Sleep Azkar from Hisnul Muslim — Complete Guide
Sleep azkar from Hisnul Muslim in full: Ayatul Kursi, the Mu'awwidhatayn and bedtime supplications, with authentic hadith and their virtue.
What are the sleep azkar?
The sleep azkar are the supplications and recitations narrated from the Prophet (peace be upon him) that he said before lying down to sleep. Sheikh Sa'id bin Ali al-Qahtani gathered them into a dedicated chapter of Hisnul Muslim that closes the day's whole portion. They are the last words a Muslim says before sleep takes over, closing the day with the remembrance of Allah just as it opened.
The sleep azkar are not a passing dua; they are texts preserved in their exact wording — some are full Qur'anic recitation, some are short supplications repeated every night, each with its own place and the reason it was narrated for.
Part of the wisdom in choosing these particular azkar for bedtime is that they combine protection and surrender: Ayatul Kursi and the Mu'awwidhat guard against harm that might come while unaware, while the supplication that closes the portion is a full submission to Allah's power before consciousness fades — seeking refuge and trust brought together in one chapter.
Ayatul Kursi before sleep
The greatest text read before sleep is Ayatul Kursi. Its virtue at bedtime is known from the story of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), whom the Prophet (peace be upon him) put in charge of guarding the zakat of Ramadan. A thief came to steal from it three nights running, and on the last night told him that whoever recites Ayatul Kursi at bedtime keeps a protector from Allah with him and no devil comes near him until morning. When Abu Hurayrah reported this, the Prophet (peace be upon him) said:
أَمَا إِنَّهُ صَدَقَكَ وَهُوَ كَذُوبٌ، تَعْلَمُ مَنْ تُخَاطِبُ مُنْذُ ثَلَاثِ لَيَالٍ يَا أَبَا هُرَيْرَةَ؟ قَالَ: لَا، قَالَ: ذَاكَ شَيْطَانٌ
English meaning: He told you the truth, though he is a liar. Do you know who you have been talking to these three nights, Abu Hurayrah? He said: No. The Prophet said: That was a devil.
The text of Ayatul Kursi
Ayatul Kursi is the verse from Surah al-Baqarah, and this is its text, recited once before sleep:
اللَّهُ لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ الْحَيُّ الْقَيُّومُ ۚ لَا تَأْخُذُهُ سِنَةٌ وَلَا نَوْمٌ ۚ لَهُ مَا فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَمَا فِي الْأَرْضِ ۗ مَنْ ذَا الَّذِي يَشْفَعُ عِنْدَهُ إِلَّا بِإِذْنِهِ ۚ يَعْلَمُ مَا بَيْنَ أَيْدِيهِمْ وَمَا خَلْفَهُمْ ۖ وَلَا يُحِيطُونَ بِشَيْءٍ مِنْ عِلْمِهِ إِلَّا بِمَا شَاءَ ۚ وَسِعَ كُرْسِيُّهُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضَ ۖ وَلَا يَئُودُهُ حِفْظُهُمَا ۚ وَهُوَ الْعَلِيُّ الْعَظِيمُ
English meaning: Allah — there is no deity except Him, the Ever-Living, the Sustainer of existence. Neither drowsiness overtakes Him nor sleep. To Him belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth. Who is it that can intercede with Him except by His permission? He knows what is before them and what will be after them, and they encompass not a thing of His knowledge except what He wills. His Kursi extends over the heavens and the earth, and their preservation tires Him not. And He is the Most High, the Most Great.
The Mu'awwidhat: al-Ikhlas, al-Falaq and an-Nas
Another established sleep dhikr is reciting three surahs into cupped hands, blowing into them, and wiping the body — a practice A'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) described the Prophet (peace be upon him) doing every night before sleep:
كَانَ النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم إِذَا أَوَى إِلَى فِرَاشِهِ كُلَّ لَيْلَةٍ جَمَعَ كَفَّيْهِ ثُمَّ نَفَثَ فِيهِمَا، فَقَرَأَ فِيهِمَا: قُلْ هُوَ اللَّهُ أَحَدٌ، وَقُلْ أَعُوذُ بِرَبِّ الْفَلَقِ، وَقُلْ أَعُوذُ بِرَبِّ النَّاسِ، ثُمَّ يَمْسَحُ بِهِمَا مَا اسْتَطَاعَ مِنْ جَسَدِهِ، يَبْدَأُ بِهِمَا عَلَى رَأْسِهِ وَوَجْهِهِ وَمَا أَقْبَلَ مِنْ جَسَدِهِ، يَفْعَلُ ذَلِكَ ثَلَاثَ مَرَّاتٍ
English meaning: Whenever the Prophet (peace be upon him) went to bed every night, he would cup his hands together, blow into them, and recite in them Surah al-Ikhlas, Surah al-Falaq and Surah an-Nas, then wipe as much of his body as he could with them, starting with his head and face and the front of his body, doing that three times.
"In Your name, O Allah, I die and I live"
Among the shortest yet most comprehensive sleep supplications is what the Prophet (peace be upon him) said as he laid his head on the pillow, as narrated by Hudhayfah (may Allah be pleased with him):
كَانَ النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم إِذَا أَخَذَ مَضْجَعَهُ مِنَ اللَّيْلِ وَضَعَ يَدَهُ تَحْتَ خَدِّهِ، ثُمَّ يَقُولُ: اللَّهُمَّ بِاسْمِكَ أَمُوتُ وَأَحْيَا
English meaning: Whenever the Prophet (peace be upon him) lay down at night, he would put his hand under his cheek and say: O Allah, in Your name I die and I live.
The waking dua: the second half of the same hadith
The rest of the very same hadith from Hudhayfah records what the Prophet (peace be upon him) would say the moment he woke, so the two supplications together open the loss of consciousness and close it:
وَإِذَا اسْتَيْقَظَ قَالَ: الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ الَّذِي أَحْيَانَا بَعْدَ مَا أَمَاتَنَا وَإِلَيْهِ النُّشُورُ
English meaning: And when he woke up he would say: Praise be to Allah who gave us life after causing us to die, and to Him is the resurrection.
From sleep azkar to morning azkar
One benefit of saying the waking dua is that it connects the night's portion to the morning's without a gap: the last words before sleep are praise and surrender, and the first words after waking are also praise, this time for the gift of life and returning to awareness — followed directly by the morning azkar if one wakes for the Fajr prayer.
In this way a Muslim's day becomes a complete circle of remembrance: it opens with praise and closes with surrender, with neither end free of turning to Allah. This is why those who keep to these azkar are careful never to skip them, even for a single night.
Why close the day with this portion?
Sleep resembles a small death, and a Muslim never knows whether he will wake from it or be taken in it. That is why saying "I die and I live" before sleep, and "He gave us life after causing us to die" upon waking, sets up exactly that meaning: full submission before consciousness fades, and praise on the return to life when it comes back.
So the sleep azkar are not only protection from harm; they train the heart to know that the last moment of wakefulness and the first moment of sleep belong to Allah alone, so a person sleeps with a heart tied to His remembrance rather than the worries of the day that has ended.
There is also practical comfort here for anyone anxious before sleep: instead of replaying worries while lying down, the last few minutes are filled with short words that remind you your fate rests with the One neither drowsiness nor sleep overtakes, so you fall asleep at ease rather than on edge.
How to keep the sleep azkar every night
The easiest way to lock in the sleep azkar is to attach them to a fixed action done every night right before sleep, rather than relying on memory alone at the tail end of a tiring day:
With repetition, these azkar become an automatic movement before sleep that needs no effort, exactly as they became for those who kept to them among the early generations.
- Read them right after lying down, not long before that.
- Start with Ayatul Kursi, then the Mu'awwidhatayn with blowing into the hands and wiping the body.
- Close with 'O Allah, in Your name I die and I live' as you rest your head on the pillow.
- Use the sleep azkar page in the Azkar app if you forget the order or the exact wording.
The sleep azkar in the Azkar app
One of the hardest parts of this portion for a beginner is keeping the exact wording of Ayatul Kursi and the Mu'awwidhat straight, along with the order of the rest, every single night, especially with the day's tiredness and the pull of sleep. That is why each dhikr's page shows its full text alongside a smart counter that tracks the repetitions, so there is no need to count on fingers right before sleep.
For anyone who wants the whole portion in one place instead of searching for each dhikr separately, downloading the Azkar app gathers the sleep azkar into a single section, with a daily reminder at the time you choose and offline access when there is no connection.