And prayers and peace be upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions.

The reader: In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions.
He (may Allah have mercy on him) said: "The Book of the Etiquette of Sleep, Lying Down, Sitting, the Gathering, the Companion, and Dreams. From al-Bara' ibn 'Azib (may Allah be pleased with him), who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), when he went to his bed, would sleep on his right side, then say:

Allahumma aslamtu nafsi ilaika, wa wajjahtu wajhi ilaika, wa fawwadtu amri ilaika, wa 'alja'tu zahri ilaika, raghbatan wa rahbatan ilaika, la malja'a wa la manja illa ilaika. Amantu bikitabikal-ladhi anzalta, wa nabiyyikal-ladhi arsalta

اللهم أسلمت نفسي إليك، ووجهت وجهي إليك، وفوضت أمري إليك، وألجأت ظهري إليك، رغبة ورهبة إليك، لا ملجأ ولا منجى منك إلا إليك، آمنت بكتابك الذي أنزلت ونبيك الذي أرسلت

Riyad as-Salihin 813

Al-Bukhari narrated it. And from him (may Allah be pleased with him), he said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said:

When you want to go to bed, perform ablution as you do for prayer, then lie down on your right side and say

إذا أتيت مضجعك فتوضأ وضوءك للصلاة ثم اضطجع على شقك الأيمن وقل

Sahih al-Bukhari 6311

He mentioned the like of this, and in it is:

and utter these words in the last of that you utter (other prayers)

واجعلهن آخر ما تقول

Sunan Abi Dawud 5046Sahih (Al-Albani)

Agreed upon by al-Bukhari and Muslim."

The Shaykh : In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
The author (may Allah have mercy on him) established a chapter in *Riyad al-Saliheen* on the etiquette of sleep, sitting, and the companion, and other things that a person needs in his life. This indicates that this book is a comprehensive, general book that every Muslim should possess, read, and understand what is in it. So the author (may Allah have mercy on him) mentioned the etiquette of sleep. Sleep is one of the signs of Allah (Mighty and Majestic) indicating the perfection of His power, mercy, and wisdom. Allah the Exalted said: It is a blessing from Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) upon the servant, for he rests in it from previous fatigue and becomes energetic in it for subsequent work. So it benefits the person regarding what has passed and what is to come. It is part of the perfection of worldly life, because the world is deficient, and it is completed by sleep for the sake of rest. But it is a deficiency from another perspective regarding the Ever-Living, the Self-Subsisting (Mighty and Majestic), who is Allah. Indeed, Allah the Exalted due to the perfection of His life, He does not need sleep and does not need anything. He is the Self-Sufficient, the Praiseworthy (Mighty and Majestic). But the human being in this worldly life is a deficient creature who needs completion, and among that is sleep. Sleep is that Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) takes the soul when sleeping, but it is not the complete taking that results in complete separation. Therefore, you find the person alive and dead in reality; he does not sense what is with him, he does not hear a word, he does not see a person, and he does not smell a scent, but his soul has not exited his body completely. Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He) said: And this major death He takes it in its sleep and it is the first and it is the sleeping one, meaning He releases it because everything with Allah the Exalted is by measure, everything with Him is by a specified term, and every action of His (Exalted and Majestic is He) is wisdom in the utmost precision. So this sleep is among the signs of Allah (Mighty and Majestic). People come, for example, to a room on a roof in the desert and they are sleeping as if they are dead bodies, then Allah (Mighty and Majestic) revives these people. Allah the Exalted said: Then the person considers sleep from another perspective, which is the resurrection of the dead after death. Indeed, the One who is able to return the soul so that the person wakes up and works his work in the world is able to resurrect the dead from their graves, and He is Able over all things. Among the etiquettes of sleep is that the person sleeps on his right side, because this is the action of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and his command. Al-Bara' ibn 'Azib (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) would lie down on his right side, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) commanded al-Bara' ibn 'Azib to sleep on his right side. This is the best, whether the qiblah is behind you, in front of you, on your right, or on your left. Sleeping on the right side is the important thing due to the command of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family). Some people are accustomed to sleeping on their left side; if they sleep on their right side, perhaps sleep will not come to them. But they should accustom themselves, because the matter is not trivial. It is established from the action of the Messenger and the command of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). So when you sleep, if you sleep on your right side, you feel that you are following the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), where he used to sleep on his right side, and complying with his command, where he commanded (peace and blessings be upon him) to sleep on his right side. Accustom yourself; perhaps you will not sleep the first night, but the second night or more, but accustom yourself. This is from the sunnah. And from the sunnah also, if it is easy, to place your right hand under your right cheek, because this is established from the action of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). If it is easy for you, it is good and better. If it is not easy, it is not as certain as sleeping on the right side. And among that also is that you say this dhikr which the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said and commanded: And make this the last thing you say, meaning after the other adhkar, such as the dhikr: and the like. The important thing is to make this dhikr which the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) taught al-Bara' ibn 'Azib the last thing you say. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) commanded al-Bara' ibn 'Azib to repeat this dhikr to him, so he repeated it, but al-Bara' said: "And in Your Messenger whom You sent" So the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to him: The scholars said: That is because the term "Messenger" is used for the human messenger and the angelic messenger Jibril, as He said: And "Prophet" is for the human prophet. And when you say: "In Your Prophet whom You sent" you have combined the testimony to the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) with prophethood and messengership. So this wording is more appropriate than saying "In Your Messenger whom You sent," because if you said "In Your Messenger whom You sent," it could be Jibril, because Jibril is a messenger whom Allah sent to the prophets with revelation. So you say "In Your Prophet whom You sent." Therefore, it is incumbent upon you to memorize this dhikr and say it when you lie down on your beds, and make it the last thing you say, in compliance with the command of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) and following his Sunnah and guidance. This is among the etiquettes of sleep. And from the wisdom of Allah (Mighty and Majestic) and His mercy is that you hardly find an action of the person but you find it accompanied by dhikr. Clothing has a dhikr, eating has a dhikr, drinking has a dhikr, sleep has a dhikr, even a man's intercourse with his wife has a dhikr. Everything has a dhikr. Why? So that the person does not neglect the remembrance of Allah. The remembrance of Allah is constant on his heart, constant on his tongue, and constant. And this is from the blessings of Allah, which we ask Allah the Exalted to grant us gratitude for and to help us with.
The student: ...

The Shaykh : Yes, accustom yourself, accustom yourself, my brother. Yes, indeed, as I said, accustom yourself little by little.