His words, “whom You have sent,” mean: whom You sent to all creation as a bearer of glad tidings, a warner, one who calls to Allah by His permission, and an illuminating lamp. He conveyed the message, fulfilled the trust, sincerely counseled the Ummah, and strove in the cause of Allah as He ought to be striven for, until death came to him.

Then the Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—explained the excellence of this supplication and the immense good and grace it brings: “If you die, you will die upon the natural disposition,” meaning Islam, for Islam is the religion of the natural disposition. As Allah Most High says, “So set your face toward the religion in upright devotion—the natural disposition of Allah upon which He has created humankind.” 1 Some narrations of this hadith report that he also said, “If you reach the morning, you will attain good.” That is, if you do not die that night, you will attain good in the morning as a reward for the attention you gave to this matter.

He—peace and blessings be upon him—also instructed the Muslim to make this supplication the last of the supplications and remembrances he recites when going to sleep, so that these words will be his final words before sleep. Hence he said, “Make them the last words you say.”

When al-Barā’ repeated the supplication before the Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—in order to commit it to memory, the Prophet told him, “No—and in Your Prophet whom You have sent.” This demonstrates the importance of adhering to these remembrances in the wording in which they have been transmitted, for they are perfect in both wording and meaning.

This is therefore a magnificent supplication that the Muslim should observe when going to sleep and whose profound implications and sublime meanings he should contemplate, so that he may attain the immense reward Allah has promised those who observe it and give it due care. We ask Allah, the Most Generous, to grant us and you success in observing it and giving it due care, and to grant us success in every good that He loves and with which He is pleased, in this world and the Hereafter.