The Book of the Remembrance of Allah
كتاب الأذكار
Chapter 4: The Excellence of Gathering in which Allah is Remembered
The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "Allah, the Exalted, has teams of angels who go about on the roads seeking those who remember Allah. When they find some people remembering Allah they call to one another and say, 'Come to what you are looking for;' and they surround them with their wings till the space between them and the lowest sky is fully covered. Allah, the Exalted and Glorious, asks them (although He is best informed about every thing): 'What are my slave saying?' They say: 'They are glorifying Your Tasbih, Tahmid, Takbir, Tamjid, (i.e., they were declaring Your Perfectness, praising, remembering the Greatness and Majesty of Allah).' He asks: 'Have they seen Me?' They reply, 'No, indeed, they have not seen You.' He asks: 'How would they act if they were to see Me?' Thereupon they reply: 'If they were to see You, they would engage more earnestly in worshipping and glorifying You and would extol You more.' He would say: 'What do they beg of Me?' They say, 'They beg You for Your Jannah.' Allah says, 'Have they seen My Jannah?' They say, 'No, our Rubb.' He says: 'How would they act if they were to see My Jannah?' They reply, 'Were they to see it, they would more intensely eager for it.' They (the angels) say, 'They seek Your Protection.' He asks, 'Against what do they seek My Protection?' They (the angels) say, 'Our Rubb, from the fire of Hell.' (He, the Rubb) says, 'Have they seen the fire of Hell?' They say, 'No. By Your Honour, they have not seen it.' He says: 'How would they act if they were to see My Fire?' They say: 'If they were to see it, they would more earnest in being away from it and fearing it. They beg of Your forgiveness.' He says: 'I call you to witness that I hereby grant pardon to them and confer upon them what they ask for; and grant them protection against what they seek protection from.' One of the angels says: 'Our Rubb, there is amongst them such and such slave who does not belong to the assembly of those who are participating in Your remembrance. He passed by them and sat down with them.' He says: 'I also grant him pardon because they are the people by virtue of whom their associates will not be unfortunate'."[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].(The narration in Muslim is also the same with minor changes in wordings).
The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "When a group of people assemble for the remembrance of Allah, the angels surround them (with their wings), (Allah's) mercy envelops them, Sakinah, or tranquillity descends upon them and Allah makes a mention of them before those who are near Him."[Muslim].
The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) was sitting in the mosque with his Companions when three people came to him. Two of them stepped forward to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and the third went away. Those two men stood by the side of Messenger of Allah (ﷺ). One of them found a space in the circle and he filled it, while the other one sat behind him. When the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) finished, he said, "Shall I not inform you about these three people? One of them sought refuge with Allah and Allah gave him refuge; the second one felt shy and Allah showed kindness to his shyness (and so he was accommodated in that meeting), and the last one averted, and so Allah turned away His Attention from him."[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].
Mu'awiyah (May Allah be pleased with him) came to an assembly in the mosque and asked them: "What has made you sit together?" They replied, "We are sitting here to remember Allah." He said, "I adjure you by Allah to tell me whether nothing else has made you to sit together." They replied: "By Allah! We are sitting only to remember Allah." Then he said, "I did not adjure you because I suspected you. No one of my rank in the eyes of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) is the narrator of so few traditions as I am. The fact is that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) went out to a circle of his Companions and said, 'What has made you sit there?' When they replied that they are sitting together to remember Allah and to praise Him for guiding them to Islam and bestowing favours on them, he (ﷺ) said, 'I adjure you by Allah to tell me that nothing else has made you sit together.' On their reply that there was certainly no other purpose, he (ﷺ) said, 'I did not adjure you because I suspected you, but Jibril (Gabriel) came to me and told me that Allah was talking proudly of you to the angels."'[Muslim].
Chapter 5: Remembrance of Allah in the Morning and in the Evening
The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "He who recites in the morning and in the evening the statement: 'Subhan-Allahi wa bihamdihi (Allah is free from imperfection and I begin with praising Him)' one hundred times, will not be surpassed on the Day of Resurrection by anyone with better deeds than one who utters the same words or utters more of these words."[Muslim].
A man came to the Prophet (ﷺ) and said, "What a trouble I suffered from a scorpion which stung me last night!" He (ﷺ) said, "Had you said in the evening: 'A'udhu bikalimatillahit-tammati min sharri ma khalaqa (I seek the protection of Allah's Perfect Words from the evil of whatever He has created),' it would not have harmed you."[Muslim].
The Prophet (ﷺ) used to say in the morning: "Allahumma bika asbahna, wa bika amsaina, wa bika nahya, wa bika namutu, wa ilaikan-nushur (O Allah! With Your Power we have come to the morning, with Your Power we come to the evening, with Your Power we live, and we die, and to You will we return)." In the evening he would say: "Allahumma bika amsaina, wa bika nahya, wa bika namutu, wa ilaikan-nushur (O Allah! With Your Power, we have come to the evening, by You do we live, by You do we die, and to You is the return)."[At-Tirmidhi and Abu Dawud].
Abu Bakr asked, "O Messenger of Allah! Teach me some words so that I may recite them in the morning and in the evening." The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "Recite these words: 'Allahumma fatiras-samawati wal-ardi, 'alimal-ghaibi wash-shahadati, Rabba kulli shai'in wa malikahu. Ash- hadu an la ilaha illa Anta, a'udhu bika min sharri nafsi, wa sharrish- Shaitani wa shirkihi (O Allah! Creator of the heavens and the earth! Knower of the hidden and the exposed! Rubb of everything and every one. I bear witness that none has the right to be worshipped but You. I seek Your Protection from the evil of my own self from the evil of Satan and from the evil of Shirk to which he calls)."' The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) added: "Recite these words in the morning and the evening and when you go to bed."[Abu Dawud and At- Tirmidhi].
When it was evening, the Prophet (ﷺ) used to supplicate: "Amsaina wa amsal-mulku lillah, wal-hamdu lillah. La 'ilaha illallahu wahdahu la sharika lahu (We have entered upon evening and the whole kingdom of Allah, too, has entered upon evening. Praise is due to Allah. There is none who has the right to be worshiped but Allah, the One who has no partner with Him)." He (the narrator) said: I think that he (ﷺ) used to follow the recitation with these words: "Lahul-mulku, wa lahul-hamdu, wa Huwa 'ala kulli shi'in Qadir. Rabbi as'aluka khaira ma fi hadhihil-lailati, wa khaira ma ba'daha; wa a'udhu bika min sharri ma fi hadhihil-lailati, wa sharri ma ba'daha; Rabbi a'udhu bika minal- kasali, wa su'il-kibari; Rabbi a'udhu bika min 'adhabin fin-nari, wa 'adhabin fil-qabri (His is the sovereignty and to Him is all praise due, and He is Omnipotent. My Rubb, I beg of you good that lies in this night and good that follows it, and I seek refuge in You from the evil that lies in this night and from the evil of that which follows it. My Rubb! I seek refuge in You from lethargy and the misery of old age. O Allah! I seek Your Protection from the torment of Hell-fire and the punishment of the grave)." When it was morning, he (ﷺ) would recite the same, replacing the words: "We have entered upon evening and the whole kingdom of Allah, too, has entered upon evening" with "We have entered upon morning and the whole kingdom of Allah entered upon morning." (Replace the words "Amsaina, amsa, hadhihil-lailati, ma ba'daha with Asbahna, asbaha, hadhal-yaumi, ma ba'dahu, respectively.)[Muslim].
The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said to me, "Recite Surat Al-Ikhlas and Al- Mu'awwidhatain (Surat Al-Falaq and Surat An-Nas) three times at dawn and dusk. It will suffice you in all respects."[Abu Dawud and At-Tirmidhi].
The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "He who recites three times every morning and evening: 'Bismillahil-ladhi la yadurru ma'as-mihi shai'un fil-ardi wa la fis-sama'i, wa Huwas-Sami'ul-'Alim (In the Name of Allah with Whose Name there is protection against every kind of harm in the earth or in the heaven, and He is the All-Hearing and All- Knowing),' nothing will harm him."[Abu Dawud and At- Tirmidhi].
Chapter 6: Supplication before going to Bed
The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) used to supplicate when he went to bed at night: "Bismik-Allahumma ahya wa amut (With Your Name, O Allah, I expire and return to life)."[Al- Bukhari].
The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said to me and to Fatimah (May Allah be pleased with her) (Ali's wife and the Prophet's daughter), "When you go to bed, recite: Takbir (Allahu Akbar) thirty-three times and Tasbih (Subhan-Allah) thirty-three times and Tahmid (Al-hamdu lillah) thirty-three times."Another narration is: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "Recite Tasbih thirty-four times."Another narration is: The Messenger of Allah(ﷺ) said, "Recite Takbir thirty-four times."[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].
The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "When any of you goes to bed, he should shake off (or dust off) his bedsheet because he does not know what might have fallen on it after he had left it. Then he should recite: 'Bismika Rabbi wada'tu janbi, wa bika arfa'uhu, in amsakta nafsi farhamha, wa in arsaltaha fahfazha bima tahfazu bihi 'ibadakas-salihin [With Your Name, my Rubb, I place my side (upon the bed) and with Your Grace I will raise it up. If You withhold my soul (cause me to die), have mercy on it but if You let it go (let me live), guard it against which You guarded Your pious slaves]."'[Al- Bukhari and Muslim].
Whenever the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) went to bed, he would blow upon his hands recite Al-Mu'awwidhat; and pass his hands over his body.[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].
The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "Whenever you intend to go to bed, perform Wudu' as is done for Salat (prayer); and then lie down on the right side and recite: 'Allahumma aslamtu nafsi ilaika, wa fawwadtu amri ilaika, wal-ja'tu zahri ilaika, raghbatan wa rahbatan ilaika, la malja'a wa la manja minka illa ilaika, amantu bikitabik-alladhi anzalta, wa binabiyyik-alladhi arsalta [O Allah! I have submitted myself to You. I have turned my face to You, entrusted my affairs to You and relied completely on You out of desire for and fear of You (expecting Your reward and fearing Your punishment). There is no resort and no deliverer from (hardships) except You. I affirm my faith in Your Book which You have revealed, and in Your Prophet whom You have sent].' If you die during the night, you will die in the true religion. Let these words be your last words at night."[Al- Bukhari and Muslim].
Whenever the Prophet (ﷺ) went to his bed, he would say: "Al-hamdu lillah-illadhi at'amana wa saqana, wa kafana wa awana, fakam mimman la kafiya lahu wa la mu'wiya (Praise is due to Allah Who has fed us, provided us drink, satisfied us and gave us protection. Many are those who have no one to provide for them, or give them shelter)."[Muslim].
Whenever the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) intended to go to sleep, he would place his right hand under his (right) cheek and supplicate: "Allahumma qini 'adhabaka yauma tab'athu 'ibadaka (O Allah! Guard me against Your punishment on the Day when You will resurrect Your slaves)."[At-Tirmidhi].In a narration in Abu Dawud, Hafsah (May Allah be pleased with her) said: Before going to sleep the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) would recite this Du'a three times.