Dhikr and du‘a · When the moment comes
After a bad dream: spit left, seek refuge, turn over
- The practice
- If you wake from a bad dream, dry-spit lightly to your left three times, seek refuge in Allah from Shaytan three times, and turn onto your other side.
- When
- Waking from a bad dream
- In daily life
- Teach it to your kids at bedtime so they know what to do if they wake up scared, and do it with them the first few times. Keep it calm: a light, dry "tuh tuh tuh", seek refuge, roll over, back to sleep.
The source
عَنْ جَابِرٍ، عَنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم أَنَّهُ قَالَ " إِذَا رَأَى أَحَدُكُمُ الرُّؤْيَا يَكْرَهُهَا فَلْيَبْصُقْ عَنْ يَسَارِهِ ثَلاَثًا وَلْيَسْتَعِذْ بِاللَّهِ مِنَ الشَّيْطَانِ ثَلاَثًا وَلْيَتَحَوَّلْ عَنْ جَنْبِهِ الَّذِي كَانَ عَلَيْهِ " .
“Jabir reported Allah's Messenger ﷺ as saying:If anyone sees a dream which he does not like, he should spit on his left side three times, and seek refuge with Allah from the Satan three times, and let him turn over from the side on which he was sleeping”Narrated by Jabir ibn 'AbdullahSahih Muslim 2262
The full hadith, with its chain and grading →Arabic: ara-muslim · Translation: Abdul Hamid Siddiqui (eng-muslim), from the eng-muslim edition of hadith-api (public domain), sunnah.com numbering.
More Sunnahs like this
Remember Allah as you enter your homeWalking through your front doorMake du'a for someone who isn't thereAfter an obligatory prayer you chooseSay 'Inna lillah' and ask for something betterWhen bad news or a loss reaches youGreet the believers when you visit a graveyardEntering a graveyardAsk for guidance, piety, chastity and sufficiencyAfter an obligatory prayer you choose, or in sujudSay astaghfirullah 70+ times a dayThrough the day (commute, waiting)
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Get early accessSources: Sahih al-Bukhari, Sahih Muslim, and narrations of Jami at-Tirmidhi graded sahih or hasan sahih by al-Albani.