Sleep and Night Worship

His practice was to sleep on his right side, placing his right hand beneath his cheek. Before sleeping, he would recite the last three surahs of the Quran (al-Ikhlas, al-Falaq, and an-Nas), blow gently into his cupped hands, and wipe them over his body. He would also recite Ayat al-Kursi (Quran 2:255). Among his supplications before sleep was: "O Allah, in Your name I die and I live," and: "O Allah, I have submitted myself to You, turned my face to You, entrusted my affairs to You, and leaned my back on You, in hope of You and in fear of You." He would rise for the night prayer in the last third of the night, beginning with two light units of prayer and then praying in pairs. His night prayer was long and unhurried. He would stand for so long reciting the Quran that his blessed feet would swell. When Aisha asked him why he exerted himself so much when Allah had forgiven all his past and future sins, he replied: "Should I not then be a grateful servant?" His night prayer was the voluntary act of worship dearest to him. During his night prayer, he recited at length, his recitation clear and measured. He would pause at verses of mercy to ask Allah for mercy, and at verses of punishment to seek Allah's refuge. His bowing and prostration were nearly as long as his standing. He wept during his prostrations, and the sound of his weeping was like the sound of a pot boiling with water — a deep, contained sound from his chest. He divided his night into portions. He would sleep during the first part, rise to pray during the middle or latter part, and sometimes return to sleep briefly before the dawn prayer. He encouraged the night prayer for his community, saying: "The best prayer after the obligatory prayers is the night prayer." He also said: "Our Lord descends to the lowest heaven in the last third of every night and says: 'Who is calling upon Me that I may answer him? Who is asking of Me that I may give him? Who is seeking My forgiveness that I may forgive him?'" Upon waking, he would wipe the sleep from his face and recite the last ten verses of Surah Al Imran (Quran 3:190-200). He used the miswak upon waking and performed ablution before beginning his prayer. His entire routine of sleep and worship was a balance between the rights of the body and the rights of the soul, a balance he urged upon his Companions when some of them wished to pray all night without rest.