What are the Islamic manners of sleeping?
The Prophet ﷺ had a careful practice at the edge of sleep — the right side, the words on the tongue, the surahs recited. The classical scholars preserved the whole sequence.
6 passages from 5 books in the library
The classical approach.
These passages are drawn from 5 books by Imam al-Ghazali and Ibn Kathir — part of the classical Sunni tradition that carries over a thousand years of reflection on the Qurʾān, the authentic Sunnah, and the consensus of the early community. Nothing below is a paraphrase. The words are the scholars' own, translated from the original Arabic manuscripts.
11th–12th century · Ṭūs, Khurāsān
Reviving the inner life of Islam through the Iḥyāʾ ʿUlūm al-Dīn — one of the most influential works ever written in any religious tradition.
More on Imam al-Ghazali →
· Provenance →
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"Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, shared that if the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, was unable to perform his night prayer due to sleep or illness, he would make up for it by praying 12 units at the start of the day."
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"Aisha's Hadith, narrated by Muslim, states that if the Prophet, peace be upon him, was overcome by sleep or illness and missed his night prayer, he would make it up during the day."
11th–12th century · Ṭūs, Khurāsān
Reviving the inner life of Islam through the Iḥyāʾ ʿUlūm al-Dīn — one of the most influential works ever written in any religious tradition.
More on Imam al-Ghazali →
· Provenance →
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"It is also narrated from Ibn Abi Ma'sarah that whenever he went to bed, he would say, if only my mother had not given birth to me."
11th–12th century · Ṭūs, Khurāsān
Reviving the inner life of Islam through the Iḥyāʾ ʿUlūm al-Dīn — one of the most influential works ever written in any religious tradition.
More on Imam al-Ghazali →
· Provenance →
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"Aisha may Allah be pleased with her narrated that the Prophet would sleep while in a state of major ritual impurity without water"
14th century · Bosra, Syria
Monumental history Al-Bidāyah wa al-Nihāyah, the world's most widely read Qurʾanic commentary, and the classical Stories of the Prophets.
More on Ibn Kathir →
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"Then he'd wake up and restrain one over the other until he slept a deep sleep and his hands struck together and the bottles broke"
11th–12th century · Ṭūs, Khurāsān
Reviving the inner life of Islam through the Iḥyāʾ ʿUlūm al-Dīn — one of the most influential works ever written in any religious tradition.
More on Imam al-Ghazali →
· Provenance →
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"If one does not rise at night, but if they did not sleep, they might not engage in good and could mingle with the heedless."
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