The beautiful words of this dua state that we have to put our life and death in the hands of Allah.
باسمک رب وضعت جنبي وبک أرفعه إن أمسکت نفسي فارحمها وإن أرسلتها فاحفظها بما تحفظ به عبادک الصالحين
Transliteration: Bismika rabbee wadaAAtu janbee wabika arfaAAuh, fa-in amsakta nafsee farhamha, wa-in arsaltaha fahfathha bima tahfathu bihi AAibadakas-saliheen
Translation: “O Lord, in Your name alone I put my side, and with Your help alone I did not lift it. If You seize my soul, have mercy on it, and if You release it, protect it as You protect the righteous.”
Reference: Al Bukhari 11:126
This dua for sleeping is very beautiful. We are surrendering ourselves to Allah through this dua. We are entrusting our soul to Allah that Allah is its protector because He is its owner. This dua also reminds us that righteous people live under the protection of Allah and we should also try to be among the righteous servants of Allah.
اللَّهُمَّ أَسْلَمْتُ نَفْسِي إِلَيْکَ وَوَجَّهْتُ وَجْهِي إِلَيْکَ وَأَلْجَأْتُ ظَهْرِي إِلَيْکَ وَفَوَّضْتُ أَمْرِي إِلَيْکَ رَغْبَةً وَرَهْبَةً إِلَيْکَ لَا مَلْجَأَ وَلَا مَنْجَا مِنْکَ إِلَّا إِلَيْکَ آمَنْتُ بِکِتَابِکَ الَّذِي أَنْزَلْتَ وَبِرَسُولِکَ الَّذِي أَرْسَلْتَ
Transliteration: Allahumma aslamtu nafsee ilayk, wafawwadtu amree ilayk, wawajjahtu wajhee ilayk, wa-alja/tu thahree ilayk, raghbatan warahbatan ilayk, la maljaa wala manja minka illa ilayk, amantu bikitabikal-lathee anzalt, wabinabiyyikal-lathee arsalt
Translation:
“O Allah, I entrust my life to You and I turn my face to You and I put my back under Your protection and I entrust my affairs to You out of desire and fear. Believed in Your Book which You revealed and believed in Your Messenger whom You sent.”
Reference: Muslim 4/2081
It is mentioned in the hadith that if a person dies after reciting this dua for sleeping, then he died in a state of faith. We should remember Allah all the time and do it, especially while sleeping.
Why is it Important to Read Dua Before Sleeping?
It’s sunnah to read dua for sleeping before we go to the bed. The moment we don’t remember Allah will become a source of regret for us. If we read dua for sleeping, it means that we are the one who wants good rewards from Allah Almighty. In this way, we can gather lots of rewards from every moment of our lives.
Related: Learn the sunnah before sleeping
At the time of difficulty when sleeping, Zaid bin Thaabit (RA) complained to Rasulallah (ﷺ) of not being able to go to sleep at times and he advised him to recite the following dua:
Allahummah ghaarithinnujumu wa hadaathil uyoonu wa antha hayyun qayyumulla tha’ khudhu ka sinathuwalaa nawmun yaa hayyun yaa qayyoomu a’hde’ laylee wa anim ‘aynee.
Oh Allah the stars have sunk in and the eyes have become tranquil and quiet and You are alive and everlasting neither does sleep overcome You. Oh the living and ever-lasting one make my night my tranquil and give my eyes sleep. [Ibn Sunni, Hisnul Hasin]
