ÜÇÜNCÜ FEN · İKİNCİ BÂB · İKİNCİ FASIL · Dokuzuncu Madde
Nine Articles
It explains the reality of sleep, that the souls of the common folk remain in the intermediate realm (barzakh), and that the spirit of the perceptive ones finds its way to the spiritual world.
O esteemed one! It is known that the friends of God have said: The reality of sleep is this: Moist foods loosen the arteries of the heart, and vapor becomes a veil between the heart and the brain, causing the soul to be deprived of the power to comprehend and influence within the brain. Even the senses and bodily organs become still. The liver vessels and the entire body continue to be nourished, growing and developing. Sleep is only in this state of the body, which happens to everyone. Foods’ moisture causes sleep; therefore, excessive drinking leads to heavy sleep. With the phlegm of drinks, heedlessness and forgetfulness increase. Thus, if the sleeper's heart is attached to his soul, it becomes ineffective in attaining its own perfection, remaining imprisoned in the intermediate realm, alone with the dreams and mixed visions.
If the sleeper’s heart is not attached to his soul, it passes beyond the intermediate realm and proceeds to the exalted realm, attaining tranquility and never sleeping. Such individuals do not sleep; their bodies may sleep, but their hearts do not. They do not lag behind in progressing towards perfection and spiritual advancement. Therefore, egoic sleep is heedlessness and oblivion. Spiritual sleep is presence with God. The ignorant’s sleep is imminent death. The wise one's sleep opens up thoughts and reflections. The common folk's sleep is excessive desire and attachment. The perceptive ones’ sleep is complete devotion. The spiritually deficient heedless person’s sleep is a waste of time; the perfect one’s sleep is the essence of worship.
A perfect individual stayed as a guest in a Sufi lodge for ten days. During this period, he ate the food of ten people each day, slept all night, and talked throughout the day. Eventually, the disciples disliked his eating and drinking, excessive sleep, and much talking, complaining to the shaykh of the lodge. Upon this, the shaykh said to him: “The path of blessed saints is little eating, little sleeping, and little speaking; you have become accustomed to much eating, much sleeping, and much talking like the common folk. You are a burden on this community.”
This perfect guest was greatly astonished by these words and replied to the shaykh: "If those who complain about us were people of insight, they would thank us instead of complaining, for we do not eat food, but consume light; we do not sleep, but go into God’s presence; we do not utter meaningless things, but speak wisdom.”
Upon this reply, the discerning shaykh confessed his error and continued to welcome that exalted person as a guest in his lodge, becoming his disciple and servant. Through his signs, he persevered in fasting, sleeplessness, and silence, thus finding God’s presence through the light of wisdom.
The lover who does not attain this maturity remains in loss and failure with much eating and sleeping.
Verses:
1- Midnight love showed abundant favor from the heart's side,
It made many reproaches, saying, "O lover, make sleep little."
2- We speak to you until dawn;
You have stretched your feet into a bed of sleep.
3- You are heedless of us during the day, and in sleep at night;
When will you sweeten your supplication to us, O lover?
4- You have forgotten us so much that it seems as if you
Will not return to your origin; cease your coquetry.
5- Midnight, rise and weep with my sorrow, turn towards me;
So I may attract you, and the long path will be shortened.
6- Sleep is heedlessness; do not be a brother of death, be alive through love.
Listen to what is said each night, let all secrets be known.
7- Be prepared at every moment, find fresh life from my blood.
O God! Reduce sleep, reduce sleep, reduce sleep.