Good Night, Sleep Tight, Don't Let The Bed Bugs Bite...

Sleeping is very important! Many people young and old feel very tired and fatigued in their day to day activities and this is because they have not given their body enough sleep. The Prophet salallahu alayhi wa salam has said, “Your body has a right upon you.” There is a huge amount of people who leave their houses in the morning feeling extremely frail and tired. Whenever they get to lean their head on an object, they visit the land of... nod.

There are many reasons for a lack of sleeping. Sometimes, people lie down but they toss and turn for hours and when they look at their phone, 3 hours have elapsed and they haven’t slept properly at all. Others can’t sleep at night because they are glued to their computers speaking to friends on MSN Messenger or Facebook. Some people are really busy with work from university or madressa and others are poor souls that suffer from insomnia unfortunately. However, there is a way to conquer all! Here are some tips to help you gain that beauty sleep.

Tips for normal people:

• It is important that when you get into bed, you switch of your phone and all distractions that will take the tiredness away and make you active again.
• Have a comfy bed with a nice pillows. It always helps when you get that sinking feeling.
• Begin to read some zikr. Here are some ahadith about the sleeping of Rasulullah salallahu alayhi wa salam:

“Every night before Rasulullah salallahu alayhi wa salam slept on his bed, he put together his hands (as in the dua’a) and blew on it and recited (the surahs of) Surah Ikhlas (Qul huwallahu ahad), Surah Falaq (Qul a'udhu birabbil falaq), and Surah Naas (Qui a'udhu birabbin naas) and wiped those parts of the body that he could (wherever the hand could reach). He began with the head, then the face and then the front part of his body. This was done thrice". (Shamail Tirmidhi)

"When Rasulullah salallahu alayhi wa salam lay down on a bed, he recited, O Allah! In Your name do I live and die'.”(Shamail)

“Whomsoever recites Ayatul Kursi in the night before sleeping, Allah Ta’ala will protect him, his house and the neighbouring houses.” (Tafseer Mazhari)

• Just to sum up. A person should recite the Four Qul’s, Ayat ul Kursi, the last 2 verses of Surah Baqarah, recite the last three verses of Surah Hashr and whichever nice masnoon dua’as they can find in books such as Fortress of the Muslim, Aap ki pyaari duayein etc. They should recite this till sleep over comes them.
• The recital of Tasbeeh Fatimah 34 Allahu Akbar, 33 Subhan Allah, 33 Alhamdulillah prevents a person from awakening in a tired state.
• A person should place his right hand under his cheek and turn to his right side, facing Qiblah and should sleep.
• A person should keep his mind blank and not occupy himself with constant thoughts of what he may experience the coming day. He must keep his excitement in a jam jar!
• Like this a person should fall asleep with Allah’s Ta’ala names on his tongue and then should awaken in this manner.
• It is important to sleep early, the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa salam would retire to his house immediately after Ishah and would not loiter around the streets. Many of us have a problem of returning to our houses. Some like to have a chat with the lads outside of the Masjid and then many of us tend to go for ‘walkies’ on the way home. This is not from the sunnat, we should go straight home and sleep to wake up fresh for Fajr.
• Switch of the computer and ignore friends.

Here are some tips specially for the people who find themselves stuck on MSN Messenger and Facebook at 4am:

• Delete your Facebook.
• Delete your MSN.
• If the above aren’t possible, then discipline yourself by giving yourself a time limit. Drill it into your own mind that you will be in bed by a certain time. Once this target has been made, stick to it.
• Occupy yourself with other things such as night time reading. Buy books like ‘The Sublime Conduct of Nabi salallahu alayhi wa salam’ or ‘Shamail Tirmidhi’ (which are both in English) and educate yourself about the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa salams blessed features.

Here are some tips for brothers and sisters who are busy with work from uni and madressa:

• Our respected Hazrat Maulana Ismail Sahib (DB) says, “Allah Ta’ala states in the Qur’an Himself that He has made the night a veil for people to sleep and the day a light for people to work in. If you switch the two around, you have gone against the cycle Allah Ta’ala has put in place and you will therefore suffer.” Thus a person should work in special allocated times during the day.
• Time management is very important. Make sure you are in bed early so that you can wake up early. There is a lot of barkat in the morning time after Fajr.

Here are some advices for those people who sleep till Zohar in the afternoon and then wake up with messy hair and feel really rubbish:

• Sleeping during the day is bad for health and causes humid ailments makes the colour pale, ails the spleen, softens the nerves, causes laziness and weakens desire except during in the summer time around noon. The worst type of sleep occurs in the early hours of the day and in the afternoon. Abdullah ibn Abbas radiallahu anhu once saw his son sleeping in the early hours of the morning and said to him, “Wake up! Do you sleep at the hour during which sustenance is being divided?!” (Tibb un Nabawi)

And finally, here is some advice for our beloved brothers and sisters who unfortunately suffer from insomnia. May Allah Ta’ala cure you all. Ameen:

• Those who suffer from insomnia should make dua’a that Allah Ta’ala removes this illness from them. Sometimes it can get very depressing and lonely but a person must utilise this time to do good if he really can’t sleep.
• Keep a happy persona. If a person considers himself as a lonely, depressed person; he will soon fall into sorrow and feel really upset when he is the only one awake in the house.
• Some affective methods of curing insomnia is by reciting Durud Sharif in abundance and picturing Madina in one’s mind.
• Tasbeeh and Zikr are very nice good.
• Sometimes thinking about those people who are close to the heart helps once lose anxiousness and feel at ease.
• Sometimes, reading a book tires one’s eyes out and helps putting one to sleep.
• Hot milk (without caffeine added in) warms the body. Also, a nice hot shower before sleep.
• Total darkness in the room is always nice and helps the eyes relax.
• Think of nothing! Look for the Jam Jar masala which has been narrated above.
• One should keep speaking to a companion whose company is nice and helps one feel relaxed. Thereafter, the eyes will get tired and want to depart to bed.
• Routine is very important! You must force yourself into bed by a set time every day. When a person who suffers from insomnia messes up his routine for just one day, it has lasting effects. Try getting members of your family or best friend to help you go to sleep.
• If problems persist, go to a good doctor.

One final tip for all:

• Good night, sleep tight but not so tight that you miss Fajr!

May Allah Ta’ala give us the ability to fulfil the rights of our body. Ameen.