Why Late-Night Scrolling Feels So Good (And how the Salaf can help)

Salaam alaykum wa rahmatullah,

This wasn’t the newsletter I planned to post this week.

In fact, I have other drafts sitting there collecting dust.

But while I was writing this thread, I got so passionate about this topic that I knew…
a thread wouldn’t do it justice.

So here we are.

I’ve been a night owl most of my life.

And if I’m being real with you — scrolling just hits different after midnight.

It’s not like IG adds extra sparkles just for me past 12am.
But for some reason, the content just feels better.

The YouTube thumbnails look cooler.
The Netflix episode feels harder to skip.
The IG explore page suddenly gets me.

Turns out — it’s not just a coincidence. It’s psychological.

studies show that many of us get feelings of loneliness late at night — even if we don’t realize it.

And when you feel that internal emptiness,

your brain looks for connection and distraction.

So…

• YouTube feels more personal.

• The IG explore page seems to read your mind.

• You find it easy to say “just one more episode.” to netflix.

We’re not chasing entertainment.
We’re trying to escape loneliness.

Ibn al-Qayyim (rahimahullah) once said:

That late-night void we try to fill with dopamine?

It can only be filled with something divine.

The Salaf knew this.
They didn’t just worship out of obligation.
They worshipped out of love, longing, and deep connection.

And that’s the path we can take too.

A Sunnah Habit to Replace Scrolling

Fatima (RA) once came to the Prophet ﷺ and asked for a servant to help with her heavy chores.

The Prophet ﷺ didn’t give her what she asked for.

Instead, he gave her something better — something spiritual and lasting.

He ﷺ told her and Ali (RA) to say before sleeping:

• SubhanAllah – 33x

• Alhamdulillah – 33x

• Allahu Akbar – 34x

That’s it.

And yes I know — they lived over 1400 years ago.
They didn’t have screens, apps, or explore pages pulling at their attention.

But we do.

So instead of scrolling to disconnect from our feelings, we can reconnect with Allah — with this exact Sunnah.

But Dhikr Shouldn’t Be Robotic

To feel the sweetness of these phrases, you have to understand what they mean.

Shaykh Mohammed Baajour said:

So I went through Omar Suleiman’s Deeper Into Dhikr series and took notes — because I wanted the meanings to sink in.

Here’s a short summary to help you, too:

SubhanAllah

Allah is perfect.

He doesn’t make mistakes

he never has and he never will.

Say “SubhanAllah“ from a place of admiration.

Alhamdulillah

Everything you have is from Allah

Each breath you take

Each drop of water you drink

Each brilliant “idea” in your brain.

Say “Alhamdulillah“ from a place of gratitude and recognition.

Allahu Akbar

That big problem you can’t stop thinking about?

It’s smaller than Allah.

In fact if every single person who ever existed put their problems together they’d STILL be smaller than Allah.

Say “Allahu Akbar“ while letting go of what’s on your heart.

This Is How You Fight Loneliness and Addiction

You don’t need to numb your heart with endless content.

You can nourish it with meaning.

Doing this small habit with intention,

can replace the late-night emptiness

and fight back against the urge to scroll your soul away

Do this tonight.

And if this helped you, alhamdulillah — it helped me just writing it.

This Is How You Fight the Loneliness and Addiction

You don’t need to numb your heart with endless content.

You can nourish it with meaning.

This small habit, done with intention, can replace the late-night emptiness — and fight back against the urge to scroll your soul away.

Try it tonight.

And if this helped you, alhamdulillah — it helped me just writing it.

Till next time, in shaa Allah.

Work 1-1 with me:

If you’re tired of feeling behind…
And you want to finally make serious progress — without burning out…

I’ll help you get 60 days’ worth of work done in just 30 days.

No long hours. No fake hustle.

Just 2 focused hours, 3 mornings a week — using Barakah.

I’ll show you exactly how in my mentorship program.

If you’re down signup here: https://forms.gle/SqkEEiCR1LWyUzUJ8

Barakah is real.
Let’s use it.

Easy Ali