Sheikh `Abd al-Wahhâb al-Turayrî, former professor at al-Imâm University in Riyadh
When the Prophet lays down intending to sleep, he recites the following supplication:
Praise be to Allah who provided us with food and drink, sufficed us and gave us an abode, for how many are those who have no provision and no home. Praise be to Allah who has bestowed His favour on me bounteously. Praise be to Allah who has given to me so liberally. Allah’s is the praise under all circumstances. O Allah, I seek refuge with You from the Hellfire.
He then cups his hands and blows into them, then recites the last three short chapters of the Qur’an, al-Ikhlās, al-Falaq, and al-Nās. Then he wipes his hands over his head, face, and the front of his body. He does this three times.
He lays down on his right side, placing his right hand under his cheek, saying: “O Allah! In your name I die and with Your name I live. O Allah! Save me from Your wrath on the day You resurrect Your servants.”
He also says: “In the name of Allah, I lay my body down. O Allah! Forgive me my sins, keep Satan from me, redeem my soul, make my good deeds weigh heavily in the balance, and let me have the honour of Your highest companionship.”
There are a number of supplications and remembrances that he offers before falling asleep, like the following:
“O Allah! Lord of the seven heavens and Lord of the Magnificent Throne. Our Lord and the Lord of all things. You are the Splitter of the grain and the seed , Revealer of the Torah, Gospel, and Qur’an. I seek refuge in You from the evil of everything that You shall seize by its forelock. O Allah! You are the First, nothing came before you. You are the Last, nothing shall come after You. You are the Most High, nothing is above You. You are the Most Near and nothing is nearer than You. Relieve us of our debts and enrich us against poverty.”
“O Allah! I submit myself to You, turn my face to You, and entrust my affairs to You. I lay myself down trusting in You, hoping in You and fearing You. There is no refuge, and no escape, except with You. I believe in Your Book that You revealed, and the Prophet whom You sent.”
He might also recite a chapter of the Qur’an, like al-Sajdah, al-Mulk, al-Zumar, or al-Isrā’.
Then he falls asleep. When he sleeps deeply, he snores softly, like the sound of blowing air. If he stirs in the night, he turns on his other side and says: “There is no God but Allah, the One, the Subduer of all things, Lord of the heavens and Earth and all that is between them, the Almighty, All-Forgiving.”
Whenever he gets up at night, he brushes his teeth before going back to sleep. He sleeps like this until the middle of the night, when he gets up to pray tahajjud. It is his longest unbroken period of sleep.
