Dua for Waking Up: Alhamdulillahil Ladhi Ahyana and More

The main dua for waking up

Hudhayfah and Abu Dharr both reported that when the Prophet (peace be upon him) woke from sleep he would say (Bukhari):

الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ الَّذِي أَحْيَانَا بَعْدَ مَا أَمَاتَنَا وَإِلَيْهِ النُّشُورُ

Transliteration: Alhamdulillahil ladhi ahyana ba'da ma amatana wa ilayhin nushur

Meaning: "All praise is for Allah who gave us life after He caused us to die, and to Him is the resurrection."

Why sleep is called death here

The Quran says: "Allah takes the souls at the time of their death, and those that do not die during their sleep. Then He keeps those for which He has decreed death and releases the others for a specified term." (39:42). Every night your soul is taken, and every morning it is returned. The Prophet's waking dua treats each morning as a small resurrection and a rehearsal for the real one, "wa ilayhin nushur", to Him is the raising up.

That is why this dua is the pair of the sleeping dua, "Bismika Allahumma amutu wa ahya" (In Your name, O Allah, I die and I live). You go to sleep acknowledging that you may not wake, and you wake acknowledging that you have been given back.

How to say it

Say it as the first thing, before you reach for your phone. It takes four seconds. If you forgot and remembered in the bathroom, say it then; the point is that the day begins with praise.

The longer dua for waking up

Abu Hurairah reported that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said on waking (Tirmidhi; graded hasan):

الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ الَّذِي عَافَانِي فِي جَسَدِي، وَرَدَّ عَلَيَّ رُوحِي، وَأَذِنَ لِي بِذِكْرِهِ

Transliteration: Alhamdulillahil ladhi afani fi jasadi, wa radda alayya ruhi, wa adhina li bidhikrih

Meaning: "All praise is for Allah who gave me health in my body, returned my soul to me, and permitted me to remember Him."

Three gifts in one sentence: a body that works this morning, a soul returned to it, and the permission, which is itself a favour, to remember Him at all. Say this one alongside the first, or alternate them.

The dua for waking up at night that is answered

This is the most valuable item on the page, and most people have never heard of it. Ubadah ibn as-Samit reported that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said:

"Whoever wakes up at night and says:

لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ وَحْدَهُ لَا شَرِيكَ لَهُ، لَهُ الْمُلْكُ وَلَهُ الْحَمْدُ، وَهُوَ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ، الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ، وَسُبْحَانَ اللَّهِ، وَلَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ، وَاللَّهُ أَكْبَرُ، وَلَا حَوْلَ وَلَا قُوَّةَ إِلَّا بِاللَّهِ

La ilaha illallahu wahdahu la sharika lah, lahul mulku wa lahul hamd, wa huwa ala kulli shay'in qadir. Alhamdulillah, wa subhanallah, wa la ilaha illallah, wallahu akbar, wa la hawla wa la quwwata illa billah

"There is no god but Allah alone, without partner. His is the dominion and His is the praise, and He is able to do all things. Praise be to Allah, glory be to Allah, there is no god but Allah, Allah is the Greatest, and there is no power and no strength except with Allah."

...and then says, 'Allahummaghfir li' (O Allah, forgive me), or makes dua, he will be answered. And if he does wudu and prays, his prayer will be accepted." (Bukhari)

Read the conditions again. Wake at night, say this dhikr, then ask. The Prophet promised the dua is answered. If you then get up, make wudu and pray two rakats, the prayer is accepted. The middle of the night is not an inconvenience; it is an appointment.

What counts as "waking at night"

Any waking during the night: turning over, getting up for the bathroom, a child crying, jet lag. You do not need to have planned it. The narration uses the word ta'arra, which means to stir in one's sleep. So the next time you half-wake at three in the morning, you have been given an opening. Say the dhikr, ask for the thing you need most, and go back to sleep or get up and pray.

The Quranic verses the Prophet recited on waking

Ibn Abbas spent a night at the house of his aunt Maymunah, the Prophet's wife, and watched him. He reported that the Prophet (peace be upon him) slept until the middle of the night or a little before or after, then woke, sat up, wiped the sleep from his face with his hand, and recited the last ten verses of Surah Al Imran (3:190 to 200). Then he went to a hanging water-skin, made wudu well, and stood to pray (Bukhari and Muslim).

The passage begins:

إِنَّ فِي خَلْقِ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ وَاخْتِلَافِ اللَّيْلِ وَالنَّهَارِ لَآيَاتٍ لِّأُولِي الْأَلْبَابِ ۝ الَّذِينَ يَذْكُرُونَ اللَّهَ قِيَامًا وَقُعُودًا وَعَلَىٰ جُنُوبِهِمْ وَيَتَفَكَّرُونَ فِي خَلْقِ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ رَبَّنَا مَا خَلَقْتَ هَٰذَا بَاطِلًا سُبْحَانَكَ فَقِنَا عَذَابَ النَّارِ

"Indeed, in the creation of the heavens and the earth and the alternation of the night and the day are signs for those of understanding. Those who remember Allah while standing or sitting or lying on their sides and give thought to the creation of the heavens and the earth, saying, 'Our Lord, You did not create this aimlessly; exalted are You; then protect us from the punishment of the Fire.'" (3:190 to 191)

The verses go on through a series of duas, "Rabbana innana sami'na munadiyan yunadi lil imani... Rabbana faghfir lana dhunubana wa kaffir anna sayyi'atina wa tawaffana ma'al abrar" (Our Lord, we have heard a caller calling to faith... Our Lord, so forgive us our sins and remove from us our misdeeds and cause us to die with the righteous), and end with the command to be patient and fear Allah. It is a passage worth memorising for exactly this moment: waking in the night, looking at the dark window, and remembering who made it.

The Sunnah steps from waking to Fajr

The Prophet's morning was a short sequence of small actions. Each is a Sunnah with its own narration, and together they take under ten minutes.

1. The dua on opening your eyes

Alhamdulillahil ladhi ahyana ba'da ma amatana wa ilayhin nushur. Before anything else.

2. Wipe the sleep from your face

Ibn Abbas described the Prophet wiping the sleep from his face with his hand on waking (Bukhari and Muslim). A small thing, but it is Sunnah.

3. Use the siwak

Hudhayfah said: "Whenever the Prophet (peace be upon him) got up at night, he would clean his mouth with a siwak." (Bukhari and Muslim). A siwak or a toothbrush on waking is one of the most consistently reported Sunnahs of his mornings.

4. Wash your hands before putting them in water

The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: "When one of you wakes from sleep, let him not put his hand into the vessel until he has washed it three times, for he does not know where his hand spent the night." (Bukhari and Muslim). The scholars extend the wisdom to any shared water; in practical terms, wash your hands three times before wudu.

5. Rinse your nose

"When one of you wakes from sleep, let him snuff water into his nose and blow it out three times, for Shaytan spends the night in the upper part of his nose." (Bukhari and Muslim). This is done as part of wudu, which follows.

6. Make wudu

Wudu after waking is required for prayer in any case, since sleep breaks it. The Prophet's night routine was: wake, dhikr, siwak, wudu, pray.

7. Pray

At night, this means Tahajjud and Witr. At dawn, it means the two rakats of the sunnah of Fajr, which the Prophet said are "better than the world and all it contains" (Muslim), followed by Fajr itself.

The morning adhkar after waking

Once Fajr is prayed, or on waking if you slept past Fajr, the morning adhkar begin. These are the ones most closely tied to waking.

Asbahna wa asbahal mulku lillah

أَصْبَحْنَا وَأَصْبَحَ الْمُلْكُ لِلَّهِ، وَالْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ، لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ وَحْدَهُ لَا شَرِيكَ لَهُ، لَهُ الْمُلْكُ وَلَهُ الْحَمْدُ وَهُوَ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ، رَبِّ أَسْأَلُكَ خَيْرَ مَا فِي هَذَا الْيَوْمِ وَخَيْرَ مَا بَعْدَهُ، وَأَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنْ شَرِّ مَا فِي هَذَا الْيَوْمِ وَشَرِّ مَا بَعْدَهُ

Asbahna wa asbahal mulku lillah, walhamdulillah, la ilaha illallahu wahdahu la sharika lah, lahul mulku wa lahul hamdu wa huwa ala kulli shay'in qadir. Rabbi as'aluka khayra ma fi hadhal yawmi wa khayra ma ba'dah, wa a'udhu bika min sharri ma fi hadhal yawmi wa sharri ma ba'dah

"We have entered the morning and the dominion has entered the morning belonging to Allah. Praise is for Allah. There is no god but Allah alone, without partner; His is the dominion and His is the praise, and He is able to do all things. My Lord, I ask You for the good of this day and the good of what follows it, and I seek refuge in You from the evil of this day and the evil of what follows it." (Muslim)

Allahumma bika asbahna

اللَّهُمَّ بِكَ أَصْبَحْنَا، وَبِكَ أَمْسَيْنَا، وَبِكَ نَحْيَا، وَبِكَ نَمُوتُ، وَإِلَيْكَ النُّشُورُ

Allahumma bika asbahna, wa bika amsayna, wa bika nahya, wa bika namut, wa ilaykan nushur

"O Allah, by You we enter the morning, by You we enter the evening, by You we live, by You we die, and to You is the resurrection." (Tirmidhi, Abu Dawud; graded sahih)

Sayyidul Istighfar

The master dua for forgiveness, which the Prophet said guarantees Paradise for the one who says it in the morning with certainty and dies that day (Bukhari). It is covered in full in our dua for forgiveness guide.

Ayatul Kursi and the three Quls

Recited once (Ayatul Kursi) and three times each (al-Ikhlas, al-Falaq, an-Nas) in the morning, for protection through the day (an-Nasa'i, Abu Dawud, Tirmidhi).

Duas for the things you do right after waking

When getting dressed

الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ الَّذِي كَسَانِي هَذَا وَرَزَقَنِيهِ مِنْ غَيْرِ حَوْلٍ مِنِّي وَلَا قُوَّةٍ

Alhamdulillahil ladhi kasani hadha wa razaqanihi min ghayri hawlin minni wa la quwwah

"All praise is for Allah who clothed me with this and provided it for me without any power or strength on my part." The Prophet said whoever says this on putting on a garment is forgiven his past sins (Abu Dawud, Tirmidhi; graded hasan).

When entering the bathroom

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ، اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنَ الْخُبُثِ وَالْخَبَائِثِ

Bismillah, Allahumma inni a'udhu bika minal khubthi wal khaba'ith

"In the name of Allah. O Allah, I seek refuge in You from the male and female devils." (Bukhari and Muslim). Bismillah before entering; the rest was said by the Prophet on entering.

When leaving the bathroom

غُفْرَانَكَ

Ghufranak: "I seek Your forgiveness." (Abu Dawud, Tirmidhi; graded sahih)

When leaving the house

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ، تَوَكَّلْتُ عَلَى اللَّهِ، وَلَا حَوْلَ وَلَا قُوَّةَ إِلَّا بِاللَّهِ

Bismillah, tawakkaltu alallah, wa la hawla wa la quwwata illa billah

"In the name of Allah, I place my trust in Allah, and there is no power and no strength except with Allah." The Prophet said that whoever says this is told: you are guided, defended and protected, and Shaytan turns away from him (Abu Dawud, Tirmidhi; graded sahih).

Dua for waking up for Fajr and Tahajjud

There is no single "dua to wake up on time" from the Sunnah, but there are practices that the Prophet and the Companions used, and a dua for the intention.

• Sleep on wudu, on your right side, with the sleeping duas. The Prophet said that whoever goes to sleep in a state of purity, with the remembrance of Allah, and then wakes at night and asks Allah for good in this world and the next, is given it (Abu Dawud; graded hasan). Wudu before bed makes waking for prayer physically easier and spiritually expected.
• Make the intention out loud. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: "Whoever goes to bed intending to get up and pray at night, and sleep overcomes him until morning, what he intended is written for him, and his sleep is a charity to him from his Lord." (an-Nasa'i, Ibn Majah; graded sahih). Say it as you lie down: "O Allah, I intend to wake for Tahajjud (or Fajr); help me." If you fail, you are still rewarded for the intention. If you succeed, you are rewarded twice.
• Sleep early. The Prophet disliked sleeping before Isha and talking after it (Bukhari and Muslim). Half of waking for Fajr is going to bed at a sensible hour.
• Wake each other. The Prophet said: "May Allah have mercy on a man who gets up at night and prays, and wakes his wife, and if she refuses, sprinkles water on her face; and may Allah have mercy on a woman who gets up at night and prays, and wakes her husband, and if he refuses, sprinkles water on his face." (Abu Dawud; graded hasan)
• Use the tools you have. An alarm across the room, a prayer-times app with the azan for Fajr, and Niyyara's Fajr alert with the actual adhan are all legitimate means. Tying the camel is Sunnah.

What to do when you wake up late

If you slept through Fajr, do not spiral. The Prophet (peace be upon him) and the Companions once slept through Fajr on a journey, and when they woke he told them to move a little from the place, made wudu, prayed the sunnah of Fajr and then Fajr itself, and said: "Whoever forgets a prayer or sleeps through it, its expiation is to pray it when he remembers it." (Bukhari and Muslim)

So: say the waking dua, make wudu, pray the two sunnah and the two fard of Fajr immediately, then the morning adhkar. Then set a better alarm. The deliberate skipping of prayer is the sin; oversleeping is forgiven by praying as soon as you wake.

A morning routine in five minutes

Here is everything above compressed into the order the Sunnah gives, for a normal morning:

1. Eyes open: Alhamdulillahil ladhi ahyana ba'da ma amatana wa ilayhin nushur.
2. Wipe the face, siwak or toothbrush.
3. Wash hands three times, then wudu, including rinsing the nose.
4. Getting dressed: Alhamdulillahil ladhi kasani hadha...
5. Two rakats sunnah of Fajr, then Fajr.
6. After the salam: the post-prayer adhkar, then Asbahna wa asbahal mulku lillah, Allahumma bika asbahna, Sayyidul Istighfar, Ayatul Kursi, the three Quls.
7. Leaving the house: Bismillah, tawakkaltu alallah, wa la hawla wa la quwwata illa billah.

That is a day that started with praise, protection and prayer before a single notification was read.