Duas before sleep: the complete authentic collection.

Sleep, in the Quran, is not a small thing. Allah says He "takes the souls at the time of their death, and those that have not yet died during their sleep" (Quran 39:42). Every night the soul is handed back to its Creator; every morning that we wake is a return granted by His mercy. The Prophet ﷺ treated this transition with full seriousness. He had a complete bedtime routine, specific recitations, a way to lie down, a remedy for bad dreams, and he taught all of it to his Companions and even to children. This article collects every authentic dua before sleep, each with its Arabic text, transliteration, translation, and hadith source.

Why sleep has its own routine

Most people fall into bed at the end of the day as a matter of biology. The Prophet ﷺ approached it as a matter of worship. He understood sleep as a daily rehearsal of death and waking as a daily rehearsal of resurrection, and he framed the moment with the name of Allah on both sides of it.

The duas below do two things at once. They place a real protection over the sleeper, the hadiths are explicit that Ayat al-Kursi brings a guardian and that the last two ayat of Al-Baqarah suffice the one who recites them. And they keep the heart turned toward Allah at the most defenseless point of the day, the surrender into unconsciousness. None of this is ritual for its own sake. It is a believer handing back the trust of his life each night and asking for it to be returned.

You do not need to recite all six duas every night to benefit. Begin with Ayat al-Kursi and one short dua. Add the rest as they settle into memory. Consistency over months is what turns this collection into a habit, and the habit into character.

Dua 1: Ayat al-Kursi before sleep

Abu Hurayrah (RA) was assigned to guard the zakat of Ramadan. A figure came stealing from it; Abu Hurayrah caught him, and after being caught three times the figure offered a bargain: "Let me go and I will teach you words by which Allah will benefit you. When you go to your bed, recite Ayat al-Kursi from beginning to end. A guardian from Allah will remain with you, and no Shaytan will come near you until morning." When Abu Hurayrah reported this, the Prophet ﷺ said: "He told you the truth, though he is a liar. That was a Shaytan." (Sahih al-Bukhari 2311)

اللَّهُ لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ الْحَيُّ الْقَيُّومُ ۚ لَا تَأْخُذُهُ سِنَةٌ وَلَا نَوْمٌ ۚ لَّهُ مَا فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَمَا فِي الْأَرْضِ ۗ مَن ذَا الَّذِي يَشْفَعُ عِندَهُ إِلَّا بِإِذْنِهِ

Allahu la ilaha illa huwa, al-Hayyu al-Qayyum. La ta'khudhuhu sinatun wa la nawm. Lahu ma fis-samawati wa ma fil-ard. Man dhal-ladhi yashfa'u 'indahu illa bi-idhnih...

"Allah, there is no god but Him, the Ever-Living, the Sustainer of all. Neither drowsiness overtakes Him nor sleep. To Him belongs all that is in the heavens and the earth. Who can intercede with Him except by His permission..." (Ayat al-Kursi, Quran 2:255)

Sahih al-Bukhari 2311

The irony is the lesson. A Shaytan, caught in the act, was made to disclose the single best protection against Shaytan. The verse itself explains why it works: it is entirely a statement of Allah's perfect, unsleeping watchfulness. To recite it at bedtime is to admit that the only true guard over your sleep is Allah. If you memorize nothing else from this article, memorize Ayat al-Kursi.

Dua 2: The last three ayat of Al-Baqarah

The Prophet ﷺ said: "Whoever recites the last two ayat of Surah Al-Baqarah at night, they will suffice him." (Sahih al-Bukhari 4008; Sahih Muslim 807). Scholars have explained "suffice him" to mean they will protect him from every harm of that night, or suffice him in place of the night prayer, or both. Many readers begin from ayah 284 and recite the closing three ayat together as a single bedtime portion.

آمَنَ الرَّسُولُ بِمَا أُنزِلَ إِلَيْهِ مِن رَّبِّهِ وَالْمُؤْمِنُونَ ۚ كُلٌّ آمَنَ بِاللَّهِ وَمَلَائِكَتِهِ وَكُتُبِهِ وَرُسُلِهِ ... رَبَّنَا وَلَا تُحَمِّلْنَا مَا لَا طَاقَةَ لَنَا بِهِ ۖ وَاعْفُ عَنَّا وَاغْفِرْ لَنَا وَارْحَمْنَا

Amana ar-rasulu bima unzila ilayhi min rabbihi wal-mu'minun. Kullun amana billahi wa mala'ikatihi wa kutubihi wa rusulih ... Rabbana wa la tuhammilna ma la taqata lana bih, wa'fu 'anna, waghfir lana, warhamna.

"The Messenger has believed in what was revealed to him from his Lord, and so have the believers. Each one believes in Allah, His angels, His books, and His messengers ... Our Lord, do not burden us with what we have no strength to bear. Pardon us, forgive us, and have mercy on us." (Quran 2:285-286)

Sahih al-Bukhari 4008

These ayat close with one of the most loved supplications in the Quran, a plea for a burden the soul can carry, for pardon, forgiveness, and mercy. Ending the day on those words is itself a quiet act of trust.

Dua 3: The three quls and wiping the body

'Aishah (RA) reported: "Every night when the Prophet ﷺ went to his bed, he would cup his hands together, blow into them, and recite into them Surah Al-Ikhlas, Surah Al-Falaq, and Surah An-Nas. Then he would wipe with his hands as much of his body as he could reach, beginning with his head, his face, and the front of his body. He did this three times." (Sahih al-Bukhari 5017)

قُلْ هُوَ اللَّهُ أَحَدٌ ۖ اللَّهُ الصَّمَدُ ۖ لَمْ يَلِدْ وَلَمْ يُولَدْ ۖ وَلَمْ يَكُن لَّهُ كُفُوًا أَحَدٌ

Qul huwa Allahu ahad. Allahu as-samad. Lam yalid wa lam yulad. Wa lam yakun lahu kufuwan ahad.

"Say: He is Allah, the One. Allah, the Eternal Refuge. He neither begets nor is born, and there is none comparable to Him." (Surah Al-Ikhlas, Quran 112)

Sahih al-Bukhari 5017

This is followed by Surah Al-Falaq (Quran 113), seeking refuge from the harm of created things, of darkness, of those who blow on knots, and of the envier; and Surah An-Nas (Quran 114), seeking refuge from the whispering of Shaytan in the hearts of people. The three together form a complete shield. The act of blowing into the hands and wiping the body is the literal carrying of the words of Allah from the tongue to the limbs, placing them over yourself before sleep.

Dua 4: Bismika rabbi wada'tu janbi

The Prophet ﷺ said: "When one of you goes to his bed, let him say..." (Sahih al-Bukhari 6320; Sahih Muslim 2714). This is the gentlest of the bedtime duas, a single sentence built on the trust between a slave and his Lord.

بِاسْمِكَ رَبِّي وَضَعْتُ جَنْبِي، وَبِكَ أَرْفَعُهُ، إِنْ أَمْسَكْتَ نَفْسِي فَارْحَمْهَا، وَإِنْ أَرْسَلْتَهَا فَاحْفَظْهَا بِمَا تَحْفَظُ بِهِ عِبَادَكَ الصَّالِحِينَ

Bismika rabbi wada'tu janbi, wa bika arfa'uh. In amsakta nafsi farhamha, wa in arsaltaha fahfazha bima tahfazu bihi 'ibadaka as-salihin.

"In Your name, my Lord, I lay down my side, and by You I raise it. If You take my soul, have mercy on it; and if You release it, protect it with that by which You protect Your righteous servants."

Sahih al-Bukhari 6320

The dua holds both possibilities of sleep in one breath: if the soul is kept, it asks for mercy; if it is sent back, it asks for the protection given to the righteous. Nothing is assumed. Everything is left with Allah. For a tired night when little else can be managed, this dua alone is a complete and Prophetic way to lie down.

Dua 5: Allahumma aslamtu wajhi ilayka

Al-Bara' ibn 'Azib (RA) reported that the Prophet ﷺ told him: "When you come to your bed, perform wudu as you would for prayer, then lie on your right side and say..." (Sahih al-Bukhari 247; Sahih Muslim 2710).

اللَّهُمَّ أَسْلَمْتُ وَجْهِي إِلَيْكَ، وَفَوَّضْتُ أَمْرِي إِلَيْكَ، وَأَلْجَأْتُ ظَهْرِي إِلَيْكَ، رَغْبَةً وَرَهْبَةً إِلَيْكَ، لَا مَلْجَأَ وَلَا مَنْجَا مِنْكَ إِلَّا إِلَيْكَ، آمَنْتُ بِكِتَابِكَ الَّذِي أَنْزَلْتَ، وَبِنَبِيِّكَ الَّذِي أَرْسَلْتَ

Allahumma aslamtu wajhi ilayka, wa fawwadtu amri ilayka, wa alja'tu zahri ilayka, raghbatan wa rahbatan ilayka. La malja'a wa la manja minka illa ilayka. Amantu bi-kitabika alladhi anzalt, wa bi-nabiyyika alladhi arsalt.

"O Allah, I submit my face to You, I entrust my affair to You, and I place my back under Your protection, out of longing for You and out of fear of You. There is no refuge and no escape from You except to You. I believe in Your Book which You revealed, and in Your Prophet whom You sent."

Sahih al-Bukhari 247

The Prophet ﷺ attached a striking instruction to this dua: make it the last words you say before sleeping, and if you speak afterward, repeat it. The reason he gave Al-Bara': "If you die that night, you die upon the fitra," upon the natural disposition of Islam. The dua surrenders four things at once, the face, one's affairs, the body, all of it, given with both hope and awe.

Dua 6: The Tasbih of Fatimah

Fatimah (RA) came to the Prophet ﷺ asking for a servant to ease her household work. He did not give her a servant. He gave her something he said was better: "When you go to your bed, say SubhanAllah thirty-three times, Alhamdulillah thirty-three times, and Allahu Akbar thirty-four times. That is better for you than a servant." (Sahih al-Bukhari 5362; Sahih Muslim 2727)

سُبْحَانَ اللَّهِ (٣٣)، الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ (٣٣)، اللَّهُ أَكْبَرُ (٣٤)

SubhanAllah (33 times), Alhamdulillah (33 times), Allahu Akbar (34 times).

"Glory be to Allah; all praise is for Allah; Allah is the Greatest." Recited as a closing dhikr before sleep, totaling one hundred.

Sahih al-Bukhari 5362

Ali ibn Abi Talib (RA) said that after the night the Prophet ﷺ taught it to them, he never once abandoned it, not even on the night of the Battle of Siffin. The Tasbih of Fatimah closes the day on the three foundational phrases of Islamic remembrance, glorification, praise, and exaltation, and it leaves the heart settled in a way that is hard to describe to someone who has not tried it.

The physical sunnah of sleeping

The bedtime Sunnah is not only words. The Prophet ﷺ paired the duas with a clear physical practice.

Perform wudu before sleeping. This is sunnah, not obligatory. The Prophet ﷺ told Al-Bara' to make wudu "as for prayer" before the long dua. Hadiths connect sleeping in purity to the soul being raised in that same pure state.

Sleep on the right side. 'Aishah (RA) said the Prophet ﷺ would lie on his right side and place his right hand under his cheek (Sahih al-Bukhari 6311, 6314). It is the position of the Sunnah, and beginning things from the right is a recurring principle in the Prophet's practice.

Dust off the bed and say Bismillah. The Prophet ﷺ taught that when you go to your bed, take the inner edge of your garment and dust the bed with it while saying Bismillah, since you do not know what came onto it after you left (Sahih al-Bukhari 6320).

Do not sleep on your stomach. The Prophet ﷺ saw a man lying on his stomach and said: "This is a way of lying that Allah does not love." (Sunan Abi Dawud 5040). It is considered disliked.

The remedy for a bad dream

The Prophet ﷺ gave a precise, practical prescription for nightmares. He said: "The good dream is from Allah and the bad dream is from Shaytan. So whoever sees something he dislikes, let him spit dryly to his left three times and seek refuge in Allah from its evil. Then it will not harm him." (Sahih Muslim 2261)

The steps, drawn from the narrations together: on waking from a bad dream, spit dryly to your left three times, say "A'udhu billahi min ash-shaytan ar-rajim" three times, turn onto your other side, and do not describe the dream to anyone. The Prophet ﷺ also said one may get up and pray. A bad dream's hold over a person is tied to how much it is dwelt on and retold; following the Sunnah cuts that hold.

A good dream is the opposite. The Prophet ﷺ said it is one of the forty-six parts of prophethood (Sahih al-Bukhari 6983) and that it may be shared with those one loves and trusts.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the most important dua to say before sleep?

Ayat al-Kursi (Quran 2:255). The Prophet ﷺ confirmed that whoever recites it before sleep has a guardian from Allah until morning and Shaytan will not approach (Sahih al-Bukhari 2311). Pair it with the short dua "Bismika rabbi wada'tu janbi" (Sahih al-Bukhari 6320) for a complete, brief routine that takes under a minute.

Do I need wudu to say the bedtime duas?

No. Wudu before sleep is sunnah and recommended (Sahih al-Bukhari 247), but the duas are valid and rewarded without it. If you are already in bed, recite them anyway. The recommendation of wudu never cancels the dua.

What should I do if I have a nightmare?

Spit dryly to your left three times, say "A'udhu billahi min ash-shaytan ar-rajim" three times, turn onto your other side, and do not tell anyone the dream. The Prophet ﷺ promised it would not harm whoever does this (Sahih Muslim 2261). You may also get up and pray.

Which side should I sleep on according to the Sunnah?

The right side, with the right hand under the cheek, as the Prophet ﷺ did (Sahih al-Bukhari 6311, 6314). Sleeping on the stomach was disliked by him (Abu Dawud 5040). Starting from the right is a general principle of the Sunnah.

Is it enough to recite the bedtime duas in English?

The reward of dhikr is tied to the Arabic, especially the Quranic parts, Ayat al-Kursi, the last ayat of Al-Baqarah, and the three quls. Recite these in Arabic and read the translation alongside so the heart understands. For your own personal supplications, any language is accepted.