It was likewise the Prophet’s ﷺ practice that when he halted to rest at the beginning of the night—what the Arabs call ʿarasa—he would lie down on his right side. If, however, the stop came just before dawn, he would recline while propping himself up on his left forearm. In the first part of the night he chose the right side so that the body might take its full share of sleep; indeed, even at home he ﷺ would sleep on his right flank and instructed others to do the same. But toward daybreak he would raise his arm and rest upon it so as not to sink into deep slumber and miss the dawn prayer (ṣalāt al-fajr).

The lesson is clear: a person should grant the body its need for rest yet never forget the worship of his Lord. Early in the night one may sleep soundly and be refreshed before dawn, but in the final hours one must not sleep the carefree sleep of complete repose. Instead it should be the guarded sleep of someone alert, determined not to let the dawn prayer escape him.

From this we also learn that one should use a means of waking on time. Just as the Messenger of Allah ﷺ propped up his arm to rouse himself, we too should keep an alarm at hand so the prayer is not missed. Such are the etiquettes of travel taught by the best of mankind ﷺ. Allah is the One who grants success.