ÜÇÜNCÜ FEN · İKİNCİ BÂB · İKİNCİ FASIL · Üçüncü Madde
**Article Three**
Concerning the reduction of sleep, arising at night, the sleep of the gnostics, and the heedlessness of the common folk.
Beloved! It is known that the friends of Allah have said: Reducing sleep is very important in turning towards the Divine. For the sleep of the common folk is heedlessness and a loss of self. And heedlessness is a darkness within the heart. Nightly sleep is forbidden for the traveler on the path of gnosis, because his desire is for Allah, the Ever-Living, the Self-Sustaining.
**Poem**
1. Abandon sleep, for sleep destroys virtues. Do not be content with this world through eating and sleeping.
2. Be a night watchman and seek high stations. If you hope to succeed among people, turn towards [seeking them] when the darkness descends.
But the sleep of the gnostic is contemplation and observation, meeting and conversing with souls, gathering with friends and companions, and attaining what is longed for.
Dawn is a blessing for lovers. Sleep is rest from pain. Dawn is one of two lives. The heart becomes alive through hunger and dawn. Dawn is the essence and pupil of worship. To be awake at dawn is a sign of felicity. Remembering Allah in prayer at dawn is the practice of the righteous and the custom of the free ones. Remaining awake, remembering Allah at dawn, is the foundation of the work of those yearning for Divine artistry, and it is great power for lovers. To spend the night awake, remembering Allah, is the profit of the saints and the pure ones. To spend the night awake, remembering Allah, is a source of joy and delight for the saints. To spend the night awake, remembering Allah, is a prize for the noble ( *ricāl* ), an opportunity for the abdals. To spend the night awake, remembering Allah, is the essence of the work of those brought near (*mukarrabūn*), the garden of the pure ones. To spend the night awake, remembering Allah, is a gift from the gnostics and the treasure of the perfect ones.
**Verses**
1. When night arrives, it becomes a time for seclusion. The direction of the lovers is like the face of the moon, radiant.
2. While the moon shines, abandon sleep; O, moon-worshipper! He who is aware of the moon will be its companion.
3. If all people were “nothing” [ *lā* ] in the sea of sleep, the time for those without sleep would be "only Allah."
4. The lover desires seclusion at night so that it may become a sudden union with Him.
5. The grain of the soul is like chaff with this body. If the body sleeps, that grain becomes useless.
6. While the servants’ nights are drowned in gossip, it becomes the time of inspiration of the King of Kings.
7. Night descends as if a Sultan ascends his throne; all words become brief at that moment, [belonging] to Truth.