The Messenger of Allah ﷺ slept with humility . He viewed sleep as a blessing from Allah, a means to help the servant fulfill worship, work, and da‘wah. Sleep, for him, was not a habit of the negligent but part of his devotion and daily structure. He disliked idle late nights, and after performing the ‘Isha prayer, he would sleep early. He said: "There is no staying up after the ‘Isha prayer," so that he could begin his night in obedience and rest. He would then wake in the last part of the night to call upon his Lord and pray, saying: "O Allah, to You belongs all praise; You are the Light of the heavens and the earth..." in his night prayer. His sleep was thus organized, connected to remembrance and prayer—neither chaotic nor lazy.
The Prophet ﷺ would perform ablution before sleep, just like he would for prayer. Then, he would lie down on his right side, placing his right hand under his right cheek, and supplicate: "O Allah, in Your name I live and I die." He never neglected the sleeping supplications but recited Ayat al-Kursi, as it protects from Satan until morning. He would also gather his hands, blow into them, recite Surah al-Ikhlāṣ and the two protective chapters, and wipe his face and body with his hands, three times. This attentiveness to remembrance and purity before sleep teaches us that a believer does not surrender to heedlessness, but ends his day connected to Allah.
He ﷺ forbade sleeping on the stomach, saying: "That is a posture Allah does not like." Sometimes he slept on his right side, sometimes on his back, always in moderation. He encouraged balanced sleep, neither excessive nor insufficient, and said: "Your body has a right over you." Meaning, one should neither exhaust it nor deprive it of rest, yet also not overindulge in sleep at the cost of missing out on spiritual benefit.
His bed was modest, without luxury or excessive comfort. One day, some companions saw marks of the mat on his noble side and said: “O Messenger of Allah, shall we not make you a softer mattress?” He replied: "What have I to do with this world? I am like a traveler who seeks shade under a tree, then moves on leaving it behind." This moment reveals the value of detachment and contentment. The comfort of the Prophet ﷺ did not lie in the softness of bedding, but in the serenity of the heart and satisfaction with Allah.
And when he woke, he praised Allah, saying: "All praise is due to Allah, who gave us life after causing us to die, and to Him is the resurrection." He would begin his day with remembrance of Allah, perform ablution, pray two light rak‘ahs of Fajr, and enter his day with energy and resolve. He ﷺ loved to take a midday nap, even if brief, and said: "Take a nap, for the devils do not nap." This allowed him to balance the efforts of night and day, and to renew his energy.
The sleep of the Prophet ﷺ was not neglect, but devotion, beginning with purity and ending with praise. He slept with the intention of strengthening himself to obey Allah, and woke with the intention to draw closer to Him. Every one of his acts was a lesson for the ummah—that a believer should let no moment pass without remembrance or a sincere intention. He taught us that sleep is not an end but a means; when used well, it becomes worship.
Such was the sleep of the Prophet ﷺ: simple, organized, full of remembrance and purity, marked by contentment with little, the pursuit of goodness, and balance between rest and devotion. Whoever reflects on his sleep ﷺ will realize that structuring time and forming sincere intentions transform the simplest of habits into doors leading to Allah. Let us then follow the example of his sleep ﷺ: structure our time, purify ourselves before bed, fall asleep in remembrance of Allah, and rise in gratitude to Him, so we may be among those of whom Allah says: "Those who remember Allah standing, sitting, and lying on their sides."