Al Minah Al `Aliyyah (24)

Seventhly,

`Isha Time

Sunnan!

There are several areas of discussion here:

The first one is that it is

disliked to talk after ‘Isha ’ prayer :

The previous hadith of Abu Barza al-Aslami t says, “The Prophet r never liked to sleep before it and talk after it.” There is no problem however if a person wants to stay awake to discuss beneficial information for Muslims, for work, or for welcoming a guest and so on. What substantiates this is the following:

The hadith of ‘Umar Ibn al-Khattab t who said, “The Prophet r used to talt with Abu Bakr about the affairs of the Muslims and I was with them.”[1]

Ibn ‘Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated, “ Once I stayed overnight at the house of (my aunt) Maymuna while the Prophet r was with her, to see how the night prayer of Allah’s Messenger r was.  He talked to his wife for a while and then slept.”[2]

The reason that it is disliked to stay awake after ‘Isha’ – and Allah knows best – is that the person might oversleep and not perform the Fajr prayer or miss the additional night prayer if it was his habit to do so. Thus, the Prophet r chided the one who oversleeps and misses the Fajr prayer as it is reported in Ibn Mas’ud’s t two sound sahihs that Ibn Mas’ud said, “A person was mentioned before the Prophet r and he was told that he had kept on sleeping until morning and had not woken up for the prayer. The Prophet r said: ‘He is a man in whose ears (or ear) Satan had urinated.’”[3] The significance of this hadith is that it is disliked for the person to oversleep as he might lose the Fajr prayer. ‘Umar Ibn al-Khattab t used to prevent people from spending the whole night awake (for no valid reason) as this would lead them to neglect the Fajr prayer. He – as ‘Abdul Razzak said in his collection of ahadith - used to say, “Awake in the beginning of the night and sleep at its end.”[4]

It is preferred to delay it for a little while; yet, this delay should not lead to cause any trouble for the worshippers. What substantiates this is the following ahadith:

 ‘Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) narrated, “The Prophet r stayed for a while during one of the nights until a big part of the night was gone. Worshippers in the mosque fell asleep because of the delay. Then, the Prophet r prayed. He said, 

"It is its time now, had it not been difficult on my nation.’”[5]

Jabir Ibn ‘Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) said, “The Prophet r used to pray the Dhuhr prayer at midday, and the ‘Asr at a time when the sun was still bright, the Maghrib after sunset (at its stated time) and the ‘Isha’ at a variable time. Whenever he saw the people assemble early (for `Isha’ prayer) he would pray earlier and if the people delayed, he would delay the prayer. And they or the Prophet r used to offer the Fajr prayers when it was still dark.”[6]

‘Aishah and Ibn Abbas t narrated that the Prophet r said, “Were I not afraid that it would be hard for my followers (or for the people), I would order them to pray ‘Isha’ prayer at this time.”[7] As for the Sunnah for a woman, as long as she is not entitled to follow the congregational prayer, she can delay the ‘Isha’ prayer if this would not cause her any harm. The same applies to a man if he is traveling and the like.

Sleeping and it has many Sunnan :

Locking the door when sleeping:  Jabir Ibn ‘Abdullah t narrated that the Prophet r said, “Put out any lamps when you go to bed, shut the doors, and cover water and food containers.”[8] The reason behind locking the doors is to prevent devils from entering as was mentioned in the previous hadith narrated by Jabir Ibn ‘Abdullah (may Allah be pleased him) that the Prophet said, “And lock your doors and mention Allah’s name as devils do not open a locked door.”[9]

To put the fire out before sleeping:  The previous hadith of Jabir Ibn ‘Abdullah t says: “Put out lamps when you go to bed.” Also, the hadith of Ibn ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) says that the Prophet said, “And do not leave the fire burning in your homes when you go to bed.”[10] It was reported in the two sound sahihs through Abu Musa al-Ash’ari t , “A house in Madinah caught fire at night and the roof and walls fell down upon the occupants. When this was reported to the Messenger of Allah, r he said, “Fire is your enemy; so put it out before you go to bed.”[11] The reason for putting fire out before sleeping was revealed in the following hadith: “Secure your doors, tighten your drinking water containers, cover your saucepans and put out your lights. However, a mouse could set a house on fire.”[12]

The significance of putting the fire out is as the hadith of Jabir t states, “…and put out your lights. However, a mouse could set a house on fire.”[13] The hadith talks about a mouse that should be killed in the holy shrine area. It might set a house on fire and this would also include any other thing that may lead to the same result. Great cautions should be taken with regards to heaters, ovens and any other thing that might set a house alight as the hadith of the Prophet r confirms. However, if precautions were taken and heaters, for example, would not cause any harm to the home dwellers, then there would be no problem to keep them burning throughout the night if one wishes.

An-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said, “The Prophet’s r saying,

‘And never leave the fire burning in your homes when you go to bed,’

means the fire of lamps (that use oil etc, as was the case in the past). As for hanging lanterns in mosques, for example, if there was fear that they might cause fire, then they should be put out also. Otherwise, they could be left burning. The reason - as the previous hadith states - is that a mouse could set the house or mosque on fire. Once this cause has been lifted, there would be no harm to keep lamps, lanterns, etc burning.[14] Ibn Daqiq al-’Id (may Allah have mercy on him) stated that this ruling is just recommended and not obligatory as Ibn Hajr (may Allah have mercy on him) stated.”[15]

 Making ablution before going to bed:

Al-Bara Ibn ‘Azib t narrated that the Prophet r said,

“When you want to go to bed, perform ablution as you do for prayer, then lie down on your right side and say: ‘O Allah! I turned my face towards You...’”[16]

An-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said, “If he was in a state of purity, then that should be enough. It is better to go to bed in a state of purity just in case one passes away and then he would meet Allah, the Almighty while in that state. Besides, the Muslim might have a good dream that comes true and being in a state of cleanliness will keep Satan away from him.”[17]

4- It is Sunnah to dust off the bed before sleeping:

It is Sunnah to dust off the bed thrice and mention Allah’s name while doing so. Abu Hurairah t narrated that the Prophet r said, 

“When one of you goes to your bed, dust it off with the inside of your lower garment, for you do not know what went onto it after you left it. Then say, ‘In Your name, my Lord, I lie down, and in Your name I rise. If You should take my soul then have mercy on it, and if You should return my soul then protect it as You protect Your righteous slaves.’”[18]

 In another narration it states,

“When one of you goes to your bed, dust it off with the inside of your lower garment, and do so three times.”[19] 

Muslim narrates,

“When one of you goes to your bed, dust it off with the inside of your lower garment, and mention Allah’s name.”[20]

Accordingly, these ahadith indicate that dusting off the bed is an act of Sunnah and that it should be done thrice and Allah’s name should also be mentioned.

The hadith reveals the wisdom behind doing so which is, “…for you do not know what went onto it after you left it.” Thus, there might be something harmful on the bed. It is also recommended to first dust off the garment and that is the opinion of many scholars including Sheikh Ibn Jibreen (may Allah have mercy upon him). He said this can be achieved even by dusting off one’s turban.

Lying on the right hand side.

Placing one’s hand under one’s cheek:

What substantiates the following Sunnan are the following ahadith: Al-Bara Ibn ‘Azib t narrated that the Prophet r said, “When you want to go to bed, perform ablution as you do for prayer, then lie down on your right hand side and say: ‘O Allah! I turned my face towards You...’”[21] Also, Hudhaifah t narrated, “The Prophet r would put his right hand under his cheek whenever he wanted to sleep.”[22]

Making the adhkar of sleeping:

Sleeping has certain adhkar quoted from the Qur’an and Sunnah.

From the Qur’an:

Ayatul Kursi: It is Sunnah to recite it before sleeping, as it will protect a Muslim until the morning. What substantiates this is the following hadith: Abu Hurairah t narrated,

 “The Prophet Muhammad r put me in charge of guarding compulsory charity collected in the month of Ramadan.  Somebody came and began to take away some food from it. I caught him and said, ‘I must take you to the Prophet r .’  He replied, ‘I am a needy man with a large family, and so I have a pressing need.’  So I let him go. When I saw the Prophet the next morning, he asked me, ‘O Abu Hurairah! What did your captive do last night?’ I said, ‘O Prophet! He complained of a pressing need and a big family. I felt pity for him and I let him go.’  The Prophet r  said, ‘He told you a lie and he will return.’  I was sure according to the saying of the Prophet r that he would return.  I waited for him.  He sneaked up again and began to steal food from the charity. I caught him and said, ‘I must take you to the Prophet r.’  He replied, ‘Let go of me, I am a needy man. I have to bear the expenses of a big family. I will not come back.’ So I took pity on him and let him go. I went at dawn to the Prophet r who asked me, ‘O Abu Hurairah! What did your captive do last night?’ I replied, ‘O Prophet of Allah! He complained of a pressing need and the burden of a big family. I took pity on him and so I let him go.’ The Prophet r replied, ‘He told you a lie and he will return.’  (That man) came again to steal the food. I arrested him and said, ‘I must take you to the Prophet r of Allah, and this is the last of three times. You promised that you would not come again but you did.’  He replied, ‘Let go of me, and I shall teach you some words with which Allah may benefit you.’  I asked, ‘What are those words?’  He replied, ‘When you go to bed, recite Al-Kursi verse (Qur’an 2:255), for there will be a guardian appointed over you from Allah, and no devil will be able to approach you till morning.’ So I let him go. Next morning the Prophet r asked me, ‘What did your prisoner do last night?’ I answered, ‘He promised to teach me some words which he claimed will benefit me before Allah.  So I let him go.’ The Prophet r asked, ‘What are those words that he taught you?’ I said, ‘He told me: “When you go to bed, recite Al-Kursi verse from the beginning to the end and that by reciting it, there will be a guardian appointed over you from Allah who will protect you during the night, and no devil will be able to come near you until morning.”’ The Prophet r said, ‘Verily, he has told you the truth though he is a liar. O Abu Hurairah! Do you know with whom you were speaking for the last three nights?’ I said, ‘No.’ The Prophet r  replied, ‘That was a devil.’”[23]

 Reciting the last two verses of Surah Al-Baqarah: Abu Mas’ud al-Ansari t narrated that Allah’s Messenger r said,

 “Whoever recites the last two verses of Surah Al-Baqarah at night, those two verses shall be sufficient for him.”[24]

 Yet, these two verses are not of the sleeping adhkar in particular. However, they would be read for their blessing. Hence, the one who did not read them at night, he can read them while going to bed. Scholars disagreed over the meaning of the phrase, “Shall be sufficient for him.” A group said that they will give him the reward as he performed the additional night prayer. Another group said they will protect him against the devil. In the same regards, a third group said that they will protect the person against anything that might harm him. An-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said they would stand for all these virtues.[25]

 Reciting the chapter of Al-Ikhlas (no.112), al-Falaq (no.113) and an-Nas (no.114), blowing one’s hands, and wiping the body three times:

What substantiates this is the following:

‘Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) states that,“When the Messenger of Allah r would lie down every night on his bed, he would raise his hands in the supplication position and pray. He would recite Surat al-Ikhlas (no. 112), Surat al-Falaq (no.113) and Surat an-Nas (no.114) and blow on his palms and wipe his hands over his blessed body where they could reach, this was done thrice.”[26]Thus, the following could be learnt from the above mentioned hadith. The Prophet r used to apply this Sunnah every night as we know from the saying of ‘Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her). The one who wants to apply this Sunnah should do the same thing as the Prophet r did.

Reciting the chapter of Al-Kafiroon (no. 109):

‘Farwah Ibn Nawful narrated through his father that the Prophet said to him,

 “Recite the chapter of Al-Kafiroon and make it the last thing you read as it clears you against disbelief.”[27]

 Ibn Hajr (may Allah have mercy on him) said, “There are many ahadith that refer to the recitation of Ayatul Kursi and we already referred to it. There is also the hadith of Ibn Mas’ud t about the virtues of the last two verses of Surah al-Baqarah and we already referred to it while takling about the virtues of the Qur’an. Besides, there is the hadith of ‘Farwah Ibn Nawful t, ‘Recite the chapter of Al-Kafiroon and make it the last thing you read as it clears you against disbelief.’”[28]