124 / Remembrances Before Sleep

The noble Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—directed Muslims, when retiring to bed, to observe a number of sublime etiquettes and noble practices. Carefully observing them brings many beneficial effects, including calm, peaceful, and restful sleep; protection from evils and harms; and awakening in good spirits, with lofty resolve, goodness, and vitality.

Among these is the hadith authentically reported in the two Sahih collections from al-Barā ibn Āzib—may Allah be pleased with him—who said: The Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—said to me, “When you go to bed, perform ablution as you would for prayer, then lie on your right side and say: ‘O Allah, I have submitted myself to You, turned my face toward You, entrusted my affair to You, and sought support in You, hoping in You and fearing You. There is no refuge or escape from You except with You. I believe in Your Book, which You revealed, and in Your Prophet, whom You sent.’ If you die during that night, you will die upon the pure natural faith. Make these your final words.” He said: I repeated the words back to him so that I might remember them, and I said, “I believe in Your Messenger, whom You sent.” He replied, “No; say: ‘and in Your Prophet, whom You sent.’”1.

This great hadith contains some of the etiquettes that a Muslim should carefully observe when going to sleep. The first instruction given by the Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—to anyone retiring to bed is to perform ablution as for prayer. This is so that he goes to sleep in the best state, namely ritual purity, and remembers Allah—glorified and exalted—at bedtime while in a state of purity, which is the finest state in which a Muslim may remember Allah—glorified and exalted. The Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—then instructed the Muslim to