Huzhaifah and Abu Zharr reported that when the Prophet, peace be upon him, went to bed, he would say, “O Allah, by Your name I live and die.” And when he woke up he said, “Praise be to Allah who gave us life after death and to Him is the return.”
He placed his right hand under his cheek and prayed, three times, “O Allah, save me from Your punishment on the day when You will raise Your creature.
He would also say, “O Allah, Lord of the heavens, the earth, and the Mighty Throne, our Lord and the Lord of everything, Who causes the seed to grow and the date-stone to split and sprout, Who sent down Taurah, Injil, and the Qur’an, I seek refuge in You from the evil of all evil-mongers under Your Control. You are the First and there is nothing before You, and You are the Last, and there is nothing after You. You are the Evident and there is nothing beyond You, and You are the Source and there is no power beside You. Relieve us of our debt and poverty.” This is reported by Bukhari.
The Prophet, peace be upon him, also prayed, “Praise be to Allah Who has fed us and given us to drink, met all our needs, and given us refuge, while there are many who have neither anyone to meet their needs nor anyone to provide them with a refuge.” And every night when he retired to bed he would hold out his hands together imploringly and blow over them after reciting Surah Al-Ikhlas, Surah AlFalaq, and Surah An-Nas, and then rub his hands over whichever parts of his body he was able to rub, starting with his head, face, and front of his body. He used to do that three times. The Prophet, peace be upon him, instructed his Companions that when they go to bed they should supplicate, “In Your name, O Lord, I lay me down to sleep. And by Your leave I raise myself up. So if You take away my soul during sleep, forgive it, and if You keep it alive after sleep protect it just as You protect Your pious servants.”
The Prophet, peace be upon him, once advised his daughter, Fatimah, “Say Subhan-Allah thirty three times, al-hamdu-lillah, thirty three times, and Allahu Akbar, thirty four times.” He also commended the recitation of Ayatal-Kursi, the verse of the Throne, Qur’an 2.255 along with the above supplications, and said that he who does so will be under the protection of Allah, Who will assign a protector to protect him. The Prophet, peace be upon him, said to Bara, “When you go to bed make Wudu as you do for the regular prayer, and then lie down on your right side and say, ‘ O Allah, I surrender my soul to You, and I tum my face toward You, and I trust my affairs to Your care. I turn to You in fear and hope. There is no refuge nor any protection against You except in You. I believe in Your book which You have revealed to Your Prophet whom You sent’.” Then he added, “If you die, you will die in your true nature, and these words will be your last words.”
Supplication on Waking Up
The Prophet, peace be upon him, advised that on waking up from sleep one should say, “Thanks be to Allah Who returned my soul, made my body sound, and permitted me to remember Him.” When the Prophet, peace be upon him, woke he would say, “There is no god but You, glory be to You. O Allah, I seek Your forgiveness of my sins, and ask for Your mercy. O Allah, increases me in knowledge, and let not my heart deviate after You have guided me on the right path. Grant me mercy from You, for You are the Grantor of bounties without measure.” In another sound hadith the Prophet, peace be upon him, said, “Whoever wakes up from sleep and cannot go back to sleep, and says, “La ilaha illa-Allahu wahdahu la sharika lahu, lahul-mulk wa lahulhamd, wa huwa ‘ala kulli sha’ in qadeer, al-hamdu lillahi, wa subhan’Allah, wa la ilaha illallahu, wallahu akbar, wala hawla wala quwwata illa billah (there is no god but Allah, He is One and has no partner, to Him belongs all praise and all authority, and He has power over all things, praise be to Allah, glory be to Aliah, there is no god but Allah, Allah is the greatest, there is no power nor any authority but with Allah),’ and then says, ‘Allahumma Ighfir Li (O Allah, forgive me), or asks some other thing, will be answered, and if he makes wudu and offers a prayer it will be accepted from him.”
When One is Frightened During Sleep
‘Umar b. Shu’aib reported from his father and he from his grandfather that the Prophet, peace be upon him, said, “When one of you is frightened during sleep he should say, ‘I seek protection in the perfect words of Allah, from His displeasure and punishment and from evil people, and from the (evil) prompting of devils and from their presence.’ Then nothing will harm him.” The narrator added, “Ibn ‘Umar used to teach this to his children, both grown up and young, and he would write it on a piece of paper and make them wear it around their necks.” The chain of authorities of this hadith is sound.
Khalid b. Walid reported that once he suffered from insomnia. The Prophet, peace be upon him, said to him, “Shall I teach you words that will make you go to sleep when you say them? Say, ‘O Allah, the Lord of the seven heavens and whatever they cover, Lord of the earths and whatever they contain, Creator of devils and whomever they mislead, be my protector from the evil of all Your creatures least some of them may hasten with insolence against me or transgress the bounds. Honored is he who is in Your protection and blessed be Your name, there is no god except You’.’ (Reported by At-Tabrani in his Al-Kahir and Al-Awsat. Its chain is sound, although Abdur-Rahman did not hear it from Khalid. Al-Hafiz al-Munzhari has mentioned it) Bara’ b. ‘Azib reported that a man complained to the Prophet, peace be upon him, about fear and depression. The Prophet said to him, ‘Say, ‘Glory to Allah, the Holy, the King and Lord of the angels and of Gabriel. Your power and glory encompass the heavens and the earth.” The man said these words and Allah healed him of his depression and fear.
Prayer on Dreaming Something Unpleasant
Jabir reported that the Prophet, peace be upon him, said, -If someone of you sees an unpleasant dream he should spit three times on his left side and seek Allah’s refuge from the accursed Satan, and change the side on which he was lying.’ (Reported by Muslim, Abu Daw’ud, Nasa-i, and Ibn Majah) Abu Sa’id Al-Khudri reported that he heard the Prophet, peace be upon him, saying, “When someone among you sees a good and pleasing dream, he should know that it is from Allah, and so he should praise and thank Allah, and describe to others what he saw in the dream. But if he sees something he dislikes then it is from Satan, so he should seek Allah’s refuge from its evil and should not mention it to anyone. It will not harm him.” (Reported by Tirmizhi, who said it is a hasan sahih hadith)
Prayer On Wearing Clothes
Ibn As-Sinni reported that when the Prophet, peace be upon him, put on his clothes, whether a shirt, a cloak, or a turban, he would say, “O Allah, I seek from You its goodness and the goodness for which it is made, and I seek Your refuge against its evil and the evil that is apportioned for it.
“Mu’azh b. Anas reported that the Prophet, peace be upon him, said, “If anyone wears a new garment and says, ‘All thanks and praise be to Allah, Who clothed me and gave me sustenance, whereas I have no power or strength,’ Allah will forgive all his previous sins.” To pronounce the name of Allah is also recommended, because anything done without invoking Allah’s name is flawed.
Abu Sa’id Al-Khudri reported that when the Prophet, peace be him, got a new piece of garment, he would mention it, whether a turban or a shirt or a cloak, and then would say, “O Allah all praise and thanks be to You. You have given me this garment. I seek from You its good and the good that is made of it and I seek Your refuge against its evil and the evil that it is made of.” (Reported by Abu Daw’ud and Tirmizhi, who considers it a sound hadith) ‘Umar reported that he heard the Prophet, peace be upon him, say “If anyone wears some new clothing and says, ‘all praise and thanks be to Allah Who clothed me to cover my nakedness, and made it a means of adornment for me,’ and then takes his old garment and gives it in charity, will be under the protection of Allah and will be treated as if struggling in the cause of Allah, in life and after his death.”
To be continued
