Moderation in Sleep – (Hazrat Moulana Maseehullah Rahmatullahi Alaih)

Moderation in this Mujaahadah is also desirable. Nowadays this moderation means sleeping at least six or seven hours.

If sleep becomes overbearing, then one should not ward it off. In this case postpone your wazeefah (act of Ibaadat), and sleep. The wazeefah should be completed later.

If the sleep is not over-powering, then one should adopt courage and remain awake.

If sleep is warded off when it is really over-powering, the consequence will be harmful to the mind as well as to the body in general. Confused thoughts will arise in the mind and at times one is deceived into believing such confused thoughts to be inspiration (ilhaam). Such a person then considers himself to be a saint. The final result is insanity. Hence, Rasulullah (Sallallahu alayhi wasallam) said:

“When any of you rises in the night and finds that he is unable to recite the Qur’aan properly (due to feeling sleepy), and he does not know what he is reciting, then he should lay down.”

The advice in such cases of sleepiness is to lay down and not to ward off the sleep. Some people who are extreme in their observance of taqleel-e-manaam and other aspects of Mujaahadah and do not heed the possibility of harm, should take advice from this Hadith. This Hadith is an admonishment for them.

The advice given in this Hadith is two-fold:

1. At times extremism in Mujaahadah proves detrimental to the physique.

2. When the words are not recited correctly because of over-powering sleep, then the necessary thawaab will not be obtained. Thus, remaining awake will serve no beneficial purpose in this case.

(Hazrat Moulana Maseehullah Rahmatullahi Alaih)