Al Minah Al `Aliyyah (25)

There are many du’as of the Sunnah:

       «بِاسْمِكَ اللَّهُمَّ أَمُوتُ وَأَحْيَ »

“O Allah by Your name I revive and by Your name I die.”^[1]

  « اللَّهُمَّ خَلَقْتَ نَفْسِي وَأَنْتَ تَوَفَّاهَا، لَكَ مَمَاتُهَا وَمَحْيَاهَا، إِنْ أَحْيَيْتَهَا فَاحْفَظْهَا، وَإِنْ أَمَتَّهَا فَاغْفِرْ لَهَا، اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَسْأَلُكَ الْعَافِيَةَ»

“O Allah, You have created my soul and You take it back. Unto You is its death and its life . If You give it life then protect it , and if You cause it to die then forgive it. O Allah, I ask You for strength.”^[2]

  « اللَّهُمَّ رَبَّ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَرَبَّ الأَرْضِ وَرَبَّ الْعَرْشِ الْعَظِيمِ , رَبَّنَا وَرَبَّ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ, فَالِقَ الْحَبِّ وَالنَّوَى , وَمُنْزِلَ التَّوْرَاةِ وَالإِنْجِيلِ وَالْفُرْقَانِ , أَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنْ شَرِّ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ أَنْتَ آخِذٌ بِنَاصِيَتِهِ , اللَّهُمَّ أَنْتَ الأَوَّلُ فَلَيْسَ قَبْلَكَ شَيْءٌ , وَأَنْتَ الآخِرُ فَلَيْسَ بَعْدَكَ شَيْءٌ , وَأَنْتَ الظَّاهِرُ فَلَيْسَ فَوْقَكَ شَيْءٌ , وَأَنْتَ الْبَاطِنُ فَلَيْسَ دُونَكَ شَيْءٌ , اقْضِ عَنَّا الدَّيْنَ وَأَغْنِنَا مِنَ الْفَقْرِ»

“O Allah! Lord of the seven heavens and Lord of the Magnificent Throne. Our Lord and the Lord of everything. Splitter of the grain and the date-stone, Revealer of the Torah and the Injeel and the Furqan (the Qur’an), I seek refuge in You from the evil of everything that You shall seize by the forelock. O Allah You are the First and nothing has come before you, and You are the Last, and nothing may come after You. You are the Most High, nothing is above You and You are the Most Near and nothing is nearer than You. Remove our debts from us and enrich us against poverty.”

From the hadith of Abu Hurairah t.^[3]

  « بِاسْمِكَ رَبِّ وَضَعْتُ جَنْبِي وَبِكَ أَرْفَعُهُ إِنْ أَمْسَكْتَ نَفْسِي فَارْحَمْهَا وَإِنْ أَرْسَلْتَهَا فَاحْفَظْهَا بِمَا تَحْفَظُ بِهِ عِبَادَكَ الصَّالِحِينَ »

“With Your Name my Lord, I lay myself down; and with Your Name I rise. And if my soul You take, have mercy on it, and if You send it back then protect it as You protect Your righteous slaves.”

 From the hadith of Abu Hurairah t. ^[4]

  « الْحَمْدُ للّهِ الَّذِي أَطْعَمَنَا وَسَقَانَا، وَكَفَانَا وَآوَانَا, فَكَمْ مِمَّنْ لاَ كَافِيَ لَهُ وَلاَ مُؤْوِي»

“Praise to Allah who fed us and gave us drink, gave us what suffices us and gave us shelter. How many are those who have no one to suffice them nor to give them shelter.” Anas T said, “Allah’s Messenger used to say: ‘Praise Allah upon going to bed.’”^[5]

Al-Mubarakpuri (may Allah have mercy on him) said in the book entitled Tuhfat al-Ahudhi, “‘What suffices us,’ means that which protects us against harms or fulfill our requests, and ‘gave us a shelter’ means facilitate the way for us to get housing.”^[6]

           اللَّهُمَّ قِنِي عَذَابَكَ يَوْمَ تَبْعَثُ عِبَادَكَ

“ O Allah protect me against Your punishment when You resurrect Your slaves.”^[7]

 Reported by Ahmad through Al-Bara Ibn ‘Azib t that the Prophet r would put his hand under his cheek when he would sleep...”^[8] Reported by Ahmad, at-Tirmidhi through Hudhaifah Ibn al-Yaman t . Al-Albani graded this hadith as sound.^[9]

  It is Sunnah to Glorify and  Praise Allah 33 times and say  Allah is the Greatest 34 times:

 It is Sunnah to say SubhanAllah 33 times, Alhamdullilah 33 times, and Allahu Akbar 34 times before going to bed. They have a powerful affect on the body throughout the day. What substantiates this is the following hadith: ‘Ali y narrated that Fatima (may Allah be pleased with her) went to the Prophet r complaining about the bad effect of the stone hand-mill on her hands. She heard that the Prophet had received a few slave girls. But (when she came there) she did not find him, so she mentioned her problem to ‘Aishah. When the Prophet came, ‘Aishah informed him about that. ‘Ali added, “So the Prophet came to us when we had gone to bed. We wanted to get up (on his arrival) but he said, ‘Stay where you are.’ Then he came and sat between me and her and I felt the coldness of his feet on my abdomen. He said, ‘Shall I direct you to something better than what you have requested? When you go to bed say SubhanAllah’ thirty-three times, Alhamdulillah’ thirty three times, and Allahu Akbar thirty four times, for that is better for you than a servant.’”^[10] In another narration, ‘Ali said: “I have never left them since I heard them from the Prophet r.” He was once asked: “Even on the night of the Battle of Siffin?” He said: “Even on the night of the Battle of Siffin.”^[11] It is known that ‘Ali t was one of the leaders of the Battle of Siffin and despite him being occupied with his role in it; he did not abandon the Sunnah. ‘Ali’s words illustrate the practice of the Companions to strongly stick to the Sunnah. He did not forget to say the words even when he was tasked by being the leader of the army. What about those who leave many Sunnan while being busy?!! And what about those who abandon the Sunnah without any reason except for having a lazy heart who forgets Allah?! May Allah shower us with His Mercy.

 اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَسْلَمْتُ وَجْهِي إِلَيْكَ ، وَفَوَّضْتُ أَمْرِي إِلَيْكَ ، وَأَلْجَأْتُ ظَهْرِي إِلَيْكَ ، رَغْبَةً وَرَهْبَةً إِلَيْكَ. لاَ مَلْجَأَ وَلاَ مَنْجَا مِنْكَ إِلاَّ إِلَيْكَ, آمَنْتُ بِكِتَابِكَ الَّذِي أَنْزَلْتَ ، وَبِنَبِيِّكَ الَّذِي أَرْسَلْتَ

“O Allah, I submit myself to You, turn my face to You, relinquish my affairs to You, and support my back on You, out of hope (for rewards) and fear (of punishment) from You. There is no shelter or escape from You – except with You. I believe in Your Book that You have revealed, and in Your Prophet whom You have sent.”^[12]

 Al-Baraa ibn ‘Aazib t reported that the Prophet rsaid:”

“When you go to bed, perform wudhu like that for prayer, then lie on your right side and say:

اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَسْلَمْتُ وَجْهِي إِلَيْكَ.....

‘O Allah, I submit myself to You and turn my face to You.’ The Prophet r added: “If you would then die during that night, you die upon fitrah. And let these be your last words.”

There is another Sunnah in this hadith and it is to ensure these words are the last things uttered before sleeping, and as a result they would have a great reward, for if they die in the night, they will be upon the Fitrah of Ibrahim, and if they wake up in the morning, they will gain the charity of the day.

It is important to refer to this great Dhikr which has a great reward. In Sahih Al-Bukhari, Shadad Ibn Aws t said that the Prophet r said,

سَيِّدُ الِاسْتِغْفَارِ أَنْ يَقُولَ: اللَّهُمَّ أَنْتَ رَبِّي لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا أَنْتَ خَلَقْتَنِي وَأَنَا عَبْدُكَ وَأَنَا عَلَى عَهْدِكَ وَوَعْدِكَ مَا اسْتَطَعْتُ أَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنْ شَرِّ مَا صَنَعْتُ أَبُوءُ لَكَ بِنِعْمَتِكَ عَلَيَّ وَأَبُوءُ بِذَنْبِي فَاغْفِرْ لِي إِنَّهُ لَا يَغْفِرُ الذُّنُوبَ إِلَّا أَنْتَ ، قَالَ : وَمَنْ قَالَهَا مِنْ النَّهَارِ مُوقِنًا بِهَا فَمَاتَ مِنْ يَوْمِهِ قَبْلَ أَنْ يُمْسِيَ فَهُوَ مِنْ أَهْلِ الْجَنَّةِ ، وَمَنْ قَالَهَا مِنْ اللَّيْلِ وَهُوَ مُوقِنٌ بِهَا فَمَاتَ قَبْلَ أَنْ يُصْبِحَ فَهُوَ مِنْ أَهْلِ الْجَنَّةِ

 “Most honoraric apologise (to Allah) is to say: O Lord of Forgiveness, O Allah, You are my Lord. There is no god, but You. You created me and I am Your servant, and I uphold Your covenant and (my) promise to You as much as I am able. I seek refuge in You from the evil I have done. I acknowledge before You Your favor upon me, and I acknowledge my sin; so forgive me. Indeed, there is none who can forgive sins except You. He added, “Whoever recites this in morning with firm faith in it and dies the same day will enter paradise. And whoever recites it in the evening with firm faith and dies the same night will enter Paradise.”^[13]

The slave should keep and stick to this great bounty by saying this Du’a in the day and night with strong firm faith in order to gain Paradise. We ask Allah, Almighty to bestow us from His bounty.

The Sunnan of dreams :

In the two sahihs Abu Qatadaht  narrated, “The Prophet r told us that it may be a vision from Allah, a dream from Satan, or nonsense.” These dreams may make someone happy all the day or sad all the day. The Sunnah makes us feel happy and relaxed, but we often forget it. When some people have a dream they become frightened and rush to search for someone to interpret it for them. I wrote in detail on this subject in a book titled  ‘O the dream owner (Ya Sahib Al-Ro’ia).’ Hence, knowing the Sunnah and acting upon it keeps us calm, happy and away from fear.

The Sunnan of this chapter :

Abu Salama t narrated: “I used to have a dream which would make me sick until I heard Abu Qatadah saying, ‘I too, used to have a dream which would make me sick until I heard the Prophet saying, ‘A good dream is from Allah, so if anyone of you has a dream which he likes, he should not tell it to anybody except to the one whom he loves, and if he has a dream which he dislikes, then he should seek refuge with Allah from its evil and from the evil of Satan, and spit three times (on his left shoulder) and should not tell it to anybody, for it will not harm him.’”^[14] In another narration, “A good dream that comes true is from Allah, and a bad dream is from Satan, so if anyone of you sees a bad dream, he should seek refuge with Allah from Satan and should spit on the left, for the bad dream will not harm him.”^[15]

Abu Hurairah t narrated that the Prophet said,

“When the Day of Resurrection approaches, the dreams of a believer will hardly fail to come true, and a dream of a believer is one of forty-six parts of prophethood, and whatever belongs to prophethood can never be false.”^[16]

Jabir t narrated that the Prophet r said,

“And let him ask Allah’s protection against the devil and let him change to the other side (when sleeping).”^[17]

Abu Sa’id al-Khudri t narrated that the Prophet said,

“A good dream is from Allah, so if anyone of you saw a dream which he liked, he should praise Allah.”^[18]

We conclude from the previous ahadith that the Sunnah for

 The one who sees a good vision is to :

Firstly: praise Allah, because it is from Him.

Secondly: only tell it to those whom they love.

The one who has a bad dream is to:

Firstly: spit on their left shoulder three times.

Secondly: seek refuge in Allah, Almighty from Satan and from the evil they saw three times by saying: “I seek refuge in Allah from Satan and from its evil (three times).”

Thirdly: not to tell it to anyone to avoid its harm as the Prophet r commanded.

Fourthly: turn on your other side. If you are sleeping on your back turn to sleep on your side and so on.

Fifthly: pray two Raka’at.

Remember Abu Qatada’s and Abu Salama’s words: “I used to have a dream which would make me sick,” but after doing the Sunnah of the Prophet r, they never cared about it ever again. Therefore, it is better for those who have any discomposing dream to apply the Prophet’s Sunnah in order to gain the reward due to his saying:

“…for it will not harm him.”

Al-Nawawi said: “Even if he did just some of this Sunnah, it would protect him from the harm InshaAllah.” Al-Qady said: “The dry spitting three times is to get rid of the devil and its bad dream. The spitting on the left especially is good for this purpose, because it is the dirties’ position and the right is vice versa with it.”^[19]

We can conclude the following

from the previous ahadith :

A Muslim’s dream is a part from the prophecy and thus if the Muslim is candid in his awaking, their vision will be nearer to truth or reality. This is the effect and the blessing of telling the truth on the Muslim, even while sleeping time.

Ibn Hajr said: “Al-Qurtubi said, ‘Because those who always speak the truth, their hearts are lightened, their awareness is sharper and the right meaning of everything is clear for them. However, those who always tell lies, their hearts are dark and they cannot detect what’s right and wrong clearly. There are some rare occasions that the candid might have a bad and false dream and the one who lies sees it as a good and truthful dream - and Allah knows best.’” Ibn Hajr said: “The previous explanation confirms that the pious believer’s vision may be a part from the prophecy.”^[20]

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^[1].. Al-Bukhari no. 6324 through the hadith of Hudhaifah t.

^[2].. Muslim no. 2712 through the hadith of ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Umar – may Allah be pleased with them.

^[3].. Muslim no. 2713.

^[4].. Al-Bukhari no. 6320, Muslim no. 2714.

^[5].. Muslim no. 2715.

^[6].. Refer to: Tuhfat al-Ahudhi, hadith no. 3619, chapter of what should the person say when he goes to bed.

^[7].. Abu Dawud no. 5045, At-Tirmidhi no. 3398.

^[8].. Ahmad 4/300 no. 18660.

^[9].. Sahih Tirmidhi (Al-Albani) 3/143 no. 2705.

^[10]. Al-Bukhari no. 3705, Muslim no. 2727.

^[11]. Al-Bukhari no. 5362, Muslim no. 2727.

^[12]. Al-Bukhari no. 247, Muslim no. 2710.

^[13]. Al-Bukhari no. 6306.

^[14]. Al-Bukhari no. 5747, Muslim no. 2261.

^[15]. Al-Bukhari no. 3292, Muslim no 2261.

^[16]. Muslim no. 2263.

^[17]. Muslim no. 2262.

^[18]. Al-Bukhair no. 7045.

^[19]. Refer to his explanation of Muslim’s sahih, 15/26  Hadith no. 2261, chapter of dreams.

^[20]. Fath al-Bari, Hadith no. 7017, chapter of dreams.