What is the Wisdom behind making Wudu before going to bed and What are its Scientific Benefits?

What is the wisdom behind the Prophet’s making wudu before going to bed and what are its scientific benefits? Does having wudu while going to bed make sleep efficient?

Dear Brother / Sister,

It is sunnah to make wudu before going to bed.

In a hadith, the Prophet said to Bara b. Azib,

“When you want to go to bed to sleep, make wudu as you would for the prayer, then lie on your right side…” (Bukhari, h.no: 6311; Ibn Hajar, Fathul-Bari, 11/109)

There are material and spiritual benefits of making wudu before sleeping. Some of them are as follows:

- Man can die while he is asleep as well as while he is awake. Having wudu, which is a weapon of a believer, means to attain Allah by girding oneself with the weapon of belief and Islam if one dies while sleeping.

- According to what Ibn Abbas reports, people are revived by their position in their death. The soul of a person who dies having wudu goes to the Gathering Place in a spiritually clean state.

- Preparing for death and pulling oneself together is a kind of spiritual cleanliness made with the consciousness of belief and worshipping.

This cleanliness is much more important than bodily cleanliness.

- Some prayers and dhikrs are also advised in this hadith, which orders wudu.

The sleep of a person who cleans himself, prays and makes dhikr is like a kind of worshipping. The dreams that he sees usually come true; Satan cannot play tricks on this person.

From this point of view, it is possible to say that wudu makes sleeping efficient.

- “Wudu” (ablution), which is an Arabic word, lexically means cleanliness.

It is important for man to clean the organs of wudu, which are dirtied by various reasons during the day, and to go to bed in a clean state in terms of both cleanliness of the body and the bed.

This action is notable in terms of preventive medicine.

- A perfect wudu is related to mouth, nose and tooth cleanliness along with the cleanliness of the known wudu organs.

In terms of health, it is a known fact how important it is to wash the mouth, nose and teeth when one goes to bed and gets up (as in tahajjud prayer and morning prayer).

The meticulousness of the people who take care of their health in washing these organs though they do not make wudu and perform prayers is another proof of how important making wudu while going to bed is. (cf. Ibn Hajar, ibid)

- According to a narration, the Prophet said,

"If a person sleeps without washing his dirty hands and something (an illness) happens to him, he should condemn himself only." (For this hadith, which exists in all Kutub as-Sitta books except Nasai, see Naylul-Awtar, 8/188)

From the expression of this sound hadith, it is also possible to understand how important "making wudu before sleeping" is in terms of health.

The full text of the related hadith is as follows:

“When you want to go to bed, make wuduas you would for prayer;then, lie on your right side and say,

اَللّٰهُمَّ أَسْلَمْتُ نَفْسِى إِلَيْكَ وَوَجَّهْتُ وَجْهِى إِلَيْكَ وَفَوَّضْتُ أَمْرِى إِلَيْكَ وَأَلْجَأْتُ ظَهْرِى إِلَيْكَ، رَغْبَةً وَرَهْبَةً إِلَيْكَ، لَامَلْجَأَ وَلَا مَنْجَا مِنْكَ إِلاَّ إِلَيْكَ. اٰمَنْتُ بِكِتَابِكَ الَّذِى أَنْزَلْتَ وَنَبِيِّكَ الَّذِى أَرْسَلْتَ

“O Allah! I have submitted myself to You, I have turned my face to You, committed my affairs to You, and depend on You for protection out of desire for You and out of fear of You. There is no refuge and no place of safety from You but with You. I believed in the Book You have revealed, and in the Prophet You have sent.” If you say it and sleep and if you die that night, you will die on the religion of Islam. Let them be your last words before you sleep.” (Bukhari, Daawat, 7)

Another hadith regarding the issue is as follows:

"A person who has difficulty in sleeping should make wudu before going to bed and read the following supplication:

اَللّٰهُمَّ غَارَتِ النُّجُومُ وَهَدَأَتِ الْعُيُونُ وَاَنْتَ الْحَيُّ الْقَيُّومُ الَّذِى لَا تَأْخُذُهُ سِنَةٌ وَلَا نَوْمٌ   يَا حَيُّ يَا قَيُّومُ اِهْدِ لَيْلِى وَاَنِمْ عَيْنَيَّ

“O Allah, stars have set, eyes have rested; You alone are the Ever-Alive, and the Self-Subsisting Source of all beings; neither slumber nor sleep overtakes You. Make my night comforting for me, and bring sleep unto my eyes.” Then, he should read Muawwizatayn (chapters of al-Falaq and an-Nas) and sleep." (see Haysami, 10/178)

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