What are the etiquettes of sleep?
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The questioner : What are the etiquettes of sleep?
The Shaykh : Sleep?
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : It should be known that out of the mercy and wisdom of Allah the Exalted, He has prescribed for His servants, may He be Exalted, verbal and physical acts of worship that cause a person to be engaged in the worship of Allah at all times. There are etiquettes for eating, etiquettes for drinking, etiquettes for sleeping, etiquettes for waking up, etiquettes for putting on clothing, etiquettes for taking it off, etiquettes for entering the mosque, etiquettes for leaving it, etiquettes for entering the place of relief to urinate or defecate, and etiquettes for leaving it. All of this is so that a person remains engaged in the worship of his Lord at all times. And all praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds.
It is recommended (sunnah) to sleep in a state of ritual purity, performing wudu' and sleeping while in a state of wudu'. It is recommended to sleep on one's right side, whether facing the qiblah or not. It is recommended to recite Ayat al-Kursi when going to bed, and to recite the Mu'awwidhat and[Al-Ikhlas 112:1] then blow into one's hands and pass them over one's body, over one's face and whatever part of the body one can reach, three times. One should sleep while remembering Allah the Mighty and Majestic with one's heart. As for when one wakes up, one should say: "Praise be to Allah who gave us life after He caused us to die, and to Him is the resurrection. Praise be to Allah who returned my soul to me, kept my body sound, and permitted me to remember Him." One should wipe one's face three times and recite the words of Allah the Exalted: [Ali 'Imran 3:190-191] to the end of the surah, Al-Imran. Then one should perform wudu' and pray. One should begin the tahajjud prayer with two light rak'ahs, then pray as much as one wishes, concluding the prayer with witr, one rak'ah. Then one should begin one's daily life with the Fajr prayer, as is known to people. Yes.
The questioner : May Allah reward you.
The Shaykh : Sleep?
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : It should be known that out of the mercy and wisdom of Allah the Exalted, He has prescribed for His servants, may He be Exalted, verbal and physical acts of worship that cause a person to be engaged in the worship of Allah at all times. There are etiquettes for eating, etiquettes for drinking, etiquettes for sleeping, etiquettes for waking up, etiquettes for putting on clothing, etiquettes for taking it off, etiquettes for entering the mosque, etiquettes for leaving it, etiquettes for entering the place of relief to urinate or defecate, and etiquettes for leaving it. All of this is so that a person remains engaged in the worship of his Lord at all times. And all praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds.
It is recommended (sunnah) to sleep in a state of ritual purity, performing wudu' and sleeping while in a state of wudu'. It is recommended to sleep on one's right side, whether facing the qiblah or not. It is recommended to recite Ayat al-Kursi when going to bed, and to recite the Mu'awwidhat and
Say, "He is Allah, [who is] One,
قُلْ هُوَ اللَّهُ أَحَدٌ(190) Indeed, in the creation of the heavens and the earth and the alternation of the night and the day are signs for those of understanding. (191) Who remember Allah while standing or sitting or [lying] on their sides and give thought to the creation of the heavens and the earth, [saying], "Our Lord, You did not create this aimlessly; exalted are You [above such a thing]; then protect us from the punishment of the Fire.
إِنَّ فِي خَلْقِ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالأَرْضِ وَاخْتِلافِ اللَّيْلِ وَالنَّهَارِ لَأيَاتٍ لِأُولِي الأَلْبَابِ * الَّذِينَ يَذْكُرُونَ اللَّهَ قِيَامًا وَقُعُودًا وَعَلَى جُنُوبِهِمْThe questioner : May Allah reward you.