ÜÇÜNCÜ FEN · İKİNCİ BÂB · İKİNCİ FASIL · Altıncı Madde
**Article Six**
It indicates that sleep is an undesirable thing and that oversleeping is harmful.
O esteemed one! Know that the friends of God have said: Gaflet (negligence) sleep is a condition to be disliked and condemned. Excessive sleep brings laxity and idleness, for the sleep of the common folk suspends the functions of the bodily organs, thus wasting a portion of their life.
Indeed, the Exalted has stated in His Eternal Word: “He who causes you to sleep at night” (An’am, 6/60), thereby announcing that sleep is akin to death. He who is far from the Exalted is one consumed by regret, and the sleep of those consumed by regret is a calamity. The knower (arif) is in God's presence. Sleep for those in God’s presence is a turning towards Him and spiritual delight.
Gaflet-filled sleep is banishment from God’s presence, distance from Him, and remorse. It necessitates loss, ignorance, and disgrace; it is an indication that one has been deprived of knowledge and wisdom. For the knower's pleasure lies in the exalted presence of God; life is love.
The signs of love for the Divine are three: to worship at night, to speak beautifully, and to praise God. Therefore, nighttime sleep is turning away from God and a transgression. If sleep were a delightful blessing, it would be found in Paradise. Yet, there is no sleep in Paradise. Sleep is not valued unless it is firmly suppressed, for spiritual degrees that lead one to perfection cannot be attained through sleep.
**Poem**
1- O esteemed one, do not sleep at night for the sake of your beloved. Do not sleep to gain good fortune from the heavens.
2- How long have you slept countless nights for the pleasure of the self? What harm is a night or two for a true friend?
3- That subtle Beloved who never sleeps – spend your nights in His company; do not sleep for that beauty.
4- Is heavy sleep permissible for one who is ill? Have mercy, and do not sleep for this wounded heart.
5- God has said: “My lover does not sleep at night!” If you feel shame, then do not sleep for that shame.
6- Have you not heard that the night fulfills all lovers? Do not sleep to attain the love of the King who perfects all things.
7- A thousand times I have said: "Come to God in the nights!" Know yourself as nonexistent so that He may be present; do not sleep for that.