Sunan of Sleep
Sleep on the right side
«When you go to bed, pray the Sunnah, then lie on your right side» — the Sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ for sleeping.
Bukhārī
Wudu before sleep
«When you go to bed, perform ablution as for prayer» — purity carries the sleeper closer to the angels.
Bukhārī
Dust off the bed
«When one of you goes to his bed, let him dust off his bed with the edge of his garment three times» — for what he does not know may have settled there.
Bukhārī & Muslim
Recite the adhkār
Recite Āyat al-Kursī, the last two surahs (al-Ikhlāṣ, al-Falaq, an-Nās), and Sūrah al-Mulk before sleeping — protection through the night.
Bukhārī, Tirmidhī
Sleep early after ʿIshāʾ
The Prophet ﷺ disliked talking and staying up after ʿIshāʾ — except for study, prayer, or family. Early sleep leads to early waking for tahajjud.
Bukhārī & Muslim
Do not sleep on the stomach
The Prophet ﷺ saw a man sleeping on his stomach and said: «This is a lying posture Allah dislikes» — sleep on the right side or back.
Abū Dāwūd, Aḥmad
Make your last words the shahādah
«Let your last words be: Lā ilāha illallāh» — if a person's last words in this world are the shahādah, Allah enters him into Paradise.
Abū Dāwūd, Aḥmad
Duʿās
بِاسْمِكَ اللَّهُمَّ أَمُوتُ وَأَحْيَا
Before sleep
In Your name, O Allah, I die and live — the cycle of sleep and waking mirrors death and resurrection.
Bukhārī
الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ الَّذِي أَحْيَانَا بَعْدَ مَا أَمَاتَنَا وَإِلَيْهِ النُّشُورُ
On waking
Praise be to Allah who gave us life after death — and to Him is the resurrection.
Bukhārī
اللَّهُمَّ غَارَتِ النُّجُومُ وَهَدَأَتِ الْعُيُونُ وَأَنْتَ حَيٌّ قَيُّومٌ لَا تَأْخُذُكَ سِنَةٌ وَلَا نَوْمٌ
If unable to sleep
O Allah, the stars have set, the eyes have rested, and You are the Ever-Living Sustainer who neither slumbers nor sleeps.
al-Ḥākim
الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ
When waking from a good dream
Praise be to Allah — thank Allah for the good dream, for it is from Allah.
Bukhārī
Understanding Dreams
True dreams (ruʾyā ṣāliḥah)
A good dream is from Allah; it is one forty-sixth of prophethood. Recount it only to a beloved or a wise person — «nothing remains of prophecy except glad tidings.»
Bukhārī
Dreams from Shayṭān
A frightening dream is from Shayṭān — do not recount it; turn to the left side, spit (lightly) three times, and seek refuge in Allah from Shayṭān and from the evil of what you saw.
Bukhārī & Muslim
What the self speaks
Some dreams are merely the mind's own chatter — the subconscious processing the day. Neither significant nor harmful, and need not be recounted.
Ibn Sīrīn
Do not lie about dreams
«Whoever claims a dream he did not see will be ordered to join two barley grains on the Day of Judgement — and will never be able.» — Lying about dreams is a grave sin.
Bukhārī
Dreams at the end of time
«As the Hour approaches, the believer's dream will hardly be false. The most truthful in speech will be the most truthful in dream.» — a sign of the times.
Bukhārī