THE KHALIFAH DIARIES Be The Best Muslimah For Allah SWT

بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيْمِ

We all love a good sleep, right? What does a good sleep look like to you? Is it having a peaceful and quiet environment where you can dive into a pleasurable deep sleep? Or maybe it’s that satisfying feeling at the end of the day knowing that you’ve achieved what you set out to do for the whole day and now you deserve your beauty sleep?

For me, it’s a little bit of both. You’d want to have a relaxed mind as you retreat into your slumber and your most sacred time of the night. Let your night time be your most sacred me-time so that you can wake up the next day and continue to be the amazing Muslimah you are each day. 🙂

1. Take a hot shower and whudu

The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said, “Whenever you intend to go to bed, perform Wudu [like you do] for Salah (prayer).” [Bukhari and Muslim]

Taking a shower and whudu before you go to bed allows you to freshen up your body, clean yourself and relax your body for the whole night. While the whudu can get rid of your small sins, a shower can get rid of not only dirt from your body but also the stresses of the day.

2. Talk to Allah

Besides being in prayer and reading the Quran, another way you can ‘talk to Allah’ is by writing Him a letter. This is somewhat like journaling before bed. You can start your journal entry with “Dear Allah,… “.

Write down what you’re grateful for about the day, thank Him for the blessings that He has given you throughout the day. For some of us, talking to Allah in our sujood and making heartful duas come naturally. But for the rest of us, writing comes easier. So, write down the things you’re grateful for, tell Him what your worries are and know for a fact that He always listens to His slaves.

And no matter what happens in our lives, He always wants what’s best for us. Then in your sujood, remember what you wrote to Him and continue to talk to Him in your heart. 🙂

Read also: 10 Quran Verses That Teach Us About Love

3. Talk to your spouse

If you have a spouse, find a quiet time before bed to whine down and have a sweet chat with your spouse. Most of us are busy during the day so we have no time to have any conversations with our spouse. 

So the night time is the perfect opportunity to reconnect and rekindle your flame with your spouse. It doesn’t have to be long. 5 minutes is enough to feel each other’s presence. Talk about the highlight of your day, what you love about your spouse and the worries you might have. Comfort each other. 

If you don’t have a spouse yet, maybe you can play or talk to your pet or just read a nice book to whine down.

Read also: 5 Ways To Go About Finding A Good Spouse

4. Pray Isha together or at the masjid

Depending on where you live and your circumstances, you can pray Isha’ in your room, with your spouse or go to the masjid. 

Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) disliked to sleep before the `Isha’ prayer and to talk after it. [Sahih al-Bukhari 568]

5. Read Surah Al-Mulk

There are many Surahs from the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad SAW that you can choose to recite. My personal favorite is Surah Al-Waqiah and Surah Al-Mulk. There are many benefits to reciting Surahs fro the Quran before bed. Find the ones you love and make it your routine.

Abu Mas’ud Al-Badri reported: I heard the Prophet (peace be upon him) saying, “He who recites the two Ayat at the end of Surat Al-Baqarah at night, they will suffice him.” [Al- Bukhari and Muslim]

6. Review tomorrow’s agenda

Have a quick review of what you’re going to do tomorrow. Maybe you have a checklist, a planner or a time management app. Go through it in a glance so that you don’t wake up the next day confused or unproductive because then you’ll end up wasting your day by not doing anything. 

7. Light stretch

I love this. If you’ve never stretched before, start small. A few simple stretches can go a long way. The goal is to incorporate this into your night routine. Find 5-7 simple stretches you love on pinterest and try it out. Your body will thank you in the morning, and the long run. 

8. Prepare your bed + environment

Dim the lights, dust your bed, change into comfortable PJs. Do what you have to do to get yourself ready for bed. Make sure your sheets are clean so that you don’t get bed bugs in the night. 

The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “When one of you goes to his bed, let him dust off his bed with the inside of his lower garment, for he does not know what came onto it after he left it….” [Sahih Al-Bani]

The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: “Cover vessels, tie up waterskins, close doors and extinguish lamps, for the Shaytaan does not undo waterskins or open doors or uncover vessels.” [Sahih Muslim 2012a]

9. Kiss Goodnight

Many of us don’t do this but this is a very important habit to have. Kiss your spouse goodnight before bed. It makes your spouse feel loved and cherished. Tell him you love him. This is Sunnah. Even if you don’t sleep at the same time, you can still kiss each other goodnight before bed.

If you’re not married yet, kiss your mom or your pet. Tell them goodnight and go to sleep. 

10. Sleep on your right side

Sleep on your right side and never sleep on your belly. This is Sunnah. 

When the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) laid down to sleep, he would go on his right side and place his right hand under his right cheek. [Sunan an-Nasa’i 2367]

Recite a few quick duas right before sleep like Surah Al-Ikhlas, An-Nas and Al-Falaq. Then recite your personal duas, what you wish for Allah to grant. Also, remember to make intention to wake up for Tahajjud. Even if you’ve never done Tahajjud or never think you’d start soon, just make dua for Allah to make it easy for you to wake up for Tahajjud. InsyaAllah, you’d be surprised how Allah helps you when you least expect it.

• There are many other sleeping Duas in other hadiths that are longer and could also be said before sleeping. Whenever the Prophet (ﷺ) lay down for sleep at night, he would place his (right) hand under his (right) cheek and supplicate: “Allahumma bismika amutu wa ahya [O Allah, with Your Name will I die and live (wake up)].” And when he woke up, he would supplicate: “Al-hamdu lillahil-ladhi ahyana ba’da ma amatana, wa ilaihin-nushur (All praise is due to Allah, Who has brought us back to life after He has caused us to die, and to Him is the return).” [Al-Bukhari]

• Make intention to wake up for tahajjud

Read also: 14 Fabulous Morning Habits To Brighten Your Day

Conclusion

Night time is a very important part of your life. As Muslims, we are given beautiful guidelines from the Sunnah to help us utilise our night time for rest. Be sure to have a good night routine so that you have your beauty sleep and start the next day afresh.