Dua for waking up
اَلْحَمْدُ لِلّٰهِ الَّذِي أَحْيَانَا بَعْدَ مَا أَمَاتَنَا وَإِلَيْهِ النُّشُورُ
Transliteration: Al-hamdu lillahilladhi ahyana ba’da ma amatana, wa ilaihin-nushur.
English Translation: All praise belongs to Allah Who has restored us back to life after causing us to die; and to Him shall we return.
Explanation:
This dua is among the most important Adhkars that we should say after waking up.
The Prophet ﷺ used to remember Allah Almighty in all his conditions. He used to start his day with the remembrance of Allah Almighty by saying this dua and he used to conclude his day with the remembrance of Allah Almighty by saying “Allahhumm Bismika Amootu Wa-Ahya”.
When you wake up in the morning, You should praise your Lord who gave you a new life. Sleep is a type of death because with it the mind and movement disappear. In the state of sleep, the soul is separated from the body. When a person wakes up, Allah returns the soul to the body.
Through this dua, we express the praise of Allah, the Exalted, that Allah resurrected after giving us death (i.e. after sleep) and returned our soul. These words are also present in a hadith:
اَلْحَمْدُ لِلّٰهِ الَّذِيْ عَافَانِيْ فِي جَسَدِيْ وَرَدَّ عَلَىَّ رُوحِيْ وَأَذِنَ لِيْ بِذِكْرِهِ
Transliteration: Al-hamdu lillahilladhi aafaani fee Jasadee , Wa-Radda Alayya Roohee Wa-Adhina Lee Bidhikrihee.
English Translation: All praise is due to Allah, Who healed me in my body, and returned to me my soul, and permitted me to remember Him.
The Holy Quran has also called sleep a death.
اللَّهُ يَتَوَفَّى الْأَنفُسَ حِينَ مَوْتِهَا وَالَّتِي لَمْ تَمُتْ فِي مَنَامِهَا ۖ فَيُمْسِكُ الَّتِي قَضَىٰ عَلَيْهَا الْمَوْتَ وَيُرْسِلُ الْأُخْرَىٰ إِلَىٰ أَجَلٍ مُّسَمًّى ۚ إِنَّ فِي ذَٰلِكَ لَآيَاتٍ لِّقَوْمٍ يَتَفَكَّرُونَ
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, there are signs for people who give thought. (42) 39:42
Along with this, there is a warning in this dua that just as Allah Ta’ala wakes us up from sleep, He will also wake us up after death. We have to return to Him.
What is the wisdom behind the Dua after waking up?
The day of the servant along with all his actions should begin with the remembrance of Allah. Similarly, the servant’s day should also end with the remembrance of Allah. Therein lies the wisdom of the dua after waking up and the dua before going to sleep. The angels will record your first and your last deed as Dhikr. When the day begins and ends with the remembrance of Allah, there will be hope that Allah Almighty will forgive the sins in between.
How to act after waking up?
- Rituals, Manners and sunnahs after getting up in the morning
There are 10 manners after waking up in the morning:
- 1. Get up early (For Tahajjud or for Fajr)
- 2. Rub the traces of sleep from your face with your hand
- 3. Give thanks to your Loard by reciting Dua mentioned above
- 4. Recite the last ten verses of Surat Al-Imran
- 5. Miswak
- 6. Do not enter your hand in the pot, wash your hands first
- 7. Make Wuzu (ablution)
- 8. Clean the nose thoroughly in ablution
- 9. Say Salam to your family / homemate
- 10. Wake up the family members for prayer
Is waking up for Fajr a choice?
No, It’s not a choice. Praying Fajr on time is mandatory like other four Fard prayers are. If you take the necessary steps to wake up but are unable to, then Allah will not hold you accountable as it was not within your grasp or reach.
For example, if you go to bed early, set your alarm and drink a lot of water before going to bed, this should help you wake up for Fajr. But if you go to bed late and you know that you are not going to wake up for Fajr even if you set many alarm clocks around you, then in this case your are sinful for missing Fajr.
There is no negligence when one sleeps, rather negligence is when one is awake. (Nasai:614)
You are not negligent while asleep; this is something that you can’t control. The negligence happens when you are awake, so take precautions and go to bed early, drink a lot of water and set your alarm clocks. If after all that you wake up then Alhamdulillah! Allah has blessed and favored you. If you don’t wake up you are not sinful because it’s beyond your control. If you go to bed late and you don’t wake up you are definitely sinful.
How to wake up for Fajr without an alarm?
Waking up for Fajr without an alarm is great, but if you are currently struggling to wake up for Fajr, you need to take measures to ensure you wake up on time. Once you become consistent in praying Fajr and your relationship with Allah become stronger, then, inshaAllah, you will no longer need an alarm to wake up. Your eyes will open at the time of Fajr (or when you hear the call to prayer).
Among the things that assist you in waking up for Fajr prayer are:
- Sleeping early
- Eating less at dinner
- Reciting the adhkar of sleep, including Ayat al-Kursi
- Sleeping with ablution
- Setting an alarm
- Tell someone in the house to wake you up for prayer.
There is no harm in setting an alarm for Fajr prayer. This is a good practice. The Prophet ﷺ told the Companions in a jaurney that “Guard for us our prayer”, i.e. the Fajr prayer.
It can be concluded from this hadith that we can set for Fajr as fatigue or any other reason may cause an omission in prayer.
Here is the complete hadith:
“The Prophet (ﷺ) was on a journey. The Prophet (ﷺ) took a turn and I also took a turn with him. He said: ‘Look!’ I said: ‘This is a rider; these are two riders; and these are three’ until we became seven. He then said: Guard for us our prayer, i.e. the Fajr prayer. But sleep dominated them and none could awaken them except the heat of the sun. They stood up and drove away a little. Then they got down (from their mounts) and performed ablution. Bilal called for prayer and they offered two rak’ahs of (Sunnah) of Fajr and then offered the Fajr prayer and mounted (their mounts). Some of them said to others: We showed negligence in prayer. The Prophet (ﷺ) said: There is no negligence in sleep. The negligence is in wakefulness. If any of you forget saying prayer, he should offer it when he remembers it and next day (he should say it) at its proper time. Abudawud:437
Which Dua to read after waking up?
