Sat 15 Dec 2018
Lesson 36: Supplications before you Sleep (Part 2)
- There are tremendous etiquettes of going to sleep in Islam and there are many great virtues for the one who guards over this
- Narrated Al-Barā bin `Azib (may Allah be pleased with him): The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said to me, “When you go to bed, perform ablution as you do for prayer, then lie down on your right side and say: ‘Allahumma innii aslamtu nafsii ilaika (Oh Allah I submit myself to you), wa wajjahtu wajhii ilaika (and I turn my face to You), wa fawwadtu ‘amrii ilaika (and I have entrusted my affairs to You) wa alja’tu dhahrii ilaika (and I resort to You for protection), raghbatan wa rahbatan ilaika (out of desire and fear of You), laa malja’a wa laa manjaa minka illaa ilaika (There is no place of safety or salvation from You except with You). Amantu bikitaabik al-ladhii anzalta (I believe in the Book You have revealed ) wa binabiyyika al-ladhii arsalta (and in the Prophet You have sent)’. If you should die (after reciting this) then you will die upon the fitrah (i.e., as a Muslim); so let these words be the last you say (before going to bed)” While I was memorizing it, I said, “Wa birasulika al-ladhi arsalta (in Your Apostle whom You have sent).’ The Prophet said, “No, but say: Wa binabiyyika al-ladhi arsalta (in Your Prophet whom You have sent). [Sahih al-Bukhari]
- The importance of making wudhu before going to sleep, why is this an important etiquette?
- Lying on your right side, why is this an etiquette? What did Ibn Qayyim say about sleeping on your left side?
- Note: Importance of knowing the meaning of these supplications
- There are a tremendous amount of meanings within this dua, what are they?
- Why did the Prophet (ﷺ) correct Barā (may Allah be pleased with him)?
- Narrated Hudhaifa ibn Al-Yamaan (may Allah be pleased with him): Whenever the Prophet (ﷺ) intended to go to bed, he would recite: “Bismika Allahumma amutu wa ahya (In Your name, O Allah, I die and I live).” And when he woke up from his sleep, he would say: “Al-hamdu lil-lahil-ladhi ahyana ba’da ma amatana; wa ilaihi an-nushuur (All the Praises are for Allah Who has made us alive after He made us die (sleep) and unto Him is the Resurrection).” [Sahih al-Bukhari]
- Why does the dua begin with “In your name Oh Allah”
- Why is sleep referred to as “the minor death” in the texts?
- Why is the supplication for the morning different to the one when sleeping?
- Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, “When any of you goes to bed, he should shake off (or dust off) his bedsheet because he does not know what might have fallen on it after he had left it. Then he should recite: ‘Bismika Rabbi wada’tu janbii, wa bika arfa’uhu, in amsakta nafsi farhamha, wa in arsaltaha fahfazha bima tahfazu bihi ‘ibadakas-salihin [With Your Name, my Lord, I place my side (upon the bed) and with Your Grace I will raise it up. If You withhold my soul (cause me to die), have mercy on it but if You let it go (let me live), guard it against which You guarded Your pious slaves].”[Sahih Al-Bukhari and Muslim]
- Abdullah b. ‘Umar commanded a person that as he went to bed, he should say: ” O Allah, You created my soul and You will give it death. To you belongs its death and life, if You give it life, safeguard it; and if You bring death to it, grant it pardon. O Allah, I ask of You safety” A man said to him: Did you hear it from Umar? Thereupon he said: (I have heard) from one who is better than Umar, from Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ).’ [Sahih Muslim]
- The importance of reciting these supplications regularly when going to sleep
- Q&A:
- Can you say the parts of the supplications in different orders?
- Can one change the intention in his prayer from one obligatory prayer to another? (e.g. changing intention from maghrib to Isha etc)
- If one forgets surah Fatiha in one rak’ah of the prayer, does this invalidate just that rak’ah or the whole prayer? How does one make up for it