White Night

On the authority of Abu Hurairah, it is related that the Prophet, upon him be peace, would say:

Whenever any one of you retires to his bed, let him say: 'In Your Name, my Lord, I have laid myself down, and in Your name I shall rise. If You take my soul, then have mercy on it; and if You release it, then protect it in the way You protect Your faithful servants.'

If a believer ponders upon this hadith he cannot help but feel that his life, from one moment to the next, is a gift from the hand of the Lord of All the Worlds.

It may be that when he lays himself down for the night, he will rise again only on the Day of Resurrection. In this event, the believer's only request is for mercy. But if he rises to live another day, then his only wish is to live under the protection of Allah.

When the believer closes his eyes and prepares to go to sleep, he abandons his will for a period of absence that may be either short or long. Indeed, there are many who deliver themselves to the unknown. But the believer is the one who commits himself to the keeping of his Lord, and entrusts Him with all his affairs! Undoubtedly, Allah alone is the Protector. In whom, other than Him, can one place one's hope, or trust, to ward off evil or bring about good?

Source:
"Remembrance and Prayer" - Muhammad Al Ghazali, pp 37, 38