Which Surah to Read Before Sleeping (From the Sunnah)

The surahs to read before sleeping, from authentic hadith, are Ayatul Kursi, the last two verses of Al-Baqarah, Al-Kafirun, and Al-Ikhlas, Al-Falaq and An-Nas. The Prophet ﷺ recited the last three himself at bedtime, and he would not sleep until he had recited As-Sajdah and Al-Mulk.

The short set takes about 7 minutes. Every item below comes from a hadith graded hasan or higher, and we’ll point out the popular bedtime claims that don’t meet that bar.

Which surahs to read before sleeping

There are five, all from authentic hadith. The times are measured from Mishari al-Afasy’s recitation on Quran.com. Your own pace may be faster or slower.

What to recite	Verses	Time	In the hadith	Source
Ayatul Kursi	2:255	52 sec	Advice the Prophet ﷺ confirmed as true	Sahih al-Bukhari 5010
Last two verses of Al-Baqarah	2:285–286	1 min 26 sec	His words: they suffice at night	Sahih al-Bukhari 5009
Al-Ikhlas, Al-Falaq, An-Nas, three times	112–114	3 min 54 sec	His own bedtime practice	Sahih al-Bukhari 5017
Al-Kafirun	109	45 sec	He taught it as a surah to sleep on	Sunan Abi Dawud 5055
As-Sajdah and Al-Mulk	32 and 67	15 min 21 sec	His own practice before sleep	Jami’ at-Tirmidhi 3404

The first four rows add up to about 7 minutes. With As-Sajdah and Al-Mulk, the full set is about 22 minutes. You don’t need all five on the first night.

Ayatul Kursi: a guard through the night

Recite Ayatul Kursi when you get into bed. Abu Hurayrah caught a thief stealing charity three nights in a row. On the third night, the thief taught him this:

A guard through the night Sahih

When you go to your bed, recite Ayat al-Kursi, for then there will be a guard from Allah who will protect you all night long, and no Satan will come near you until the morning. (When the Prophet ﷺ heard the story) he said: He told you the truth although he is a liar; and it was a satan. excerpt

It’s one verse and takes under a minute. For the Arabic, transliteration and meaning line by line, see our guide to Ayatul Kursi.

The last two verses of Al-Baqarah

The last two verses of Surah Al-Baqarah are enough for the night. The Prophet ﷺ said:

Enough for the night Sahih

If somebody recited the last two verses of Surat al-Baqarah at night, that will be sufficient for him.

These are the two verses:

ءَامَنَ ٱلرَّسُولُ بِمَآ أُنزِلَ إِلَيْهِ مِن رَّبِّهِۦ وَٱلْمُؤْمِنُونَ ۚ كُلٌّ ءَامَنَ بِٱللَّهِ وَمَلَـٰٓئِكَتِهِۦ وَكُتُبِهِۦ وَرُسُلِهِۦ لَا نُفَرِّقُ بَيْنَ أَحَدٍ مِّن رُّسُلِهِۦ ۚ وَقَالُوا۟ سَمِعْنَا وَأَطَعْنَا ۖ غُفْرَانَكَ رَبَّنَا وَإِلَيْكَ ٱلْمَصِيرُ

The Messenger has believed in what was revealed to him from his Lord, and [so have] the believers. All of them have believed in Allāh and His angels and His books and His messengers, [saying], "We make no distinction between any of His messengers." And they say, "We hear and we obey. [We seek] Your forgiveness, our Lord, and to You is the [final] destination."

Surah Al-Baqarah 2:285 Saheeh International

لَا يُكَلِّفُ ٱللَّهُ نَفْسًا إِلَّا وُسْعَهَا ۚ لَهَا مَا كَسَبَتْ وَعَلَيْهَا مَا ٱكْتَسَبَتْ ۗ رَبَّنَا لَا تُؤَاخِذْنَآ إِن نَّسِينَآ أَوْ أَخْطَأْنَا ۚ رَبَّنَا وَلَا تَحْمِلْ عَلَيْنَآ إِصْرًا كَمَا حَمَلْتَهُۥ عَلَى ٱلَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِنَا ۚ رَبَّنَا وَلَا تُحَمِّلْنَا مَا لَا طَاقَةَ لَنَا بِهِۦ ۖ وَٱعْفُ عَنَّا وَٱغْفِرْ لَنَا وَٱرْحَمْنَآ ۚ أَنتَ مَوْلَىٰنَا فَٱنصُرْنَا عَلَى ٱلْقَوْمِ ٱلْكَـٰفِرِينَ

Allāh does not charge a soul except [with that within] its capacity. It will have [the consequence of] what [good] it has gained, and it will bear [the consequence of] what [evil] it has earned. "Our Lord, do not impose blame upon us if we have forgotten or erred. Our Lord, and lay not upon us a burden like that which You laid upon those before us. Our Lord, and burden us not with that which we have no ability to bear. And pardon us; and forgive us; and have mercy upon us. You are our protector, so give us victory over the disbelieving people."

Surah Al-Baqarah 2:286 Saheeh International

They’re longer than Ayatul Kursi but still take under a minute and a half. Together, these two items take about 2 minutes and 20 seconds, a good start if you’re tired. For both verses line by line, with how they were revealed, see the last two verses of Surah Baqarah.

The three Quls, three times

Recite Al-Ikhlas, Al-Falaq and An-Nas into your cupped hands, then wipe your hands over your body, and repeat that three times. That’s how Aishah described the bedtime habit of the Prophet ﷺ:

The Prophet’s bedtime Sahih

Whenever the Prophet ﷺ went to bed every night, he used to cup his hands together and blow over it after reciting Surat al-Ikhlas, Surat al-Falaq and Surat an-Nas, and then rub his hands over whatever parts of his body he was able to rub, starting with his head, face and front of his body. He used to do that three times.

Step by step, from the hadith:

Cup your hands together.
Recite Al-Ikhlas, Al-Falaq and An-Nas.
Blow lightly into your hands.
Wipe your hands over as much of your body as you can, starting with your head, face and the front of your body.
Do this three times.

The three surahs are among the shortest in the Quran. One round takes about 78 seconds, so three rounds take just under 4 minutes. For all of the Quls in Arabic, transliteration and English, see the 4 Quls.

Al-Kafirun: sleep on tawhid

Recite Al-Kafirun and then go to sleep. The Prophet ﷺ taught this to a companion who asked for something to say at bedtime:

Sleep on tawhid Sahih (Al-Albani)

Recite (the Surah) ‘Say, O you disbelievers!’ and then go to sleep at its end, for it is a declaration of freedom from polytheism.

The surah is six short verses and takes 45 seconds.

Al-Mulk and As-Sajdah

The Prophet ﷺ would not sleep until he had recited these two surahs. Jabir reported it:

Before he slept Hasan (Darussalam)

The Prophet ﷺ would not sleep until he reached Tanzil as-Sajdah and Tabarak.

Together they take about 15 minutes, so they’re the longest part of the set. If that’s too much for now, add Al-Mulk first (7 min 24 sec) and As-Sajdah once it’s a habit.

Al-Mulk has a second authentic virtue that isn’t tied to bedtime. The Prophet ﷺ said it intercedes for a person until he is forgiven:

A surah that intercedes Hasan (Darussalam)

Indeed there is a Surah in the Qur’an of thirty Ayat, which intercedes for a man until he is forgiven. It is [Surah] Tabarak Alladhi Biyadihil-Mulk.

Two Al-Mulk narrations we left out

You’ll often read that Al-Mulk “saves you from the punishment of the grave.” That comes from Jami’ at-Tirmidhi 2890, which sunnah.com shows graded da’if (weak) by Darussalam.

The same bedtime report about Al-Mulk and As-Sajdah also appears in Jami’ at-Tirmidhi 2892, through a weak chain. We quote it above from Jami’ at-Tirmidhi 3404, a different chain graded hasan.

Can you listen to the Quran to help you sleep?

The bedtime hadith above are all about reciting. We found no authentic narration about listening to the Quran in order to fall asleep.

Listening still has a clear use: it’s how most people learn these surahs well enough to recite them in the dark.

Looping a surah until you know it is what Quran Loop is built for. Once the set is in your memory, you can recite it with the lights off and your phone out of reach.

A bedtime routine you can keep

Start with the short items and add the rest over a few weeks:

Week 1: Ayatul Kursi and the last two verses of Al-Baqarah (about 2 min 20 sec).
Week 2: Add the three Quls, three times, and Al-Kafirun (about 7 min in total).
When that feels easy: Add Al-Mulk, then As-Sajdah (about 22 min in total).

Most of this set is already on the list of which surahs to memorize first. Reciting it every night doubles as review, and how to revise the Quran explains why that daily repetition keeps it from fading.

Frequently asked questions

Which surah should I read before sleeping?

The Prophet ﷺ would not sleep until he had recited As-Sajdah and Al-Mulk (Jami' at-Tirmidhi 3404, Hasan). He also recited Al-Ikhlas, Al-Falaq and An-Nas at bedtime (Sahih al-Bukhari 5017), and taught that Al-Kafirun is a good surah to sleep on (Sunan Abi Dawud 5055).

How many times should I recite the three Quls before sleep?

Sahih al-Bukhari 5017 describes the Prophet ﷺ cupping his hands, reciting Al-Ikhlas, Al-Falaq and An-Nas, blowing into his hands and wiping over his body, and doing that three times. At Mishari al-Afasy's pace, three rounds take about 4 minutes.

Does Surah Al-Mulk protect from the punishment of the grave?

That claim comes from Jami' at-Tirmidhi 2890, which sunnah.com shows graded da'if (weak) by Darussalam. A hasan hadith does say Al-Mulk intercedes for a person until he is forgiven (Jami' at-Tirmidhi 2891), without mentioning bedtime.

Can I listen to the Quran to help me sleep?

The bedtime hadith are about reciting, and we found no authentic narration about listening in order to fall asleep. Listening is still an effective way to learn the bedtime surahs, so you can recite them yourself from memory.

What if I fall asleep before I finish?

Start with the shortest items. Ayatul Kursi and the last two verses of Al-Baqarah take under 2.5 minutes together, so recite those first and add the rest as the habit settles.

Which Surah to Read Before Sleeping, From Authentic Hadith

Key takeaways