Sleeping on your Stomach?? Islam and Science say NO!!

About not sleeping on your stomach… Science agrees with Islam after 1400 years.

The Prophet of Islam (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) directed believers not to sleep on their stomachs.

Ya’eesh ibn Tihfah al-Ghifaari reported that his father said: “I stayed as a guest with the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) with those of the poor whom he hosted. The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) came out in the night to check up on his guests, and saw me lying on my stomach. He prodded me with his foot and said, ‘Do not lie in this manner, for it is a way of lying that Allaah hates.’”

According to another report, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) prodded him with his foot and woke him up, and said, “Do not lie like this, for this is how the people of Hell lie.”
(Reported by Ahmad, al-Fath al-Rabbaani, 14/244-245; by al-Tirmidhi, no. 2798, Shaakir edn.; and by Abu Dawood, al-Sunan, Kitaab al-Adab, no. 5040, al-Da’aas edn. Also reported in Saheeh al-Jaami’, 2270-2271).

Now of course science didn’t until recently figure out all the issues with sleeping on the stomach. Some of these are:

•  Due to the weight of the spine, the number one recommendation by physicians to prevent and protect the spine and soft organs is not to sleep this way as the heavy spine sags unhindered as it squashes the internal organs.
•  You may want to avoid sleeping on your stomach, especially on a saggy mattress, since this can cause back strain and can be uncomfortable for your neck.
•  More recently too, there was an epidemic so to say of babies dying in their cots while at sleep, a kind of sleep monster phenomenon. After research and doctors collating data from many mothers to figure out what made infants suddenly die in their sleep it was discovered(after many deaths) that sleeping on the stomach was the single great cause of this SIDS(Sudden Infant Death Syndrome)….babies had to die because Science and doctors were playing catch up to Islam.

Mothers every where were advised to not put their infants to sleep on their stomachs any more, and prod them with a pillow.

The medical profession celebrated their great discovery, great job won’t you say? Over 1400 years too late as Islam prescribed the prevention of this years ago when it taught us not to sleep on the stomach.

Imam Ahmad reported that Abu Hurayra (Allah be pleased with him) said, “The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) passed by a man who was lying on his stomach, so he poked him with his leg and said, ‘This is a posture that Allah the Mighty and Majestic does not like.’”

It was also reported by Ibn Hibban in his Sahih, and many other hadiths in the major collections support this.

Because of this, it is mentioned in Imam al-Barkawi’s manual on the path of taqwa, al-Tariqa al-Muhammadiyya:

“And it is disliked to lie on one’s stomach without an excuse.”

Imam al-Khadimi added in his commentary:

“Sleeping on one’s back is the sleep of the prophets, who contemplate the creation of the heavens and earth [f: when without a roof on their heads]; sleep on the right side is the sleep of scholars and worshipers; sleep on the left is the sleep of kings to digest food, and sleeping on one’s face is the sleep of devils and the unbelievers.” [Khadimi, al-Bariqa al-Mahmudiyya fi Sharh al-Tariqa al-Muhammadiyya, 4/177]

General Recommendations

In the Fatawa al-Hindiyya, a brilliant collection of relied upon positions within the Hanafi school, gathered by a committee of scholars commissioned by the righteous Moghul emperor, Aurangzeb, it is stated that,

“It is recommended to take advantage of the afternoon nap (qaylula), for the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) said, ‘Take afternoon naps, for the devils do not take afternoon naps,’ as mentioned in al-Ghayathiyya. It is recommended for one to sleep in a state of ritual purity and to lie on one’s right side, facing the qibla for a while [f: at least, and then, if it is difficult to fall asleep on one’s right] then one may sleep on one’s left side [f: without it being considered sub-optimal], as mentioned in al-Sirajiyya.”

It is disliked to sleep early in the morning, and between maghrib and isha [f: because it would normally lead to one missing isha in congregation, otherwise, it is not disliked though still better not to do]. It has been mentioned in some works that no sleep was more beloved to Sayyiduna Ali (Allah be pleased with him) than sleep [right] after isha before the last of the night. One’s sleep should be on a bed that is mid-way between being soft and hard [f: as this prevents excessively deep sleep that could make one miss prayer or tahajjud, while being reasonably comfortable].

Recommended Sleeping Position

One should take one’s right hand as a pillow under one’s cheek. One should bring to mind that one will be [similarly] placed in the grave, lying on one’s side, alone with nothing but one’s works. If one is full and fears stomach pain, it is not wrong to place a pillow under one’s stomach and sleep on it.

Dua and Dhikr

One should make remembrance of Allah (dhikr) when going to sleep, saying the tahlil (la ilaha illa Allah), tahmid (alhamdu lillah) and tasbih (subhan Allah) [f: after having recited the specific Prophetic invocations recommended before sleep] until sleep overcomes one, for the sleeper is resurrected according to how he fell asleep and the one who dies according to the state he died in.