What the Sabīl library holds for going to bed and for the night, from the order its bedtime card sets out to the two du‘ās printed beneath it, each with its source and grade.
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 20267 min read
This page gathers what the Sabīl library holds for going to sleep and for the night: the order its bedtime card sets out, the two du‘ās printed beneath it, Āyat al-Kursī, and what its cards say about a bad dream. Each entry is shown from the library, as it is read there: its Arabic, its meaning where the card gives one, and the source and grade the library gives it.
It gives no ruling, and it adds no number, time or promise of its own: where a count or a reward is mentioned, it is the card's. What is said on waking is not this page's subject, and appears only where a quoted card carries it. For anything about your own circumstances, ask a scholar.
The bedtime card of the Pocket Companion
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": 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, and gives the grade ṣaḥīḥ.
Two du‘ās follow, a short one and a longer one. The library cites both to al-Bukhārī with the grade ṣaḥīḥ. The source line of the longer one calls it the last words before sleep, and adds that whoever dies that night dies upon fiṭrah.
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.
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.
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.
The library's cards on manners have one for sleeping. Its lines are: 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. It also says not to lie face down, which it calls a posture Allah dislikes. For these lines the library cites al-Bukhārī and Muslim, and Abū Dāwūd and at-Tirmidhī, with the grade ṣaḥīḥ.
Under the label "The last words of the day" the card has the short du‘ā of the bedtime card again, cited to al-Bukhārī with the grade ṣaḥīḥ.
The same card carries the words said on waking, cited to al-Bukhārī. Its last line is on dreams, and the library cites it to al-Bukhārī and Muslim with the grade ṣaḥīḥ. For a troubling dream it says: spit lightly to your left three times, seek refuge from Satan, turn onto the other side, and tell no one of it. It adds a sentence about a good dream.
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.
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
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[143], All-Sustaining[144]. Neither drowsiness overtakes Him nor sleep[145]. 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[146], while they encompass nothing of His knowledge, except what He wills. His Kursī[147] [i.e., footstool] extends over the heavens and earth, and safeguarding of both does not weary Him, for He is the Most High[148], the Most Great[149].[150]
[143] Whose life is perfect, complete, and eternal, without beginning or end. [144] Dependent on none for His existence while being the sustainer of all created beings. [145] Dozing off and falling asleep are but normal to all creation that are inherently frail. [146] Allah's knowledge encompasses every aspect of His creations in the past, present and future. [147] Chair or footstool. It is not to be confused with al-‘Arsh (the Throne), which is infinitely higher and greater than al-Kursī. [148] Above all of His creations and superior to them in essence, rank, and position. [149] Whose greatness is unlimited, beyond description or imagination. [150] 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 1.0.19
The three sūrahs, and 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. It 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.
Two other sets of the Pocket Companion come back to the night. The Qur’ān 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. The library cites the table to al-Bukhārī, Muslim, at-Tirmidhī and an-Nasā’ī, with the grade ṣaḥīḥ. My Little Companion, the children's set, has a card for sleeping and waking: it has the short du‘ā again, and tells the child to sleep on the right side and to read Āyat al-Kursī with a grown-up.
What is said on waking is also on the Pocket Companion's card Waking & wuḍū. The library's own checking has not settled a question about that card's text.
The bedtime card names Sūrah al-Mulk and the last two verses of al-Baqarah. Sūrah al-Mulk and Sūrah al-Baqarah are in the Qur’ān reader.