((بِاسْمِكَ رَبِّي وَضَعْتُ جَنْبِي، وَبِكَ أَرْفَعُهُ، فَإِن أَمْسَكْتَ نَفْسِي فارْحَمْهَا، وَإِنْ أَرْسَلْتَهَا فَاحْفَظْهَا، بِمَا تَحْفَظُ بِهِ عِبَادَكَ الصَّالِحِينَ)).
(Bismika rabbee wadaAAtu janbee wabika arfaAAuh, fa-in amsakta nafsee farhamha, wa-in arsaltaha fahfathha bima tahfathu bihi AAibadakas-saliheen.)
(In Your name my Lord, I lie down and in Your name I rise, so if You should take my soul then have mercy upon it, and if You should return my soul then protect it in the manner You do so with Your righteous servants.)
Hisn al-Muslim 28 · Hisn al-Muslim
Source & authenticity
Source: Hisn al-Muslim · Reference: Hisn al-Muslim 28
Translation: Hisn al-Muslim (Fortress of the Muslim), Sa'id al-Qahtani — see site-wide attribution
IslamicInfo presents the source information available in its current verified database and does not issue religious rulings.
Context & meaning
The supplication is built on two conditions and does not assume which will follow. Lying down and rising are both placed in His name first. Two outcomes are then set side by side: if the soul is taken, mercy is asked for it; if it is returned, protection is asked for it. Each outcome is given its own request rather than one request stretched to cover both.
When & how to recite
The chapter this belongs to places these words before sleeping.
Reflection
The protection asked for in the second case is defined by comparison — that the soul be protected in the manner His righteous servants are protected — so the request names a standard rather than an amount.
About these notesThe notes above explain the wording of the supplication as it is translated on this page. They add no commentary, history or ruling beyond it.
Common questions
What do these words mean?
The English of it is: “In Your name my Lord, I lie down and in Your name I rise, so if You should take my soul then have mercy upon it, and if You should return my soul then protect it in the manner You do so with Your righteous servants.” The supplication is built on two conditions and does not assume which will follow.
How is it pronounced if you cannot read Arabic?
Romanised, it runs: “Bismika rabbee wadaAAtu janbee wabika arfaAAuh, fa-in amsakta nafsee farhamha, wa-in arsaltaha fahfathha bima tahfathu bihi AAibadakas-saliheen.”
Where does this dua come from?
It is recorded at Jami at-Tirmidhi 3485 · 28:102.
At what point is it recited?
The chapter this belongs to places these words before sleeping. The protection asked for in the second case is defined by comparison — that the soul be protected in the manner His righteous servants are protected — so the request names a standard rather than an amount.