The Etiquettes of Sleeping


1. Sleep in a state of taharah (purity).

Ibn Abbas may Allaah be pleased with him reported that Allaah's Messenger peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him said: “Purify these bodies and Allaah will purify you, for there is no slave who goes to sleep in a state of purity but an Angel spends the night with him, and every time he turns over, [the Angel] says, 'O Allah! Forgive Your slave, for he went to bed in a state of purity.'” [Reported by at-Tabaranee. See Saheeh al-Jamee (3831)]
 

2. Sleep early.

Sleeping early is a healthy habit and it was the practice of Allaah's Messenger peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him to sleep directly after performing the Isha prayer. Abu Barzah al-Aslami may Allaah be pleased with him said that the Prophet peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him used to prefer to delay Isha, and he peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him did not like to sleep before it or talk after it.” [Saheeh al-Bukharee]
 

3. Choose a suitable bed.

Excessive luxurious or soft bed provokes laziness and makes one sleep more and become negligent. Aa'ishah may Allaah be pleased with her narrates that the pillow of the Prophet peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him on which he slept at night was made of leather stuffed with palm fibers.”
[Abu Dawood and Musnad Ahmad. Saheeh al-Jamee (4714)]
 

4. Clean the bed and lie on the right side.

Abu Hurayrah may Allaah be pleased with him reported: The Prophet peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him said: “When any one of you goes to bed, let him clear his bed by hitting it with his garment, for he does not know what may have come onto it. Then let him lie down on his right side…” [Saheeh al-Bukharee and Saheeh Muslim]
 

5. Reciting the Adhkaar (supplications) mentioned in the Sunnah before sleeping.

There are a number of Adhkaar prescribed in the Sunnah before going to bed, amongst them are reciting the last verses of Surah Al-Baqarah Verse 285 and Verse 286], reciting Surah Al-Falaq, Surah An-Nas and Surah Al-Ikhlas , blow in the palms and wipe as much of the body possible, starting from the head, face and then the front of the body doing it three times. [Saheeh al-Bukharee and Saheeh Muslim]

Ali Ibn Abi Talib may Allaah be pleased with him reported that when the Prophet's peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him daughter, Fatima may Allaah be pleased with her came to him and asked him for a servant, he peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him said to her and Ali: “Shall I not teach you something that will be better for you than a servant? When you go to bed, say 'SubhanAllah' thirty-three times, 'Al-hamdulillah' thirty-three times, and
'Allahu Akbar' thirty-four times. This is better for you than a servant.” [Saheeh al-Bukharee and Saheeh Muslim]