125 / Among the Remembrances for Sleep

Among the magnificent remembrances that the noble Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—regularly observed when going to sleep and upon waking is what al-Bukhārī narrated in his Sahīh from Hudhayfa ibn al-Yamān—may Allah be pleased with him—who said: “Whenever the Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—wanted to sleep, he would say, ‘In Your name, O Allah, I die and I live.’ When he awoke from sleep, he would say, ‘Praise be to Allah who gave us life after causing us to die, and to Him is the resurrection’”1. Another wording states, “When he retired to his bed”2—that is, when he got into it. Yet another wording states, “When he lay down”3. All of these have the same meaning.

His words, “In Your name, O Allah,” mean: in Your name, O Allah. The preposition bā’ denotes seeking aid. Thus, the meaning is: I sleep seeking Your aid, asking for Your protection, and hoping for safety and well-being from You. His words, “I die and I live,” mean: I remain in this state, remembering Your name. Through remembering Your name I live for as long as I live, and upon that remembrance I die. This indicates that the Muslim cannot dispense with remembering his Lord for even the blink of an eye—whether asleep, awake, or in any of his affairs. When he goes to sleep, he concludes his deeds with the remembrance of Allah; when he awakens, his first deed is the remembrance of Allah; and throughout all his moments he steadfastly maintains the remembrance of Allah. Thus, upon remembering Him—Glorified is He—he lives, upon it he dies, and upon it he will be raised on the Day of Resurrection.

His words, “In Your name, O Allah, I die,” said when intending to sleep, indicate that sleep is termed both death and the taking of the soul, even though life remains present during it. One example is the saying of