SLEEP IN ISLAM

‘SLEEP IN ISLAM’

       Sleep .  A period of rest for the body and mind, during which volition and consciousness are in abeyance and bodily functions are partially suspended; also described as a behavioral state, with characteristic immobile posture and diminished but readily reversible sensitivity to external stimuli.We spend about one-third of our lives asleep. Nonetheless, people generally know little about the importance of this essential activity. Sleep is a required activity, not an option. Even though the precise functions of sleep remain a mystery, sleep is important for normal motor and cognitive function. After sleeping, we recognize changes that have occurred, as we feel rested and more alert. Sleep actually appears to be required for survival. Allah has created the day for work and going out seeking provision, and He has created the night for rest; so sleep takes place at night and work during the day. Allah says (interpretation of the meaning): “And it is He Who makes the night a covering for you, and the sleep (as) a repose, and makes the day Nushoor (i.e. getting up and going about here and there for daily work, after one’s sleep at night or like resurrection after one’s death)”[al-Furqaan 25:47]. Sleep is one of the signs of Allah in this universe, as Allah says (interpretation of the meaning): “And among His Signs is your sleep by night and by day, and your seeking of His Bounty. Verily, in that are indeed signs for a people who listen”[al-Room 30:23]. The Prophet SAWS also said, : "Go to sleep until the lost of feeling sleepy." (Bukhari, Muslim)

There are some preparations before going to bed  :

1. Recite: Bismillah بِسْمِاللَّهِ (In the name of Allah) before closing the doors of the house, before covering utensils with food in them, switch off or turn off fires, light etc. (Bukhari)
2. Before climbing into bed, dust the bed thrice with the corner of your clothes. (Bukhari, Muslim, Abu Dawood, Tirmidhi, IbnMajah) 

Al-Bukhaari (6320) and Muslim (2714) narrated that Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “When one of you goes to his bed, let him dust off his bed with the inside of his lower garment, for he does not know what came onto it after he left it. Then let him say: BismikaRabbeewada’tujanbiwabikaarfa’uhuwa in amsaktanafsifarhamhaawa in arsaltahaafahfazhaabimaatuhfazbihi ‘ibaadika al-saaliheen ( In Your name, my Lord, I lie down, and in Your name I rise. If You should take my soul then have mercy on it, and if You should return my soul then protect it as You protect Your righteous slaves).” 

3. To make Miswak before retiring to bed even if one has already made it for Ishasalaat. (KitabutTahaarah and Sunnats)

4. To sleep in a state of Wudhu, (Attargheeb, Abu Dawood)

5. To sleep on the right facing the Qibla with the right hand underneath the head like a pillow and with the knees slightly bent (Like in the recovery position). (Bukhari)

       A message once delivered by the Prophet SAWS to his wife Siti Aishah RA. He is reported to have said, ‘O Aisha, do not sleep until you do four things, first, when you finished reading the entire Quran. Second, to take me and the Prophets as guides in the Day of Judgment. Third, that all Muslims are pleased and forgiven. Fourth, until you complete the umrah. 

       Saiyidatina Aisha asked him how? The Prophet explained that if we read the surah Al-Ikhlas three times just as virtues to read the entire Quran. When we bless the Prophet Muhammad from the other prophets, they will be defending our situation in the Day of Judgment. When we pray and ask forgiveness for the believers so they will bless us later. And to read Allahu Akbar, Alhamdulillah, and praise be to God, just as our reward for Umrah.

       There are four ways of sleeping. Sleeping on our bellies  is one of them.The Prophet (SallallahuAlaihiwaSallam) ordered us not to sleep on our bellies. Abu Dawood reported from Yaesh that Takhfa al-Ghafari said: “My father said ‘while I was lying on my belly in the mosque I felt a person moving me with his foot saying: “Allah hates this way of lying down” I looked up to find out that (the man who was speaking) was the Prophet. IbnMajah reported from Abu Zar : “This is the way in which the dwellers of Hell-fire lie down”.Sleeping on your stomach in any situation can be the worst for you.Sleep with this position will cause us to feel short of breath because of the spine will press and prevent the muscles of the chest to expand when breathing. We will feel stomach cramps, sore throat and aches and pains throughout the body. That is why lying is not the best way to sleep. Furthermore, according to Terri Trespicio, senior editor of Body+Soul magazine, "sleeping on your stomach flattens the natural curve in the lower back and keeps your head turned to one side all night, which distorts the alignment of the spine in your neck." This position can also exert unnecessary pressure on your nerves which will cause pins and needles when you wake up.

       Another sleeping posture is sleeping on your back . This position is most often practiced by all ages and is considered the best. But this sleeping posture will cause an open mouth during sleep because the bottom of the jaw muscles are stretched. Air is sucked into the lungs through the mouth and not the nose. Nose hairs and mucus glands act as a filter and humidify the air before it enters the lungs. Supine sleep will cause unfiltered air to enter our lungs which can cause cough, sore throat and infections in the lungs. 

       Although this position is great for balancing out your body weight and keeping your internal organs aligned, but it is not the best position for snorers.

       Sleeping on your left side  is not good for the heart as it is squeezed by the right lung which is larger than the left lung. This will affect the heart and reduce the fitness functions especially the heart of the older as the full stomach will stress the heart. This is especially true for those who are suffering from chronic heart failure or have had a heart attack. 

       Sleeping on your left side will decrease the sympathetic nervous activity in your body. This activity normally controls blood pressure and the heart rate.Whenever possible, avoid sleeping on the left side of your body. You place a lot of strain on the heart, as well as your lungs, stomach and liver. Some of these organs can press into the heart's region, making it even more difficult to work properly.

      According to Islamic view, this sleeping posture is similar tothe rich people who are greedy.

        Al-Nawawi said:  this hadith mentions three acts that are Sunnah, the first of which is doing wudoo’ before going to sleep. If one already has wudoo’, there is no need to repeat it, because the aim is to go to sleep in a state of tahaarah (purity). The second is to sleep on one’s right side. The Prophet SAWS used to sleep on his right side, putting his right hand on his right cheek, and this is what the Prophet SAWS recommended others to do. The Sunnah is to put one’s right hand under one’s cheek. It was narrated that Hudhayfah (may Allaah be pleased with him) said, “When the Prophet SAWS went to bed at night, he would put his hand under his cheek, then say, ‘Allaahummabismikaamootuwaahyaa (O Allaah, in Your name I die and I live).’ Then when he woke up he would say, ‘Al-hamduLillaahalladhiahyaanaaba’da ma amaatanaawailayhi al-nushoor (Praise be to Allaah who has brought us back to life after causing us to die, and to Him is the resurrection).’” (Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 6314).IbnHajar said: The right side is singled out for a number of reasons, such as: this lets a person wake up more quickly; it also allows the heart to lean towards the right hand side. Ibn al-Jawzi said: the doctors have stated that this position is more beneficial to the body. They said to start by lying on the right for a while, then turn over to the left, because the former aids peristalsis and sleeping on one’s left side facilitates digestion. This indicates that sleeping on one’s right side is Sunnah, and if a person does that to follow the example of the Prophet SAWS, he will be rewarded for that.When lying on your right side, you may lower your blood pressure and heart rate, which is good for individuals suffering from heart conditions.Doctors recommend that patients with a heart condition, especially chronic heart failure to try sleeping on their right side if it is comfortable for the patient. Doctors don't fully understand why this happens, only that the heart is in a better position in the body when you lie on your right side rather than your left.

       The most beneficial of sleep  is that which comes when the need for it is greatest. Sleeping at the beginning of the night is better than at the end, and sleeping in the middle of the day is better than sleeping at the beginning or end of the day. 

       The best and most beneficial of sleep is sleep during the first half of the night, and the last sixth, which is equivalent to eight hours. This is the best sleep according to doctors. Anything more or less than that will have a proportionately detrimental effect on the body, in their view. Nowadays, based on scientific studies, taking a nap during the day (day napping), especially in the afternoon, was found very effective to improve energy, focus and finally the productivity of the employees. Recently, a study on the effect of sleep on industrial states and post-industrial states has found that “92.5% of the workers who have the opportunity to sleep in the afternoon, have a higher creativity. Their ability to solve also increased. All this would increase productivity.” (Napping News: Scientific Proof Confirms : Napping Enhances Worker Productivity)

      

        In principle, sleeping is to be at night, but sleeping during the day is also possible. The fifth corrupter is: sleeping too much, for it deadens the heart, makes the body heavy, wastes time, and generates a great deal of carelessness and laziness. Some of it is very makrooh and some is harmful and brings no benefit to the body. Among makrooh kinds of sleep in their view is sleeping between Fajr prayer and sunrise, because that is a precious time. This time is of great benefit for those who are devoted to Allaah; even if they had been worshipping all night, they would not allow themselves to stop at that time until the sun has risen, because it is the beginning of the day, when provision comes down and is divided, and blessings are bestowed. That is the beginning of the day and the whole day depends on what happens during that time, no one should sleep at that time unless he is compelled to. 

       The closer sleep is to either the beginning or end of the day, the less beneficial it is and the more harmful, especially sleeping at ‘Asr time, and sleeping at the beginning of the day, except in the case of one who has stayed up late. Another kind of sleep that is of no benefit is sleeping straight after sunset, until the twilight has disappeared. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) disliked that, therefore it is makrooh according to sharee’ah and is naturally disliked. Just as sleeping too much leads to these problems, resisting and avoiding sleep will lead to other problems such as bad moods, muddled thinking, and exhaustion that prevents one from understanding and working properly, and it can lead to many fatal illnesses, whereby a person will not be able to think properly and will feel physically weak. Creation is based on balance and whoever adheres to moderation has achieved all goodness.  

        Sleep debt is the effect of not getting enough rest and sleep; a large debt causes mental, emotional and physical fatigue. Sleep debt results in diminished abilities to perform high-level cognitive functions. Neurophysiological and functional imaging studies have demonstrated that frontal regions of the brain are particularly responsive to homeostatic sleep pressure. Scientists do not agree on how much sleep debt it is possible to accumulate; whether it is accumulated against an individual's average sleep or some other benchmark; nor on whether the prevalence of sleep debt among adults has changed appreciably in the industrialized world in recent decades. It is likely that children are sleeping less than previously in Western societies.

       Insomnia is a general term describing difficulty falling asleep and staying asleep. Insomnia can have many different causes, including psychological stress, a poor sleep environment, an inconsistent sleep schedule, or excessive mental or physical stimulation in the hours before bedtime. Insomnia is often treated through behavioral changes like keeping a regular sleep schedule, avoiding stimulating or stressful activities before bedtime, and cutting down on stimulants such as caffeine. Patients are often counseled to improve their sleep environment by installing heavy drapes to shut out all sunlight, and keeping computers, televisions and work materials out of the sleeping area.