Islamic Etiquette of Sleeping

Md. Mokhter Ahmad

Introduction:
It is possible for a person to worship Allah through the whole day and night. This does
not mean that we spend 24 hours of the day in prayer, rather that we follow the Islamic
etiquette for different tasks in whatever we do and this is our worship of Allah.
Sleeping is no different, and given the amount of time we spend sleeping, a person
should be keen to follow the etiquette of sleeping so as to spend these many hours
worshipping their Lord.
Sleeping is again an important favor of Allah upon us. The story of Musa is pertinent
in this respect. Allah mentioned in the Qur'an:

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Among the things that give a person immunity against any psychological disorders that
might face man during sleeping is showing full compliance with the Prophet's
recommendation concerning the etiquette of getting ready for bed, such as reading
well-known supplications, sleeping on the right side, and avoiding sleeping on the
belly, for the Prophet (saas) forbade sleeping on the belly.
A Muslim should not sleep on his belly especially as this may strengthen his sexual
urge. In addition, it is an unhealthy manner of sleeping. Abu Hurairah (r) reported that
one day the Prophet (saas) passed by a man sleeping on his belly. He tapped the man
with his foot saying: Such manner of sleeping is loathed by Allah (Ibn Hibban).

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Here, it is also beneficial to mention some Islamic manners of sleeping:
1) Before going to bed we have to ensure the following things:

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2) To go to sleep as early as possible:

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It is narrated that the Prophet (saas) disliked sleeping before Isha (evening) Prayer and
(sitting and) talking after it. (Bukhari and Muslim)

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3) Try to sleep in the state of purity.

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It is better to wash hands of any fat or something else before going to bed:

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4) To make ablution before going to the bed, perform a few units of prayer, and lie
down on your right side, put your right hand under your right cheek.

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If you want to go to bed, perform ablution as that for prayer, then lie down on your
right side, and say: O Allah! I submit myself to You, and turn my face towards You,
and confide my cause unto You, and take refuge in You, out of love and fear of You.
There is no refuge or escape from You except in You. I believe in Your Book, which
You have revealed and Your Prophet (saas), whom You have sent as Messenger.
)(Bukhari and Muslim

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5) Reciting the dua came in the hadith in this regard:

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O Allah! In Thy Name I live and die.

6) Dust your bed three times before you go to sleep.

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The Prophet (saas) : When one of you goes to bed, he should clear his bed with part
of his loincloth as he does not know what is lying inside after he has left it, and let him
say: O Allah! With Your name I have lain on my side, and with Your name I raise it.
O Allah! If You hold my soul (i.e. take my life), then have mercy on it, and if You
return it, then protect it with what You protect Your pious servants (Bukhari and
Muslim).

7) A Muslim recite a few chapters from the Qur'an before going to the beds:

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Before you sleep recite Ayat al-Kursi and the two last verses of the Surah Baqarah,
and Surah Mulk fully.
8) One should make himself accountable before himself before sleeping, seek Allahs
forgiveness for the wrongs which he committed that day and recite the three
tasbih, tahlil, and takbir.

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9) When you wake up recite: Praise be to Allah Who brought to us life again after
He has caused us to die and unto Him shall be the Resurrection.
10) To go for sleeping while having no jealousy, resentment and betrayal against
anyone:

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11) Whenever one turns over at night he should recite the following dua:

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12) To anticipate good tidings from a good dream, asking Allah for its good, telling it
to people he loves, and seeking refuge with Allah from bad dreams and from
superstitious omens, and asking Allah for its removal:

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13) Not to sleep excessively:

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As far as a persons sleeping after praying Fajr is concerned, no text (of Quran or Sunnah)
has been reported to indicate that this is prohibited, so the general principle applies (i.e.,
everything is permitted except that which has been expressly forbidden).
But the practice of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and his Companions after
praying Fajr was to remain sitting in the place where they had prayed until the sun rose, as is
reported in Sahih Muslim (1/463) in the hadith of Sammak ibn Harb, who said: I asked Jabir
ibn Samurah, Did you used to sit with the Messenger of Allah? He said, Yes, frequently.
He would not get up from the place where he had prayed Subh (Morning Prayer) until the sun
rose. When the sun rose, he would get up. They used to talk about things that had happened
during the Jahiliyyah (pre-Islamic period), and they would laugh and smile.
Also, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) asked his Lord to bless his
Ummah in the mornings, as is reported in the hadith of Sakhr al-Ghamidi, who said: The
Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: O Allah, bless my Ummah in
the mornings. Whenever he sent out troops or an army, he would send them at the beginning
of the day. Sakhr was a trader, and he used to send out his caravans at the beginning of the
day, and he did well as a result and made money. [Reported by Abu Dawud, at-Tirmidhi and
Ibn Majah, with a chain of transmitters in which there is unknown narrator; corroborating
evidence is to be found in a hadith narrated by `Ali, Ibn `Umar, Ibn `Abbas, Ibn Mas`ud and
others (may Allah be pleased with them all).]
For this reason, some of the salaf (early Muslims) disliked the idea of sleeping after Fajr. Ibn
Abi Shaybah reported in his Musannaf (5/222, no. 25442) with an authentic chain of
transmitters from `Urwah ibn al-Zubayr that he said: Al-Zubayr used to forbid his children to
sleep in the morning. `Urwah said: I do not hear of any man who sleeps in the morning but I
lose interest in that person.
In brief, people should make the most of this time which can bring many benefits in this
world and in the Hereafter, but if a person sleeps at this time to gain strength to do his work,
there is nothing wrong with this, especially if it is not easy for him to sleep at any other time
of the day. Ibn Abi Shaybah reported in his Musannaf (5/223, no. 25454) from the hadith of
Abu Yazid al-Madini who said: `Umar came to Suhayb one morning and found him sleeping,
so he sat down until he woke up. Suhayb said: The Commander of the Faithful is sitting in
his place and Suhayb is sleeping! `Umar said to him: I did not like to disturb your sleep that
could be beneficial for you.
As for sleeping after `Asr, this is also permitted; there is no authentic hadith from the Prophet
(peace and blessings be upon him) to indicate that sleeping at this time is prohibited.
As for the words, Whoever sleeps after `Asr and loses his mind as a result has no one to
blame but himself, which are attributed to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him),
this is a false hadith and there is no proof that these words were uttered by the Prophet (peace
and blessings be upon him).
Commenting on this false hadith, Sheikh al-Albani writes: Marwan [ibn Muhammad alAsadi] said: I said to Layth ibn Sa`d when I saw him sleep after `Asr during the month of

Ramadan O Abul-Harith! Why are you sleeping after `Asr when Ibn Lahi`ah has told us
(and he mentioned the false hadith)? Al-Layth said: I do not give up something that is good
for me because of the hadith of Ibn Lahi`ah from `Aqil! I am impressed by this answer of alLayth, because it is indicative of understanding and knowledge, and no wonder, for he was
one of the imams of the Muslims and well known jurists. (See: Al-Silsilah al-Da`ifah [hadith
no. 39]).
A new day in the name of Valentine Day is being observed in Bangladesh for the last few years. Some
papers are encouraging its observance. This day was not observed before in Bangladesh and
probably in most of the Muslim countries. A group of businessmen and hotel-owners also are
encouraging it for business gain and profit. What is the history and basis of this Valentine day. I
reproduce below in this regard from the writing of Dr. Khalid Baig.
Most Muslims who indulge in many alien cultural practices, these days, do not know what they are
doing. They are just blind followers of their equally blind cultural leaders.
Little do they realize that what they regard as innocent fun may in fact be rooted in paganism. That
the symbols they embrace may be symbols of unbelief. That the ideas they borrow may be products
of superstition. And that all these may be a negation of what Islam stands for.
Consider Valentines Day, a day that after dying out a well deserved death in most of Europe but
surviving in Britain and the United States has suddenly started to emerge across a swath of Muslim
countries. Who was Valentine? Why is this day observed?
Legends abound, as they do in all such cases, but this much is clear Valentines Day began as a
pagan ritual started by Romans in the 4th century BCE to honour Lupercus, the god of fertility and
flocks.
Its main attraction was a lottery held to distribute young women to young men for
entertainment and pleasure until the next years lottery.
Among other equally despicable practices associated with this day was the lashing of young women
by two young men, clad only in a bit f goatskin and wielding goatskin thongs, who had been smeared
with the blood of sacrificial goats and dogs. A lash of the sacred thongs by these holy men was
believed to make the women better able to bear children.
As usual, Christianity tried, unsuccessfully, to stop the evil celebration of Lupercalia. It first replaced
the lottery o the names of women with a lottery of the names of saints. The idea was that during the
following year the young men would emulate the life of the saint whose name they had drawn.
Christianity ended up dong in Rome , and elsewhere, as the Romans did.
The idea that you can preserve the appearance of a popular evil and yet somehow turn it to serve the
purpose of virtue has survived
The only success it had was in changing the name of Lupercalia to St. Valentines Day. Pope
Gellasius did it in the year 496, in honour of one Saint Valentine. However, there are as many as 50
different Valentines in Christian legends. Two of them are more famous, although their lives and
characters are also shrouded in mystery.
According to one legend, which is more in line with the true nature of this celebration, St. Valentine
was a lovers saint who had himself fallen in love with his jailers daughter.
Due to serious troubles that accompanied such lottery, French government banned the Valentine ritual
in 1776. It also vanished over the years in Italy , Austria , Hungry and Germany . Earlier, during the
17th century when the Puritans were strong it had been banned in England , but King Charles II
revived it in 1660.
From England the Valentine ritual arrived in the New World , where enterprising Yankees spotted a
good means of making money. Esther A Howland who produced, in the 1840s, one of the first
commercial American Valentine Day cards called - what else - valentines sold $ 5,000 worth in the first
year. (Then $ 5,000 was a lot of money). The valentine industry has been booming ever since.
It is the same story with Halloween, which has otherwise normal human beings dressing, like ghosts
and goblins in a re-enactment of an ancient pagan ritual of demon worship.
The pagan name for that event was Samhain (pronounced sow-en). Just as in case of Valentines
Day. Christianity changed its name, but not the pagan moorings.
Even the apparently innocuous celebration might have pagan foundations. According to one account,
in pagan curlers, people feared evil spirits, especially on their birthdays. It was a common belief that
evil spirits were more dangerous to a person when he or she experienced a change in their daily life,
such as turning a year older. So family and friends surrounded the person with laughter and joy on
their birthdays to protect them from evil.
How can anyone in his right mind think that Islam would be indifferent to practices steeped in antiIslamic ideas and beliefs? .
It is a great tragedy that under the constant barrage of commercial and cultural propaganda from the
forces of Jahiliya and the relentless media machine, Muslims have began to embrace the Valentines,
the Halloween ghosts, and even Santa Glaus.(Impact International, London ,March 2001)

This is the history of Valentine Day. Such a program based on paganism and superstition should not
be observed in a country like Bangladesh where Muslims constitute ninety percent of the population.
Islam has taught us genuine love of all which does not depend on observance of a day of such type.
In our country it has become a medium for free mixing of some young people and for adultery. This is
no part of culture of the Muslims or the Bangladeshis. Any part of western culture which increases
obscenity and indecency should not be allowed in our country. I draw the attention of scholars,
journalists, teachers, Imams and social workers to take steps to stop its observance in our country and
the Muslim countries..