The dua before sleeping
Hudhayfah reported that whenever the Prophet ﷺ went to bed, he would say:
بِاسْمِكَ اللَّهُمَّ أَمُوتُ وَأَحْيَاBismika Allāhumma amūtu wa aḥyā
“In Your name, O Allah, I die and I live.”
Sleep is described as a kind of small death, because the soul is taken back for a time. The Quran says that Allah takes the souls at the time of their death, and the souls of those who have not died during their sleep (Quran 39:42). Saying this dua at night is a reminder that we rely on Allah to wake us up again.
Word by word
- بِاسْمِكَ (bismika): in Your name
- اللَّهُمَّ (Allāhumma): O Allah
- أَمُوتُ (amūtu): I die
- وَأَحْيَا (wa aḥyā): and I live
Notice that bismika uses the same word as bismillāh. In bismillāh the name belongs to Allah (“in the name of Allah”); in bismika the ending -ka means “Your”, so you are speaking to Allah directly.
The dua after waking up
In the same hadith, Hudhayfah reported that when the Prophet ﷺ woke up, he would say:
الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ الَّذِي أَحْيَانَا بَعْدَ مَا أَمَاتَنَا وَإِلَيْهِ النُّشُورُAl-ḥamdu lillāhil-ladhī aḥyānā ba‘da mā amātanā wa ilayhin-nushūr
“All praise is for Allah, who gave us life after He caused us to die, and to Him is the resurrection.”
The two duas mirror each other. At night you say “I die and I live”; in the morning you thank Allah for giving life back. Aḥyā (I live) and aḥyānā (He gave us life) come from the same root ح ي ي, meaning life.
Other bedtime practices from the Sunnah
Alongside this dua, authentic hadith mention a few other things the Prophet ﷺ did or taught before sleep:
- Reciting Ayat al-Kursi (Quran 2:255). A hadith reports that whoever recites it before sleeping has a guardian from Allah through the night (Sahih al-Bukhari 2311).
- Reciting Surah Al-Ikhlas, Al-Falaq and An-Nas, blowing into the hands, and wiping over the body (Sahih al-Bukhari 5017).
- Saying SubhanAllah 33 times, Alhamdulillah 33 times and Allahu Akbar 34 times, which he taught to Ali and Fatimah (Sahih al-Bukhari 3705).
If you are new to these, start with the short dua bismika Allāhumma amūtu wa aḥyā and add the others over time.
Tips for learning it
Say the dua aloud with your family at bedtime for a week. Children learn it quickly when they hear it every night, and adults find it easier to remember once it is linked to a routine. Learning what each word means also helps the dua feel personal rather than memorised.
