The Way to Perform Voluntary Prayers at Night-III

adhering to the habit of reciting the athkaar (remembrance) prescribed by the sharee’ah (islamic legislation) before going to sleep:

these athkaar are like a fortress which protects a person from the devil, by the permission of allaah the almighty, and helps him to get up to perform voluntary prayers at night. among these athkaar is the one mentioned in the hadeeth of abu hurayrah, may allaah be pleased with him, that the prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, 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, then let him say, ‘bismika rabbi wadha’tu janbi wa bika arfa’uhu. in amsakta nafsi farhamha wa in arsaltaha fahfath-ha bima tahfathu bihi ‘ibaadaka as-saaliheen. (in your name, my lord, i lay myself down and i get up again. if you take my soul, then have mercy on it, and if you send it back to me, then protect it with that with which you protect your righteous slaves)."

‘aa’ishah, may allaah be pleased with her, narrated that "when the prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, went to bed each night, he would put his palms together, blow in them, and recite qul huwa allaahu ahad, qul a’oothu bi rabbi’l-falaq and qul a’oothu bi rabbi’l-naas (surat al-ikhlaas, al-falaq and an-naas), then he would wipe as much of his body as he could with his hands, starting with his head and face, and the front of his body; doing this three times." [al-bukhaari and muslim]

it was narrated on the authority of ibn mas’ood, may allaah be pleased with him, that the prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said:"if anyone recites the last two verses of surat al-baqarah, this will protect him."[al-bukhaari and muslim]

anas ibn maalik, may allaah be pleased with him, narrated that when the prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, went to bed, he would say: "al-hamdu lillaah illathi at’amana wa saqaana, wa kafaana fa kam mimman laa kaafiya lahu wa laa mu’weeya lahu (praise be to allaah who has fed us and given us drink, and who has given us enough, for how many are those who have no one to suffice them or give them refuge)." [muslim]

according to the hadeeth of abu hurayrah, may allaah be pleased with him, in which he tells the story of how he captured the devil, who said to him: "when you go to bed, recite aayat-ul-kursi, {‘allaah - there is no deity except him, the ever-living, the sustainer of [all] existence.’} [quran 2:255] until the end of it, because it will bring the protection of allaah the almighty for you, and no devil will approach you until morning comes." abu hurayrah, may allaah be pleased with him, mentioned this to the prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, and he said: "he spoke the truth even though he is a liar."[al-bukhaari and muslim]

it was narrated on the authority of ‘ali ibn abi taalib, may allaah be pleased with him, that the prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said to his daughter faatimah, may allaah be pleased with her, when she came to him and asked him for a servant, he said to her and ‘ali, may allaah be pleased with him: "shall i not teach you something that will be better for you than a servant? when you go to bed, say ‘subhaan allaah’ thirty-three times, ‘al-hamdu lillaah’ thirty-three times, and ‘allaahu akbar’ thirty-four times. this is better for you than a servant."[al-bukhaari and muslim]

it was narrated on the authority of anas ibn maalik, may allaah be pleased with him, that the prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: "recite surat al-kaafiroon when you go to sleep, for it is a renunciation of shirk."[al-bayhaqi] it was narrated on the authority of hafsah, may allaah be pleased with her, that when the prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, went to bed, he would put his right hand under his right cheek and say: "rabbi qini ‘athaabaka yawma tab’athu ‘ibaadak (my lord, save me from your punishment on the day when you resurrect your slaves)." [abu daawood]

it was narrated on the authority of al-baraa’ ibn ‘aazib, may allaah be pleased with him, that the prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said:

"when you go to bed, make ablution as if for prayer, then lie down on your right side, then say, ‘allaahummah aslamtu nafsi ilayk, wa wajjahtu wajhi ilayk, wa fawwadhtu amri ilayk, wa alja’tu thahri ilayk, raghbatan wa rahbatan ilayk, la malja’a wa la manja minka illa ilayk. aamantu bi kitaabik allathi anzalt, wa bi nabiyyik allathi arsalt (o allaah, i submit myself to you, i turn my face to you, i delegate my affairs to you and i rely totally on you, out of fear of and hope in you. there is no refuge or sanctuary from you except in you. i believe in your book which you have revealed and in your prophet whom you have sent).’ then if you die, you will die on the fitrah (innate sound belief), so make these the last words you speak."

similarly, the muslim should have the habit of reciting the athkaar prescribed by sharee’ah when waking up, such as that narrated on the authority of abu hurayrah, may allaah be pleased with him, that the prophet , sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: "when any one of you wakes up, he should say, ‘al-hamdu lillaah allathi radda ‘alayya roohi, wa ‘aafaani fi jasadi wa athina li bi thikrihi (praise be to allaah who has restored my soul, given health to my body, and allowed me to remember him)." [at-tirmithi and an-nasaa’i]

it was narrated on the authority of ‘ubaadah ibn as-saamit, may allaah be pleased with him, that the prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said:

"whoever turns over at night and says ‘laa ilaaha ill-allaah wahdahu la shareeka lah, lahul-mulk wa lahul-hamd wa huwa ‘ala kulli shay’in qadeer. al-hamdulillahi, subhaan allaah wa la illaaha ill-allaah wa allaahu akbar wa la hawla wa la quwwata illa billaah (there is no deity worthy of worship but allaah alone, with no partner or associate. his is the dominion and the praise, and he is over all things competent. praise be to allaah, glory be to allaah. there is no god except allaah, allaah is most great and there is no strength and no power except with allaah),’ then says, ‘allaahumma ighfir li (o allaah, forgive me),’ or some other supplications, he will be answered, and if he makes ablution and then prays, his prayer will be accepted."

imaam ibn battaal said,

"allaah the almighty has promised through his prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, that whoever wakes up from his sleep pronouncing words of tawheed, submitting to his sovereignty, recognizing his blessings by praising him, exalting him above that which does not befit him by glorifying him (saying ‘subhaan allaah’), submitting to him by magnifying him (saying ‘allaahu akbar’) and admitting one’s utter dependence upon his help, then if he makes supplication, it will be answered, and if he prays, his prayer will be accepted. everyone who hears this hadeeth should apply it and make the most of it, and make his intention sincerely for his lord allaah the almighty."

al-baraa’ ibn ‘aazib, may allaah be pleased with him, said that when the prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, woke up, he would say: "al-hamdu lillaahillathi ahyaana ba’da ma amaatana wa ilayhi an-nushoor (praise be to allaah who has brought us back to life after having caused us to die, and unto him is the resurrection).’" [muslim]

ibn ‘abbaas, may allaah be pleased with him, narrated that when the prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, woke up he would wipe the trace of sleep from his face with his hand, then look at the sky and recite the final ten verses of surat aal ‘imraan, starting: {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…} [quran 3:190] [muslim]

imaam an-nawawi, may allaah have mercy upon him, said

, "this indicates that it is recommended to wipe away the traces of sleep from one’s face, and to recite these verses when getting up from sleep."

being keen to take a nap during the day, whether before or after noon: it was narrated on the authority of anas, may allaah be pleased with him, that the prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: "take a nap, for the devils do not take naps." [at-tabaraani]

is-haaq ibn ‘abdullaah said, "taking a nap is one of the deeds of good people. it revitalizes the heart and helps one to perform voluntary prayers at night." al-hasan al-basri, may allaah have mercy upon him, passed by a group of people in the marketplace in the middle of the day, and heard the racket they were making. he said, "do these people take a nap?" it was said to him, "no." he said,

"i think their nights must be bad."

avoiding eating or drinking too much:

eating and drinking too much are two of the main obstacles that prevent people from performing voluntary prayers at night. it was narrated on the authority of al-miqdaam ibn ma’di karib, may allaah be pleased with him, that the prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: "man fills no vessel worse than his stomach. it is sufficient for the son of aadam (adam) to have a few mouthfuls to give him the strength he needs. if he has to fill his stomach, then let him leave one-third for food, one-third for drink and one-third for air." [at-tirmithi and ibn maajah]

it was narrated on the authority of abu juhayfah, may allaah be pleased with him, that the prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said to a man who burped in his presence: "stop your burping, for the people who eat the most in this life will be the hungriest on the day of judgment." [al-haakim]

sufyaan ath-thawri, may allaah have mercy upon him, said, "you should eat little, so that you will be able to perform voluntary prayers at night." ma’qil ibn habeeb saw some people eating a lot, and said, "i do not think that our companions (referring to those people) want to perform voluntary prayers at night." wahb ibn munabbih said,

"there is no human dearer to his devil than the one who eats and sleeps a lot."