11 Super-Simple Daily Sunnahs to follow (that take less than a minute)

1. Begin your day with this short dua

Don’t tell me you don’t check your phone first thing in the morning. Dun lie.

The entire day can start off with so much barakah if the first thing we do is praise Allah (S.W.T). And the Sunnah way to do this is by saying this dua (it’s a really short one, you can easily learn it).

اَلْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ الَّذي أَحْيَانَا بَعْدَ مَا أَمَاتَنَا وَإِلَيْهِ النُّشُورُ

“Alhamdu Lillahil-Lathee Ahyana BaAAda Ma Amatana Wa-Ilayhin-Nushoor.”

English translation: All praise is for Allah who gave us life after having taken it from us and unto Him is the resurrection.

This dua is a beautiful reminder of our purpose in life and it’s also a gratitude call to Allah (S.W.T). What better way to start our day than that?

2. Use Siwak (at least once a day)

The point here is to not only clean your teeth but to do so using Siwak. Prophet (S.A.W) used Siwak multiple times in a day… before every Salah, before going to bed, after waking up, after eating meals… It’s amazing how often he (S.A.W) used to clean his mouth.

If we can start using Siwak just once a day (even if for only a minute), it’ll definitely bring us closer to the Sunnah of our Prophet (S.A.W) since Siwak was such a prominent part of his daily routine. 

Abu Huraira (R.A.) narrated that Allah’s Messenger (S.A.W) said: “If it were not that it would be difficult on my nation then I would have ordered them to use the Siwak for each prayer” (Tirmidhi)

3. Reply to the Adhaan for each prayer

Have you noticed how we tend to remember the most interesting news to share with the next person the moment Adhaan starts? The simple act of listening to the Adhaan becomes so drab for us because we’re itching to release our ground-breaking news to the world. And the funniest thing is, when someone tells us to be quiet and listen to the Adhaan, we become quiet for a second and then…we start whispering! *whaa??!* 😀

It doesn’t take a lot of our time or energy to just listen to the Adhaan for every prayer and reply to it. But this little Sunnah can keep us in a tight Spiritual loop all day because responding to the call of prayer will inevitably motivate us to take the next logical step—get up and pray.

The hearer should repeat after the Mo’athen (The one who calls for prayer) all words except when the Mo’athen says: (Hayyah Ala As-Sala – i.e. hasten to the prayer) and (Hayyah Ala Al-Falah – i.e. hasten to the salvation), the hearer should say (La Hawla Wala Quwata Ella Belllah – i.e. there is no might and no power except by Allah). [Al-Bukhari & Muslim].

4. Say Bismillah and Salaam when entering the house

I know what you’re asking…what’s math doing here in this formal, didactic, literary piece of writing?

The answer is– I don’t know.

I think I’m going to stop talking now but you should read this:

The Messenger of Allah (S.A.W) said:
“If a person mentions the Name of Allah upon entering his house or eating, Satan says, addressing his followers: ‘You will find nowhere to spend the night and no dinner.’ But if he enters without mentioning the Name of Allah, Satan says (to his followers); ‘You have found (a place) to spend the night in, and if he does not mention the Name of Allah at the time of eating, Satan says: ‘You have found (a place) to spend the night in as well as food.”‘ [Muslim]

OK, I’m back.

Let’s move on.

5. Praise Allah after eating

 The Prophet (S.A.W) said: “Any matter of importance which is not begun with ‘bismillah’ [in the name of Allah], remains defective” [Imaam Ahmad Ibn Hanbal]

…but 99% of us will burp and move on with the rest of our day after we finish our food. I would go as far as saying that the satiety center of our brain is probably the most ungrateful part of planet Body. The feeling of fulfillment and peace it gets every day far outweighs the measly praises of gratitude it lets slip from time to time. 

So let’s teach out satiety center the lesson here- take a moment to say this dua after eating meals: 

الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ الَّذِى اطْعَمَنَا وَسَقَانَا ، وَجَعَلَنَا مِنَ الْمُسْلِمِين

Alhamdulilahil ladhi at’amana, wasaqana, waj’alna min-al Muslimeen
“Praise be to Allah Who has fed us and given us drink and made us Muslims.” 

6. Sit down to drink water

Ugh, that sounded so boring. Why does the word “protocol” sound so police-ish? No offense to police officers.

But forget protocol, just sit down before you drink a glass of water. That’s not so hard is it? In fact, standing is harder. And that’s a medical fact since standing uses more calories than sitting. Huhuh. *nerd-face*

It was narrated from Anas (R.A.): “The Prophet (S.A.W) prohibited that a man should drink while standing.” (Qatadah said) So it was said: “And eating?” He (Anas) said: “That is worse.” [Tirmidhi]

7. Recite Ayah-tul-Kursi after every prayer

But let’s not go down the math-road again.

Ayah-tul-Kursi is probably the most important verse in the Quran that needs to be memorized. Even my granny knows it by heart…and she can’t even read (btw, she’s super old, pray for her Insha’Allah).

So if that doesn’t emphasize the importance of Ayah-tul-Kursi, this definitely will:

Abu Umamah reported: The Messenger of Allah, S.A.W, said, “Whoever recites the verse of the Throne (ayat al-kursi) after every prescribed prayer, there will be nothing standing between him and his entering Paradise except death.” [ Al-Mu’jam al-Kabīr 7406, grade: Sahih (authentic)]

8. Recite the last 2 verses of Surah Al-Baqarah at night

“Whoever recites the two verses at the end of Sooratul-Baqarah in the night, they will suffice him.” (Bukhari and Muslim)

When we recite the last 2 verses of Surah Baqarah before sleeping, they protect us all night against Shaytan and his evil tactics. 

Ibn Masud said commenting on these two verses in the tafsir Ibn Kathir:

“While the Messenger of Allah was with Jibril, he heard a noise from above. Jibril lifted his sight to the sky and said, ‘This is a door that was opened just now in heaven, and it was never opened before.’ An angel came down through the door to the Prophet and said, `Receive the good news of two lights that you have been given and which no Prophet before you was given: the Opener of the Book (Al-Fatihah) and the last Ayat in Surat Al-Baqarah. You will not read a letter of them, but you will be granted its benefit.’” (Muslim)

9. Make Wudhu before sleeping at night

But making wudhu before sleeping is not just another task for the sleep-hygiene list.

Wudhu (along with the last 2 verses of Surah Baqarah, 4 Qul and Ayah-tul-Kursi) builds the  protective spiritual shield around us at night that keeps us safe from the devil and his followers.

It also keeps us in a clean, spiritually elevated state all night and converts the act of sleeping into Ibadah.

“When you want to go to bed to sleep, make wudu as you would for the prayer, then lie on your right side…” (Bukhari)

10. Take a moment to ask Allah for forgiveness

It takes a fraction of your day-dreaming time to say a few words of repentance but if you say them mindfully, you’ll keep erasing sins all day and by the time you go to bed, you’ll feel light as a feather.

That’s because when we repent, the burden of sins gets lifted and our heart feels at ease. If the Prophet (S.A.W) repented so many times in a day, despite being a Prophet (!), where does that leave us?

Abu Hurairah (R.A.) heard the Prophet (S.A.W) say: ‘By Allah! I ask Allah for forgiveness and I repent each day more than seventy times.’ [Bukhari]

11. Give a smile to at least one person

Ibn Jaz narrates: “I have not seen anyone who smiled more than the Messenger of Allah (S.A.W).”[Tirmidhi]

I understand that smiling comes easy to some of us and really hard to the rest. Which is why if I say, “Smile all the time to everyone like the Joker from Batman” then you’ll just cut me midway and shrug off everything I said like I’m a loser- which I will be if I say “Smile all the time to everyone like the Joker from Batman” so I’m not going to say that. 

BUT, I will say that smiling to one person a day is totally doable for even the most serious of people.  

And smiling makes you look pretty. YES, even if you have crooked teeth. Don’t let your teeth get in the way of your smiles. Smile and the world will be your oyster. (I totally made up that quote- feel free to share it) B-)

Get these daily sunnahs on autopilot and you’ll be earning ajar points all day unknowingly. Plus, you’ll feel so much closer to the Prophet (S.A.W) because every time you follow a daily Sunnah, it’ll remind you of the way Prophet (S.A.W) used to do things in his day.And Allah S.W.T knows best!