The bedtime routine in the Sabīl library: wuḍū, Āyat al-Kursī, the three sūrahs, the end of al-Baqarah, two du‘ās and a bad dream, each sourced.
Written by AI · scholarly review pending+
The words of this article were written by AI from the Sabīl library and its sources, and checked by AI against them. No scholar has reviewed it yet. The Arabic texts, their meanings and their sources are the library’s and the Qur’ān’s own, shown exactly as they stand there. For a ruling on your own circumstances, ask a qualified scholar.
Published 3 October 2026Updated 21 October 202612 min read
The narrations give the end of the day a shape of its own: wuḍū, a few passages of the Qur’ān, a count of tasbīḥ, lying down on the right side, and a du‘ā as the last words before sleep. This page sets out that routine as the Sabīl library prints it, explains each step and where it comes from, and adds what the library’s cards say about a bad dream. Each entry is shown from the library with its Arabic, its meaning where the card gives one, and the source and grade the library gives; the narrations behind them are listed by number at the end. Under some verses the page also shows the notes of that edition; they are the edition’s words, not this page’s, and this page has not checked them.
Sleep in the Qur’ān
The Qur’ān speaks of sleep as a taking of the soul: Allah takes the souls at their death, and those that have not died during their sleep, withholding the ones on whom He has decreed death and releasing the others until an appointed term.
Allah takes away the souls at the time of their death, and [also] those who have not died, during their sleep. He withholds the souls of those on whom He has decreed death and releases others until an appointed term. Indeed, there are signs in this for people who reflect.
Qur’ān 39:42English Translation - Rowwad Translation Center · QuranEnc.com · version 1.0.20
The short bedtime du‘ā below speaks in the same terms: in it a person says that in Allah’s name they die and they live.
The bedtime card: the routine in order
The Daily Companion set of the Pocket Companion has a card headed “Bedtime & the night”. It opens with a line labelled “Before sleep · in order”, which gives the whole routine:
wuḍū;
Āyat al-Kursī, once;
al-Ikhlāṣ, al-Falaq and an-Nās into cupped palms, wiped over the body, three times;
the last two verses of al-Baqarah;
Sūrah al-Mulk;
the tasbīḥ, counted 33, 33 and 34;
then lying on the right side.
For this line the library cites al-Bukhārī, Muslim and at-Tirmidhī with the grade ṣaḥīḥ. Narrations in these books speak of its steps. Al-Barā’ ibn ʿĀzib reports that the Prophet ﷺ told him to make wuḍū as for the prayer when going to bed, and to lie on his right side. ʿĀ’ishah reports that every night, on going to bed, the Prophet ﷺ cupped his hands, blew into them reciting al-Ikhlāṣ, al-Falaq and an-Nās, and wiped over as much of his body as he could, three times. In a narration that al-Bukhārī gives without its full chain, Abū Hurayrah reports that he was told that whoever recites Āyat al-Kursī on going to bed will have a guard from Allah with him, and that no devil will come near him until morning, and that the Prophet ﷺ said the one who told him had spoken the truth. Abū Masʿūd reports that the last two verses of al-Baqarah, recited at night, suffice a person. And ʿAlī reports that when Fāṭimah asked for a servant, the Prophet ﷺ taught the two of them instead to say the tasbīḥ, the taḥmīd and the takbīr, 33, 33 and 34, when they went to bed.
07Bedtime & the night
Before sleep · in order
Wuḍū · Āyat al-Kursī 1× · Ikhlāṣ, Falaq, Nās into cupped palms and wipe over the body 3× · last two verses of al-Baqarah · Sūrah al-Mulk · tasbīḥ 33/33/34 · lie on the right side.
Allāhumma aslamtu nafsī ilayk, wa wajjahtu wajhī ilayka wa fawwaḍtu amrī ilayk, wa alja’tu ẓahrī ilayk, raghbatan wa rahbatan ilayk, lā malja’a wa lā manjā minka illā ilayk, āmantu bikitābikal-ladhī anzalt, wa binabiyyikal-ladhī arsalt
The whole narration
Narrated Al-Bara' bin `Azib:Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said, "O so-and-so, whenever you go to your bed (for sleeping) say, 'O Allah! I have surrendered myself over to you and have turned my face towards You, and leave all my affairs to You and depend on You and put my trust in You expecting Your reward and fearing Your punishment. There is neither fleeing from You nor refuge but with You. I believe in the Book (Qur'an) which You have revealed and in Your Prophet (Muhammad) whom You have sent.' If you then die on that night, then you will die as a Muslim, and if you wake alive in the morning then you will receive the reward." (See Hadith No. 323, Vol)
The translation is the open dataset’s own, shown as it stands: no translator is named, its rights are not verified, and nobody has checked it against the Arabic.
Shown whole, from Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī · No. 7488. In print this text is set shorter. The print’s own lines beneath it were written for the shorter text.
O Allah, I submit myself to You, turn my face to You, entrust my affair to You, and rest my back upon You.
Bukhārī · ṣaḥīḥ — the last words before sleep; whoever dies that night dies upon fiṭrah.
A bad dream
Spit lightly to the left three times, seek refuge from Shayṭān and from what you saw, turn onto the other side, and tell no one.
Muslim · ṣaḥīḥ
Lines with a dotted edge give the sound of the Arabic, worked out by rule from its vowel marks. They are not from the print titles and have not been reviewed: where one differs from the Arabic, the Arabic is right.
Beneath the routine the card has two du‘ās, both cited to al-Bukhārī with the grade ṣaḥīḥ. The short one is the du‘ā Ḥudhayfah reports the Prophet ﷺ saying when he went to bed, with his hand beneath his cheek. The longer one is the du‘ā al-Barā’ was taught, in which a person submits themselves to Allah, turns their face to Him, entrusts their affair to Him and rests their back upon Him. Its source line calls it the last words before sleep, and adds that whoever dies that night dies upon fiṭrah; in the narration, the Prophet ﷺ tells al-Barā’ to make these his last words.
The card prints only the opening of the longer du‘ā. On screen the app shows it whole, taken from a narration in al-Bukhārī, the book the card cites, and a line beneath it says so. The meaning shown with the whole text is the translation of that narration in an open ḥadīth dataset, which, as the app says there, nobody has checked against the Arabic. The card’s own meaning was written for the shorter text and stays beneath it.
After a bad dream
The card closes with a line for a bad dream, cited to Muslim with the grade ṣaḥīḥ: spit lightly to the left three times, seek refuge from Shayṭān and from what you saw, turn onto the other side, and tell no one.
The Sleeping card of Adab & Akhlāq
The library’s cards on manners have one for sleeping, and it adds a few things to the routine above: dust the bedding three times before lying down; lie on the right side with the hand beneath the cheek; and do not lie face down, which the card calls a posture Allah dislikes. It names the same recitations: Āyat al-Kursī, the last two verses of al-Baqarah, and the three quls blown into the palms. For these lines the library cites al-Bukhārī and Muslim, and Abū Dāwūd and at-Tirmidhī, with the grade ṣaḥīḥ.
03Sleeping
Sleep in a state of wuḍū.
Dust the bedding three times before lying down.
Lie on the right side, the hand beneath the cheek.
Recite Āyat al-Kursī, the last two verses of al-Baqarah, and the three quls blown into the palms.
Al-ḥamdu lillāhil-ladhī aḥyānā ba‘da mā amātanā wa ilayhin-nushūr
Bukhārī · ṣaḥīḥ
A troubling dream: spit lightly to your left three times, seek refuge from Satan, turn onto the other side, and tell no one of it. A good dream is from Allah — tell it only to one who loves you.
Bukhārī, Muslim · ṣaḥīḥ
Lines with a dotted edge give the sound of the Arabic, worked out by rule from its vowel marks. They are not from the print titles and have not been reviewed: where one differs from the Arabic, the Arabic is right.
Under the label “The last words of the day” the card has the short du‘ā again, and under “On waking” the words said on getting up, both cited to al-Bukhārī. Its last line is on dreams, cited to al-Bukhārī and Muslim with the grade ṣaḥīḥ: for a troubling dream it gives the steps of the bedtime card, and it adds a sentence about a good dream. In al-Bukhārī, Abū Qatādah reports from the Prophet ﷺ that a good dream is from Allah and is told only to one whom the dreamer loves, and that for a dream one dislikes one seeks refuge in Allah from its evil and from Satan, spits three times and tells no one.
Āyat al-Kursī and the last two verses of al-Baqarah
Both cards name Āyat al-Kursī without printing it. The Pocket Companion prints it on a card of its own in the Pocket Adhkār set, as Qur’ān 2:255. That card’s label reads “once after every farḍ”; its source line cites an-Nasā’ī and aṭ-Ṭabarānī with the grade ṣaḥīḥ, and ends with the words “Also before sleep”.
Allāhu lā ilāha illā huwal-ḥayyul-qayyūmu lā ta’khudhuhu sinatun wa lā nawmun lahu mā fis-samāwāti wa mā fil-arḍi man dhal-ladhī yashfa‘u ‘indahu illā bi-idhnihi ya‘lamu mā bayna aydīhim wa mā khalfahum wa lā yuḥīṭūna bishay’in min ‘ilmihi illā bimā shā’a wasi‘a kursiyyuhus-samāwāti wal-arḍa wa lā ya’ūduhu ḥifẓuhumā wa huwal-‘aliyyul-‘aẓīm.
Verse ends and pause marks are shown as the muṣḥaf has them, from Qur’ān 2:255. In print this passage is set without them.
an-Nasā’ī, aṭ-Ṭabarānī · ṣaḥīḥ — nothing stands between the reciter and Paradise except death. Also before sleep.
Lines with a dotted edge give the sound of the Arabic, worked out by rule from its vowel marks. They are not from the print titles and have not been reviewed: where one differs from the Arabic, the Arabic is right.
Allah: none has the right to be worshiped except Him, the Ever-Living[1], All-Sustaining[2]. Neither drowsiness overtakes Him nor sleep[3]. To Him belongs all that is in the heavens and all that is on earth. Who is there that can intercede with Him except with His permission? He knows what was before them and what will be after them[4], while they encompass nothing of His knowledge, except what He wills. His Kursī[5] [i.e., footstool] extends over the heavens and earth, and safeguarding of both does not weary Him, for He is the Most High[6], the Most Great[7].[8]
[1] Whose life is perfect, complete, and eternal, without beginning or end. [2] Dependent on none for His existence while being the sustainer of all created beings. [3] Dozing off and falling asleep are but normal to all creation that are inherently frail. [4] Allah's knowledge encompasses every aspect of His creations in the past, present and future. [5] Chair or footstool. It is not to be confused with al-‘Arsh (the Throne), which is infinitely higher and greater than al-Kursī. [6] Above all of His creations and superior to them in essence, rank, and position. [7] Whose greatness is unlimited, beyond description or imagination. [8] This verse is known as Āyat al-Kursī, lit. The verse of the Footstool. It is the greatest verse in the Qur’an.
Qur’ān 2:255English Translation - Rowwad Translation Center · QuranEnc.com · version 1.0.20
And the last two verses of al-Baqarah, which both cards name:
The Messenger believes in what has been sent down to him from his Lord, as do the believers. All of them believe in Allah, His angels, His Books, and His messengers, [saying], “We make no distinction between any of His messengers.” And they say, “We hear and obey. Grant us Your forgiveness, our Lord, and to You is the [final] destination.”
Qur’ān 2:285English Translation - Rowwad Translation Center · QuranEnc.com · version 1.0.20
Allah does not burden any soul beyond its capacity. In its favor is what it has earned, and against it is what it has incurred. “Our Lord, do not hold us accountable if we forget or fall into error. Our Lord, do not place on us a burden like the one You placed on those before us. Our Lord, do not burden us with that which we cannot bear. Pardon us, forgive us, and have mercy on us. You are our Protector, so give us victory over the disbelieving people[1].”[2]
[1] Allah Almighty concludes this Surah by instructing His servants how to supplicate Him, just as He taught them in Surah al-Fātihah to praise Him and ask for guidance. [2] Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) said: “Whoever recites the last two verses of Surat al-Baqarah at night, they will suffice him.” [Al-Bukhāri: 5009, Muslim: 807].
Qur’ān 2:286English Translation - Rowwad Translation Center · QuranEnc.com · version 1.0.20
Where else the library names the night
The poster of morning and evening adhkār, Adhkār after Prayer, has an entry for al-Ikhlāṣ, al-Falaq and an-Nās, three times each, and adds that they are said again before sleep, blowing into the palms and wiping what can be reached of the body. Its source line names Abū Dāwūd and at-Tirmidhī, with the grade ḥasan ṣaḥīḥ.
The Qur’ān Companion of the Pocket Companion has a table headed “What to read, and when”: its row for every night lists Āyat al-Kursī, al-Mulk and the last two verses of al-Baqarah, and its row for before sleep the three sūrahs into the palms, wiped over the body three times. My Little Companion, the children’s set, has a card for sleeping and waking, with the short du‘ā, and tells the child to sleep on the right side and to read Āyat al-Kursī with a grown-up.
References
Verses of the Qur’ān, by sūrah and verse, shown above: 2:255; 2:285–286; 39:42. Named in the prose: sūrahs 112, 113 and 114 (al-Ikhlāṣ, al-Falaq, an-Nās) and sūrah 67 (al-Mulk).
Narrations, by collection and number as sunnah.com numbers them: al-Bukhārī by the numbering of Fatḥ al-Bārī; Muslim by Muḥammad Fuʾād ʿAbd al-Bāqī’s numbers, with the letter sunnah.com adds where it divides one. The library names the collection on each card; the numbers are the narrations described above.
Wuḍū before sleep, lying on the right side, and the du‘ā of submission as the last words: Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 247.
The three sūrahs into the palms, three times: Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 5017.
Āyat al-Kursī on going to bed: Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 2311, given by al-Bukhārī without its full chain.
The last two verses of al-Baqarah at night: Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 5009; Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 807a.
The tasbīḥ 33, 33 and 34 at bedtime: Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 5361; Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 2727a.
The short du‘ā, and the hand beneath the cheek: Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 6314.
Dusting the bedding: Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 6320; three times: Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 7393.
A bad dream: spitting to the left three times, seeking refuge, turning over: Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 2262.
The longer du‘ā as the app shows it whole: Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 7488.
A good dream and a bad one, and whom to tell: Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 7044.
From the Sabīl library: the Pocket Companion, the cards “Bedtime & the night” and “Āyat al-Kursī”, with the table “What to read, and when” and the card for sleeping and waking in My Little Companion, linked; Adab & Akhlāq, the card “Sleeping”; Adhkār after Prayer, the entry for the three sūrahs, linked. The narrations for lying face down, for Sūrah al-Mulk and for Āyat al-Kursī after the prayer are named on those cards by their collections only, and are not described here.
What is said on waking is also on the Pocket Companion’s card Waking & wuḍū. A question about the meaning of another line on that card has not been settled.