chapter ten:  Comprehensive Guide to Sleep Hygiene

The Significance of Quality Sleep

A fulfilling life necessitates high-quality, sufficient sleep. Quality sleep is essential for physical, mental, and spiritual well-being, as well as cognitive performance. It enhances mood, reduces stress, and promotes vitality. One of the primary means to strengthen sensory perception, intelligence, physical health, and spiritual vigor—while fostering inner contentment and joy—is through the regulation of sleep. This entails achieving restful, adequate, timely, undisturbed sleep aligned with the body’s natural biological rhythms.

The Nature of Sleep

Sleep is a fundamental attribute of sensory experience. During sleep, the body’s external sensory engagement diminishes, allowing internal faculties to flourish. Sleep plays a pivotal role in memory consolidation, cognitive enhancement, and improved perception. Insufficient sleep leads to reduced focus and memory impairment. Moreover, sleep imbues individuals with sensitivity, emotional depth, capability, and inspiration, granting a dimension that evokes either enthusiasm or aversion.

The Impact of Sleep Quality

Poor sleep can transform a virtuous individual into one plagued by negativity, while restful sleep can uplift a troubled soul, fostering a state of well-being. Inadequate sleep is associated with heightened anxiety, depression, and irritability. The stress induced by poor sleep may contribute to premature aging. Individuals suffering from poor sleep experience memory stagnation, diminished perception, misunderstanding, and reduced alertness. Their capacity for learning, recollection, and accessing stored knowledge weakens. Conversely, those who cultivate proper sleep in a clean, conducive environment experience strengthened sensory faculties, enhanced memory, and efficient tools for acquiring knowledge.

Sleep as a Tool for Advancement

Humanity must strive to identify tools that facilitate maximal progress with minimal effort, time, and cost. For instance, the heart and soul can lead to profound insights and divine wisdom. Similarly, hygienic sleep, when properly regulated, refines sensory and intellectual capacities. By fostering clarity and purity through enhanced senses, one may achieve heightened awareness, perceiving not only the tangible but also abstract phenomena that coexist with us in abundance and diversity.

Mastering the Art of Sleep

The skill of restful sleep can be cultivated to fortify sensory perception and safeguard the psyche from mental ailments, particularly anxiety, depression, memory issues, and Alzheimer’s disease. It preserves physical vitality and prevents erroneous judgments. Sleep hygiene is intricately linked to mental clarity and a wholesome connection with the divine. Negative thoughts, grief, resentment, or unjust actions disrupt sleep. Individuals burdened by sorrow often sleep in a curled, constricted posture. Those who anger their Creator through oppression face divine consequences, including loss of opportunities, anguish, and insomnia.

Sleep and Longevity

Poor sleep and disturbed sleep patterns are significant contributors to reduced lifespan. Premature aging and mortality are among the consequences of inadequate sleep. Poor sleep, combined with improper nutrition, accelerates hair graying.

Sleep and Cognitive Awareness

Academic research underscores a profound correlation between sleep quality, achieved through self-care, and various aspects of well-being. These include physical and mental health, cognitive development, emotional regulation, physical agility, athletic performance, deep psychological tranquility, bodily restoration, immune system optimization, cardiovascular health, improved skin appearance, delayed skin aging, and enhanced feelings of joy, satisfaction, and reward. The importance of quality sleep extends beyond mere rest and energy restoration. Poor sleep quality and sleep disorders adversely affect physical health, behavior, and cognition, leading to learning difficulties, stunted mental growth, reduced productivity, and increased stress and anxiety. Disordered, irregular, untimely, or distressing sleep diminishes sensory perception and intelligence, threatening mental health and social functioning, and causing an overall decline in performance. Some cases of memory loss and Alzheimer’s disease are rooted in improper sleep.

Sleep and Cognitive Performance

Without adequate sleep, individuals of any age are deprived of high-quality sensory and intellectual capacities. Those with robust sensory and cognitive abilities fall asleep and awaken with ease, while those with weakened faculties struggle to sleep and rise feeling lifeless, as if on the brink of death. Insufficient sleep negatively impacts mood, cognitive ability, memory, and academic performance, fostering aggression, irritability, and apathy.

Sleep and Physical Appearance

A body deprived of healthy, deep sleep fails to produce skin-repairing hormones in balance, resulting in loss of skin elasticity and strength. This leads to a fatigued appearance. Chronic sleep deprivation damages skin, causing premature aging, wrinkles, hollowing, or thinning of the skin. Quality sleep is significantly correlated with healthy, resilient skin and an attractive appearance.

Sleep and Daily Functioning

Ensuring sufficient, quality sleep enhances performance, prevents emotional and physical exhaustion, improves focus, and eliminates inappropriate drowsiness or napping. It mitigates sleep deprivation and disruptions to work habits, elevating the quality of life and daily activities. Involuntary naps signal illness or the accumulation of waste in the body. A body burdened by toxins, intestinal waste, or sludge suffers from drowsiness. The most effective remedy is physical activity and exercise. Poor sleep disrupts metabolism and appetite-regulating hormones, contributing significantly to weight gain and obesity. Diet also influences sleep; heavy or caffeinated foods can disturb sleep, while nutrient deficiencies are linked to insomnia.

Emotional Well-Being

Adequate sleep and rest are instrumental in enhancing the quality of a pleasurable, successful life and fostering emotional well-being. Well-being encompasses comfort, health, happiness, and a sense of fulfillment. Emotional well-being empowers individuals to engage in society, meet their needs, and experience positive emotions such as ease, satisfaction, joy, and contentment, while avoiding negative experiences like anxiety, depression, stress, hatred, fatigue, boredom, burnout, and fear. Emotional exhaustion, a key facet of occupational burnout, erodes personal emotions. Symptoms of emotional exhaustion include sleep disturbances, chronic fatigue, and heightened sensitivity to stress.

The Role of Dreams

Beyond restoring energy, sleep is vital for the dreams that occur during it, which are integral to bodily health. Dreams involve perceiving phenomena, events, or interactions with abstract or metaphysical entities, accessing the unseen, and connecting the detached with the unified in sleep. Through self-care, the body’s purity enables it to foresee future events in dreams. Individuals, cherishing their physical existence, use self-care to alert themselves to dangers via dreams, preserving bodily integrity and sustaining the joy of embodiment. The body, navigating a world of beliefs, virtues, flaws, sorrows, joys, stresses, guilt, tensions, hopes, struggles, friendships, enmities, purity, love, envy, and aspirations, must remain a champion of truth. The world is a stage that reveals humanity’s eternal identity and shapes its ultimate perfection. The natural rhythms of day, night, and seasons, alongside voluntary experiences, provide a cradle for human tranquility and growth until death. The body shares in the sorrows, pains, joys, and pleasures experienced by the individual.

Ensuring Authentic Dreams

For dreams to be authentic, sleep conditions must be controlled, the sleep environment optimized, and dream disturbances minimized. For example, consuming a heavy meal and sleeping for extended periods can turn the stomach into a swamp, sending vapors to the brain that may induce nightmares, such as dreams of suffocation, conflict, or harm to loved ones. Sleeping in an environment with irritants like pebbles, thorns, ants, cockroaches, or dampness can trigger negative dreams. Such dreams are influenced by environmental factors. By reducing these disturbances, dreams become truthful and interpretable. Dreams affected by these factors reflect internal disruptions rather than external realities, rendering them devoid of deeper meaning. Prolonged, uninterrupted sleep often leads to forgotten dreams. To retain and utilize dreams, sleep should be brief and intermittent, as this enhances intellectual capacity and intelligence. Disturbed dreams—such as those involving confinement in restrooms, falling into abysses, or engaging in fights—stem from bodily waste, mental habits, or preoccupation with external events. Managing these factors fosters pleasant, prophetic dreams that can be remembered and applied.

Dreams and Psychological Health

Dreams are linked to mental health and emotional processing. Turbulent dreams may arise from stress or digestive issues. Sleep and dreams reflect an individual’s waking state and behavior. A deceitful person experiences false dreams that lead them astray, while a truthful person benefits from honest dreams. Those who partake in lawful sustenance enjoy fitting sleep and dreams, whereas those indulging in illicit means suffer corresponding disturbances. Ordinary individuals consumed by basic desires or ailments gain little from dreams beyond these concerns. Some dream of past encounters or lingering impressions. In contrast, the sleep of the virtuous, guided by divine inspiration and aligned with divine will, connects to inner perception, blossoming daily through sleep and shaping their future.

Oversleeping

Age influences the amount of sufficient, quality sleep but does not directly cause sleep disorders. Infants require approximately 16 hours, children from two to twelve years need about 12 hours, adolescents around 10 hours, and adults roughly seven to nine hours. These needs vary across individuals. Oversleeping increases the risk of cardiovascular diseases, including heart attacks. Some individuals suffer strokes during sleep due to excessive sleep. Both oversleeping and insomnia are associated with heightened risks of cardiovascular issues and mental health problems. Oversleeping, akin to excessive talking, overeating, illicit consumption, envy, jealousy, or self-pity, dries tears and hardens the heart. Excessive or prolonged daytime sleep, coupled with nighttime insomnia, weakens the brain, nerves, and wastes life. Oversleeping or irregular breathing may indicate liver dysfunction or nervous weakness. Individuals prone to oversleeping, lacking willpower, should engage in exercise, monitor fat and sugar levels, avoid yogurt, cucumbers, bovine dairy, and mint, and shield themselves from negative energies.

Insomnia

Chronic insomnia is a dangerous disorder that weakens the body’s natural systems, resembling a state of near-death due to the body’s need for sleep. Regulating sleep and diet requires thoughtful reflection. Individuals overwhelmed by grief, calamity, or impending doom lack both sleep and appetite, as negative thoughts disrupt these functions. Poverty can induce despair, acting as both a sedative and, when intensified, a cause of insomnia. Insomnia is more harmful than sedation, as sleep soothes and comforts the impoverished, while sleeplessness exacerbates their suffering. Those tainted by betrayal suffer from restless, unsatisfying sleep and frequent awakenings. Such disturbances stem from metaphysical influences, such as malevolent entities or imaginary forces like nightmares, which exploit the betrayer’s guilt to dominate and torment them, preventing sound decisions, joy, or contentment. This sleep disruption fosters numerous bodily ailments. Feelings of insecurity, stress, anxiety, fear, grief, or separation also contribute to sleep disturbances. Poor dietary variety, overeating, undereating, irregular sleep patterns, malnutrition, or imbalanced nutrition can cause insomnia or excessive napping. Sleep deprivation is linked to cravings for fatty and sugary foods.

Illicit Consumption and Sleep Disorders

Illicit consumption—whether of ill-gotten wealth, unjustly acquired sustenance, forbidden speech, or impure thoughts—induces insomnia and chaotic dreams, such as those involving excrement, restrooms, or consuming frogs. Such actions shorten the consumer’s lifespan, and ill-gotten gains lack blessing, pleasure, or permanence. An individual devoid of pleasant, divine, cautionary, or enlightening dreams for months is likely tainted by illicit consumption. Illicit acts corrupt not only restful sleep and meaningful dreams but also spiritual practices like prayer and remembrance, blocking access to profound insights and metaphysical truths. Conversely, lawful, pure sustenance brings restful sleep, clarity, love, and even divine presence in dreams. To foster pleasant dreams, the body must be free of impurity and waste. Constipation and accumulated stomach waste spoil food, disrupt brain function, and divert bodily control to the stomach, as the brain prioritizes digestion. A light, youthful, strong stomach, nourished by fresh, transient foods and free of dead cells, supports clear thoughts, innovative ideas, and joyful dreams.

Stress and Emotional Turmoil

Post-traumatic stress and emotional upheaval can cause sleep disorders like insomnia, manifesting negatively in dreams. Individuals with blood type O are particularly stress-prone. Humanity exists in a crisis-ridden world, under pressure, domination, and restricted freedoms, moving toward its Creator. This environment fosters feelings of insignificance, frustration, and anxiety. Anxiety, depression, and limited mobility are significant causes of sleep disruption. Stress, irritability, anger, depression, anxiety, and hyperactivity both stem from and exacerbate sleep disorders, intensifying conditions like bipolar disorder. Chronic stress is linked to insomnia and sleep disturbances, negatively impacting overall health and longevity. Persistent stress and overwhelming complexity shorten life, akin to a gradual death. To avoid daily demise, individuals endure constant pressure and the weight of multiplicity.

Contagious Nature of Stress

Stress is contagious, spreading distress to others in a stress-free environment, causing unease and related symptoms.

Stress Management

Effective stress management involves providing social support to afflicted individuals, instilling a sense of security, competence, and openness. This enables them to address challenges more effectively. Social support, by boosting self-esteem and dignity, enhances stress resilience, countering emotional exhaustion and negative self-evaluation. It reduces burnout, enhances capability, improves daily task performance, elevates quality of life, and fosters a sense of fulfillment. Individuals with high self-esteem feel greater self-worth in stressful situations, shielding them from stress’s destructive effects. Unmet needs for self-esteem, without social support, limit broader aspirations like progress and comprehension, leading to symptoms such as depression, anorexia nervosa, anxiety, aggression, belligerent behavior, and social withdrawal.

Nutritional Needs During Stress

During stress, the body consumes significant amounts of zinc, magnesium, and vitamins B5, B1, B6, and C, which are critical for stress management. Vitamins, organic compounds absorbed through food and sunlight, are generally not produced by the body. A varied, balanced diet rich in fruits and vegetables supplies these nutrients. Zinc is found in lentils, split peas, beans, meat, egg yolks, nuts like walnuts and roasted peanuts, pumpkin seeds, whole grains, and dairy products like yogurt. Zinc deficiency weakens immunity, increasing susceptibility to viral and infectious diseases like colds and flu, and causes appetite loss, anemia, weight loss, diarrhea, and slow wound healing. Magnesium regulates blood sugar, reduces stress, aids weight loss, supports bone health, and improves sleep. Its deficiency may lead to osteoporosis, hair loss, dry skin, restlessness, depression, insomnia, and concentration difficulties. Magnesium sources include bananas, spinach, beans, pumpkin seeds, milk, dried figs, potatoes with skin, sunflower seeds, and sesame seeds. Excessive magnesium intake may cause diarrhea and vomiting. Vitamin B5 (pantothenic acid), essential for energy and hormone production, is found in meat, milk, eggs, tomatoes, and broad-leaf vegetables. Vitamin B6 (pyridoxal), crucial for red blood cell formation, is present in bananas and nuts; its deficiency causes anemia. Bananas should not be consumed on an empty stomach, as they burden digestion. Vitamin C, vital for wound healing, bone formation, and iron absorption, is found in poultry, eggs, fish, dairy, and grains; its deficiency leads to neurological issues.

Fish Consumption

Consuming fish, often not fresh, is not recommended. Fresh fish rebounds when pressed, unlike stale fish. Fish should be prepared with garlic and yogurt to mask its off-putting odor. Individuals with high skin cell death exhibit fish-like skin that lacks elasticity when pressed. Fish, derived from water and salt, is less substantial and cannot replace red meat for healthy individuals.

Positive Stress

Stress can have positive effects, such as the pressure of exams motivating diligent students to focus and perform better. Controlled stress or fear-inducing situations can restore memory in some individuals with amnesia or alleviate psychological issues.

Occupational Burnout

Research indicates that night-shift work leads to poorer sleep quality and disrupted sleep, resulting in lower job performance and occupational burnout. Certain occupations impair sensory and cognitive faculties. Work in deep underground environments or night shifts disrupts circadian rhythms, causing mental sluggishness and forgetfulness. Prolonged or irregular night shifts exacerbate sleep disorders. Occupational burnout and insomnia have a bidirectional relationship, amplifying each other over time. Burnout manifests as psychosomatic symptoms, emotional, attitudinal, and behavioral issues. Insomnia is prevalent among those experiencing burnout, with physical and mental exhaustion as primary symptoms. Mining, conducted underground and involving explosives, heightens anxiety. Domesticated animals exposed to such environments become restless and aggressive. Similarly, night-shift work weakens sensory and intellectual capacities.

Unemployment and Sleep Disruption

Unemployed youth may pursue fleeting pleasures or aimless wandering, especially with access to vehicles. Elderly individuals, when idle, experience sleep disturbances and spiritual conflict, despite religious practices, as imagination grows potent in old age. Imagination drives the elderly toward grandeur and status at any cost, even defying divine principles. They crave constant praise and respect, reacting negatively to minor slights, such as delayed service. Such individuals become obsessive, extreme, skeptical, and cynical. Even at death, they resist departure, refusing divine submission. Their faith becomes superficial, and they fail to embody humility, integrity, or communal harmony, succumbing to rigidity and intrusive curiosity.

Comprehensive Guide to Sleep Hygiene and Self-Care

Hungry Sleep

Just as sleep following overeating is detrimental, sleep accompanied by hunger is equally undesirable, as it leads to disturbed dreams and restless slumber. If an individual persistently experiences dreams over an extended period or repeatedly encounters the same troubling dream, akin to one afflicted with chronic coughing, they are likely suffering from some form of ailment. A person who spends the night wandering, engaging in idle chatter, wasting time in virtual spaces, watching films, or chatting experiences the worst kinds of dreams—dreams that merely reflect the psychological state and connected imagination of the dreamer, bearing no relation to external realities.

Remedies for Poor Sleep

Adhering to lawful consumption is one of the pathways to achieving restful sleep. Consuming lawful sustenance not only fosters health, purity, love, and divine connection but also brings about pleasant and restorative sleep. Individuals suffering from insomnia may consume a mixture of yogurt and grated cucumber, tailored to their appetite and stomach resilience, before retiring to bed to prepare their body for sleep. They should minimize the intake of saffron, garlic, and dates, limiting consumption to what is strictly necessary. Fresh walnuts induce lethargy and promote deep sleep. Gentle caressing acts as a soporific; when an individual with sleep disturbances is soothed and comforted, their body gradually relaxes, becoming languid, and they drift into sleep as if their limbs hang limply. In this state of sleep-induced lethargy, the respiratory passages may narrow, occasionally causing snoring. Those prone to excessive sleep can reduce their sleep duration by consuming a spoonful of a honey and sesame mixture each night. Using high-quality rosewater with a slightly bitter taste, incorporated into rice preparation, water, or tea, can prevent lethargy and daytime drowsiness. Opium, a sedative substance used in sleep-inducing medications, is available in inhalable forms. Certain types of music, such as the tender and affectionate modes, are calming, lethargy-inducing, intoxicating, and sleep-promoting.

The Essence of Sleep Hygiene

The cornerstone of treating sleep disorders is sleep hygiene, which encompasses a set of behaviors and habits that enhance the quality and duration of sleep, support the natural rhythm of sleep and wakefulness, and promote restful sleep, enabling individuals to fall asleep easily and remain in a state of restful slumber. Sleep hygiene is categorized into five domains: behavioral, cognitive, environmental, sleep patterns, and substance use. Key practices include maintaining a regular sleep schedule with a fixed bedtime, creating an optimal sleep environment by adjusting lighting before sleep, ensuring silence and coolness in the bedroom, adopting a balanced diet while avoiding fatty or caffeinated foods like coffee in the late evening or at night, engaging in regular physical activity and exercise during the day, refraining from using smartphones or tablets an hour before bedtime and limiting their use in bed, and employing relaxation techniques such as reading a book before sleep or practicing deep breathing exercises. Deep breathing involves inhaling through the nose for ten seconds, holding the breath for ten seconds, and exhaling through the mouth for ten seconds, creating a conducive psychological state for initiating sleep and transferring calmness from wakefulness to slumber. Consuming chamomile tea, due to its apigenin content, or engaging in meditation before bed, by influencing the parasympathetic nervous system, can enhance sleep quality, reduce anxiety, and promote tranquility. The sleep environment must be clean, hygienic, and free from pollution. An impure environment, sleeping with unclean teeth, neglecting personal hygiene, or wearing dirty clothing diminishes sustenance and vitality. Conversely, cleanliness and inner purity contribute to the expansion and augmentation of sustenance.

Exercise and Physical Activity

To preserve and protect brain cells, the carriers of consciousness, regular exercise is essential, as it is the most effective means of constructing and repairing cells. One must avoid stress, distress, and emotionally driven or impulsive decisions. Emotional decision-making renders individuals superficial and appearance-oriented, which is the greatest detriment to consciousness and personal development. The strength of sensory faculties, balanced mental and physical performance, memory consolidation, and the possession of sufficient energy, vitality, and liveliness are nourished and sustained by appropriate, healthy, and deep sleep. Regular exercise improves sleep quality, but intense physical activity close to bedtime or early in the morning can disrupt sleep. Heavy morning exercise is unsuitable for the body, as cells and muscles are not yet fully awake, resembling a closed umbrella; forcing them into exercise may damage rather than activate them. However, exercise an hour after waking or in the late afternoon is an appropriate time for physical activity. Exercise within three hours of bedtime is also unsuitable, as it heightens alertness. Professional sports are not conducive to bodily health and may, over time, impair rational and mental faculties, preventing the brain from performing its operations without disruption. Consequently, some athletes may exhibit behaviors contrary to societal norms. Intense professional sports can predispose individuals to anxiety and seizures. Appropriate daily physical activity and exercise enhance sleep quality.

Optimal Sleep Timing

Restful sleep requires finesse and skill, including an appropriate bed, timing, location, lighting, and temperature to prevent poor sleep. Regulating the sleep environment’s temperature to an optimal range of 18–20 degrees Celsius enhances comfort and promotes deep sleep, as a cooler temperature facilitates a decrease in core body temperature, aiding deep slumber. The best sleep, provided it is not excessive or continuous, occurs at night. The optimal time for restful sleep is between 10 p.m. and 2 a.m., a period emphasized by religious teachings. Sleeping outside these hours weakens memory and retained knowledge, cluttering the mind like television static, causing partial recollection of issues while forgetting other aspects. A small amount of daytime sleep, combined with early evening sleep, constitutes the best sleep. Daytime naps lasting 30 minutes to an hour, either before or after noon, are beneficial, and complete abstinence from daytime sleep is harmful. Sleeping after a heavy lunch is detrimental to the body; thus, a pre-lunch nap (qaylulah) is preferable. However, if the lunch is light, post-lunch sleep is acceptable. Neither exercise nor sleep immediately after eating is beneficial. Not all bodies align uniformly with night and day cycles. Some individuals require early evening sleep, while others need additional morning sleep. Those who remain awake after dawn for prayers or recitations may experience lethargy and malaise throughout the day, losing their vitality. Engaging in recitations or night prayers at such times is unsuitable for them, and they should prioritize sleep to maintain daily vigor and work quality. Times and places interact differently with each body, which has unique states that individuals must recognize and harmonize with to avoid wasting time. Religious permissibility or disapproval is defined by these traits, states, and behaviors, and religion does not prescribe a uniform approach to matters of body and psyche. Universal prescriptions disrupt the system of self-care.

Sleep Environment and Bedding

To achieve restful sleep, attention must be paid to the sleep environment. The bedroom should have adequate ventilation, a gentle breeze, and access to fresh air. The sleep environment, including lighting, temperature, and ventilation, significantly impacts sleep quality, with an optimal environment promoting deep sleep and enhancing cognitive performance. Four hours of sleep in an enclosed space is less valuable than 30 minutes in an open environment. Stale air induces the greatest stress during sleep. Disturbed dreams and restless sleep are partly attributable to enclosed spaces, particularly in winter when windows are closed, and heating devices render the air stale. Many such dreams lack interpretative value, as they stem from stress transferred from wakefulness to sleep. Sleeping in an enclosed space may result in dreams of suffocation due to dense, lifeless air, with the dream’s interpretation rooted in the enclosed environment itself. Some individuals draw curtains and sleep in complete darkness, dreaming of imprisonment or torture. Poor dreams may also result from an unsuitable mattress or bedding. Comfortable mattresses and pillows are essential. Sleeping on an inappropriate mattress may lead to dreams of driving on rocky terrain or accidents. Mattresses should neither be too firm nor excessively soft nor creaky. The best bedding is a blanket, and layering multiple blankets can create a soft, supportive bed that is neither rigid nor hard, facilitating restful sleep. The best cover is a heavy blanket, which promotes tranquility during sleep. The pillow must be adjusted to align with the chest, arms, and neck, as it is critical for bodily rest. Variations in head and arm positioning among individuals necessitate personalized pillows. Certain joint conditions, such as arthritis or cartilage issues, arise from unsuitable mattresses and pillows, which degrade sleep quality and hygiene. Cotton mattresses are unsuitable, as they provoke discomfort.

Connection with Fresh Air

The most restorative form of rest is sleeping in an open environment with access to fresh air. Fresh, clean air fosters physical health, inner purity, psychological tranquility, and the integrity of thoughts and dreams. Polluted air and deprivation of open skies can render individuals delusional and impair brain functions. Air, as the most vital human nourishment, being gaseous and pervasive, facilitates blood movement within the body’s solid matter, enabling the absorption of other foods and empowering the inner self to engage with meaningful matters. As a form of nourishment, intentional air inhalation can provide sustenance and satiety for those unaccustomed to heavy, solid foods. Clean air is the foundation of bodily health and hygiene. Polluted air transmits most contagious and infectious diseases. Dry air may cause constipation, while humid air can induce weakness and lethargy. Sleeping in enclosed spaces and inhaling stale, burnt air leads to disturbed dreams, which may mislead psychologists or dream interpreters. Stale air in enclosed spaces permeates the body. Conversely, sleeping in a place connected to the sky and fresh air allows individuals to benefit from divine bestowals. Those whose dreams have non-environmental interpretations sleep in environments connected to the sky, while those residing in basements experience environmentally influenced dreams tied to the body or earth, rendering exemplary interpretations inapplicable. To avoid poor sleep, doors can be left open if the air is unpolluted, though severely disturbed sleep, bordering on death, is more harmed by air polluted with dust particles. Sleeping under modern ceilings disconnected from the sky weakens nerves, burdens the body, and induces lethargy, fatigue, and anxiety. One should strive to dwell under the open sky whenever possible. During sleep, a connection to the sky should be maintained, allowing the eyes to behold the heavens before drifting off. Individuals who close all doors, draw thick, dark curtains, and breathe stale air from winter heaters, depriving their eyes of the sky, forfeit numerous divine insights that could descend upon them. Stale air extinguishes the body’s inner vitality.

Appropriate Lighting

Complete darkness is not conducive to restful sleep. Natural light and proper ventilation are essential for regulating the circadian rhythm and improving sleep quality, while complete darkness and poor air quality can disrupt sleep. Installing thick curtains on doors and windows impairs longevity, vitality, and rest, severing the connection to the sky and natural light. Room illumination should derive naturally from external sources, such as moonlight or the sky, rather than artificial electric light. The use of artificial light, especially in the evening, should be minimized. Electric lights, including bedside lamps, act like shards of glass raining upon the individual, damaging brain functions and weakening nerves. The body’s internal clock, when sufficiently exposed to natural light, signals wakefulness without the need for alarms. Natural light, particularly daytime sunlight, regulates the body’s internal clock.

Purity and Cleanliness

If an individual does not maintain ritual purity and ablution during wakefulness, they should at least do so before sleep. Sleeping without ablution and purity fills the individual with mental preoccupations and anxieties rather than divine inspirations, rendering them susceptible to disease transmission. Just as the body is more prone to catching colds during sleep than wakefulness due to diminished self-care capacity, those who sleep without ablution weaken their inner strength, paving the way for problems and experiencing stress and agitation upon waking and throughout the day. Such individuals are more prone to tremors and speech impediments in old age. This phenomenon can be explained as follows: every entity possesses an inner dimension known as the “heart.” Entities either share similarities or conflicts within their hearts. Similarity in heart inclinations unites certain entities harmoniously, drawing them together in empathy. Like-minded individuals form bonds, while those lacking compatibility are driven to opposition and conflict. Hearts resonate with one another, and a heart aligned with another’s essence finds comfort in its presence. This explains why individuals seek like-minded companions. The courageous admire courage, and the learned value knowledge, as they understand each other’s heart-language. Professional collaborations and marital relationships are influenced by these dynamics. A courageous man cannot harmonize with a timid woman, resulting in emotional strife due to their discordant hearts, even if both are virtuous and faithful. Compatibility and conflict hinge on the nature of their hearts, not their moral standing. Empathy forms the strongest layer of similarity, encompassing physical, mental, and inner alignment. This compatibility allows individuals to absorb virtues and qualities akin to their own, while also transmitting their unique vibrations to like-minded others. This mutual influence aligns desires and aspirations, shaping individuals through shared inner experiences. These vibrations, like interlocking mirrors, amplify reflection and projection based on each individual’s capacity. Thoughts and empathy can propagate internal movements and frequencies, drawing strength from like-minded entities. Luminous, spiritual thoughts attract goodness, while tainted or resentful hearts connect with impure, malevolent ones. According to the principle of shared existential manifestation, when an individual’s mind aligns with a specific aspect of the universal consciousness through sustained, repetitive focus, it draws energy from that alignment, attracting thoughts and forces—whether virtuous or malevolent—and becoming influenced by them. Thus, behavioral, verbal, and empathetic similarities, as well as mental inputs, must be carefully managed, and spiritual, divine beliefs must be robustly cultivated.

Guarding the Eyes

Beyond maintaining ablution and purity to shield against negative energies, the eyes must be protected from deliberately gazing at faces tainted by sin and impurity. Eyes that dwell on highly impure individuals during the day transfer that impurity to the inner self, leading to dreams of contamination or sins the individual would never commit. Some dreams do not belong to the dreamer but reflect the impure faces seen during the day, whose frequencies influence the dreamer, attributing their impurity to them in dreams. Vision and observation must be intentional and restrained. Gazing at an impure individual may transmit that impurity to one’s genes, affecting future generations and predisposing them to similar impurities. Avoiding aimless wandering and engaging in activities with minimal contact with impure, worldly individuals is a critical aspect of self-care to preserve bodily and inner purity. Seeing the face of someone with a corrupt inner self clouds one’s own inner state, which is why reciting “SubhanAllah” is recommended to cleanse the tarnish from such encounters and prevent their corruption from affecting the individual. This recitation acts like an air purifier, safeguarding the inner self from impurities. Sometimes, proximity to an impure individual or living near them can taint the seed, leading to misguided or corrupt offspring, even if both parents are righteous. The material world is replete with both guidance and misguidance. To protect against misguiding influences, one must carry protective invocations and arm oneself with recitations as an iron shield. Those with assigned spiritual guardians receive timely recitations to ensure their safety in any situation.

Responding to Disturbed Sleep

If an individual screams, moans, or perspires during sleep, they must be awakened immediately to free them from the distressing state. Humans are a composite of material particles and inner layers, and sleep may transport them to various realms. If subjected to the stress of terrifying dreams or overwhelming influences, they risk psychological disorders, phobias, or madness. Sometimes, a single unlawful morsel manifests inwardly as a dream in which a heavy figure oppresses the dreamer, attempting to suffocate or kill them, mistakenly attributed to nightmares or malevolent spirits rather than the effects of illicit consumption.

Cleansing Negative Thoughts

Persistent negative thoughts and resentments, if harbored continuously over time, weaken the will, rendering individuals incapable or unmotivated to pursue positive actions. Constantly dwelling on life’s problems and negative events, if not set aside and cleared from the mind and heart at the end of each day before sleep, depletes energy, aligning the individual with negativity and attracting malevolent forces. Like attracts like, and retaining negativity increases the likelihood of adverse events and outcomes. Even a small amount of discord, worse still enmity or grudge, and worst of all, vengeful stubbornness, possesses immense destructive power. One who harbors resentment, nurtures negativity, and repeatedly revisits it without letting go becomes a vessel of impurity, attracting evil and corruption. Each night, the inner self must be cleansed of all grievances, negative perspectives, and malevolent thoughts, embracing contentment and satisfaction with God’s creation and the Divine to remain unburdened. Sleep must not be tainted, and one should reflect that there may be no morning to rise, as tomorrow could bring untimely death.

Volitional Sleep

Maintaining a fixed sleep schedule, willpower, and self-control is essential. Regular, volitional sleep can enhance sleep rhythm and increase daily productivity. A consistent sleep schedule regulates the circadian rhythm, improving sleep quality and daytime efficiency. Those who fall asleep easily and quickly possess strong intelligence, focus, and willpower. An individual with robust willpower can master sleep, making it volitional. Regular, optimal sleep can be rendered volitional, allowing one to fall asleep and awaken by choice. One may even choose to “die” volitionally for a quarter or half an hour, requiring no ritual washing, as this voluntary death lacks the distress of natural passing. Through volitional death, one can depart as a true believer. Ordinary individuals derive knowledge through memory, with their inspirations rooted in sensory and inner faculties like imagination, fantasy, and bodily intellect. Those with strong willpower, living volitionally, access diverse forms of knowledge—intrusive, descending, or ascending. The lowest form of such knowledge is dreams that transcend the superficial to the inner realm, bearing spiritual interpretations and divine truths, grounded in the heart’s perceptive faculty rather than mental imagination.

Conditions for Restful Sleep

Claims that one can sleep for five minutes and be adequately rested without poor sleep depend on adhering to specific conditions. A single minute of sleep can be restful and yield insightful dreams. Short sleep can encompass profound dreams, and restful sleep also has a genetic component. Healthy, deep sleep is achieved when its quantity and quality align with age and bodily needs, with the individual sleeping for up to two hours without interruption, following a fixed and regular sleep schedule, falling asleep easily, and awakening refreshed, vibrant, and lively. Such sleep enhances daily performance, including cognition, emotional stability, and physical well-being, keeping the individual alert, focused, and active. Those who struggle to fall asleep, doing so with difficulty and discomfort, develop psychological inflammation, leading to premature aging and a shortened lifespan. Such individuals forget their dreams or experience disjointed, chaotic, and unrelated dreams, such as transitioning from childhood memories to recent events. To achieve a long life, one must regulate and optimize the process of falling asleep to be swift and comfortable. Through inner purity and clear, orderly dreams, individuals can penetrate their inner layers and anticipate daily events, avoiding being caught off guard. Falling asleep is far easier than waking, and those who fall asleep with difficulty face even greater challenges upon waking, sometimes unable to rise without external intervention.

Prolonged and Continuous Sleep

Sleep is a cornerstone of bodily health but should be brief and divided into multiple sessions, like meals, which, when consumed in several portions, do not lead to weight gain. The worst type of sleep, which diminishes sensory and intellectual faculties, is prolonged sleep. Long, extended sleep degrades the body and memory, shortens lifespan, and evokes disgust and aversion in others toward the oversleeper. This mirrors the worldly, whose presence unsettles those unattached to materialism. The Companions of the Cave, due to their prolonged slumber, experienced diminished quality of life and could only survive briefly after awakening. Those who sleep eight hours or more continuously forget much of what they have painstakingly learned over time. Sleep exceeding two hours without interruption ceases to be restful. One may sleep for five minutes and feel light, while another sleeps six hours and still feels sleepy, having introduced a state akin to death into their body, which is highly detrimental to rational and sensory faculties. Excessive sleep (inappropriate and prolonged) and continuous, uninterrupted sleep are both harmful, akin to static or censorship that distorts disjointed parts of an image or a wall losing bricks sporadically. This is worse than destroying a continuous section of a wall, as a wall with scattered missing bricks ceases to be a wall. Prolonged sleep is more damaging to mental and rational faculties than excessive sleep. Extensive daytime sleep is also highly detrimental to rational faculties.

Waking from Sleep

Upon waking, one should not immediately leave the bed but sit for a few minutes, taking deep breaths to gradually activate brain cells and avoid stress or overload. Those who rise abruptly upon waking disrupt brain cells not yet fully alert, impairing function, forgetting dreams or divine insights received during sleep, or becoming prone to memory weakness. Individuals who neglect this practice may lose balance in old age, unable to stand and falling. Gradual, gentle waking enhances morning energy and improves mood. After regaining bodily composure, one should first greet the Divine, saying, “Ya Allah, Salaam,” signifying that only God is worthy of love and eternal praise. One should desire, pursue, and find nothing but God, walking the path of divine truth, recognizing that all belongs to God, the Cause and Inheritor, and that mortals have no claim. Then, one should reflect on the previous sleep to determine if dreams occurred. In sleep, connections can be forged with spirits, meaningful entities, divine saints, or God, becoming one with the Divine and deriving positive benefits. Over time, this connection may even influence the quality of one’s progeny. Those who maintain hygiene and order in sleep can foresee life events through dreams. Rising abruptly upon waking causes the loss of dream content, despite some dreams offering insights unattainable through daily experiences or formal education. Drinking water upon waking can improve mood.

Expressing Love for the Divine and Morning Practices

Expressing Love for the Divine

Upon awakening from each sleep, engaging in an intimate communion with the Divine—offering heartfelt praises, dedicating oneself to God, tenderly caressing His essence, and extolling His virtues in one’s own words—channels divine love and focus toward the Almighty into the core of human existence. When the mind and heart, immediately upon waking, recognize the presence of a Divine Creator and affirm through self-suggestion phrases such as, “O God, I am devoted to You, how deeply I love You, how tender You are, and I, as Your creation and manifestation, am equally tender,” both the mind and heart are imbued with purity. This love and supplication cleanse impurities, resentments, grudges, and other defilements. At the moment of awakening, the individual becomes conscious of a God who stands by them with unwavering fidelity. Such a person fears no one and pursues the path of divine unity (tawhid).

The body and psyche are infused with the fragrance of purity through this love. The sanctity of this divine affection serves as a purifier, cleansing the body and soul of resentments, grudges, and psychological burdens. By expressing love for the Almighty, the individual renews their covenant with God—a God who, in every circumstance, remains a steadfast refuge, granting them an empowerment that dispels fear and hesitation. In the awe-inspiring and bewildering attainment of divine unity, which is perpetually in flux, movement, and striving, no other is found in a specialized and thematic sense. God is so intimately present with His servants that every individual on earth, through their manifestation, continually and anew embodies divinity, experiencing the empowerment of divine manifestation—that is, the truth, power, and grace of God within themselves. We are divine manifestations empowered through the negation of greed and the negation of self-definition. No one can enter the sacred domain of divine manifestation except God Himself, who holds sovereignty over the heart and can render it free of greed under His guardianship. A heart devoid of greed attains the essence of the Almighty. Thus, one should not fear the tyranny of manifestation, for all that is good emanates from God, and any evil that arises does so only with His permission—particularly since God manifests directly in every heart without intermediaries, rejecting brokerage or mediation in the realm of divine love.

Negating greed does not imply negating desire but rather refers to the unilateral and unregulated consumption of others’ energies and efforts, expecting them without reciprocity or connection. One cannot attain divine union until they relinquish attachment to their own possessions and those of others, transcend even the entirety of God’s bounties, and let go of all. To achieve this union, one must first follow their innate inclinations, environmental signals, surrounding vibrations, and inner content, rather than pursuing imposed or acquired endeavors. Some individuals are not far from embodying the Almighty and divine essence. The Almighty engages in a nuptial union of love with every manifestation; it suffices for the servant to join this love to be liberated from deprivation. I declare my love for the entire universe, for the universe is Him, not merely from Him. There is no need to pursue God for attainment, as He is present in the visage of every manifestation, such that circumambulating any manifestation is tantamount to circumambulating Him. An enigmatic distance exists between the servant and God, keeping the servant in a state of longing for divine essence. To reach God, the forces of purity, sincerity, honesty, and patience are essential. One must first resolve the challenges of the material world, freeing oneself from poverty, scarcity, illness, disorder, and multiplicity to achieve complete union with the Almighty. Poverty is a cause of some simple, apparent, and evident ailments, just as oppression—particularly concealing the Almighty or falsely attributing to Him—leads to severe, hidden diseases such as cancer, narcissism, self-aggrandizement, and the belittlement of others.

Beyond divine union, the servant can also find fulfillment through faith in the substantive law of divine requital, detaching from sorrows, hardships, anxieties, pressures, cunning, and deceit through this divine conviction—focused on a God who is sweet and compassionate. One must continually repeat to oneself that God is sweet until it becomes an ingrained attribute of the soul, bringing the soul to the threshold of intimacy with the loving and compassionate Almighty—a God from whom no fear, dread, or apprehension can arise, but who is captivating and majestic. If one persistently repeats something, even a falsehood, it takes on a formative reality and becomes truth. Likewise, suggestion profoundly impacts the human soul, shaping one’s character according to what is instilled. Whatever enters the mind, thought, or heart is an invitation and a hosting of that event. If one continually expresses love and devotion to God, divine love gradually takes root in the heart, and the individual slowly becomes a lover of the Almighty, absorbing His light and purity. By repeatedly saying, “O God, I love You,” one gradually takes on the hue of unity and becomes divine.

Divinity bestows upon the individual supremacy and excellence, endowing them with a robust and divine character. However, some require the crucible of trials and divine grace to realize that all is from God and divine. Anything in the heart other than love for God is detachable, destined to fall away in the course of worldly existence, ultimately leaving the individual. Nothing remains with a person except divine love—indeed, nothing exists but Him to remain. Manifestation is but a dependent, non-independent entity, devoid of essence, neither capable of poverty nor wealth. Every manifestation possesses a *sirralqadr*—a material measure and a specific divine connection—that shapes its quality of life and content. The structure of the material world is such that *sirralqadr* encompasses both truth and falsehood, and every manifestation is endowed with sincerity and justice. This divine aspect is the enduring facet of manifestation, while all else is transient and perishable. This divine truth in every manifestation flickers like a small flame in vast darkness, amidst the dense shadows of the material world and the pervasive falsehoods, constantly at risk of being extinguished by the relentless assaults of falsehood’s agents and dominant circumstances. Yet, even amidst the triumph of falsehood, within falsehood itself, and in every creation and manifestation, it does not fade. Truth continues to shimmer in this most perfect system, in the material world of necessity, and in the free nature, imparting a divine quality to manifestation.

Every individual, in the ebb and flow of descent and ascent toward their Beloved and the Almighty, is in motion, perpetually accompanied by their divine attributes, encountering nothing but truth in their path. In other words, every manifestation is solely the attainment of existence, and whatever a phenomenon reaches is the realization of its own essence. One who finds the Almighty and absolute perfection is freed from expectations, seeking nothing from any phenomenon and pursuing nothing, but acting in accordance with their essence. They possess nothing of their own, embodying absolute poverty and annihilation, enduring only through the Divine. The sole distinction between the servant who attains union with the Divine and God is that God possesses all perfection, while such a servant has nothing. God does not share the servant’s nothingness. One who expects something from another is not yet attained, still awaiting union. The attained has arrived, does not wander aimlessly, and stands resolute and steadfast in their essence, fulfilling only what God has decreed and commanded.

Morning Recitation of the Holy Qur’an

The grace of the eyes lies in drawing nourishment, energy, illumination, vitality, liveliness, and joy from the Holy Qur’an at the start of the morning, preparing them to behold the finest sights and gaze upon the Almighty. Engaging with the Qur’an at the outset of a renewed life and a fresh day can imbue the flavor, hue, and essence of that day, as well as the individual’s scholarly findings, with divine radiance. Otherwise, in deprivation, one may weave illusions instead of acquiring true knowledge and credible insights. Reciting Qur’anic verses upon waking can strengthen spiritual tranquility, reduce anxiety, and enhance mental well-being.

Utilizing the Morning Earth

In the vessel of the morning, walking or strolling upon the earth—especially barefoot on soil, with feet placed gently rather than stamped firmly—is highly beneficial and appropriate. Walking is best done in the morning rather than at night. In the morning, the earth and its energy centers are open, imparting vitality and vigor to the individual, revitalizing and enhancing brain function, strengthening nerves, and alleviating obsessive tendencies. Conversely, nighttime walking is akin to accompanying a lifeless corpse, offering no vitality and instead exhausting the individual. It is preferable to consume fruit in the morning, as the energy of fruits at this time is imbued with movement, vitality, and liveliness. At night, fruits and the earth enter a state of rest and sleep, embracing the sibling of death. Studies indicate that walking barefoot on grass or soil, by reducing the body’s electrical charge, can alleviate stress and inflammation, boost energy, and improve mental well-being.