Lessons

Character

The everyday sunnahs

Discover simple daily habits taught by the Prophet ﷺ that bring peace and reward to your day.

3 short lessons · about 4 min · every point has its source

1. Spreading greetings of peace

When you meet fellow Muslims, you share a special phrase of welcome. The Islamic greeting is salam, which means peace. The Prophet ﷺ taught that spreading this greeting fosters love among believers, which leads to true faith and Paradise.¹ Sharing this gentle prayer softens hearts and helps build strong bonds.

A man once asked the Prophet ﷺ which deeds or qualities in Islam are good. The Prophet ﷺ answered that one should provide food and offer greetings of peace to those you know and those you do not know.² You do not need to wait until you recognize someone to wish them well.

When someone offers you a greeting, Allah instructs you to return an even better greeting or at least match it.³ Believers are also told to greet the inhabitants when entering homes.⁴ Worshipping the Most Merciful, feeding others, and spreading peace are direct paths to entering Paradise safely.⁵

You can begin practicing this right away in your local community. Offer greetings of peace when you meet someone at the mosque, or share a home-cooked meal with a neighbor. Simple habits like these make faith feel alive in every interaction.

2. Everyday kindness as charity

Many people imagine that charity requires giving large amounts of money. In Islam, the Prophet ﷺ taught that every good deed is charity.⁶ Even when someone has nothing material to give, holding back from doing harm counts as an act of charity.⁷

Your ordinary daily routine is full of quiet opportunities to do good. Smiling when you meet another person is an act of charity.⁶ Offering a kind word or guiding someone on the road is also charity. You even give charity when you help someone lift their luggage.⁸

Caring for shared spaces is another way to practice this sunnah, which means the living example of the Prophet ﷺ. Removing a stone, a bone, or a thorn from a path is charity.⁹ The Prophet ﷺ spoke of a man who was forgiven by Allah simply because he cleared a thorny branch off the road.¹⁰

No kind deed is ever wasted. Allah does not do an atom's weight of injustice, and He multiplies good deeds with a great reward.¹¹ Whoever does an atom's weight of good will see it.¹² Look for simple opportunities to share kindness today, knowing that each warm gesture brings light to those around you.

3. The bedtime sunnah

At the end of a long day, bedtime offers a chance to pause and reconnect with your Creator. Allah made sleep as a means for rest.¹³ Following the sunnah, which refers to the exemplary way of the Prophet ﷺ, turns an ordinary nightly routine into a calm act of worship.

Before getting under the covers, begin with ablution, or wudu, which is the ritual washing performed before prayer. The Prophet ﷺ advised performing ablution just as you would for prayer before heading to bed.¹⁴ Preparing for rest in this state of physical and spiritual purity brings a quiet sense of peace.

When you settle down, the Prophet ﷺ advised dusting the bed with the edge of your garment while reciting the name of Allah.¹⁵ He taught believers to lie down on their right side.¹⁴¹⁵ The Prophet ﷺ himself consistently rested on his right side when going to bed.¹⁶

Finally, fill your last waking moments with the remembrance of Allah. The Prophet ﷺ taught a supplication entrusting all of one's affairs completely to Allah. He instructed that these words of faith should be the last thing uttered before sleep. He explained that whoever recites them and dies during that night dies upon true faith.¹⁴

Sources

1. Sahih Muslim 54a Read it in full
   Abu Huraira reported: The Messenger of Allah (may peace and blessing be upon him) observed: You shall not enter Paradise so long as you do not affirm belief (in all those things which are the articles of faith) and you will not believe as long as you do not love one another. Should I not direct you to a thing which, if you do, will foster love amongst you: (i. e.) give currency to (the practice of paying salutation to one another by saying) as-salamu alaikum
2. Sahih al-Bukhari 12 Read it in full
   Narrated 'Abdullah bin 'Amr: A man asked the Prophet (ﷺ) , "What sort of deeds or (what qualities of) Islam are good?" The Prophet (ﷺ) replied, 'To feed (the poor) and greet those whom you know and those whom you do not Know (See Hadith No)
3. Quran 4:86 (An-Nisa)
   And when you are greeted with a greeting, greet [in return] with one better than it or [at least] return it [in a like manner]. Indeed, Allah is ever, over all things, an Accountant
4. Quran 24:27 (An-Nur)
   O you who have believed, do not enter houses other than your own houses until you ascertain welcome and greet their inhabitants. That is best for you; perhaps you will be reminded
5. Jamiʿ at-Tirmidhi 1855
   Narrated 'Abdullah bin 'Amr: That the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: "(All of you) worship Ar-Rahman, feed others, spread the (greeting of) Salam, then you will enter Paradise in security." He said: This Hadith is Hasan SahihGrading: Ahmad Muhammad Shakir: Sahih; Al-Albani: Sahih; Bashar Awad Maarouf: Hasan Sahih; Zubair Ali Zai: Sahih
6. Jamiʿ at-Tirmidhi 1970
   Jabir bin Abdullah narrated that the Messenger of Allah said: "Every good is charity. Indeed among the good is to meet your brother with a smiling face, and to pour what is left in your bucket into the vessel of your brotherGrading: Ahmad Muhammad Shakir: Sahih; Al-Albani: Sahih; Bashar Awad Maarouf: Hasan Sahih; Zubair Ali Zai: Sahih
7. Sunan an-Nasaʾi 2538
   It was narrated from Abu Musa that the Prophet said: "Every Muslim must give charity." It was said: "What if he cannot find (anything to give)? "He said: "Let him work with his hands and benefit himself and give in charity." It was said: "What if he cannot do that?" He said: "Let him help someone who is in desperate need." It was said: "What if he cannot do that?" He said: "Let him enjoin good." It was said: "What if he cannot do that? He said: "Let him refrain from doing evil, for that is an act of charityGrading: Abu Ghuddah: Sahih; Al-Albani: Sahih; Zubair Ali Zai: Sahih - Agreed Upon
8. Sahih al-Bukhari 2891 Read it in full
   Narrated Abu Huraira: The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Charity is obligatory everyday on every joint of a human being. If one helps a person in matters concerning his riding animal by helping him to ride it or by lifting his luggage on to it, all this will be regarded as charity. A good word, and every step one takes to offer the compulsory Congregational prayer, is regarded as charity; and guiding somebody on the road is regarded as charity
9. Jamiʿ at-Tirmidhi 1956
   Abu Dharr narrated that the Messenger of Allah said : "Your smiling in the face of your brother is charity, commanding good and forbidding evil is charity, your giving directions to a man lost in the land is charity for you. Your seeing for a man with bad sight is a charity for you, your removal of a rock, a thorn or a bone from the road is charity for you. Your pouring what remains from your bucket into the bucket of your brother is charity for youGrading: Ahmad Muhammad Shakir: Sahih; Al-Albani: Sahih; Zubair Ali Zai: Isnaad Hasan
10. Jamiʿ at-Tirmidhi 1958
    Abu Hurairah narrated that the Messenger of Allah said : "When a man was walking on the road, he found a thorny branch and removed it. Allah appreciated his action by forgiving himGrading: Ahmad Muhammad Shakir: Sahih; Al-Albani: Sahih; Bashar Awad Maarouf: Hasan Sahih; Zubair Ali Zai: Sahih - Agreed Upon
11. Quran 4:40 (An-Nisa)
    Indeed, Allah does not do injustice, [even] as much as an atom's weight; while if there is a good deed, He multiplies it and gives from Himself a great reward
12. Quran 99:7 (Az-Zalzalah)
    So whoever does an atom's weight of good will see it
13. Quran 78:9 (An-Naba)
    And made your sleep [a means for] rest
14. Sahih al-Bukhari 247 Read it in full
    Narrated Al-Bara 'bin `Azib: The Prophet (ﷺ) said to me, "Whenever you go to bed perform ablution like that for the prayer, lie on your right side and say, "Allahumma aslamtu wajhi ilaika, wa fauwadtu `Amri ilaika, wa alja'tu Zahri ilaika raghbatan wa rahbatan ilaika. La Malja'a wa la manja minka illa ilaika. Allahumma amantu bikitabika-l-ladhi anzalta wa bina-biyika-l ladhi arsalta" (O Allah! I surrender to You and entrust all my affairs to You and depend upon You for Your Blessings both with hope and fear of You. There is no fleeing from You, and there is no place of protection and safety except with You O Allah! I believe in Your Book (the Qur'an) which You have revealed and in Your Prophet (Muhammad) whom You have sent). Then if you die on that very night, you will die with faith (i.e. on the religion of Islam). Let the aforesaid words be your last utterance (before sleep)." I repeated it before the Prophet (ﷺ) and when I reached "Allahumma amantu bikitabika-l-ladhi anzalta (O Allah I believe in Your Book which You have revealed)." I said, "Wa-rasulika (and your Apostle)." The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "No, (but say): 'Wanabiyika-l-ladhi arsalta (Your Prophet whom You have sent), instead
15. Sahih Muslim 2714a Read it in full
    Abu Huraira reported Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) as say- ing: When any one of you goes to bed, he should take hold of the hem of his lower garment and then should clean (his bed) with the help of that and then should recite the name of Allah for he himself does tiot know what he left behind him on his bed, and when he intends to lie on bed, he should lie on his right side and utter these words: " Hallowed be Allah, my Lord. It is with Thine (grace) that I place my side (upon the bed) and it is with Thee that I take it up (after sleep), and in case Thou withholdst my being (if thou causest me to die), then grant pardon to my being, and if Thou keepst (this process of breathing on), then protect it with that with which Thou protected Thine pious servants
16. Sahih al-Bukhari 6315 Read it in full
    Narrated Al-Bara' bin `Azib: When Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) went to bed, he used to sleep on his right side and then say, "All-ahumma aslamtu nafsi ilaika, wa wajjahtu wajhi ilaika, wa fauwadtu `Amri ilaika, wa alja'tu zahri ilaika, raghbatan wa rahbatan ilaika. La Malja'a wa la manja minka illa ilaika. Amantu bikitabika al-ladhi anzalta wa nabiyyika al-ladhi arsalta! Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said, "Whoever recites these words (before going to bed) and dies the same night, he will die on the Islamic religion (as a Muslim)
17. Sahih al-Bukhari 6311 Read it in full
    Narrated Al-Bara bin `Azib: Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said to me, "When you want to go to bed, perform ablution as you do for prayer, then lie down on your right side and say: 'Allahumma aslamtu wajhi ilaika, wa fawwadtu 'amri ilaika wa alja'tu dhahri ilaika, raghbatan wa rahbatan ilaika, la malja'a wa la manja minka illa ilaika. Amantu bikitabik al-ladhi anzalta wa binabiyyika al-ladhi arsalta'. If you should die then (after reciting this) you will die on the religion of Islam (i.e., as a Muslim); so let these words be the last you say (before going to bed)" While I was memorizing it, I said, "Wa birasulika al-ladhi arsalta (in Your Apostle whom You have sent).' The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "No, but say: Wa binabiyyika al-ladhi arsalta (in Your Prophet whom You have sent)

Every point in this lesson rests on a verse of the Quran or a hadith, listed above. Hadith come from Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim, or from other collections only where every listed scholar graded them sahih or hasan. Found a mistake? Tell us.

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