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Sleep between life and death

Last night I went to sleep knowing full well that my soul will leave
my body and may not return.
I knew that I would have experienced death, even if it was
temporarily, and I may or may not rise in the morning. Despite the
fact that I knew that I would experience death I still went to sleep.
The question I have for you to reflect on is what made you fall
sleep?
If someone told you that if you close your eyes you may never wake
up, you may die, would you sleep?

I believe most of us would do everything in our power to keep our


wide eyes open.

How did you arrive to the conclusion that every time you fall asleep
you would actually wake up?

Was it the fact that you went to sleep before and each morning in
the past you have woken up has convinced you that you would
wake up again?

How can you be so sure?


Have you not come across many people who never woke up from
their sleep?

We are all creatures of habit. Has it become a habit of a lifetime


that you have a set time when your body begins to shut down and
you simply go to bed?

Do you go to bed every night without even thinking?

ُّ ُ ‫س ۡو َرة‬
‫الز َمر‬ ُ
َ َ‫َام َهاۖ فَيُمۡ ِسكُ ٱلَ ِتى ق‬
‫ض ٰى‬ ِ ‫س ِحينَ َم ۡو ِت َها َوٱلَ ِتى لَ ۡم ت َ ُم ۡت ِفى َمن‬ َ ُ‫ٱ َّللُ َيتَ َوفَى ٱ ۡۡلَنف‬
‫س ًّمىۚ ِإ َن فِى َذٲ ِل َك َۡلَيَ ٰـ ٍ۬ت ِلقَ ۡو ٍ۬م‬ َ ‫علَ ۡي َہا ٱ ۡل َم ۡو‬
َ ‫ت َويُ ۡر ِس ُل ٱ ۡۡل ُ ۡخ َر ٰى إِلَ ٰى أَ َج ٍ۬ل ُّم‬ َ
)٤٢( َ‫يَتَفَ َك ُرون‬
039:042
“God takes the souls at the time of their death and the one that does
not die in their sleep. Then He withholds those on whom He has
passed the decree of death and sends the others back till an
appointed term. Indeed in that surely are signs for a people
who reflect.”

A habit is hard to rationalise, especially one that has been drilled


into our mind. However, pausing for a minute and thinking about
the possibility of dying while asleep should make you wonder how
is it that you have lived for so long?

Have you ever stopped and thought about what actually happens
to you when you fall asleep, experiencing death temporarily or falls
asleep permanently?

When our body is tired, it needs to rest and the best way to rest is
to sleep. That is how sleep has been designed - to offer our body a
respite to regenerate and renew. You may be thinking why do I
need to even think about it?

While it is the most natural thing to do, it is sleep where we


surrender our body and spirit to the mercy of nature. We have no
control over what could happen to us when we are asleep.
We need sleep. It is a fact that without sleep you would die, in the
same way as you would die if you starved your body of food.
Your body cannot survive if it is starved of sleep over a prolonged
period. Some say it could be as little as 21 days. You may not even
consider sleep in any other way except a time to rest.

When you sleep your short term, memories are transferred to the
long-term storage. Thus, cleaning your brains immediate
processing power.
Your limbs are often paralysed thus limiting your ability to do
anything physical during sleep. It gives your limbs much desired
rest and strength. Your brain is not able to make decisions and
you are not able to communicate your feelings.
It allows your brain cells to die and grow. It processes your
emotions and allows clarity. It is an extraordinary experience that
entails body, mind and spirit.
As Muslims we believe that when we sleep our body rests and our
soul leaves us. A soul is not limited to time and space, it is able to
travel the universe and beyond, experience past, present and
future. It is able to encounter fellow souls and communicate at
that metaphysical level. Some of these soul’s experiences are
transferred to us through dreams and some through dejevo.

At the moment of our body restarting the internal engine to enable


it to wake up, instantly the soul returns only to those whose
lifespan has not expired but for those whose lifespan has expired,
no matter how many reboots the physical body may initiate, there
will be no life for them left on this earth.

We, the living relatives, friends or even neighbours may discover


their lifeless and cold body in their warm beds!
When we die our soul returns to its true owner for accountability,
evaluation and assessment. It must be placed in its rightful place
for the final reunion and judgment. Your body will decompose but
your soul will live on. Your souls’ station is determined by your
actions on this earth.
Next time you go to sleep, pause for a second and think, what will
happen if I do not wake up?

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