The Prophet ﷺ had a clear routine for the end of the day and the start of the next one. Every part of it is narrated with a collection and a number, and a child can learn the whole routine in about a week. Nothing here is invented: each dua comes from a hadith and each ayah is fetched from the verified Qur'an text.
Lesson 1 · How he went to bed · ages 5-7
Wudu, then your right side
The Prophet ﷺ told a companion to make wudu before sleeping, lie on the right side, and say a dua handing the night over to Allah.
1The instruction
The Prophet ﷺ said: when you go to bed, perform wudu as you do for prayer, then lie down on your right side.
2Wudu first
You go to sleep clean and ready, as though you were about to pray.
3Right side
Lying on the right side is the Sunnah position for sleeping.
4Sleep is a mercy
The Qur'an calls the night a covering and sleep a rest — a gift, not wasted time.
5Handing it to Allah
The bedtime dua puts your life and death in Allah's hands before you close your eyes.
Wa Huwal lazee ja'ala lakumul laila libaasanw wannawma subaatanw wa ja'alan nahaara nushooraa
“And it is He who has made the night for you as clothing and sleep [a means for] rest and has made the day a resurrection.”
“When you go to bed, perform ablution as you do for prayer, then lie down on your right side.”
Sahih al-Bukhari 247
Memorise this
بِاسْمِكَ اللَّهُمَّ أَمُوتُ وَأَحْيَا
Bismika Allahumma amutu wa ahya
In Your name, O Allah, I die and I live.
Said on going to sleep — Sahih al-Bukhari 6324
Do this before next time
Make wudu tonight before bed, lie on your right side, and say the dua.
Lesson 2 · Protection till morning · ages 8-11
Ayat al-Kursi at night
Reciting Ayat al-Kursi before sleeping brings a guard from Allah that stays until the morning.
1The narration
The Prophet ﷺ taught that whoever recites Ayat al-Kursi when he goes to bed will have a guardian from Allah, and no devil will come near him until dawn.
2Which ayah it is
Ayat al-Kursi is verse 255 of Surah al-Baqarah.
3What it says
It describes Allah as the Ever-Living who never sleeps, who owns everything, and whose knowledge covers all things.
4Protection is from Allah
The words are not a charm; the protection belongs to Allah, who promised it.
5Learn it in pieces
Split the ayah into four short parts and add one part each night.
Allahu laaa ilaaha illaa Huwal Haiyul Qaiyoom; laa taakhuzuhoo sinatunw wa laa nawm; lahoo maa fissamaawaati wa maa fil ard; man zal lazee yashfa'u indahooo illaa bi-iznih; ya'lamu maa baina aydeehim wa mww khalfahum wa laa yuheetoona bishai'im min 'ilmihee illaa bimaa shaaa'; wasi'a Kursiyyuhus samaawaati wal arda wa laa ya'ooduho hifzuhumaa; wa Huwal Aliyyul 'Azeem
“Allah - there is no deity except Him, the Ever-Living, the Sustainer of [all] 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 [presently] before them and what will be after them, and they encompass not a thing of His knowledge except for 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.”
“When you go to bed, recite Ayat al-Kursi, for there will be a guard from Allah who will protect you all night long, and Satan will not be able to come near you till dawn.”
Sahih al-Bukhari 2311
Do this before next time
Recite Ayat al-Kursi tonight; if you have not memorised it yet, read it from the page.
Allaahu yatawaffal anfusa heena mawtihaa wallatee lam tamut fee manaamihaa fa yumsikul latee qadaa 'alaihal mawta wa yursilul ukhraaa ilaaa ajalim musammaa; inna fee zaalika la Aayaatil liqawmai yatafakkarron
“Allah takes the souls at the time of their death, and those that do not die [He takes] during their sleep. Then He keeps those for which He has decreed death and releases the others for a specified term. Indeed in that are signs for a people who give thought.”
“When the Prophet ﷺ got up he would say: Al-hamdu lillahil-ladhi ahyana ba'da ma amatana wa ilaihin-nushur.”
“O you who have believed, remember Allah with much remembrance”
Surah Al-Ahzaab · 33:42
وَسَبِّحُوهُ بُكْرَةًۭ وَأَصِيلًا
Wa sabbihoohu bukratanw wa aseela
“And exalt Him morning and afternoon.”
“Whoever says a hundred times a day: Glory be to Allah and praise be to Him — his sins will be wiped away even if they were like the foam of the sea.”
Sahih al-Bukhari 6405
“There are two expressions which are very easy for the tongue to say, but they are very heavy in the balance and are very dear to The Beneficent: Subhan Allah Al-'Azim and Subhan Allah wa bihamdihi.”
Sahih al-Bukhari 6406
Memorise this
سُبْحَانَ اللَّهِ وَبِحَمْدِهِ
SubhanAllahi wa bihamdih
Glory be to Allah, and praise be to Him.
Sahih al-Bukhari 6405
Do this before next time
Say SubhanAllahi wa bihamdih ten times after Fajr and ten times after Maghrib for a week.
Every ayah on this page comes from the Tanzil Uthmani text of the Qur'an with the Sahih International translation, and every hadith carries its collection and number so you can check it yourself. Back to the learning path
