Dua When Waking Up: 3 Authentic Duas From the Sunnah

Before the phone, before the news, before the to-do list: what should the first words of the day be? The Prophet ﷺ answered that question every morning. This guide gives the dua when waking up that he said, two more authentic duas for waking, including one for waking in the night, and a short hadith that shows why those first words matter.

1. The dua when waking up from sleep

Hudhayfah ibn al-Yaman (may Allah be pleased with him) described what the Prophet ﷺ said at both ends of the night. At bedtime he said “Bismika amutu wa ahya”, and when he got up he said:

This is the main dua for waking up, short enough to learn in a minute. It calls sleep a kind of death and waking a return to life, and it ends with a reminder of the final waking: the resurrection. We cover the bedtime half of this hadith in our dua for sleeping guide.

Try this: put a small note by your bed or on your phone’s lock screen with “Al-hamdu lillahil-ladhi ahyana” until the words come by themselves.

2. Thanking Allah for your body and your soul

Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated a longer bedtime teaching from the Prophet ﷺ, which ends with what to say on waking:

Transliteration: Al-hamdu lillahil-ladhi ‘afani fi jasadi, wa radda ‘alayya ruhi, wa adhina li bidhikrih. It thanks Allah for three things we usually take for granted: a body that works, a soul returned, and the chance to remember Him one more day. Both this dua and the first one are authentic, so you can say either, or both.

Try this: on a morning when you wake up tired or unwell, say this dua slowly and notice what is still working, rather than what aches.

3. Waking up at night: the dua that is answered

‘Ubadah ibn as-Samit (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Prophet ﷺ said:

Transliteration of the dhikr: La ilaha illallahu wahdahu la sharika lah, lahul-mulku wa lahul-hamd, wa huwa ‘ala kulli shay’in qadir. Al-hamdu lillah, wa subhanallah, wa la ilaha illallah, wallahu akbar, wa la hawla wa la quwwata illa billah. This is for the moments we wake in the night without meaning to. The hadith turns that broken sleep into a chance: say these words, then ask Allah for what you need.

Try this: the next time you wake at night, before turning over, say the dhikr, then “Allahummaghfir li” and one thing you want from Allah. If you can, make wudu and pray two rak‘ahs, as in our Tahajjud hadith guide.

4. Why the first words matter: the three knots

Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:

The hadith links the first moments of the day to how the rest of it feels. Remembering Allah on waking, which the duas above do, is the first step; wudu and salah finish the job.

Try this: keep the order of the hadith for one week: dua on waking, wudu straight after, then Fajr, and see how your mornings change.

Bringing it together

Each of these duas begins with praise. None of them asks for anything first; they simply thank Allah for being alive. Only the night dua goes on to ask, and even there the asking comes after the praise.

Reflection: Every morning is a small resurrection. We did nothing to earn it: we were asleep, unaware, unable to guard ourselves, and Allah gave our souls back. Saying “Al-hamdu lillah” first is simply recognising what happened. If we can make it a habit with the smallest waking of every day, it becomes easier to believe in the great waking these duas point to.

Questions people ask

Key lessons

• The Prophet ﷺ began each day with praise of Allah (Bukhari 6312).
• Waking is a gift: a body healed, a soul returned, a chance to remember Allah (Tirmidhi 3401).
• Waking in the night is a moment when dua is answered (Bukhari 1154).
• Remembering Allah, wudu and salah undo Satan’s three knots (Bukhari 3269).

Part of our Dua series: see all our dua articles in one place.

Tomorrow morning, which will you say first: the phone’s notifications, or “Al-hamdu lillah”?

Save this to Pinterest so you can learn the dua when waking up and say it tomorrow morning.