Insomnia: A Sleep Disturbance or a Wakeful Opportunity?

At night, the brain remains silently awake: science calls it the “ideal state,” while the Quran calls it Tahajjud.

Often, we focus on what we want to push away: fears, anxieties, and negative thoughts. In Islam however, and in life in general, true strength does not lie in chasing away evil, but in seeking the good. During the night, when everything is quiet and the world sleeps, the heart is more open and the spirit more receptive. It is the perfect moment to invite light, serenity, and positivity into your life.

Instead of fighting what disturbs you, you can choose to nurture what elevates you, allowing divine protection and inner awareness to transform darkness into an opportunity for growth and reflection.

Insomnia and nighttime thoughts can steal hours of rest; yet, in Islam, the darkest hours of the night are among those in which a human is closest to God. Failing to fall asleep, or waking repeatedly, is not always a deficiency: it can be a silent invitation to reflection, awareness, and spiritual connection—especially when the awakening happens at the same hour consistently.

Doctors can prescribe any medication to induce sleep, but often these suppress the deepest insights: those sudden sparks that emerge like flashes of light in the mind, precisely when you are awake at three in the morning. Write down the messages that reach you in that fragile moment, because they are powerful, even if they vanish in the blink of an eye.

The night is a sacred space

Imagine yourself under the dome of a mosque, with only filtered light. The Quran describes the night as a privileged moment for prayer and meditation. In verses 73:2–4 (Sura Al-Muzzammil) it says:

"Stand [to pray] during the night, except for a portion of it; half of it, or decrease it slightly, or increase it, and recite the Quran with measured recitation."

The night thus becomes a mirror of the soul, a space to listen to oneself and internalize God’s Word. Slow recitation of the Quran (tartīl) transforms each word into seeds of light within us.

Tahajjud: Night Vigil Prayer

Tahajjud is a voluntary prayer, performed in the quietest hours before dawn.

Those who practice Tahajjud discover that the night can become a sacred space of transformation, where the body rests and the spirit grows. Tahajjud reveals itself when the world sleeps. It is a secret between the soul and God, kept in the heart of the night. In the darkness, every prostration dissolves distance, and every silence speaks.

Those who rise at that hour are not alone: they are called. The night opens, and God is closer than the breath.

"Indeed, We created man and know what his soul whispers to him, and We are closer to him than his jugular vein." (Sura Qāf 50:16)

The psychospiritual dimension of the night

At night, external stimuli—light, noise, and social demands—diminish. This favors activation of the Default Mode Network, the brain network linked to introspection, autobiographical memory, meaning, and identity. This is why deep thoughts, existential questions, and sudden insights emerge. These unexpected perceptions are important because they are answers to our deepest questions, which everyone often seeks externally. Sometimes they are signals, warnings of imminent dangers, or simply fleeting moments in which you can perceive or feel another person.

Science does not speak directly of God, but it describes the neurological conditions ideal for spiritual experience: silence, darkness, vulnerability, and inward focus. Religious and mystical traditions recognized and utilized this space long before neuroscience.

How to transform insomnia into opportunity

Perform Tahajjud or a short prayer, write down your reflections and intentions for the following day, breathe, and relax. Usually, Tahajjud calms you naturally, and you return to sleep peacefully.

In conclusion

Insomnia and nighttime awakenings are not disturbances to fear—they are divine opportunities: invitations to perceive and understand that another dimension exists, and that when sleeping, you are merely “changing channels.”

"God takes souls when their appointed time comes, and those who do not die during sleep. He keeps those whose death He has decreed and sends the others until a specified term. Indeed, in this there are signs for those who reflect." (Sura Az-Zumar 39:42)

The night is a sacred space that transforms restlessness into peace, silence into listening, and time into inner light.

Through vigil, prayer, and awareness, the believer experiences God’s protection: not as energy to ward off, but as guidance, presence, and inner transformation.