3 Best Dua For Bad Dreams and Nightmares in Arabic & English

When you dream, there are three types: good dreams from Allah, bad dreams from the shaytaan, and dreams related to your thoughts. The Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) told us dua for bad dreams and how to protect ourselves from nightmares by reciting verses from the Quran and du’as narrated from him before going to sleep.

Dua For Bad Dreams in Arabic

أَعُوذُ بِاللَّهِ مِنَ الشَّيْطَانِ الرَّجِيمِ وَمِنْ شَرِّ هَذِهِ الرُّؤْيَا

Dua After Bad Dream Transliteration

Audhu billahi minash Shaytanir rajeem wa min sharri hadhihir ru’yaa.

Dua For Bad Dreams At Night in English

The dua for bad dream in English is I seek refuge in Allah from the accursed Satan and from the evil of this dream.

Hadith Text

Abu Salama reported: I used to see dreams (and was so much perturbed) that I began to quiver and have temperature, but did not cover myself with a mantle.

I met Abu Qatada and made a mention of that to him. He said: I heard Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) as saying: A good vision comes from Allah and a (bad) dream (hulm) from devil.

So when one of you sees a bad dream (hulm) which he does not like, he should spit on his left side thrice and seek refuge with Allah from its evil; then it will not harm him.

Sahih Muslim 2261

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) told us how to rid ourselves of the influence of Shaytan during sleep. This can be achieved by reciting verses from the Quran and du’as narrated from him before going to sleep.

Getting Ready For Sleep

• Make a complete wudu, even if in as state of menses or otherwise, with the intention of following the sunnah and drawing close to Allah.
• Shake out your bedding, and use a portion of your clothing to “dust” the bed, in case anything has crawled under the covers.
• Cup your hands and blow into them gently three times, then recite the last three surahs of the Qur’an (surahs 112, 113, 114) into your hands, then wipe your face, head and as much of your body as possible. Do this three times.
• Recite ayat al-Kursi (2:255) and the last two verses of surah al-Baqarah.
• Lay on your right side, with right hand under check and face the qibla. Don’t lay on your stomach.

Dua for Nightmares: Ayatul Kursi

Arabic
اللَّهُ لاَ إِلَهَ إِلاَّ هُوَ الْحَيُّ الْقَيُّومُ لاَ تَأْخُذُهُ سِنَةٌ وَلاَ نَوْمٌ لَهُ مَا فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَمَا فِي الأَرْضِ مَنْ ذَا الَّذِي يَشْفَعُ عِنْدَهُ إِلا بِإِذْنِهِ يَعْلَمُ مَا بَيْنَ أَيْدِيهِمْ وَمَا خَلْفَهُمْ وَلاَ يُحِيطُونَ بِشَيْءٍ مِنْ عِلْمِهِ إِلاَّ بِمَا شَاءَ وَسِعَ كُرْسِيُّهُ السَّمَاواتِ وَالأَرْضَ وَلاَ يَئُودُهُ حِفْظُهُمَا وَهُوَ الْعَلِيُّ الْعَظِيمُ

Transliteration

Allahu laaa ilaaha illaa huwal haiyul qai-yoom; laa taakhuzuhoo sinatunw wa laa nawm; lahoo maa fissamaawaati wa maa fil ard; man zallazee yashfa’u indahooo illaa be iznih; ya’lamu maa baina aideehim wa maa khalfahum; wa laa yuheetoona beshai ‘immin ‘ilmihee illa be maa shaaaa; wasi’a kursiyyuhus samaa waati wal arda wa la ya’ooduho hifzuhumaa; wa huwal aliyyul ‘azeem

Meaning

Allah! There is no god but He – the Living, the Self-subsisting, Eternal. No slumber can seize Him nor Sleep. His are all things in the heavens and on earth. Who is there that can intercede in His presence except as he permitteth?

He knoweth what (appeareth to His creatures As) Before or After or Behind them. Nor shall they compass aught of His knowledge except as He willeth. His throne doth extend over the heavens and on earth, and He feeleth no fatigue in guarding and preserving them, For He is the Most High, the Supreme (in glory).

Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: “The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) put me in charge of guarding the zakah of Ramadan.

Someone came and started to scatter the food. I took hold of him and said, ‘I will take you to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him).’…

He said, ‘When you go to bed, recite Ayat al-Kursi and you will be protected by Allah, and no shaytan (devil) will come near you until morning.’

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, ‘He told you the truth even though he is a liar. That was a shaytan.’”

(Narrated by al-Bukhari, 3101)

The Last Two Ayahs of Surah al-Baqarah

285. آمَنَ الرَّسُولُ بِمَا أُنْزِلَ إِلَيْهِ مِنْ رَبِّهِ وَالْمُؤْمِنُونَ ۚ كُلٌّ آمَنَ بِاللَّهِ وَمَلَائِكَتِهِ وَكُتُبِهِ وَرُسُلِهِ لَا نُفَرِّقُ بَيْنَ أَحَدٍ مِنْ رُسُلِهِ ۚ وَقَالُوا سَمِعْنَا وَأَطَعْنَا ۖ غُفْرَانَكَ رَبَّنَا وَإِلَيْكَ الْمَصِيرُ.
286. لَا يُكَلِّفُ اللَّهُ نَفْسًا إِلَّا وُسْعَهَا ۚ لَهَا مَا كَسَبَتْ وَعَلَيْهَا مَا اكْتَسَبَتْ ۗ رَبَّنَا لَا تُؤَاخِذْنَا إِنْ نَسِينَا أَوْ أَخْطَأْنَا ۚ رَبَّنَا وَلَا تَحْمِلْ عَلَيْنَا إِصْرًا كَمَا حَمَلْتَهُ عَلَى الَّذِينَ مِنْ قَبْلِنَا ۚ رَبَّنَا وَلَا تُحَمِّلْنَا مَا لَا طَاقَةَ لَنَا بِهِ ۖ وَاعْفُ عَنَّا وَاغْفِرْ لَنَا وَارْحَمْنَا ۚ أَنْتَ مَوْلَانَا فَانْصُرْنَا عَلَى الْقَوْمِ الْكَافِرِينَ

Meaning

285. The Messenger has believed in what was revealed to him from his Lord, and [so have] the believers. All of them have believed in Allah 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.”
286. Allah 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.”

Abu Mas’ud al-Badri (may Allah be pleased with him) said: “The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: ‘The last two ayahs of Surah al-Baqarah – whoever recites them at night, they will be sufficient for him.’”

(Narrated by al-Bukhari, 3786; Muslim,807).

Al-Nawawi said: “Concerning the phrase, ‘The last two ayahs of Surah al-Baqarah – whoever recites them at night, they will be sufficient for him’, it was said that it means, they will be sufficient for him instead of praying qiyam al-layl, or as protection from Shaytan, or as protection from vermin. It could mean all of these things.” (Sharh Muslim, 6/91, 92).

Here is a list of duas you should recite before sleeping to protect yourself from bad dreams and nightmares.

What To Do When You Have A Bad Dream Islamically

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) also taught us what to do when someone sees something unpleasant in a dream and wakes up as a result.

• If you experience an unpleasant dream then you should spittle (a form of spitting comprising mainly of air with little spit) three times on the left.
• Seek refuge with Allah from the Shaytan, recite: “I seek refuge with Allah from the evil of shaythan”.
• Change the side on which you were sleeping, and pray if you wish.

Text Of The Hadiths

Abu Qatadah said: “The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: ‘Good dreams come from Allah and bad dreams come from the Shaytan. If any one of you sees a bad dream which makes him afraid, let him spit dryly to his left and seek refuge with Allah from its evil, then it will not harm him.” (Narrated by al-Bukhari, 3118; Muslim, 2261).

Jabir reported that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “If any one of you sees a dream that he dislikes, let him spit dryly to his left three time, and seek refuge with Allah from the Shaytan three times, and change the side on which he was sleeping.” (narrated by Muslim, 2262).

Abu Hurayrah said: “The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: ‘If any one of you sees something that he dislikes (in a dream), let him get up and pray, and not tell people about it.’” (narrated by Muslim, 2263)

If the Muslim follows this advice given by the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), before he goes to bed, it is hoped that no shaytan will come anywhere near him, and if he follows this advice when he wakes up from a bad dream, it will take away all anxiety and distress from him.