Dua Before Sleeping: The Bedtime Invocations from the Sunnah
Night has something particular about it. When the light goes out and the silence falls, that is often when the thoughts return, the anxiety rises, and you turn over in bed without finding sleep. The Prophet ﷺ never closed his eyes without first placing his night in Allah's hands. For this exact moment he left us a few short invocations that turn your bedtime into an act of worship and let you sleep under a protection.
Sleep, in Islam, is not nothing: it is a lesser death. Allah says:
“It is He who takes your souls by night...” (Qur'an 6:60)
You do not fall asleep by your own power, and you do not wake by your own power. Every morning you open your eyes again is a gift. Here is how the Prophet ﷺ lived this passage.
Ayat al-Kursi: the protection of the night
Before sleeping, recite the Verse of the Throne (Qur'an 2:255). A companion reports that the Prophet ﷺ told him: when you go to bed and recite Ayat al-Kursi, “there will remain over you a protector from Allah, and no devil will come near you until morning” (Bukhari 2311).
It is one of the strongest protections of your night, and it connects directly to the morning and evening adhkar, of which Ayat al-Kursi is also a part.
The last three surahs, in the hollow of your hands
Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) relates that every night the Prophet ﷺ would cup his hands, blow into them while reciting al-Ikhlas, al-Falaq and an-Nas, then wipe his hands over as much of his body as he could, starting with his head and face. He did this three times (Bukhari 5017).
These three surahs are a shield: the last two (al-Falaq and an-Nas) are even called “the protectors” (al-mu'awwidhatayn), revealed precisely to seek refuge from harm.
The dua as you lay your head down
When the Prophet ﷺ went to bed, he would place his right hand under his cheek and say:
بِاسْمِكَ اللَّهُمَّ أَمُوتُ وَأَحْيَا
Bismika-llāhumma amūtu wa aḥyā
In Your name, O Allah, I die and I live.
And he also taught this invocation, in which you hand your soul over to Allah before falling asleep:
اللَّهُمَّ أَسْلَمْتُ نَفْسِي إِلَيْكَ، وَفَوَّضْتُ أَمْرِي إِلَيْكَ، وَأَلْجَأْتُ ظَهْرِي إِلَيْكَ، رَغْبَةً وَرَهْبَةً إِلَيْكَ، لَا مَلْجَأَ وَلَا مَنْجَا مِنْكَ إِلَّا إِلَيْكَ
Allāhumma aslamtu nafsī ilayka, wa fawwaḍtu amrī ilayka, wa alja'tu ẓahrī ilayka, raghbatan wa rahbatan ilayka, lā malja'a wa lā manjā minka illā ilayk
O Allah, I submit myself to You, I entrust my affair to You, I turn my back to You for protection, out of hope and fear of You. There is no refuge and no escape from You except to You.
The Prophet ﷺ added that if you die that night, you die upon the fitrah (the sound natural state of faith). Make these words the last thing you say before sleep.
The dhikr of Fatimah, against exhaustion
One day Fatimah (may Allah be pleased with her) came to complain to her father ﷺ about the exhaustion of the work of her hands. He did not give her rest: he gave her a dhikr. Before sleeping, say:
- SubhanAllah (Glory be to Allah) — 33 times
- Alhamdulillah (Praise be to Allah) — 33 times
- Allahu Akbar (Allah is the Greatest) — 34 times
He told her and Ali that it was better for them than a servant (Bukhari 3705). It is also the perfect use of a tasbih: you count, bead by bead, and drift off with a settled heart.
The bedtime table
| Invocation | How many | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Ayat al-Kursi | Once | Bukhari 2311 |
| Al-Ikhlas, al-Falaq, an-Nas (blown into hands) | 3 times | Bukhari 5017 |
| Bismika Allahumma amutu wa ahya | Once | Bukhari 6324 |
| Allahumma aslamtu nafsi ilayk… | Once | Bukhari 247 |
| SubhanAllah / Alhamdulillah / Allahu Akbar | 33 / 33 / 34 | Bukhari 3705 |
When it's anxiety keeping you awake
Sometimes it is not a lack of tiredness that keeps you up, it is a heavy heart. The thoughts spin, the worry tightens. These bedtime invocations are made exactly for those nights: they do not erase the worry, they remind you Who watches while you sleep. If it is a state that keeps coming back, we go into it in more detail in the dua for anxiety.
On waking
And when you open your eyes, close the loop. On waking, the Prophet ﷺ would say:
الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ الَّذِي أَحْيَانَا بَعْدَ مَا أَمَاتَنَا وَإِلَيْهِ النُّشُورُ
Al-ḥamdu lillāhi-lladhī aḥyānā baʿda mā amātanā wa ilayhi-n-nushūr
Praise be to Allah who gave us life after having caused us to die, and to Him is the resurrection.
In practice
Tonight, before you close your eyes, take two minutes. Recite Ayat al-Kursi, blow the three surahs into your hands and wipe them over yourself, then place your hand under your cheek and say “bismika Allahumma amutu wa ahya.” If you don't yet know it all by heart, keep these invocations within reach so you don't stumble when you're tired. In Nida, you gather your bedtime adhkar in one folder, recite them on the built-in tasbih, and make them the last act of your day: you fall asleep under Allah's protection, and you thank Him the moment you wake. We explain how to keep this habit in the dua journal.